And that’s a wrap! Thank you, Clark College Business Web Practices speakers!

I’m very thankful for all of the guest speakers who took time from their busy schedules to spend a few hours talking with students in the Business Web Practices class at Clark College. Each of you made an impact on each and every student, which I know they really appreciated.

  • Aaron Hockley: Photography & WordCamp Speaker
  • Peter Ramsing: Software Developer and Project Leader Veelo
  • Jane Croft: Quality Assurance Senior Analyst/Manager, Anthem
  • Callie Carroll: User Experience (UX) Researcher
  • Dave Barcos: Founder – The Bridge Incubator
  • Christine Watson: Project Manager, Formations Design Group, LLC
  • Fellene Gaylord: Creative in Chief at Sirius Media LLC and Adjunct Professor at Clark College
  • Cheryl Bledsoe: Technology & Accreditation Manager at Clackamas County Communications
  • Jason Wright: Chief Operations Officers, Webfor
  • Dale Chumbley: Realtor and Social Media Pioneer, Real Living Real Estate
  • Adriana Vela: MarketTecNexus, Founder
  • Eliza Greenwood: Freelance Digital Marketer, ESODAS, LLC
  • Sophie Banner: Mission Marketer // Communications Specialist // Creative Strategist, City of Vancouver

Learn more about the speakers and watch videos of their talks.

Also, a big shout out to Tim Cook, Adam Coleman, Chris Martin, Arlo Petersen, William Hafer, Fellene Gaylord, Helen Martin and Robert Hughes for their continued support and encouragement throughout my teaching journey.

Where to Find Bruce at Clark College – Fall 2017

Mondays and Wednesdays

  • 10:30 AM – 12:50 PM CTEC 112 in SHL 125
  • 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM Office Hours in SHL 127
  • 4:00 PM – 5:50 PM CTEC 165 in SHL 125 on Mondays and Foster Auditorium on Wednesdays

Tuesdays and Thursdays

  • 10:45 AM – 11:30 AM Office Hours in SHL 127
  • 11:30 AM – 1:50 PM CTEC 121 in SHL 125
  • 2:00 PM – 3:50 PM CTEC 122 in SHL 125

Course No. Key

CTEC 112 – Programming Essentials
CTEC 121 – Intro to Programming & Problem Solving
CTEC 122 – HTML Fundamentals
CTEC 165 – Business Web Practices

VanTalks – How We Work: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence in the 21st Century

Here’s a video of my talk at the Vantalks 2017 event held in Vancouver, Washington on May 24, 2017.


About Bruce Elgort

You’ll find this technology professor – an award-winning instructor at Clark College – working hard to inspire and challenge his students with meaningful web development and programming experiences. With a skinny vanilla latte (no foam) in hand, Bruce loves to tinker and test the boundaries of existing and emerging technologies, to then guide hungry minds through memorable, educational journeys to showcase with passion the ever-evolving innovations of society. An industry leader, Bruce is known for co-developing Elguji’s IdeaJam software, and is recognized by IBM as an ‘IBM Champion’ for being an innovative thought leader in cloud technologies.

What to do when things go wrong

This epside of the Getting to Work Podcast truly resonated with me. Chris Martin interviews Micah Godbolt, author of “Frontend Architecture for Design Systems, A Modern Blueprint for Scalable and Sustainable Websites” in this 30 minute podcast.

I can still remember the first time I met Micah Godbolt: We were at a coffee shop talking about the web and the struggles we were both going through at that time. Since then, Micah has consistently worked his way up from web newbie to writing a book about web development, Frontend Architecture for Design Systems.

In this special interview episode of Getting Work To Work, I spend some time with Micah talking about what to do when things go wrong. In Micah’s case, what he learned from getting fired from a job several years ago. We also talk about why you should have respect for the hard work that goes into something that may not be perfect, the importance of humility, and how to learn from your mistakes in a way that can springboard you into successful projects.

