All posts by Kimberly Gaskin

Vikki Mann Serves Internship at Vincent House

internships

Ever since she was a freshman in High School, Vikki Mann has been passionate about Photography. First it was just a hobby, but over time she grew to love it; to such an extent that she decided to pursue a degree in it. She currently attends St. Petersburg College where she is majoring in Photography. Recently, she was informed about a Photography internship through Barton Gilmore of Vincent House, which is a facility to rehabilitate the mentally ill, and Internship Coordinator Susan Biszewski-Eber, of St. Petersburg College (SPC).

This sparked her interest because her mom was an Education Major and dealt with children who had special needs. Working with individuals from Vincent House “sounded perfect” since she is able to fulfill her internship hours and at the same time, help others. Apart from serving her internship at Vincent House, Mann works in the Fine & Applied Arts department on the Clearwater campus. She also does freelance Photography. Though these positions have different skill sets, Mann feels that they both present a good learning opportunity.

She encourages all students to get an internship through SPC since it’s a good experience and good for your resume’.  “Just knowing that I could say I did it, is a good feeling,” she said. She suggests that students not wait until the last minute to apply and “do something you love doing!”

 

Alex Sharpe Successfully Completes University of Toronto Online Course via Coursera

computer programs

Ever since a young age, Alex Sharpe has had a fascination with technology. Her sister was a programmer and this greatly influenced her as well. Sharpe’s first computer was a Commodore 64. She has always had a knack for technology and would be the go-to person for help in her family. She is currently in COP 2251, Java Programming II with Instructor Brad Yourth, of the College of Computer & Information Technology department at St. Petersburg College (SPC). Prior to that, she enrolled in CGS 1000, Introduction to Computers with Yourth. 

 Recently, she enrolled in a free non-credit, 7-week-long Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), offered through the University of Toronto via coursera.org, which is designed to heighten an individual’s understanding about computer applications. It introduces the fundamental concepts of programming languages by incorporating PYTHON.  This proved to be the springboard for her pursuing the Computer Web Programming & Analysis (CWPA) degree at SPC. In fact, if it wasn’t for Coursera, she probably would not have changed her major to programming.

Though Sharpe felt that MOOC was rigorous and challenging, she learned a lot. “I think Professor Yourth is a great mentor. I appreciate how he is always bringing something of interest to his class to help students know more,” she said. Sharpe feels that her digital media skills along with what she learned with MOOC will be a great asset to her in the real world. Out of 38,502 who enrolled in MOOC, Sharpe is one of 8,243 who successfully completed the course.

Commenting on her overall experience in the course, Sharpe said, “I think understanding how technology works is fascinating. Small tools become large tools that enable us to go as far as our imaginations. When you realize how brilliant the process is, you really begin to appreciate it.”

It’s All About the Climb!

entrepreneurship

Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2013, 8:30 am Location:  Microsoft, 5426 Bay Center Drive, Tampa, FL (click here for map)

There is no cost for this event but space is limited and registration is requested.    

 

“It’s All about the Climb!”

Presented by Crystal Culbertson, Founder and CEO,
Crystal Clear Technologies, Inc.

TECH Talk continues the Diary of an Entrepreneur Series with Crystal Culbertson, Founder and CEO, Crystal Clear Technologies, Inc. This quarterly series will feature successful Tampa Bay made, Tampa Bay proud entrepreneurs who will share their stories and what they learned along the way.

Crystal Clear Technologies, Inc. (CCT) was founded by Mrs. Culbertson in 2002 with the intention of supporting the various Armed Forces entities of the United States Government by bringing cutting edge technology and world class support to their mission critical requirements.   Mrs. Culbertson has over 14 years experience in the IT industry. Her career began at Tyndall Air Force Base, FL in 1997, as the Logistics Specialist working at Head Quarters Air Force Civil Engineering Support Agency.

In 2011, CCT was the fifth ranked fasted growing company in America on the Inc. 500/5000 List. CCT also placed #1 in Government Services and #1 in Woman Owned Small Business. In 2012, Crystal was presented with the Iconic Women of St. Petersburg Business Woman of the Year award. She was also nominated for the Ernst and Young CEO of the Year award and had multiple interviews with Tampa Bay Times. Under Crystal’s leadership, CCT’s growth skyrocketed in 2012 once again, and the year ended with breaking another company revenue record.

Presented by Tampa Bay Innovation Center as part of the eHub, TECH Talk is the area’s premier networking and education event developed specifically to meet the interest of the local entrepreneurial community.

