Sunday, April 24, 2011

The BDPA Insider - April 24, 2011


 
The BDPA Insider - April 24, 2011

What better way to start the day than with your weekly message from BDPA!

In this issue:
First Annual BDPA IT-oLogy Scholarship Awarded to Charlotte High School Student
How Compuware Helps BDPA Detroit Help Young Programmers
Message from BDPA Los Angeles Chapter President
Take Five: Wanda Gray (BDPA Cincinnati)
Tech jobs boom like it's 1999
Nominations Open for 2011 Black Weblog Awards (Apr 18 - May 7)
2011 National BDPA Conference Registration Now Open

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BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) and the Consortium for Enterprise Systems Management awarded the first annual BDPA IT-oLogy scholarship to Jerron Jamerson.

Jamerson was selected based on the quality of his application, essay and letters of recommendation. In his essay, Jerron wrote, “Continuous advances in computer science have helped to make business processes more efficient and technology more cost effective for consumers, while computer applications become more and more user-friendly.” Jamerson, a senior at Phillip O’Berry Academy in Charlotte, North Carolina, plans use this one-time $2,000 scholarship to study Computer Science at South Carolina State University.

The scholarship was offered to student members of National BDPA. Applicants had to excel academically, show exceptional leadership potential and make an impact on their communities through service to others. Applicants had to be high school seniors from South Carolina or North Carolina or planning to attend a college in either of these two states. 

Click here for more:

by Compuware “Community Clicks”
For more than 20 years, Compuware has been a major supporter of Black Data Processing Associates, and especially the organization’s National High School Computer Competition.

Founded in 1975, BDPA is a national non-profit organization of minority professionals working in the computer science and information technology fields. There are 40 active chapters, including BDPA Detroit, which is committed to delivering IT excellence to its members, strategic partners and community.
Developing the talents of young people is a priority for Anquanette Clegg, a Compuware Service Delivery Group project manager and also the company’s national liaison for BDPA Detroit.

Developing the talents of young people is a priority for Anquanette Clegg, a Compuware Service Delivery Group project manager and also the company’s national liaison for BDPA Detroit.

Click here for more:

Dear Members,

Tired of wondering which platform is the BEST? We finally settle the argument! Whether you have a smart phone, tablet, or are in the market for one; we invite you to join us for this month's program meeting, 'Apple iOS vs. Google Android: Mobility Smackdown' taking place on Tuesday, May 3, 2011.

Each month we celebrate the talents and services of our most exceptional members. This month, we recognize Temitope Sonuyi, our High School Computer Competition Lead Instructor.

Click here for more:

by Wayne Hicks, BDPA Foundation
I've known BDPA Cincinnati chapter president Wanda Gray for a number of years. She was gracious enough to serve as the chapter's VP-Membership Management back when I was its chapter president. Our chapter had the 2nd-largest number of members in the nation during her tenure. Later I worked with Wanda when she was opening up a soul food restaurant and a IT consultancy.

I anticipate great things happening under her leadership as BDPA Cincinnati chapter president. I'm grateful that she agreed to participate in our ongoing Take Five interview series.

Click here for more:

by Jon Swartz, USA TODAY
SAN FRANCISCO — Some 20 recruiters sized up Scott Mersy as they would a star high school running back. But instead of timing his 40-yard dash or checking his percentage of body fat, they were interested in his stats in cloud computing and online marketing.

Prospective employers from Silicon Valley to New York lined up for the 5-foot-11 225-pound Mersy, who weighed offers from several of them before settling on Service-now.com, a cloud-computing company in San Diego.

“It’s as close as I’ll ever get to feeling like an athlete of any sort,” Mersy, 40, says, laughing. He joined as senior director of customer acquisition and industry marketing in February.

Click here for more:

by Wayne Hicks, BDPA Foundation
We want to encourage all of our blog readers to take a moment to support the 2011 Black Weblog Awards.  You have the ability to nominate your favorite blogs about any and every topic.  The nomination service is open through May 7th.  Not only do we want you to make nominations ... but, we hope that you will spread the word about this online award program to others in your sphere of influence.

Nominations:
  • Nominations are open from April 18 - May 7
  • The official Nomination site is here.
  • You provide the web address (URL) for your favorite blog in each category as well as your name and email address on the nomination form and that's it.
  • There are 37 categories.

