Reflections

As I sit here tonight going over my schedule for the week, I can't believe this class is coming to a close. I have one paper left, my Wiki is complete and this is Blog #12. I am kind of in awe. 

When this class started, I wasn't using Blogger, Twitter, LinkedIn, Scoop.it, Prezi, or creating Wiki pages. I didn't even know what a PLN was. Today, I'm a blogger. I follow awesome professional people on Twitter and LinkedIn. I have two curated Scoop.it topics. I have created two presentations in Prezi and I just finished my first Wiki page. 

All I can say right now is WOW! In using each of these tools my knowledge has expanded like a wildfire. I am creating web pages, embedding videos, researching, collaborating, curating, and connecting in my PLN. I have joined organizations and groups with the same interests and career goals in mind.

I plan to continue blogging. I love to share and receive information. I think this is a great way to discuss topics I am interested in. I receive excellent feedback that prompts me to explore even more.

Happy Blogging everyone!

Wiki Creation

This is my first time using Wiki. I knew that it existed, however, I didn't understand what it could be used for. In the past, I was told to avoid Wiki's, because of inaccuracies. I see this tool in a whole new light. Creating my Wiki has been an exciting experience. I have enjoyed learning how to use this tool and find it very informative. 

At first, I was a little frustrated. I couldn't figure out how to log in, join or edit the Wiki page. However, once that obstacle was overcome, I found Wiki to be extremely user friendly. Everything is at a click of a button. I was able to add links, embed videos, and edit my page. 

In the future, I believe my team work projects will benefit from using Wiki pages. The option to have edits created by multiple users will change the way our team functions. There doesn't need to be long, drawn out emails with explanations of changes. No more printouts with red marks cluttering up the page. Everyone can work on the Wiki to fine tune everything. 

The thing I like best about our class Wiki is being able to view all of our technology tool Wiki pages in one location. I am excited to view everyone's finished pages. This collaboration tool is incredible. I am so excited to share it with others in my organization. I am sold on Wiki pages. I believe it will be a useful organizational tool for my projects as well. 

Another aspect I like is that each student researched and shared a topic. I never could have researched all of these tools on my own in a summer semester. This collaboration has allowed us to learn extensively about other technology tools that may benefit us. This has truly been a team effort. I am grateful to everyone for putting together informational blogs that led to the excitement of Wiki pages creations.

Scoop.it Take 3

I am learning so much information about Scoop.it! This week I found a blog on SEJ Search Engine Journal, "Scoop This: A Comprehensive Guide to Scoop.it for Content Curation". This blog has simple guidelines to follow when curating a topic. The article states that your topic should be something you are passionate about, relates to your business, or something others will be interested in. These are extremely helpful hints in beginning your curation topic. The blog has step by step information on how to use Scoop.it's search engine by entering keywords to locate suggested sites. It helped me to really wrap my brain around the different uses of a curation tool. You can view the full blog at Scoop This: A Comprehensive Guide to Scoop.it for Content Curation.

Additionally, I began following Scoop.it! on Twitter at  https://twitter.com/scoopit. I really enjoy being able to retweet the information posted on Twitter. Since following Scoop.it!, I have learned things about marketing, photography, management, publishing, curation, sharing knowledge and so much more. Sharing this information has allowed me to share this learning tool with those in my PLN. 

View the video to see how curation tools expand your sharing knowledge.

Content is king: easy & simple ways to curate relevant content from Scoop.it

My PLN Learning Journey

Creating my PLN has been a learning journey.

Please follow my journey...



This is my first attempt at Prezi. I learned how to embed the video and change the size in HTML. I love the challenges I have faced in this class. My eyes have been opened to an entirely new realm.

Scoop.it! Take 2

Scoop.it! is a free curation tool that I chose as my technology tool. I am learning to select, collect and archive digital selections. I am able to bookmark topics online. I like being able to share my selections with others in multiple social media tools at the same time.

I was able to install a bookmarklet on my tool bar that allows me to collect information and add it to my curated topic. I also learned that I can follow content topics at the click of a button. I am able to view others topics. These visual pages remind me of a collage of a topic. Scoop.it! saves everything in one location and it's easy to access with quick links. I have been able to input keywords then the program offers me resources to select from or I can search on my own. I realized today that I can only have two topics for free.