TBTF Assists Students to Find Summer Internships

internships

Contributing Writer

Susan Biszewski-Eber

In an effort to provide Tampa Bay employers with a skilled and effective workforce, St. Petersburg College now requires all students in their Associate in Science degree programs, within the fields of Computer & Information Technology, to complete a credit internship course as part of their graduation requirement. As a result, there are an unprecedented number of students seeking summer internships in the fields of Computer Web Programming & Analysis, Computer Networking, IT Security, Technology Management and Web Development. Students are required to complete 180 contact hours over a 10-week period. Internships can be paid or unpaid. Many companies in the area have already benefited from academic resources such as EON Systems and Strategic Media, which were both finalists at Biz Tech 2013!, Emason, City of St. Petersburg, SMC Software and NetWolves, to name a few. For more information, please contact Susan Biszewski-Eber at biszewskieber.susan@spcollege.edu .

Business Analytics and the CCIT BAS

computer programs

Contributing Writer

Nathan Heinze

One of the exciting developments in the continued evolution of the CCIT BAS degree, is the introduction of a new sub-plan focusing on business analytics. The field is growing rapidly, and a recent study of IT needs in the Tampa region revealed that local companies have an increasing need for business analysts.

The idea behind business analytics is to use technology and quantitative methods to process and analyze data as a means of improving organizational decision-making. Data analysts are not involved in creating the software used to analyze data; rather, they are skilled in selecting the correct data to analyze and attribute meaning to that data and apply it to help achieve organizational goals.

There will be a total of five new courses that comprise the sub-plan. In an exhaustive study of local needs, curriculum recommendations and other bachelor’s programs, we have decided on the following five courses:

1. ISM XXXX Data Fundamentals: Introduces statistics for business. This course will cover probability, regression, data collection, variability, sampling, distributions, and associated topics. It will give students the statistical foundation to understand data behavior and analysis.

 2. ISM XXXX Business Intelligence: This course explains what business intelligence is and how it is essential to the performance of modern organizations. It includes a particular focus on strategic data management.

 3. ISM XXXX Business Analytics: This course will cover the use of spreadsheet modeling to make and analyze business decisions.

 4. ISM XXXX Web Analytics:  This course will cover the collection and analysis of information from the web in order to help improve business decisions. Some of the topics covered are web-based surveying, online community research, blog scraping, and user data gathering.

 5. Data Mining and Warehousing: This course covers data mining methods. Data mining is the practice of taking data and trying to discover trends or patterns to aid in the decision making process. The course will include a review of data warehousing and coverage of common data mining techniques.

 I am currently working on researching the exact topics and how they should be addressed in each course; and I am also beginning to look for appropriate textbooks and supplemental materials. Actual development will begin over the summer, and at least two courses should be finished by end of August.

 

A Glimpse into SPC’s Virtualization Summer Camp

College of Computer and Information Technology

Contributing Writer

Michael Gordon

According to CISCO Instructor Michael Gordon, St. Petersburg College(SPC) will be offering a one-week virtualization summer camp, which will be held from June 17th-21st, in partnership with Florida State College at Jacksonville, Countryside and Gibbs High Schools, to train both high school faculty and up to 20 high school students in Citrix VDI-in-a-box software; a new generation of software that allows creating virtual desktops for users that can be accessed from any location. Students were pre-registered for the event.

SPC has also purchased the server hardware to start offering virtualization courses in the fall and/or spring of 2013. The new courses offered will be the EMC Information, Storage, and Management (ISM) course, followed by the VMware VSphere Install, Configure, Manage5.1 course. These are the industry standard introductory courses to cloud computing and desktop/server virtualization. Both courses will be offered fully online using NDGs NetLAB+ appliance.

 

Important information about Scholarships

College of Computer and Information Technology

 Contributing writer

Foundation Scholarship Opportunities

  Last week, St. Petersburg College students received an email announcing the opening of the Foundation scholarship application period for Summer 2013 term. The Foundation is currently accepting applications through March 1st. We hope you will join our efforts to inform students about this opportunity. Below are a few ways you can help.

 Encourage Students to Apply

 Please help us spread the word. Last year, the St. Petersburg College Foundation awarded over $1 million in scholarships to SPC students. As we work to further assist students as they begin planning for next term, we hope you will encourage them to apply for one of the many scholarships available through the Foundation by completing the online application.

  Letters of Reference

 The Foundation scholarship application requires two letters of reference. As part of the application process, students enter the email addresses of their references. An automated message requesting the recommendation is then emailed to the addresses provided by the students. Many students choose faculty members as references, so please watch for these emails (sent from notify@ngwebsolutions.com). Should you be contacted for a reference, please complete the questionnaire by the March 11th deadline to ensure that the student is eligible for consideration.

 Scholarship Criteria

 Each scholarship has unique awarding criteria. Some scholarships are awarded based on academic merit and/or achievement in specific areas, such as the arts or community involvement while others require a demonstrated financial need.