Voting:
  • Finalists will be announced the week of May 15
  • Online voting commences May 16 – June 17. 
  • Again, you will need to cast your vote (your valid email address will confirm you are a person and not a bot).

Winners will be announced live at the Black Weblog Awards Ceremony during the 2011 Blogging While Brown Conference in Los Angeles, California.

Click here for more:

Please accept our invitation to join us in the City of the Big Shoulders by registering for the 33rd Annual National BDPA Conference, August 3-6, 2011 at the Hilton Chicago.

Early bird registration for $350 now open!

Click here to register for the 2011 National BDPA Conference today!



Hilton Chicago
720 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60603

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PS: Please share this information with your friends, co-workers, church members, etc so that they can help us pass the word. The key is that we must share what we know with others so we can all grow and prosper.



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Saturday, April 23, 2011

Call for BUSINESS CONSULTANT Volunteers

The lone visionary, solitary architect of innovation laboring reclusively in his ivory tower, removed from the distractions of society and sustained by inner inspiration alone…we’ve all seen this character in film and legend. He doesn’t exist. He is a myth, a fabrication of the scroll and screen. The truth is that every great invention, significant innovation, or worthwhile accomplishment owes its birth and existence to the nutritive process of collaboration.

--Flash Foresight: How to See the Invisible and Do the Impossible by Daniel Burrus

Call for BUSINESS CONSULTANT Volunteers

Summary

The office of the BDPA CIO is looking for volunteers willing to commit to working in a team environment to assist with upcoming projects. There is an immediate need for a Business Consultant to conduct a strategic alliance analysis with CompTIA.

About CompTIA: CompTIA is the voice of the world's information technology (IT) industry. As a non-profit trade association advancing the global interests of IT professionals and companies, we focus our programs on four main areas: education, certification, advocacy and philanthropy.

CompTIA Certifications
CompTIA A+
CompTIA Network+
CompTIA Security+
CompTIA Server+
CompTIA Linux+ Powered by LPI
CompTIA PDI+
CompTIA RFID+
CompTIA CTP+
CompTIA CTT+
CompTIA CDIA+
CompTIA Project+

Reports to: National BDPA CIO

Location: Chicago Area

Primary Responsibilities

  • Attend CompTIA headquarters with CIO to understand and document partnership opportunities
  • Assist in knowledge sharing and researching ideas for assigned Information Technology projects
  • Assess time commitment for project tasks.
  • Inform project team management on time commitment to project.
  • Attend team meetings and report status on project assignments.
  • Perform assigned duties and drive assigned tasks to completion                       
           
Knowledge Skills and Requirements

·         Undergraduate (BS) or graduate degree (MS or MBA) in Business Information Systems or other related field.
·         Knowledge of Information Technology, with willingness and desire to learn.
·         Demonstrated analytical, problem-solving, organizational, interpersonal, communication skills and solid Microsoft Suite skills required.
·         Excellent written/verbal communications and collaboration skills.
·         Ability to work within the constraints of the project
·         Flexibility with project changes and constraints.
·         Must be available during the day to meet with CompTIA at their headquarters in Downers Grove, IL
·         Volunteers must provide their own transportation.


Benefits

  • Help determine the value of CompTIA certifications for advancing IT careers in today’s tough economy
  • Learn about CompTIA certifications to pick a certification that’s right for you.
  • Gain access to CompTIA educational material.
  • Earn hours leading and directing projects and BA work experience to meet PMI and IIBA professional certification requirements
  • Working in team environment to produce desired goals
  • Providing support to organization that cares about people.
  • Enhance your resume with new tools and experience.     

To apply:

Send 1) resume, 2) link to LinkedIn profile, 3) link to Facebook profile to:

Milt Haynes, CIO
National BDPA


Note: This is an unpaid volunteer assignment. Applicants are expected to donate a minimum of 10-15 hours of their time with no compensation.




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Sunday, April 17, 2011

The BDPA Insider - April 17, 2011


 
The BDPA Insider - April 17, 2011

What better way to start the day than with your weekly message from BDPA!

