Digital Storytelling with ds106

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Digital storytelling is the art of presenting stories using computer-based tools and includes narratives, memoirs, essays, documentaries.  This information is typically presented using multimedia aspects including pictures, sound, Web publishing, and video with the length typically being between 2-10 minutes (University of Houston, 2013).  ds106 uses digital storytelling components to present information on their site via live radio and previously recorded video.  The ds106 project has redefined what we have typically known as digital storytelling.  They embrace the MOOC model by providing the online course through live radio broadcasts, open lectures, and webcasts.  They allow their listeners to upload their contents to live radio.  This allows the end users, the students, to be able to submit and share their work with the others in this open class.  Similar to other MOOCs, students can either take the course for credit and are required to perform their required assignments according to the class schedule, however if they are not taking the class for credit then assignments are optional and can be done in whatever order the student sees fit.  This is then able to be shared on social networks to bring attention to their work to other students that may or may not be following the #4life hashtag (DS106, 2013).  One of the great things that this program and other MOOCs address is the intercultural aspect by being able to reach people that are interested in a variety of topics addresses at a college level.

References:

University of Houston (2013).  What is Digital Storytelling?  Referenced from http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/page.cfm?id=27&cid=27

ds106 (2013).  What is ds106 Radio?  Referenced from http://ds106.us/ds106-radio/

Global Communication

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It was great to see an Answers in Genesis cartoon in the links for this module, I love their comic strip and their organization does great work with the Creation museum and Christian apologetics.  However, anything related to the supposed Spiritual Awakening or the New Age movement is untrue and I was both surprised and disappointed that new age information such as the Sunfell link was presented in this course.  Sunfell is a writer for pagan and witchcraft articles by her own admission (Sunfell, 2003).  One of the biggest problems I have with spiritualism, the New Age movement, and Moral Relativism is that they claim that there is no such thing as right or wrong, as it claims to be up to the individuals belief system.  I understand that I may be one of the few people that disagree with this, but I don't believe that it belongs in a college course even though we are discussing Global communication.  The one-minute meditation video was interesting and I would imagine that some people would use a similar technique for prayer instead of just reflecting within our own lives and thoughts.

The World Wide Web has given everyone that has Internet access the means for global communication unlike anything ever before.  I think that the rise of spirituality in general has increased when the Internet became popular allowing for individuals to share their beliefs.  When people feel connected to others in different parts of the world they feel that it is because they are spiritually connected.  There are both positives and negatives to having the ability to affect people in other countries.  In this globalized economy I have seen my previous jobs including manufacturing/production, IT help desk, and technical support become outsourced offshore for cost saving reasons.  As many corporations are outsourcing offshore to other countries including India, Philippines, and Mexico it becomes much more difficult to provide support in the United States due to the cost.  Parts of India's economy is built on having these outsourced call center jobs means that those workers can have a higher quality of life and better provide for their family.  The total corporate cost savings is upwards of $30 billion, which can be used to invest in the US.  With outsources workers receiving half the wages of a US worker it makes more sense for large companies to go in this direction whenever they can (Call Centers India, 2010).

The positives of a high-speed global communication network are that businesses and individuals can communicate, send files, use cloud computing Web apps to collaborate on projects, and make their productivity more efficient.  Countries like China and Russia are well known for their cyber-terrorism acts and constantly produce viruses and other malware including Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks using botnets targeting government, financial, and private corporations alike.  Identity theft is another growing concern in the US and people around the world are trying to commit fraud via spam e-mails, malicious websites, and phishing attempts (Wilson, 2008).  On the bright side, we are able to learn about new topics and work with others around the world to pursue higher goals, whether on a personal level, for educational reasons, or for business.

References:
Sunfell (2003).  Who is this Sunfell person, anyway?  References from http://www.sunfell.com/about.htm
Call Centers India (2010).  Outsourcing to India aids US economy.  Referenced from http://www.callcentersindia.com/displaynews.php?idnews=51_Outsourcing_to_India_aids_US_economy
Wilson, Clay (2008).  CRS Report for Congress.  Referenced from http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/RL32114.pdf

Cognitive Biases

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Cognitive biases that are already formed will influence our creative thinking based on a combination of our own personality, social, economical, and the workplace environment factors.  I have found from my own experience that the congruence bias has been my focus while working at a VoIP call center when customers are having a specific problem.  One of the first things that I like to do is try to replicate their VoIP issue through by doing the same thing that they are doing on my test phone.  If I am able to replicate their issue than it means that there is a higher level root cause happening that may be related to a call cluster issue.  If I am not able to replicate then it means that they are either having a local network issue or it is user error.  To avoid this we try to communicate effectively with each other to quickly learn if other agents are experiencing the same issue.  Another biased trap that I tend to run into is the belief bias model.  After doing the same task repeatedly I find that it typically ends with the same result I make assumptions along the way instead of doing thorough troubleshooting (WikiPedia, 2013).  Thankfully it is somewhat rare that simple issues become much more complex issues, when this does happen I have wasted precious time by going through the motions instead of performing additional work to get to the real answer.  To avoid this issue I would have to spend additional time on the typical call and have a lower overall case closure rate instead of just being wrong once in a while.

