Techie Festival boots up next week
IT Services' Second Annual Techie Festival kicks off Aug. 16, offering two lectures daily. Lectures cover a broad range of technology subjects for experts and non-experts alike.
BY SAM JULIAN
If the name "Techie Festival" evokes images of a tangle of cords and numbers too big to count, don't be alarmed. Rather than being designed for tech gurus, said Nancy Baumann, manager of Technology Training for Information Technology Services, the Techie Festival has something for everyone.
The Techie Festival runs from Aug. 16 to 31. Lectures last three hours and cost $125 each. They will be held Monday through Friday at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. in Turing Auditorium of Polya Hall in Jordan Quad.
The Techie Festival was originally conceived as a way of allowing staff to invest Staff Training Assistance Program (STAP) funds before the end of the fiscal year (Aug. 31), but the lectures are open to faculty and students as well, as are all of Tech Training's classes and offerings. The purpose of the Techie Festival, said Baumann, is to provide opportunities to learn about a plethora of topics covering existing and emerging technologies and applications.
"It's a good way for people to just get a three-hour taste of whatever it might be that's germane to their work, without committing to an expensive, full-day class," said Baumann.
Topics range from exploration of web metrics in "Google Analytics and AWStats: Who's Visiting My Website and Why?" to introductory concepts like "Office 2010: What's New?" Four lectures will address aspects of Microsoft Excel.
"Excel is something everybody needs to know," said Baumann.
IT Services designed the lectures based on evaluation of last year's festival and on perceived need within the Stanford community. Since Stanford remains at the forefront of information technology development, Baumann said she is able to keep better track of the constantly changing landscape. New subjects this year include a lecture on iPhone and iPad apps and another on utilizing open-source content management systems like WordPress and Drupal.
Looking forward, Baumann sees a future of ever-increasing technological mobility. She said she believes that the mission of IT Services is to keep abreast of changes before they happen and to "be poised to provide for what's coming next."
"Technology is a part of our everyday life," said Baumann. "You've got to use it, so embrace it."
More information on the Techie Festival can be found on the IT Services website under the Calendar listings.