In this issue:
Member on the Move: Coram Rimes (BDPA New Jersey)
Bemley Scholar James Arama Heads to Marist College
BETF Blog Take Five: Dalric Webb (Cincinnati)
Computer Resource Solutions Changes Identity to The CRS Group
Record-breaking Microsoft patch day affects all versions of Windows
2011 National BDPA Conference Registration Now Open

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BDPA New Jersey chapter past president Coram Rimes serves as commissioner for the Orange (NJ) Housing Authority. He was recently recognized by the National League of Cities (NLC) for reaching the Platinum level in its Certificate of Achievement in Leadership program. This is a certification level reached by only a few NLC members since its inception in 1999.

NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans. As part of the NLC mission to create stronger communities, the Leadership Training Institute provides local officials, like Coram, with the professional development opportunities to assist then in promoting positive change and innovation within their communities. At the same time, seminars are designed to explore the nature and practice of local governmental leadership.

Click here for more:

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is proud to learn that 2-time national BDPA High School Computer Competition (HSCC) champion James Arama is using his Jesse Bemley Scholarship to help fund his freshman year at Marist College. James is studying computer science and software development at Marist College, as well as applying his knowledge to his own entrepreneurial venture.

We asked James to share his thoughts about his experiences as a member of the BDPA Southern Minnesota chapter.

Click here for more:

There are many members, officers and leaders around the country who are volunteering their time, talent and energy to support the growth of BDPA. This blog plans to take some time to ask these folks about their thoughts about past, present and future of BDPA.


Dalric Webb, an Engineering Information Technology manager at GE Aviation, recently joined the leadership team of BDPA Cincinnati as the chapter's VP-Membership Management. Dalric is an MCSE+I and received his undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Hampton University, his Masters in Information Technology from Capella University, and his MBA with a concentration in Information Management from Grantham University. BDPA expects Dalric to provide the leadership and inspiration necessary to grow the membership of a chapter with a rich BDPA history.

Dalric shared some of his thoughts on BDPA with us in the following Take Five interview.

Click here for more:

Computer Resource Solutions has changed its corporate identity to The CRS Group.  This change coincides with the development of several new and enhanced service offerings and capabilities of the firm, which will have a name that embraces a more global service offering.

CRS is also committed to enhancing the education of youth within the technology spectrum and has partnered with a variety of community organizations to support their goals. In addition to being involved in such organizations, CRS has been a proud sponsor of BDPA Chicago for their various initiatives for over 15 years. CRS employees are also active members of BDPA Chicago's Corporate Advisory Council.

Click here for more:

BDPA Detroit TAC
By Microsoft Subnet

As expected, Microsoft released a record-breaking, massive number of patches today that affects all versions of Windows and Office -- including its cloud apps -- and addresses some long-standing holes that hackers have been exploiting in the wild.

By the numbers: 17 security bulletins fix a whopping 64 holes. These include nine critical patches and eight important. Of the critical patches, five of them have the highest "exploitability index" rating of 1, meaning that the risk of attack is high and the impact of being pwned is also high. Today's Patch Tuesday is a record-breaker in the number of holes fixed. In December, 2010, Microsoft released 17 patches, too, but these fixed a total of 40 holes.

Affected software runs the gamut. There are patches for all supported versions of Windows, including XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and even the non-GUI WS2008 Server Core version.

Click here for more:

Please accept our invitation to join us in the City of the Big Shoulders by registering for the 33rd Annual National BDPA Conference, August 3-6, 2011 at the Hilton Chicago.

Early bird registration for $350 now open!

Click here to register for the 2011 National BDPA Conference today!



Hilton Chicago
720 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60603

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 Contact the BDPA Social Networking Team: socialnetworking@bdpa.org

PS: Please share this information with your friends, co-workers, church members, etc so that they can help us pass the word. The key is that we must share what we know with others so we can all grow and prosper.



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Sunday, April 10, 2011

The BDPA Insider - April 10, 2011


 
The BDPA Insider - April 10, 2011

What better way to start the day than with your weekly message from BDPA!

In this issue:
BDPA in the News – BusinessWire Article on Earl Pace
Message from New York Chapter President
Seeking TECHie Camp Instructors in Cincinnati, Dallas, Philadelphia and Washington DC
Blacks at Microsoft (BAM) Seeks Applications for $5,000 College Scholarship
2011 National BDPA Conference Registration Now Open

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IT Hall of Fame Inductions Highlight Final Day of CompTIA Annual Member Meeting. Induction of the Class of 2011 into the IT Industry Hall of Fame and educational sessions on opportunities for technology companies in healthcare IT, security and cloud computing highlighted day two of the second CompTIA Annual Member Meeting here this week. The new IT Hall of Fame Class inducted Thursday includes the late Phil Katz, creator of the .ZIP file format, and Earl Pace, co-founder of Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA). Both men were inducted into the IT Innovators Wing of the hall.

