Receiving a scholarship is very beneficial for the employee, as the NCBC is a great learning and networking experience. The amount each court reimburses employees for the conferences varies, which may not allow for members to be able to attend the conference without the assistance of the NCBC Scholarship Program.
All of the sessions were awesome to say the least, however the two sessions that made a lasting impression were: “Phishing—Don’t take the Bait” – The class was a detailed discussion on how to protect your work and home computer from being hacked, and how to recognize and report phishing schemes, and the importance of having secure passwords. Most of us use passwords that are familiar, such as birthdays, anniversary dates, etc., which is a Big NO-NO. I learned that the only way to have a secure password, that is almost impossible to hack, is to create a password between twelve to twenty characters, using upper and lower case, numbers and symbols. The instructor gave a brief example in class by having one of the attendees create a simple password, and we saw firsthand just how easy it is to hack, with a weak password. Needless to say, I changed all my passwords that very evening.
The other session that I found extremely interesting and useful was “Decision Making–The Military Decision-Making Process for Everyday Use.” The military is known for their very unique and precise decision-making style. The class was a lively discussion with wonderful examples. I found this class to be interesting, due to the fact these concepts can be used on the job and with everyday situations that may arise. A few examples given during the presentation were buying a home, taking a family vacation, or choosing the right college for your children to attend.
The steps are as follows:
· Receive the mission – Determine what you want to do
· Mission Analysis – Gathering all the facts
· Course of Action Development – Brainstorming ideas
· Course of Action Analysis – Problems vs. Solution
· Course of Action Comparison – Figure out which solution works for you
· Course of Action Selection – Make a decision based on the facts gathered
· Orders Production
Overall, attending this conference has helped me to add some valuable tools to my collection, as well as utilize these tools in the training of other court employees. I plan on implementing some of these new concepts as soon as possible in upcoming trainings and making them a part of my everyday consciousness as I strive to make our team better.
All of the sessions were awesome to say the least, however the two sessions that made a lasting impression were: “Phishing—Don’t take the Bait” – The class was a detailed discussion on how to protect your work and home computer from being hacked, and how to recognize and report phishing schemes, and the importance of having secure passwords. Most of us use passwords that are familiar, such as birthdays, anniversary dates, etc., which is a Big NO-NO. I learned that the only way to have a secure password, that is almost impossible to hack, is to create a password between twelve to twenty characters, using upper and lower case, numbers and symbols. The instructor gave a brief example in class by having one of the attendees create a simple password, and we saw firsthand just how easy it is to hack, with a weak password. Needless to say, I changed all my passwords that very evening.
The other session that I found extremely interesting and useful was “Decision Making–The Military Decision-Making Process for Everyday Use.” The military is known for their very unique and precise decision-making style. The class was a lively discussion with wonderful examples. I found this class to be interesting, due to the fact these concepts can be used on the job and with everyday situations that may arise. A few examples given during the presentation were buying a home, taking a family vacation, or choosing the right college for your children to attend.
The steps are as follows:
· Receive the mission – Determine what you want to do
· Mission Analysis – Gathering all the facts
· Course of Action Development – Brainstorming ideas
· Course of Action Analysis – Problems vs. Solution
· Course of Action Comparison – Figure out which solution works for you
· Course of Action Selection – Make a decision based on the facts gathered
· Orders Production
Overall, attending this conference has helped me to add some valuable tools to my collection, as well as utilize these tools in the training of other court employees. I plan on implementing some of these new concepts as soon as possible in upcoming trainings and making them a part of my everyday consciousness as I strive to make our team better.