Calling all you tech geeks...

[mtnairlover]

Hi All,

I'm doing it again. I'm looking for experts in the technology field and this time it's for Westwood College Online School of Technology.

What I'm looking for is people with expertise in the areas mentioned on the college's website. Many of the courses that you see on that site are in various stages of redevelopment and some courses not mentioned are needing to be built from the bottom up. Westwood College pays it's Subject Matter Experts for the work they do upon completion of the work.

What is a SME (pronounced 'smee') and what do they do for Westwood?

A Subject Matter Expert (SME) is a person who is an expert in a particular area. In software engineering environments, the term is used to describe professionals with expertise in the field of application but without technical project knowledge.

It also has a broader definition in engineering and high tech as one who has the greatest expertise in a technical topic. SMEs are often asked to review, improve and approve technical work, to guide others, and to teach. According to Six Sigma, a Subject Matter Expert "exhibits the highest level of expertise in performing a specialized job, task, or skill."

What SMEs do for Westwood is develop content for all our online courses. The content can include lectures, assignments, discussion questions, as well as mapping assignments to course projects which are the meat of each course. SMEs are given guidance and direction and an online tutorial is available to help new SMEs (experts new to developing content for online courses) in understanding how Westwood creates and develops courses for their online programs.

We will be developing Computer Forensics courses starting in 2010 for the online program, but the various courses we offer online in the Network Program include:

Linux® Operating Systems

Desktop Computing

Network Essentials

Network Fundamentals

Microsoft® Network Operating Systems*

Advanced System Administration with Directory Services

Introduction to Web Programming

Information Systems Analysis

Technical Troubleshooting

Information Systems Ethics

Introduction to Network Security

Technical Documentation and Project Management*

LAN Security

Internet Security

Database Management Systems*

Network Operations and Monitoring*

Securing Business Applications

Designing Directory Services*

Network Design and Analysis

Electronic Mail Systems

Emerging Technologies

Practical Applications in Network Security

If you are interested in doing contract work with Westwood College Online, then post up, or send me a PM.

Update: *Note: At this time, the courses that have a * are in need of a SME.

[MAZIN]

How do they make sure the SME is proficent in what they are attempting to teach? I had my 1st semester CCNA "teacher" not even certified and after 5 weeks of him attempting to be a teacher I caught him at the school on a saturday Studying to take the same exam. Just wondering... BTW this was at the North Denver campus off of broadway.

[Devaclis]

Hey Cath, can you PM me a little more info?

[mtnairlover]

You ask for certifications and credentials before contracting. The nice thing about me asking people here, is that I know a lot of the people who would be qualified to be SMEs for Westwood. I'm not asking anyone to teach. I'm asking for content for our courses. Asking people who currently work in the industry for information that is pertinent to doing the job is what is important to the learning.

As far as your teacher not being CCNA certified yet...that's the way the Cisco Academies work. In order to teach in a public school setting, you need to have your Colorado teacher's license. Then because you are teaching a vocation, you also need to have your Colorado vocational credential. Then, when it comes to the Cisco Academies, any school wishing to create one needs to go through the hoops and red tape with the Cisco Education (something or other) to create the academy. If the school does not have a qualified teacher (CCNA certified), then the Cisco Academy provides boot-camp training. The rules are that the teacher gets a one-month boot camp on semester's 1 and 2 and begins to teach it...then they get semester's 3 and 4 during the time they are teaching semester 1, and the teacher is given 2 years since the start of the training to become CCNA certified.

And if you are teaching at the college level, then you need to at least have your Masters Degree in order to teach. The certifications are secondary. You need to prove that you know how to teach, the content of what you teach comes next.

That's the way that teaching works. And it is markedly different from the expectations of contracting with SMEs.

Oh and I'm updating my original post.

[mtnairlover]

Hey Cath, can you PM me a little more info?

PM sent

[mtnairlover]

The *'d courses are the ones I have a need for a SME starting in January. There are two courses that I will need a SME for beginning in March and they are...

• Technical Documentation and Project Management
• Database Management Systems

[Sortarican]

.... Asking people who currently work in the industry for information that is pertinent to doing the job is what is important to the learning......

None of it is pertinent anymore. Computers are a passing fad.
I expect them to be gone by this time next year, replaced by the abacus.

[mtnairlover]

None of it is pertinent anymore. Computers are a passing fad.
I expect them to be gone by this time next year, replaced by the abacus.

And for you, the abacus would be an upgrade from the rocks and sticks you're currently using.

[Devaclis]

AOC = Age of Conan. WoW > AOC