The semester is over and it is time to tie up loose ends. Final examinations and papers have been turned in. The only item left is to write a final blog post for UAPP 689! With that note, let's get a-bloggin'!
The Information Technology Skills for Planning and Administration course has been a relatively informative experience. Before starting the course, I had assumed that this class would concentrate on the use of technology in the public sector, broadly interpreted. From my perspective, I was thinking of technology as a production and measurement tool. For example, using computers and software to produce presentations. Also, the use of technology to measure data to better inform decision making (i.e. real time traffic counters).
Instead, this course concentrated on the communication aspect of technology. Throughout the course we discussed various ways that technology can be used to improve communication to and from the stakeholders affected by a particular public or non-profit agency. Different social media tools and their applications were a major focus of the course. Through the use of group projects, individual assignments, lectures and readings we were able to discover and discuss social media applications from both a theoretical and real world standpoint. The use of social media for communication was the most important lesson that I learned from this course.
My generation grew up with the computer. American Online, BuddyChat, AngelFire Websites, Xanga, MySpace, Facebook and Twitter are all phenomenons that my generation experienced. I did not use all of these online "tools", but I am certainly an avid Facebook user and a former MySpace user. To me, these websites were just ways to connect with friends and family. I did not see any more value in these websites.
The topics we discussed in this course, in tandem with the research I am conducting with the Institute for Public Administration, have enlightened me to the importance of social media tools in the public sector. As an aspiring transportation planner, social media tools will be especially useful. For example, Facebook and Twitter could be used to inform local transportation users of road construction and traffic jams. These same tools can be used to inform public stakeholders of meetings, workshops, policy changes or a myriad of other important events.
The theories and real world applications discussed in this course will be invaluable to me in the years to come.
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