 Important Dates to Remember

 Summer 2013 Term Scholarships

 January 30, 2013 to March 1, 2013 – Foundation scholarship application is open

 March 11, 2013 – Deadline for letters of reference

 Fall 2013 Term Scholarships

 Mid-April – Foundation scholarship application will open (exact dates TBD). The Foundation scholarship application will have a new and improved look to better meet our student needs.

Thank you in advance for supporting our efforts and most importantly for helping to ensure that our students are aware of the scholarship opportunities available to them. For additional information, please visit our  scholarships page or contact the foundation at 727-341-3302 or foundation@spcollege.edu

Clearwater campus has new ES building

College of Computer and Information Technology

 Contributing Writer

St. Petersburg College’s Clearwater Campus officially opened the new ES building for the spring 2013 term, (465). We are delighted to be within the innovative building and are becoming settled in the 2nd floor offices that we share with the Ethics Department.

The state-of-the-art classrooms will accommodate numerous students, and the new technology will assist first-hand with our College of Computer & Information technology (CCIT) courses, students and instructors.  Included on the 2nd floor, is a MAC lab for our growing APPLE courses.

Our main office within the ES building is on the 2nd floor of the new building and you will find our Academic Chair Christine Smith, Faculty members Professors’ Therezita Ortiz, Brad Yourth, Nathan Heinze, Admin/Academic Services Specialist Judy Steeg, members of our Part-Time Faculty, as well as Ethics Faculty members.

 

 

Student expresses gratitude to Tammy Cappleman

Faculty

Contributing Writer

I’m writing to share that I was a student in Mrs. Tammy Cappleman’s first face to face class.(CGS 1070) which was held in the new ES building on the Clearwater Campus. First, the new ES building is beautiful and designed with great ease of use. Secondly, I’d like to say that Mrs. Cappelman did an excellent job. Teaching a class from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm to over 25 students on computers isn’t an easy task with everyone in the class being at a different comfort level with their computer experience. Mrs. Cappleman was able to keep the class in a constant learning flow as well as being able to assist those students needing her extra attention. Her sense of humor was greatly appreciated and her patience clearly showed her level of professionalism. I enjoyed this class and look forward to attending the second half of it this coming saturday. I was so impressed on how well Mrs. Cappleman presented the information in this class and her refreshing style of teaching, I just had to share it with you all in this well deserved compliment. I am requesting at this time that my compliment be printed out and placed in Mrs. Cappleman’s personnel file for future use upon her evaluation. Thank you for your time and also providing me with the avenue to express myself.

Brad Yourth gives an in-depth look at programming languages

computer programs

Contributing writer

Picking a Programming Language to Study

Students often ask me which programming language they should focus on for their careers. It’s an interesting question with no easy answer. My first response is often, “It depends,” because there are so many options.

 The Web

Students who want to focus on the Web can concentrate on Web design or Web development, or even better, both. Design students need to master HTML, CSS, and a graphics tool like PhotoShop. None of these are programming languages, so design is a good choice for students who like computers but don’t fancy coding. Web developers write server-side programs that typically interface with a database. Students with this interest should consider PHP, ASP.NET, C#, Java and SQL for working with databases. Both designers and developers should also learn JavaScript.

 Non-Web Programming

There are many general-purpose computer programming languages to consider. Good choices include C/C++, C#, Java, Visual Basic, Python, and Ruby. However, new programming languages are appearing regularly and staying aware of new developments is a career-long responsibility.

 Mobile Programming

This is a hot area and will continue to be so for some time. App developers are needed for Apple iOS, Android, and Windows Phone devices. Even BlackBerry, once thought to be dead in the water, is now coming back. iPhone apps are developed with the Objective-C language so students interested in this path should study the prerequisite, C++. An Apple computer is required, too. Android and BlackBerry apps are developed with Java. Students planning to develop Windows Phone 8 apps can prepare by studying .NET courses. There are also third-party development tools that can be used to create apps for all platforms. The best of these tools are not cheap.

 Programming Language Indexes

Several indices available online will interest both budding and seasoned programmers. These sites attempt to rank the popularity of programming languages based on web searches, and they don’t always agree on all scales. The monthly Tiobe Programming Community Index is accessible at http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.html.

 

Popularity of Programming Language index at https://sites.google.com/site/pydatalog/pypl/PyPL-PopularitY-of-Programming-Language.

From PYPL PopularitY of Programming Language index and the Transparent Language Popularity index can be viewed at http://lang-index.sourceforge.net/.

Popularity Index

Not Interested In Programming?

Students who enjoy working with computers but don’t like programming should investigate  the CCIT areas of study at http://www.spcollege.edu/Computer_and_Information_Technology_Areas/