• Click "Like" and Follow OL&D Social Media
• Excel Classes Added in June
• The Top 5 Myths of Cloud Computing
• Better Communication Achieves Results, Overcomes Conflict
• Design from 30,000 Feet
• You Ask, We Answer

Click "Like" and Follow OL&D Social Media

UAB Organizational Learning & Development is pleased to announce our new social media portals! Join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. We want to let you know what's going on with us. And we especially want to hear from you.

Excel Classes Added in June

Based on popular demand, OL&D has added three new Excel classes to the June schedule. If you have wished to take one of these topical classes in previous months but found you could not enroll, now is your chance. The bonus classes are:

• Excel 2010 Basic: Functions and Formulas on June 3, starting at 1:00 p.m.
• Excel 2010 Basic: Improving Readability and Layout on June 6, starting at 8:30 a.m.
• Excel 2010 Basic: Data Entry and Lists on June 27, starting at 1:00 p.m.

Classes fill up fast, so reserve your spot now. Click here to visit the UAB Faculty and Staff Learning System to register.

The Top 5 Myths of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing seems to be the wave of the future. It's trending and it seems to offer increased usability and stability without additional infrastructure. But that appearance of trend combined with the lack of infrastructure has led to certain assumptions about cloud computing and its impact on work and people. Let's take a look at five common myths of cloud computing and why they're wrong.

One: Cloud computing kills jobs.

Because additional IT staff is not necessarily needed to maintain hardware at the server and desktop level, many people think that moving toward a greater use of cloud computing is leading to greater unemployment. Not true, say representatives of Rackspace, a leading cloud computing firm. Cloud systems require as much maintenance as traditional systems, just not in traditional locations.

Two: Cloud Computing is insecure

It's true: saving a very important document anywhere other than on a physical piece of media can feel frightening. Furthermore, when you save that document out into the cloud its saved with thousands of other documents. That can't be secure! Or can it? It can. Most cloud computing firms prioritize security. If you're still not confident, yet wish to use the cloud for its other features, consider the installation of a "private" cloud (one for a single organization).

Three: Moving Data to the cloud is too much work

Moving data to the cloud is a lot of work, for sure. It's not a project to take lightly. But in doing so, you and your group will need to do a lot of housekeeping that's probably overdue. It's an opportunity to eliminate excess or unused material and delete those files that are extraneous or irrelevant. It might seem like a chore, but it's a good chore that probably really needs to be done!

Four: Cloud computing is expensive

While there is no single cost model, Cloud computing, especially at the start-up level, allows you to avoid large capital expenditures. Yet over time, the fee-for-service model could start to add up. It's up to each enterprise to do its own analysis (and apples-to-apples comparisons are hard to find in the cloud), but less infrastructure often keeps costs down, even if more people are employed in maintenance and security roles.

Five: The Cloud is a place

It's difficult to discuss cloud computing without using words that make it seem like a physical, tangible space. Further, there is no single cloud. "Cloud" is simply a catch-all term for a way of storing and managing data and applications that allows users to access and create data from any location, using any number of devices. One enterprise can have several clouds. One individual can use a public or private cloud. There is no single cloud and the cloud is everywhere.

Check back next month when we'll discuss the best practices of cloud computing.

Better Communication Achieves Results, Overcomes Conflict

In the business of getting things done, we often define the end goal as the status “Got it done.”  That can lead to overlooking the cogs of how we achieve our goals. And we achieve those goals, both personal or professional, by creating relationships. The approach to every interaction sets the tone and steers the course for how that relationship will progress. While there is project and process planning, our relationships can be most affected by our immediate reactions to the tasks and toils of day-to-day of operations. Often default communication styles steer us toward avoiding social conflict or awkwardness, regardless of whether or not they are effective or support our relationships to advance personal and mutual goals. That default setting is hardly right for every encounter.

