A+ Training

Terry Collins attended a two week certification course at Canadian Computer Distributors last summer.  She received an A+ Computer Technician certificate for both the hardware and software components.  The professional development fund covered the cost of the course.  It was an intense period of study in the fields of computer software (Operating Systems) and computer hardware.  It has proven itself very useful in her understanding of computers and has provided her with a missing piece of background knowledge she has since found to be indispensable.  Although not a requirement for her current position, she confesses that it has made the Lab Technician component of her job much easier.

A+ Certification is known to be equivalent to two years of competent on-the-job experience in this field.

Python Conference

Graham Fawcett will attend the PyCon 2004 conference in Washington, DC, from March 23-26, 2004.  PyCon is a conference for developers who work on and use the Python programming language, an open-source programming language designed for the rapid creation of powerful programs.  This year's conference includes presentations relevant to the use of technology in education, as well as to many of our ongoing projects.

Ethical Hacking Workshop

In October 2003, the WedNET consortium sponsored the delivery of "Ethical Hacking and Countermeasures", a certification course offered by EC-Council (http://www.eccouncil.org/).  According to EC-Council, an ethical hacker is a professional who "understands and knows how to look for the weaknesses and vulnerabilities in target [computer and network] systems and uses the same knowledge and tools as a malicious hacker [to protect those systems]" (http://www.eccouncil.org/CEH.htm). Participants from the University of Windsor included staff members from IT Services, WedNET and CFL.
The week-long course commenced October 6, 2003.  Graham Fawcett attended the course and completed the certification exam.