This prompted me to investigate the pricing. The pricing to upgrade to the Pro package is $12.99 per month and the Business package is $79.00 per month. There is a discount if you purchase an annual plan. There are different benefits included in each package. You can view the different plan options and sign up for an account at http://www.scoop.it/.


I am currently using the free account. I have created two topics one on hummingbirds and the other on Las Vegas. I am currently on a trip in Las Vegas. I was trying to locate different attractions to put on our list to visit. This Scoop.it! gave us this visual to choose from http://www.scoop.it/t/las-vegas-by-m-cosgrove-1.


  
I haven't purchased a Scoop.it! plan yet. I have decided to wait until I am able to review everyone's wikis. I would like to review all of my options for content storage and sharing. However, I am enjoying using this tool in my daily activities. It will be useful in the classroom as well.

Twitter-I Was A Skeptic

Prior to taking a course in Instructional Technology, I was a skeptic of using Twitter. I knew  little about this tool. I thought it was just another way young people were ranting about their lives. I signed up for an account at https://twitter.com, however, I never followed professionals. I had young relatives and acquaintances that I chose to follow. I had no idea it could be used for learning.

As I read Chapters 4 and 5 in "The New Social Learning", I couldn't believe the resources available at my finger tips. I watched the videos and read the tweets and I am in awe. I never looked at Twitter in this light before. I hadn't considered it a learning tool or a teaching tool.

Today, I read an informative tweet posted by Bradford R. Glaser-The Secret Formula to Becoming an E-Learning Pro http://ow.ly/xHtWO. I was excited because it was exactly what I have been interested in learning more about. If you follow the tweet you will find the blog has an article, links, and videos to spark more interest. There are "challenges" listed on this blog to help you create better learning tools. The videos are informative, humorous and extremely helpful.

As I was finishing this blog, I decided to look at what Scoop.it! had tweeted, because it is my selected technology tool. To my surprise I found this tweet-10 Words to Cut From Your Writing #leancontent http://sco.lt/928JiT. I decided to watch the video link. Guess what? I was using three of the top 10 words to cut. I reviewed my writing and realized I was using words that were useless and had little meaning. Thanks Twitter!

I am no longer a skeptic of Twitter. I thoroughly enjoy learning how to use it. I hope you follow these links and find something useful. Enjoy the learning journey!

Growing My PLN

Wow! This week I have really been challenged with using new technology tools. I haven't used Twitter or LinkedIn in the past. I never realized the wealth of information I was missing out on. I really thought that Facebook was "Social Networking". I had no idea the professional side of social media.

I took a break from the crazy Facebook posts about what people were eating for lunch and of gross things their child did in public. I turned to LinkedIn and Twitter and I am simply amazed. I am actually learning, growing, exploring, networking and truly enjoying it.

As I explored on LinkedIn, I joined the group Instructional Design & E-Learning Professionals' Group.
I chose this group because it is for those interested in e-learning, human resources, training, online education and much more in the realm of virtual education. One of the first things I learn from this group is that you can trace back effective e-learning to learner engagement. That means you must do everything possible to make sure you don't have poor design techniques that lose the learner. There are many great tips, articles, links and resources shared in this group.

As I explored Twitter, I came across Roger Courville. I chose to follow Roger Courville because he is a speaker, author, and coach on presenting virtually (webinars, webcasts etc.). This information is exactly what I'm looking to integrate into my journey of learning and teaching. I also followed two people he was connected with. They are Bradford R Glaser and Tracy Gaudet. I believe that Roger Courville is following them because they have great things to offer. They both post informative, thought provoking tweets. I chose them because their bio info peaked my interest. I viewed and read their posts and they were intelligent, informative and inspiring. They share links to enhance learning. I feel they have great resources they are willing to share and this will broaden my network and expand my knowledge.

This has been an amazing experience. I am truly inspired that I am making connections that may lead to future jobs and career advancement. My eyes are open to so many more possibilities. The benefits are exponential. I am excited to continue on this journey and make more connections with the new tools that have been shown to me.

Scoop.it!

I chose Scoop.it! as my technology tool, because I had never heard of it. I wanted to learn about something new and useful. Everything about Scoop.it! is new to me, so every part of it interests me. I've learned that Scoop.it is a free curation tool. I didn't quite understand what that meant, however, I have since learned that digital curation is selecting, collecting, and archiving digital selections. In other words, you can use it to bookmark topics online.