Pace guided the expansion of BDPA’s activities from a Philadelphia-based organization to a national initiative. Today, BDPA is the largest U.S. professional organization representing minorities in the IT industry. Pace continues to promote the mission of BDPA, telling meeting attendees the organization “gives underserved youth the soft skills and expertise needed to move up in IT industry.”

Click here for more:

Dear Members,

We are looking for volunteers to assist with the following events. You will have the opportunity to assist the chapter and to network with BDPA members and other professionals.
Events

Urban Network's - No Limits Career Day
Date: Saturday, April 9, 2011
Time: 8:30 pm - 3:00pm
  • Career Table Volunteers (Shifts available)
  • Workshop - "A Future Career as a Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Professional"
  • Moderator and Panelist Needed
  • Concurrent Sessions I: 9:45-10:45; II: 11:00-12:00

Scholarships Awards and Dinner Chairperson
Date: Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Time: 5:00pm - 8:00pm
Theme: "Using STEM to Innovate our Future"
Location: UBS
Duties: Coordinate all aspects of the Dinner - publicity, tickets, awards and journal. 

Board Positions

Would you like to share your gifts and talents on the BDPA NY Board?  The following positions need to be filled Recording Secretary, Fundraising and Publicity Chairpersons.

Click here for more:

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) has been working with Tech Corps to see if we could encourage local BDPA chapters to expand their STEM-based training to include elementary- and middle-school students.    Our planning has reached the point that we are now ready to interview and hire instructors willing to work with these 3rd-8th grade students.

There is a wonderful opportunity for our BDPA members who are unemployed, underemployed ... or for those of you that are consultants open to a quick 1-week contract opportunity ... or for those of you that are college students seeking summer employment opportunity.

Click here for more:

It’s our pleasure to announce the availability of the Blacks at Microsoft (BAM) scholarship for the 2011/12 academic year.  

This year, BAM will award two $5,000 scholarships to outstanding high-school seniors, who are interested in pursuing careers in technology. The scholarships are renewable, so winners who continue to meet the criteria can receive an annual $5,000 award for up to four years.  We encourage you to please share this opportunity with your network.

Scholarship Details
  • Support Period - Academic Year 2011 - 2012
  • Application Due - 05/01/2011
  • Anticipated Award Notification - 05/31/2011
  • Awards - 2 scholarships will be awarded ($5,000 per person)
  • Application Method - Apply electronically via the Washington Scholarship Coalition
  • Renewable - Yes. This scholarship is renewable for up to a total of 4 years, provided the student continues to meet the scholarship criteria of a 3.3 GPA each year.

Click here for more:

Please accept our invitation to join us in the City of the Big Shoulders by registering for the 33rd Annual National BDPA Conference, August 3-6, 2011 at the Hilton Chicago.

Early bird registration for $350 now open!

Click here to register for the 2011 National BDPA Conference today!



Hilton Chicago
720 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60603

Subscribe to the BDPA Foundation Blog via email: http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=649683
 
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This message has been brought to you by the BDPA Social Networking Team:  http://www.bdpa.org/?page=BDPA_SNet

 Contact the BDPA Social Networking Team: socialnetworking@bdpa.org

PS: Please share this information with your friends, co-workers, church members, etc so that they can help us pass the word. The key is that we must share what we know with others so we can all grow and prosper.



Join The Blacks Gone Geek Community http://blacksgonegeek.org/JoinTheBlacksGoneGeekCommunity.aspx

Sunday, April 3, 2011

The BDPA Insider - April 3, 2011


 
The BDPA Insider - April 3, 2011

What better way to start the day than with your weekly message from BDPA!

In this issue:  
BDPA Founder Earl Pace Named to CompTIA Hall of Fame 
Oracle Scholarship Winner in Baton Rouge 
High School Computer Competition class back in effect 
 
Click here for the latest issue of "The BDPA Insider":
 
Click here for "The BDPA Insider" Archives:

 
Earl Pace is the newest member of the Information Technology (IT) Hall of Fame administered by CompTIA. Earl's selection into the IT Hall of Fame is a result of his visionary leadership that resulted in racial diversity within the IT industry.

