The Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Department kicked off the first in a series of technology workshops on Friday, February 10th as part of the department’s newly implemented initiative called OPIM Innovate.

OPIM faculty member, Ryan O’Connor instructed the workshop, introducing the Linux operating system. The workshop focused on giving attendees a background on Linux and how to use it.

O’Connor went on to explain the different systems that operate on Linux, such as – research systems, gaming systems, Androids, supercomputers and point-of-sale machines. As for what makes Linux a superior operating system, O’Connor said it is more secure than Windows or Mac.

“Every Facebook post you make, every YouTube video you watch, every Google search you run, is done on Linux,” O’Connor said, quoting an article from ZDNet.

Because of this fact, Linux is important beyond just the information technology field, but in every day life, O’Connor said. The Internet would not run without the Linux system, he said.

When O’Connor asked the group if they had any experience using Linux in the past, many students responded to having some exposure to the software. One student admitted to using Linux for his every day needs for a year, giving up Windows and Mac programs. He said that through this experiment he found that the only thing he missed from other operating systems were the Microsoft Office programs. Other than that, he said Linux was very efficient.

Another student said that prior to the workshop he was aware of Linux. Alex, an engineering student, said he came to the workshop to gain more exposure and experience with the technology because he knows just how widely it is used.

To conclude the workshop, O’Connor gave students information on how to get up and running with Linux, using VirtualBox software.

Despite the snow from the day before, there were 22 students in attendance for the workshop, which took place in the OPIM Department’s Gladstein Lab. The majority of attendees registered in advance with a few students walking in.

The next workshop, an Introduction to SQL, will take place on Friday, February 24th in the Gladstein Lab. Interested individuals are encouraged to sign up ahead of time to secure a spot.

The final technology workshop for the Fall 2016 semester put on by the Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Department on Internet of Things (IoT) took place on Friday, December 2nd. Approximately 20 students attended the workshop in the Gladstein Lab.

Professor Ryan O’Connor gave an interactive presentation to the group, explaining IoT and how it is used in business. His goal was to make IoT technology tangible for students and to teach them more about how it applies to different areas of business.

According to O’Connor’s presentation, the concept of Internet of Things refers to the ever-growing network of physical objects that feature an IP address for internet connectivity, and the communication that occurs between these objects and other Internet-enabled devices and systems.

O’Connor said he became interested in IoT because he is involved in network design and application. He used the Amazon Echo named Alexa as an example of IoT technology during his presentation.  Using voice commands, Alexa controlled other devices in the room through Internet connectivity. Other devices shown were the Awair air monitoring system, Flower Power plant sensor, and LIFX smart light bulbs.

Students in attendance were impressed with the presentation and many said they learned many things about IoT in such a short time. One student said he was very interested in the presentation and wanted to continue exploring IoT after the workshop. He said that O’Connor’s presentation was extremely informative and sparked his interest in the topic even further.

When asked why IoT technology is so important, O’Connor answered simply, “Because it’s the future!”

The Dean’s Office at the UConn School of Business sponsored a workshop on Tableau data visualization software for students in the Business Connections Learning Center (BCLC). The two-hour workshop took place on the morning of Thursday, December 1st, with 20 students in attendance, the majority of whom were freshmen.The workshop was co-taught by two faculty members in the Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Department – Jon Moore and Ryan O’Connor.

The purpose of the workshop was to introduce freshmen and sophomore undergraduate students to data analytics technology and data visualization. The workshop allowed students to learn more about the Management Information Systems (MIS) major and potentially spark their interests in the subject.

The instructors walked students through basic data visualization on the Tableau software and allowed students to experiment with different data sets. The workshop finished with an open-ended problem that asked students to find different stock price data sets and visualize them. The goal was to allow students to visualize and connect the data sets to real world business problems.

Moore said that the workshop allowed students to learn more about how to use technology in their respective majors. A variety of majors were represented, including MIS, Marketing, Accounting and Finance.

The event was voluntary and Moore was pleased with the turn out. He said that it was very rewarding to see the amount of students that expressed interest in the subject. Following the workshop, O’Connor gave students resources to learn more about Tableau going forward.

The latest in a series of technology workshops being held by UConn’s Operations and Information Management (OPIM) Department focused on Splunk Analytics. The workshop took place in the Gladstein Lab on Friday, November 11th. Twenty students attended the workshop to learn more about real-time data analytics using the Splunk platform.

The majority of students in attendance were Management Information Systems (MIS) majors, with a few other majors within the School of Business. An accounting major at the workshop said that he was interested in gaining a better understanding of Splunk because he said it is imperative to being competitive in all aspects of the business world.

Professor Jon Moore, the organizer of the technology workshops, opened up with a brief discussion about why the department is conducting the workshops. He said it is a part of a new initiative called OPIM Innovate. The initiative focuses on creating innovation space, fostering research and providing workshops to students and faculty at the university.

Ryan O’Connor, an instructor in the OPIM Department, took over and gave a presentation about the different features and uses of Splunk Analytics, along with an interactive demonstration. O’Connor said that Splunk is used in most Information Technology  companies for troubleshooting. He said that it has other uses, such as for Big Data Analytics, Data Mining, and Data Security Intelligence. O’Connor called Splunk the “Google of querying data.” He said Splunk allows users to not have to be as specific when searching for data. “I like how versatile it is and how it allows for transparency in IT organizations,” Any student interested in taking Splunk Analytics classes online should email Ryan O’Connor at ryan.oconnor@uconn.edu.

The next workshop will be taking place on Friday, December 2nd with a focus on Internet of Things technology. Students interested in attending can register here to guarantee a spot in the workshop.

Our third workshop of the semester is an introduction to data analysis with the Splunk platform next Friday, November 11^th. Please visit the OPIM site for a full list of workshops and their dates. All workshops are capped at 20 people so please make sure to register on the site ahead of time.  Over the course of the fall semester we plan to have the following:

• Virtual Reality Demo – (New) overview of the different levels of VR and hands-on experience (Completed)
• Intro to 3D Printing – repeat of last semester, was very popular so we are offering it again (Completed)
• Splunk Analytics – (New), introduction to the network analytics software Splunk (Register Now)
• Internet Of Things – (New), real time data analytics using smart devices (Register Now)