Most people do not consider themselves masters of addressing difficult conversations or interpersonal conflict at work.  OL&D can offer you new tools for that professional skills toolbox to help you in those situations, and in all interactions. By pursuing training in communication, you are proactively working toward positive outcomes in all relationships.  In the month of June, we are offering several programs to support your development of communication and conflict management skills!

• June 6 – Writing for Improved Business Communication
• June 17 – Overcoming the Obstacles to Effective Communication
• June 19 & June 26 – Crucial Conversations (2-day class)
• June 25 – Positive Opposition: Productive Strategies for Managing Individual and Team Conflict at Work

Click here to register for any or all of these powerful and effective classes.

Design from 30,000 Feet

Everybody knows that design is important, but very few people know that we're all designers. Each of us is responsible for designing something almost every day. Yet many people are unaware of what makes good design, only knowing whether or not they like a document they must read or are pleased by a flyer they're given. Understanding the basic principles of design can improve your functionality and efficiency and may even lead to professional recognition and reward. This is intended to be a very simple, top-down view of major design principles to help you refine your own innate design skills.

Let's concentrate on the three most important aspects of design: typeface, color, and "the rule of three."

First, typeface. From 30,000 feet this means your font choice. If you present a serious document in a silly font, you have effectively rendered your document meaningless. Take a look at the following word in several different fonts:

I think you will find that the first two look professional. The third, the controversial font Comic Sans, makes the word look silly. The fourth, Gill Sans, looks trendy and fashionable. But remember: trends and fashion change! What is in style this month may look dated and odd next month. And finally, the last two are artistic fonts (Magneto and Papyrus) that look more at home on a movie poster than they do in a serious document. Rule of thumb: when in doubt, simple and standard is best, even if it feels "boring."

Second, color. Color can greatly affect how a document makes users feel. Strong colors used sparingly draw the eye and help the viewer focus on the most important parts of the document like the title or an emotive pull-quote. Excess color can be off-putting and confusing, leading the user to reject the documents and its contents without having first read and understood them, even if the information is simple and easily understood.

Furthermore, we all associate certain colors with certain feelings, even when, or especially when, we're not aware of it. Consider the following examples.

Red is energizing.

Blue is calming.

Go Blazers!

That last color, UAB Green, is a very specific shade of dark green. UAB Creative & Marketing services provides several color palettes that match UAB publications and websites. Take full advantage of these color tools to brand your UAB documents. In other documents, or for other reasons, decide what sort of emotional impact you want your document to make and choose colors accordingly. As with fonts, simplest is often best.

Finally, the "rule of thirds." While the rule of thirds is technically a guide for photographic composition, we can use it as shorthand for a set of ideas, all involving the number three. To start: odd numbers are most pleasing to the eye. Continuing, most people can easily understand up to three ideas; after that concentration is required. Finally, composing an image (or set of images) so that they are slightly off-set, is more eye catching. The following image is an example of the Rule of Thirds:

This is a simplified version of the larger composition rule which divides the composition into ninths. In the example to the left, the rectangle is divided into thirds, with only one-third of the image displaying text information.

Good design is so simple it can seem difficult. Spend time studying documents that appeal to you, breaking them down into simpler components like font and color. Look for thirds in the document: three images, three ideas, or a layout that works along thirds. As you study and practice, design will come more easily and your creativity will flourish!

You Ask, We Answer

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Training Opportunities in June

Below is a list of classes offered for the month of June. Click the links below to register for these classes or visit the UAB Faculty & Staff Learning System.

Click here to view the quarterly schedule as a PDF.

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Click here to view the quarterly schedule as a PDF.

If you or your department have training needs, questions, concerns, or comments and you're unsure who to contact on our staff, please click here to email us and be assured that your communication will be forwarded to the party best able to meet your needs.

Click here to email us with any training needs, questions, or comments. Visit our website at www.uab.edu/learndev. These classes are for UAB employees and affiliates only.

We are located in Medical Towers, 1717 11th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35294.
Ph 205.934.3359