Previous inductees into this IT Hall of Fame include Michael Dell (Dell), Bill Gates (Microsoft) and Steve Jobs (Apple).

In addition to Earl, the IT Hall of Fame Class of 2011 includes the late Phil Katz, creator of the .ZIP file format, and the CompTIA A+ Originators, the group that guided the development of CompTIA A+ certification, which has become the de facto industry standard benchmark for core skills and knowledge required of entry-level IT workers.

Click here for more:

BDPA recently announced that 11 students from around the nation were BDPA/Oracle Scholarship winners this year. Melvin Givens, a BDPA Baton Rouge student member, is one of those scholarship winners.
 
Melvin is an active participant in the BDPA Baton Rouge computer training class. In fact, during the summer of 2010, he became one of the youngest people in the state of Louisiana to to earn his A+ Certification as a Computer Technician.

Melvin began on his list of impressive achievements at a young age. He began playing soccer at age 7, and continues to do so. At age 8, he won the state wrestling championship. He received multiple football awards during his school football career, which began in 2nd grade and continued until he opted to retire after his junior year to focus more on academics. 

Click here for more:

Posted by Ricardo Wilkins
 
We’re back again with another year of the BDPA High School Computer Competition.  We’ve got some new students as well as our returning students, and we’re already well on our way to getting up to speed on web application development! Thanx to Devry University for donating space in their facilities for our class. 

In our classes, we learn web app development using Microsoft’s Visual Studio Web Developer Express tool – basically, a light version of the same industry-standard integrated development environment (IDE) that many .NET professionals like myself use every day.  Today we took it kind of slow and eased into learning about tags in both XML and HTML.  In fact, the students learned how to categorize the songs in their MP3 collection (they looked at me a little funny when I first tried to get them to categorize their CD collection – remember those shiny discs we used to slide into our stereos?)  Not only did I help them see how to represent their music in XML, but they helped me learn the titles of some of the hot new songs that ‘the young folks’ are listening to these days. :) (says the mid-30’s out-of-touch computer geek).

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Where are Blacks in Technology? – by Kai Dupe
When I was a student at Pepperdine University I became familiar with the work of James Paul Gee.

Gee had written a book entitled What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy.  I must admit at first glance I was not interested in reading this book because I had a biased view of gaming.

My idea was that the games were meaningless.  I hated the violence and I was of the opinion that these games had no redeeming value.  I was wrong.

Not only did I learn plenty from reading this book, but I also began to view video games and online environments such as Second Life through a different lens.  I was introduced to Gee's work in early 2006.  Of course, since then video games have exploded and most computer science programs now have a degree for Game Development.

Click here for more:

Posted by Ricardo Wilkins
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(images courtesy of Simple Mobile Review)
I read an article about digital ink recently over at Simple Mobile Review.  I think they did a great job of comparing the handwriting features of Windows compared to some of those other ‘tablets’. ; )  In fact, they included two images that I think do a pretty good job summing up the comparison:

Click here for more:

Please accept our invitation to join us in the City of the Big Shoulders by registering for the 33rd Annual National BDPA Conference, August 3-6, 2011 at the Hilton Chicago.

Early bird registration for $350 now open!

Click here to register for the 2011 National BDPA Conference today!



Hilton Chicago
720 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60603

Subscribe to the BDPA Foundation Blog via email: http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=649683
 
Subscribe to the BDPA Community Blog: http://bdpa.site-ym.com/members/blog_view.asp?id=637492

Subscribe to Blacks Gone Geek Blog via email:

Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/BDPA

Find the buzz on Twitter BDPA: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=BDPA

This message has been brought to you by the BDPA Social Networking Team:  http://www.bdpa.org/?page=BDPA_SNet

 Contact the BDPA Social Networking Team: socialnetworking@bdpa.org

PS: Please share this information with your friends, co-workers, church members, etc so that they can help us pass the word. The key is that we must share what we know with others so we can all grow and prosper.




Join The Blacks Gone Geek Community http://blacksgonegeek.org/JoinTheBlacksGoneGeekCommunity.aspx