Scott Floeck Senior Vice President and CIO of Staples, Inc.
Agenda | Presentation (ppt)

As businesses shift strategies from cost effectiveness to growth, we will explore opportunities to differentiate the customer experience while remaining cost effective and the implications of both on the IT workforce.

A panel discussion sponsored by CITI focused on issues surrounding Multiple Points of Entry and Multiple Opportunities as they relate to ITAC programs around the state. This included discussions of recruiting, retention, and creating a spectrum of programs.

This presentation focused on the Massachusetts health care industry, its unique collaborations between state government, caregivers and insurers. Information technology and business educators learned why innovative technology is central to achieving affordable healthcare while continuously improving quality across the system.

The presentation focused on using copyrights, trademarks, patents and trade secrets to protect software and other technology. A basic understanding of each of these types of intellectual property was provided, along with a discussion on how to apply these rights to protect software and other technology.

Over the last several years, Wireless Local Area Networking (WLAN) has emerged from its roots as a new technology niche/novelty to today's use as an integral IT tool for enabling improved levels of customer service and company productivity. This talk traceD the roots of the growth of this technology and highlightED specific examples of its practical use today across a range of industries.

The panel discussed current hiring trends in the IT arena and focused on knowledge, skills and attributes needed for successful employment and advancement. Three industries were showcased – healthcare, technology, and retail. The second half of the workshop (12:45-1:45) allowed time for audience questions and interaction.

A panel discussion was sponsored by CITI; focusing on issues surrounding Multiple Points of Entry and Multiple Opportunities as they relate to CS/CIS programs around the state. This included discussions of recruiting, retention, creating a spectrum of programs, and the outcomes of the recent NSF conference on the future directions for computer science programs.

Designing a successful web application requires both the careful consideration between web design and technical architecture as well as a thorough understanding of how the business's process translates online. Ignoring one aspect can ultimately lead to the demise of the system.

A.A.G. Dana Leccese and Trooper David McSweeney discussed the legal and technical issues relative to the investigation and prosecution of crimes committed over the Internet, and specifically those involving the exploitation of children. Topics discussed were current statutory and case law interpretations, the process of conducting a computer crime investigation, and tactics and strategies for law enforcement and prosecutors in meeting the challenges resulting from evolving technologies, and psychological profiles of the “typical” ICAC offender.

The panel discussed current hiring trends in the IT arena and focused on knowledge, skills and attributes needed for successful employment and advancement. Three industries were showcased – healthcare, technology, and retail. The second half of the workshop (12:45-1:45) allowed time for audience questions and interaction.

This presentation included a brief discussion of 802.11 wireless technology, security, and applications.

This presentation did survey the state of the art in surgical simulation, looking at what aspects of surgical procedures benefit from simulation. A growing number of procedures are now becoming available on simulation-based training and the FDA has recently implicitly mandated the use of simulation-based trainers for physician certification in carotid stent placement. Techniques learned from the evolution of flight trainers have been applied to the human factors and training elements to define what is essential to the learning experience for surgeons. This information is combined with multi-disciplinary engineering and software development practices to create commercial quality simulation-based surgical trainers.

The session covered accreditation issues faced by institutions working toward or maintaining accreditation fro their computing programs (Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, Software Engineering and Information Technology) through the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).

The panel looked at problems and symptoms of our curricula in computing technologies programs, such as skill gaps, job perception, and differences among varying curricula. This session was used to focus on these issues and possible solutions.

The session focused on how technology enhances the learning experience of students with disabilities. We discussed what instructors can do to make their web sites and other applications accessible, and how technology instructors can teach accessibility issues to their students. Additionally, we discussed and demonstrated our new system called PLUMB (exploring graphs at UMB) that is used to communicate graphs and relational information to users with visual impairments. PLUMB displays a drawn graph on a tablet PC and uses auditory cues to help a user who is blind navigate and understand the graph. PLUMB has applications in many areas including: visual mapping, navigation, network administration, software engineering, and project management and educational uses in fields including computer science, information technology, astronomy, business, and criminal justice.

This project examined a series of web-based modules that were developed for teacher education courses at UMass Boston but are available for use by k-12 classroom teachers anywhere. Each module showed how technology can enhance traditional curriculum. Besides demonstration of the modules, they discussed the design and development process and the underlying philosophy driving the project. One of the unique features of the module design is that it meets the standards of accessibility for all users. They encouraged classroom teachers to make use of these online resources.