Tech Alert #2: Tech Alert on Chapters 11 or 12 relating to software and cloud computing:
TA #2: Tech Alert on Software (Ch 11 or 12)
Chapter 11: Understanding Software or Chapter 12: Software in Flux
? Find an article that focuses on managerial advice or trends relating to Cloud Computing, Open Source Software, Service-Oriented Architecture (SoA), Enterprise systems, ERP, Software as a Service (SaaS), or;
? Look for an article that covers user interface design and/or trends/advances in the user interface (speech, gesture recognition, mobility, etc.), or;
? Find an article that discusses new system development or implementation in an organization–Success or Failure; or
? If you have participated in the implementation of a new information system deployment at work (even as an end-user), you can write up your experiences. No article is required if you choose this option, but the rest of the tech alert requirements must be followed (quote from text, etc.)
REQUIRED FORMAT & CONTENT OF TECH ALERTS
Technology alerts are one full-page (no more or less) memos addressed to the instructor. The focus should be to 1) introduce the article by first explaining why it is relevant to our chapter topic, 2) summarize the main points of the article, and 3) provide a ‘response’ to the article.
Unless otherwise specified, the source used should be an article published within the last 6 months from a credible source. Acceptable sources are published articles in magazines, newspapers, scholarly journals, or on-line publications. Company web sites, personal sites, blog entries, Wikipedia entries, etc. are not valid sources of information for this assignment. Do not use company press releases or product announcements. Rule of thumb: If you can’t find an article title, date when published, AND author name(s), then you are not looking at a suitable article for this assignment.
I recommend finding in-depth articles in business magazines or newspapers that focus on USE of technology rather than the technology itself. An appropriate article selection with clear relevance to the chapter content is required. The business databases available from www.sou.edu/library may be helpful. Another good option is to browse or search specific on-line IT/business publications – links to some of these are provided in Moodle.
The callouts on the following page highlight the format and content requirements for each tech alert.
Additional comments:
? Include at least one direct reference (quotation) from the assigned chapter of the text. This quote must be used to provide a logical connection from the textbook to the information in your article summary. Cite the quote properly (e.g. (Gallaugher, 2014, p. 123) or (Gallaugher, 2014, sec. 5.3) for e-book users) and use the format shown on the next page. Do not include our text under the memo heading where you will list the article citation that you found.
? Any text that comes straight from the article must also be in quotes. Because the memo is a summary of the article and you have given all the proper citation information in the first paragraph, you can cite the article within the text by referring to the article itself, the writer’s name. (See tech alert for example.)
? If you read terminology or see acronyms that you are unfamiliar with, look them up (in the book glossary or in an on-line computing dictionary), and include the definition in your write-up. If you don’t understand what you are writing about, that defeats the purpose of this assignment. Do not use an article you don’t understand – look for another.
? Conclude your memo with your own thoughts/comments. Do not provide new information from the article in this paragraph. This paragraph can include, but is not limited to:
o personal observations,
o your perception of the importance of the issue or your response to what you learned, or
o conclusions about how the information from the article supports or refutes information from the text, or from something you’ve learned in another class,
Identifying the source of your information: As shown in the example on the next page, use published articles and include the name of the article, the author, the date posted (not the date you accessed it), and the name of the journal, newspaper, or magazine. Do not identify the search engine (Google or the library database (EBSCO-Host) as the source of your article. Use the name of the publication itself.
The sample tech alert on the next page is an illustration of the content and format of a tech alert.
Please Note: the sample assignment uses a bullet format to summarize some points made in the article. Using bulleted points can be helpful, but this is not required. If you do use bulleted points, be sure that you provide a logical ‘introduction’ to the points, that each point corresponds with that introductory statement, and that the points you make are consistent in style, verb use, etc.

Carefully read through the tech alert requirements. Please realize that the notes in the ‘callouts’ on Page 3 of the Homework Handout are REQUIREMENTS, not suggestions. For this week’s assignment, find one or more articles that relate to the content covered in Chapters 11 or 12 in our text. Read the chapters BEFORE you look for articles and choose one of the following approaches:
Summarize recent ‘real-world’ examples that illustrate one or more of the topics presented in these chapters or find related articles that extend the book’s discussion on software of Cloud Computing, and/or;
Discuss or provide examples of some of the key terms shown in the book margins from Chapters 11 or 12.
Look at the discussion questions at the end of the chapter sections and find an article or two that helps you answer a question that is posed, or;
Follow-up on a specific case study that is presented in the text or find comparable examples. If you choose this option, you must focus on new information about the organization that is not included in the text.