barrymp@buffalostate.edu                                                    Michael Barry                             http://ipa.buffalostate.edu/~mrb/courses

Computer Information Systems

Buffalo State College

 

 

Per activities and achievements associated with work efforts at IBM, Kodak, Xerox and Global Crossing I have written various infrastructure design documents and developed a technology integration model for supporting enterprise infrastructures. 

 

While with Buffalo State College I have focused on the use of e-learning products, course management web development, new course topics and research for dissertation objectives. A summary of these efforts are as follows:

 

  • Investigating the application of e-learning software as a compliment to formal lecture material.  I’ve used various SkillSoft course products while teaching     Data Communications, Operating Systems and my Systems Administration seminar.  This has produced a certificate of achievement award for one student and allowed seminar students to work with technical certification related material.

 

  • Developing a course management web page.   Based on a prototype built with McGraw-Hill resources, this is an alternative to commercial products such as Blackboard and WebCT.  It provides the instructor with a unique interface for organizing classroom material, course information and student interaction.  Currently, students can access lecture notes, assignments, project sheets, class announcements and submit sample test questions.  A registration program collects and records student information prior to allowing access to this material.  Information on professional enrichment activities is also provided for both the student and public communities.  Functionality being developed includes facilities that allow the student to change their account information, view their grade scores, submit assignment work and view sample test questions from an electronic database.  A utility for managing this system will be needed as a result of this effort.

 

  • Designing a seminar for Systems Administration and infrastructure support simulation lab.   This will provide the student with structured hands-on activities that will help develop skills needed to manage and support complex Enterprise IT infrastructures. Applied projects using Linux, Windows and Solaris/Intel operating systems will provide exposure to a variety of technical scenarios.  Additional discussion items include: The role and associated tasks of the System Administrator; Ethics and privacy issues associated with maintaining IT resources; the importance of developing and using communication, negotiation and leadership skills; an adaptive monitoring model for Enterprise IT support.  Technologies being used include:  Red Hat Linux Enterprise AS, Windows 2003/XP and Solaris8/Intel operating systems; Dell PowerEdge 500SC and 4300 server hardware; VMWARE 4.5 virtual machine software; Netgear VPN Firewall Router products.  This is based on the participation of five students who completed an independent study during the Fall 2004 semester.   There are seven students enrolled in the seminar for the Spring 2005 semester.  My goal is to prepare this topic for a CIS elective course.

 

  • As a result of my Systems Administration seminar work, I have started to prototype a network model for supporting a virtual academic research network. The objective is to provide an environment that faculty and students can conduct research and experiments using computing resources that are separate from administrative machines and applications.   It would encourage participation from alumni, various research organizations and interested civic organizations.  It attempts to utilize Virtual Private Network technologies that would also support the integration of home computer networks

 

  • The combination of my industry experience and scholarly effort has allowed me to develop academic IT philosophy statement that I believe is brings integrity to the learning process.

 

  • Current readings include:
    • Computing Information Technology:  The Human Side  Gordon, Steve ’03  ISBN: 1931777527
    • The Handbook of Information Systems Research   Whitman, Michael; Woszczynski, Amy B.  ’04  ISBN: 159140228X
    • Information Management:  Support Systems and Multimedia Technology  Ditsa, George  ’03  ISBN: 1931777411
    • Strategies for Managing Computer Software Upgrades  Shaw, Neal G. ’01  ISBN: 1930708041
    • Information Systems Evaluation Management  Grembergen, Wim Van  ’02  ISBN: 1931777187
    • Global Perspective of Information Technology Management  Tan, Felix  ‘0xx  ISBN: 193177711X
    • Advanced Topics in Information Resource Management Vol. 2  Khosrow-Pour, Mehdi  ’03  ISBN: 1591400627
    • Intelligent Support Systems Technology:  Knowledge Management  Sugumanan, Vijayan  ’02  ISBN:  1931777004
    • Business Strategies for Information Technology Management  Kangas, Kelle  ’03  ISBN: 1931777454
    • Knowledge and Information Technology Management: Human and Social Perspectives  Gunasekaran, Angappa  ’03  ISBN: 1591400325
    • Observing the User Experience:  A Practitioner’s Guide to User Research  Kuniavsky, Mike  ’03  ISBN: 1558609237
    • Systems Thinking, Systems Perspective  Checkland, Peter  ’99  ISBN: 0471986062
    • Research Methods:  A Step by Step Guide for Beginners  Kumar, R.  ’99  ISBN: 076196214X

 

  • Journal and Magazine interests:
    • Journal of Management Information Systems
    • MIS Quarterly
    • Communications of the ACM
    • Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce
    • Information Systems Frontiers
    • Encyclopedia of Infrastructure Systems
    • Decision Support Systems
    • eWEEK
    • NetworkWorld
    • The Rational Edge
    • BigAdmin Newsletter
    • Sun Expert Exchange
    • Red Hat Magazine
    • Ziff Davis Media eSeminars