I look up to Micah in many ways and how he strives to move the development community forward is inspirational. I hope you enjoy this interview with Micah Godbolt.

 

Online Interviewing Using Zoom and Skype Pro Tips

  1. Use the Skype Echo / Sound Test Service to test out your audio prior to your schedule interview.
  2. Remove any visual distractions that may focus attention away from you in the background.
  3. Have good lighting in the room so that the people interviewing you can see you.
  4. Angle your webcam so it shows your face dead-on.
  5. Limit tapping, movement and other things that may cause audio distractions.
  6. Remove pets from the room.
  7. Remove pets from the room next to the room you are interviewing in.
  8. Try and not use Wifi. Use an Ethernet connection.
  9. Use a good quality headset with a microphone.
  10. Silence your smartphone and other devices.
  11. Turn off all the alerts on your smartphone, and other devices.
  12. Mute any digital assistants in your home.
  13. Check the batteries in your mouse/keyboard and make sure they aren’t running low.
  14. Close all of the other applications running on your computer.
  15. Turn off notifications or other pop-ups or anything else that may be disruptive.
  16. If you are interviewing from a bedroom, make sure that your bed is made and the room is neat.
  17. Have a test call with a friend prior to your interview to check items 1-16 above. If you have no friends, call me.

Please come see me speak at VanTalks 2017!

I’m happy to announce that I will be one of the 8 speakers at this years VanTalks event being held on May 24th, 2017 at the Kiggins Theater located in Vancouver, Washington. The title of my talk is “How We Work: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence in the 21st Century”.

Tickets for the event are $15 and can be purchased online at http://vantalks.org.

I hope to see you there!

Here’s a bit more about me:

You’ll find this technology professor – an award-winning instructor at Clark College – working hard to inspire and challenge his students with meaningful web development and programming experiences. With a skinny vanilla latte (no foam) in hand, Bruce loves to tinker and test the boundaries of existing and emerging technologies, to then guide hungry minds through memorable, educational journeys to showcase with passion the ever-evolving innovations of society. An industry leader, Bruce is known for co-developing Elguji’s IdeaJam software, and is recognized by IBM as an ‘IBM Champion’ for being an innovative thought leader in cloud technologies.

 

 

Amazon Alexa Meets IBM Domino

I had the honor of becoming a contributor for the outstanding NotesIn9 Video Podcast produced by David Leedy. In this show, I demonstrate how I built and Amazon Alexa Skill for the IBM Domino based IdeaJam app. If you have any questions, please let me know. I would be more than happy to answer them! Thank you, David, for having me on. More videos on building Alexa Skills coming soon.

That Makes 10 Microsoft MTA’s

Today I completed my tenth Microsoft Certified Technology Associate (MTA) exam. The test was the “Mobility and Devices Fundamentals (Exam 98-368). This exam focussed on the following:

  • Understand device configurations
  • Understand data access and management
  • Understand device security
  • Understand cloud services
  • Understand enterprise mobility

Here is a list of the MTA’s that I have completed:

  1. Microsoft Technology Associate: Mobility and Devices Fundamentals (February 9, 2017)
  2. Microsoft Technology Associate: Cloud Fundamentals (June 1, 2016)
  3. Microsoft Technology Associate: Windows Server Administration Fundamentals (January 15, 2015)
  4. Microsoft Technology Associate: HTML5 Application Development Fundamentals, July 17, 2014
  5. Microsoft Technology Associate: Networking Fundamentals, June 18, 2014
  6. Microsoft Technology Associate: Security Fundamentals, June 11, 2014
  7. Microsoft Technology Associate: Database Administration Fundamentals, June 09, 2014
  8. Microsoft Technology Associate: Web Development Fundamentals, June 09, 2014
  9. Microsoft Technology Associate: Windows Operating System Fundamentals, June 04, 2014
  10. Microsoft Technology Associate: Software Development Fundamentals, February 25, 2014