TechSpec

Designer Sophia Prater calls herself “the evangelist of object-oriented UX.” Here, she explains what that means—and why she loves sharing her methodology with students

Sophia Prater is a designer, mentor, consultant, coach, and teacher. Since 2013, she’s been the driving force behind “object-oriented UX,” calling herself an “evangelist” for the methodology, and offering workshops and certifications in it. This summer, she offered a free online workshop to Touro Graduate School of Technology students, and here, she talks about what object-oriented UX means, what she hopes to teach her students, and the defining experience that changed her thinking about UX.

Topics: Insider, WMM, MSIS, ITP, Career, UX/UI Design, Object-Oriented Design, Workshop, responsive, UX research

Dimitris Papathomopoulos explains why cloud computing has emerged as the go-to technology — and what IT professionals need to know about it.

If you’ve ever sent an email, checked your account balance on a mobile banking app, or downloaded a photo onto your smartphone, then you’ve used cloud computing technology — or “the cloud,” as it’s often called.

But what exactly is cloud computing? Even the most tech-savvy among us might struggle to define the cloud, which has emerged as the leading technology over the past decade. We turned to Dimitris Papathomopoulos, who is a Senior Information Security Engineer at an international fintech company, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Certified Solutions Architect, Developer, and SysOps Administrator, and a former Touro Graduate School of Technology adjunct professor, for answers. He'll present a free, online Cloud Computing Webinar on November 19 at 6 pm NY time via Zoom. Click the button below to sign up for next Information Systems workshop.

Topics: Insider, WMM, MSIS, ITP, Career, Cloud computing, aws

UX Designer Mark Jones on what a Product Designer does, and how to land a job in this competitive field during a global pandemic.

At the November 4 workshop (6-8 pm), Jones will discuss the ins and outs of UX and Product Design, how designers see projects holistically and not just as features, and how Product Designers can have ownership of a project from inception all the way through the development cycle. Here, he offers his thoughts on what exactly it

means to be a Product Designer, what a Product Designer does on a day-to-day basis, how Covid-19 has changed the landscape of the field, and how to land a job in UX during a global pandemic.

Topics: Insider, WMM, MSIS, ITP, Career, UX/UI Design, ProductDesign, Workshop

Touro Graduate School of Technology alumna Sherisse Brown talks about her role as a corporate trainer, and shares the five essential skills a corporate trainer should have.

As the education and outreach coordinator at a medical library, Sherisse Brown occasionally found herself with the chance to provide instruction to various groups of people. “My job had many different aspects. I was not primarily focused on training, but when I had the opportunity to lead a training, I definitely enjoyed it,” she explained recently. “That’s what motivated me to go back to school —and I chose Touro Graduate School of Technology because they had a program that focused on corporate training.”

Touro GST’s Master of Science in Instructional Technology degree prepares graduates to pursue a number of exciting and lucrative careers, including a career as a corporate trainer. But what exactly does a corporate trainer do—and what skills are needed to excel in this role? We talked to Brown, now a corporate trainer and learning specialist at Weill Cornell Medicine, about what it takes to become a corporate trainer, the difference between a corporate trainer and a corporate designer, and why she chose Touro to take her to the next stage of her career.

Topics: Insider, WMM, MSIS, ITP, Career, Instructional Design, Corporate Design, Virtual Training, Corporate Trainer

How one group of students is staying connected and creating content for real-world clients during their summer break

For many students, summer is a time to put their laptops aside and take a much-deserved break from studying. But as vital as it is to relax and recharge, maintaining some semblance of structure and keeping their skills sharp is important, too. That’s why Touro Professor Kevin Sartain created his Summer Design Lab, where students have the chance to work on projects and problem-solve in a group setting—and even get the opportunity to build their portfolios and work with prospective clients.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for many years,” Sartain explains. “With all of this weirdness we’re going through, working from home and teaching on Zoom, I decided this was the perfect time to give it a go.” Though the program was originally intended to focus on web design — Sartain teaches web design — it organically turned into a general design lab, where both undergraduate and graduate students work on a variety of projects.

“I’ve got about 13 students, and we meet once a week, on Wednesday afternoons, for an hour or two,” says Sartain. “We’re creating an online gallery to showcase the best work from both the grad and undergrad programs, and we’re also working on a bunch of marketing flyers for Touro. It’s really cool, because it’s different from their regular classes,” he says. “Instead of just creating things for their portfolios, they’re actually dealing with a client and creating something real.”

Topics: Insider, WMM, MSIS, ITP, Career, UX/UI Design, Web design, summer lab, internship, Graphic design

A Musician Changes Her Tune to Become a UX/UI Designer

Topics: Insider, WMM, MSIS, ITP, Career, UX/UI Design, Students spotlight, WMM students

4 Ways Educators Can Use Zoom to Maximum Advantage
Holly Owens, Touro College’s Assistant Director of Instructional Design with Online Education, on how to leverage the popular video conferencing platform to enrich online learning

Topics: Insider, WMM, MSIS, ITP, Career, online learning, Zoom, virtual class, teaching online, online class, Ed-Tech, Instructional Designer, home-learning

The Top 5 Careers in Instructional Technology
Wondering what you can do with a Master’s Degree in Instructional Technology? Program Coordinator Jay Lefkowitz highlights the possibilities

Topics: Insider, WMM, MSIS, ITP, Career, virtual class, Educational Technology, E-Learning, Ed-Tech, Instructional Designer

Experience vs Emotion: Understanding UX/UI and Multimedia Design
Touro grad and Multimedia Specialist Francis De Leon explores the difference between two in-demand fields

Topics: Insider, WMM, MSIS, ITP, Career, UX/UI Design, ProductDesign, UX research, Multimedia design, Interaction Design, product design

Zoom-Bombing and Cyber-Hacking: Here’s How to Protect Yourself
Your hands aren’t the only thing you need to keep clean during the coronavirus pandemic

Topics: Insider, WMM, MSIS, ITP, Career, Data Scientist, cyber-hacking, zoom-bombing