natalie's+page

21 April 2009

A brief synopsis of my project... I decided to take a look at the Staff Selection process within our department (for which I am responsible for) through the lens of technology. Specifically, how we integrate it into the work that we do, where we have progressed from, and what we could consider for the future. I feel that we are doing fairly well in this endeavor, and was able to make a few recommendations that will be interesting to explore as well. I also chose this topic for my presentation because this process is what I do with most of my time during Spring semester; I wanted to take advantage of examining and reflecting during the process instead of after the fact.

Here are both the project itself (as it is a paper, not a technology you could explore) and my presentation...



I welcome any questions or feedback anyone has to offer. I've really enjoyed learning about your projects as well. Thanks! 16 March 2009

Spring Semester is the "season" of conferences in my job. I just returned from a conference that includes an element called "Placement." Placement is a venue/vehicle to post and find jobs. As an employer I am able to post job positions (for a fee) and buy a table to conduct interviews at. In the same manner, candidates who are looking for jobs are able to post thier resumes (again for a fee) and search the available postings. For your fee, you are able to search the databased created, pre-schedule interviews, and participate in the overall interview process. It sounds a bit complicated to read it, but it works fabulously.

This year I was particularly intentional to recognize how the process has changed over the past years I have been involved - as both a candidate and an employer. Back in 2002 when I was a grad student looking for my first job, I remember attending Placement with three copies of my resume specifically for "the books" where resumes were housed for employers to look through based on area of interest (housing, Greek life, student activities, etc). Now...with everything online, there are no more books. It is great! I was able to pre-schedule my days and ended up conducting 35 interviews in 2 1/2 days. It was quite busy, but I was able to take full advantage of the system/process and found some strong candidates for our positions.

Though I was particulary focused on the advances in technology and thier impact while participating, a comment from one of my interviewees, made me stop, think, and shift my focus a bit. At the end of his interview, a candidate told me he really appreciated that I phoned him to pre-schedule our interview rather than set it up via email. He thanked me for the personal touch and basically praised my customer service. I was a bit taken aback...in all honesty, I do it a bit for the customer service aspect, but also because it makes my life - and my scheduling - a lot easier. You can get a lot more done in less time by providing options in "real time" over the phone than by trading emails back and forth time and again. So...it was a good experience to be able to see how both the advances in technology and the "tried and true" methods both make our jobs easier and tasks more efficient. I am glad to have had this experience (and revelation) to incorporate into my project.

5 March 2009

It has been longer than I thought since I last posted. I have been doing a lot of thinking about my project - especially since the Resident Assistant part of our hiring process just ended - but have not put anything down on paper or in my journal. I plan to post more soon...I shared with Scot that I am a bit "behind on life" these days and am playing catch up much more that I usually do - slowly but surely, I'll be caught up soon.

I have been reading the journals of my collegues fairly regularly, but could not figure out how to post into the discussion until tonight, when it all made sense somehow. Here is what I observed...**Patti's** project is making much more sense to me with the "progress reports" she has posted as a Ning is a new venue for me and I was not quite sure how it worked, etc. I also like the photos - they helped me to put her project into perspective and gave some "real life" depth to it. Patti's project seems to be up and running well, which is encouraging...I look forward to updates. **Nancy's** wiki project to provide her disctrict a place for topical information helped a great deal of thoughts and questions come to mind for me. I had not thought of using a wiki as a public source of information (as I am very new at this technology as well) and it made me wonder how my campus could use this type of venue for resources and such as well. I also read about **Dave's** project which in which he is developing a Ning for a committee he is a part of. This is also a great resource that I can also see being used on my campus as well. Lots of great food for thought from my collegues. Good stuff! 21 February 2009

Here is my proposal for my project. I'd appreciate any thoughts anyone wants to share as well as ideas for uses of technology for the final project and/or presentation. Thanks!



I'm also rather exicted that I figured out how to insert this document here as I still feel "new" at using wikispaces. Thanks for the tutorial videos, Scot, they are really helpful! :) 17 March 2009

I have been struck recently by a TV commercial - something that does not happen often in the age of TiVo and DVRs. It showcases a little girl who has taken a picture of her fish, Dorothy, and wants to share it with her family. She downloads it, "fixes it" (makes the color definition better, etc), and emails it off to her Mom and Dad in a matter of simple clicks. The commercial ends her stating something to the effect of..."I'm Kylie, I just worked with a PC, and I'm four and a half." I think it's fabulous. I even re-wound and watched it again the first time I saw it. I'm impressed that it is so commonplace for children to learn and master technology at such an early age. I can remember running my Fisher Price record player at five years old...but nothing more high-tech than that comes to mind any earlier. It is great to see this type of learning highlighted in our society. 10 February 2009

Most of my workday today was filled with coordinating RA Interviews for 56 undergraduate students - to be completed by 15 staff members. Which works out to two staff members for each interview...for a grand total of 112 interview "spots" to be scheduled in an hour-long meeting. As the end of my day approached and I sent out emails to all 56 students and the staff I had a moment where I was overwhelmingly greatful for Excel and the ability to Mail Merge. I'm not sure I could do my job without these tools. Well...I know that I could, but it would have taken about five times longer than it took me, with a much greater margin for error. Blessings on the heads of the people who created these tools - I appreciate you!!! :) 6 February 2009

The conference I'm at has really put a great deal of effort into sustainability this year. Which seems to be very popular as of late, but is fabulous regardless of the "cool factor." :) Instead of giving out three-inch binders filled with copies of presentation slides as had been done in the past, this year we received a small bound booklet with a CD of presentations. I find this to be great because these presentations are much more usable in their electronic format, but I also miss somewhat have handouts for particular sessions to take notes on. I am someone who appreciates technology a great deal, but I also like the "pen and paper" approach to things like note taking too. For me, it's a balance of what helps me with the task at hand best, and how to best manage the resources I have. 4 February 2009

Greetings from Florida! I actually created this post yesterday but with flights, time changes and jet lag, I wasn't able to post it... I'm in Clearwater Beach for the Annual Association of Student Judicial Affairs (ASJA) Conference. During my flights and layover yesterday I found myself reflecting on the availability of technology that has become so pervasive...and was thankful. Had I had the time, I could have turned on my laptop in PDX and gotten free wireless internet - the same for the Denver airport. It just got me to thinking that how amazing the opportunities to use our technology are. It doesn't seem like that many years ago when no one had laptops, portable computers, blackberries, and the like to stay connected and make our work easier. 19 Jan 2009

Hello!

This is my first foray into this type of technology...my apprehension is coupled with a good dose of excitement, which I think will make for a good semester. I'm looking forward to the journey we are on together.

--Natalie