Another similar cognitive bias that I came to realize that I have after starting taking classes at Empire State College is the time-saving bias.  I have difficulty completing papers and discussions during the week due to work, so throughout the week I do a lot of reading figuring that if I spend time on that it will make the writing portion easier to complete on the weekend.  The problem that I then run into is that I barely have enough time on the weekends to complete what needs to be done.  To avoid this I should still read during the week but start a draft of my paper or discussion, then post it when it I it is finished on the weekend.  Anchoring, or focalism, is one of my tendencies that is getting stronger with the more experience in the call center field and has turned into a bias.  Information technology and information systems is a rapidly changing field and I have found that sometimes I am not able to keep up with it and stick with what I know (Science Daily, 2013).  Instead of exploring new technologies such as tablets and smart phones I keep using my Windows 7 desktop.  This bias is difficult to overcome as experiencing new technology usually costs money and my time is very constrained right now.  I hope that once I have more of these two resources I can stay current with the IT/IS trends at least to be familiar with them.

The cognitive bias that can repeatedly cause issues outside of work is the availability heuristic model.  With 3 other people in my immediate family with their own minds and decision-making ability that occasionally react differently than I expect.  Making assumptions about the way that people will act or react to given scenarios can occur differently than one expects, however is difficult for me to stop this bias even through I realize it is incorrect (WikiPedia, 2013).  To avoid this I should start treating each day as a surprise and simply do my best to prepare for multiple possibilities (e.g.: car problems, sick children, work problems, etc).  I have found that having biases makes up part of an individual's personality which leads to their creative output, however if it were possible to have no biases at all it would have a different effect on their creativity overall.



References:
WikiPedia (2013).  List of cognitive biases.  Referenced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases
ScienceDaily (2013).  Science Reference: Cognitive Bias.  Referenced from http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/c/cognitive_bias.htm

Creativity, innovation, and risk

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Examining at the creativity and innovation aspects from a business perspective was interesting to me as experience has taught me that companies can create new products or offer new services that sets them apart from their competitors.  Without these key factors a business is likely to fall by the wayside while other companies that manage their risk investment while cultivating ingenuity are more likely to succeed in this diverse global marketplace.  Collaboration between departments should be encourages employees with different skill sets and unique ways of viewing a problem or tackling a new project that could benefit from a diverse team (Business Dictionary, 2013).  This is especially important to consider by Project Managers if they want to have creative brainstorming sessions during project meetings to determine which path they should go down.  Cultivating an ongoing open discussion between managers and employees is crucial for businesses that are looking to have more innovation in their products.  This should not be limited just to what the business does, but can be expanded to be inclusive of the daily operational scope to reduce the drudgery and complacency that creeps into the workplace environment over time.  While this cannot be forced upon someone, if the employees are open to new experiences and becoming weary of their job functions it could be beneficial for managers to have smaller team meetings to motivate their workforce, and ultimately benefit their company.

Reference:
Business Dictionary (2013).  Six Effective Ways to Foster Innovation.  Referenced on March 10, 2013 from http://www.businessdictionary.com/article/510/ways-to-foster-innovation/.

Creative Resolutions

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From my experiences in the workplace there has been a noticeable difference between people that just use typical troubleshooting or problem solving techniques to solve a variety of issues compared to those who tend to think outside the box and tackle the problem from a different approach.  Instead of waiting for a creative idea to happen, they tend to take a standardized approach to solve the problem creatively.  These types of individuals are especially necessary when working on projects that encounter difficult or frequent roadblocks that cause delays.  This allows the individual or team to focus on innovation; which is defined by Baumgartner as the actual implementation of the best ideas that come from the brainstorming process.  The innovation approach to creative problem solving steps that are recommended to get to the point of innovation are listed below:
1. Clarify and identify the problem
2. Research the problem
3. Formulate creative challenges
4. Identify insights
5. Generate ideas
6. Combine and evaluate the ideas
7. Draw up an action plan
8. Implementation of the best idea(s)
By using some or all of these steps during normal troubleshooting processes has the potential to make difficult problems easier to solve (Baumgartner, 2011).  Working in a call center providing solutions to customers that are having a problem with their VoIP phone system can often present challenging issues to work through, and standard troubleshooting isn't always effective.  Clarifying the actual issue can help save time when both the customer and I are on the same page, but looking at the problem from a different point of view is often helpful when identifying a solution.


Reference:
Baumgartner, Jeffrey (2011).  Creative Problem Solving (CPS) Basics.  Retrieved March 3, 2013 from  http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2011/01/28/creative-problem-solving-cps-basics/