Some of the amazing things about this bookmarking/curation tool, is that it displays my topic selections in a visual page, integrates with social networking sites, and archives information in one easy to use location. I can share my selections at the same time I publish the Scoop.it! It reminds me of a blog, however, the posting is kind of like Facebook. I can add my own insight just like a post.

So far the tool has been user friendly. I can even install a bookmarklet on my tool bar so I can collect information on my own. I can also add keywords to my Scoop.it! topic and it will give me suggested resources.

In order to get started you sign up for an account at http://www.scoop.it/ . You will be asked to create a topic. This is the title of your page and the basis of your search. As you find information on the web related to your topic you Scoop.it!, then you can share it and store it. This reminds me of a virtual bulletin board.

I am excited to learn more about this tool. I want to learn more about how it can be useful in the classroom. So far, I think it would be useful to store pages or resources while writing a term paper. All the digital references can be stored in one location.  Once you have a topic in mind the collection part is fun. Finding a topic and key words is only the beginning of this digital journey...

As I sat on my back porch enjoying the sunshine, I couldn't think of a topic to start my Scoop.it!. I closed my eyes, took several deep breathes to clear my mind. I opened my eyes as I heard loud fluttering. Inches from my face was a beautiful hummingbird. It zoomed around my face, behind my head, over to some painted rocks, then quickly to the neighbors hummingbird feeder. Amazing a topic out of the air.


Let the journey begin. I have created my own Scoop.it!

You can check it out at http://www.scoop.it/t/hummingbirds-by-m-cosgrove-1

Social Networking and Privacy

The internet has changed the way we communicate. One of the ways we are connecting online is through social networking sites. I keep hearing about the amazing opportunities it provides. I love to use them as well. However, use of these sites has some risks, because they have the potential to expose our personal information throughout the digital world, making our private lives public. I felt compelled to share some of my concerns.

            Usually there are no fees involved to use social networking sites. The only requirement is to create a membership prior to use. However, it may cost you your privacy. Some information the sites may require are full names, photos, gender, current city, hometown, date of birth, phone number, and email address. We willingly fill out the required information to gain access and use their site.  With each click, like, comment or post our digital footprint is left behind.

            In addition to the required information, we voluntarily share intimate details about our lives through our posts, status updates, photos, and blogs. We share about when and where we are going on vacation and thoughts about our relationships, religious views, political views and our careers. All of our information is collected and stored which may allow a browser search to reveal our names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, occupations, salary, hobbies, photos of our children and our homes. In order to protect our personal information, we must be proactive in our usage. 

In order to protect ourselves online, we must be aware of how we interact with others online. We should ask ourselves what parts of our lives we want to keep private. Every thought, every photo, every place we go doesn’t need to be public information. We should think before we post, clean up old posts, documents and other information about us online. We can do this by managing our friends’ lists, deleting old photos, comments and page likes.

Ultimately, it is the user’s responsibility to use discernment when sharing information online. That is where privacy settings come into play. Most social networking sites have given users privacy tools to manage their viewers. However, the default setting tends to be public. If users don’t activate privacy settings their information is available to the public. Users should modify their preferences, update privacy settings, and use discernment when submitting comments and posts.

Although, social networking sites allow users to communicate with others throughout the world, they also allow our private information to become available to the public. In order to reduce personal information exposure online, social networking site users need to be cognizant of the information they share and who is viewing it. Our private lives don’t have to become completely public.

I believe this will be helpful when creating a PLN. Our private lives reflect in our professional lives. Our behavior in both is important.

My Growing PLN

When deciding who to add to my PLN, I first had to reflect on my educational and career plans, goal and interests. So I decided to share with you a little about my plans, goals and interests.

I am ecstatic to purse my BAT degree; it has been my dream for many years. Over the past five years there have been many life changing events that brought me to this moment. My desire to grow, change and pursue my ambitions is stronger than ever. I have a desire to inspire others to find their passion. 

I believe this part of my journey begins by pursuing a degree to become a post-secondary instructor at a university or technical college.  In this pursuit, some of the areas of study I believe will be most beneficial include communications, leadership, graphic/web design, computer information systems, management, business education, and human resource training and development. Many of these areas of study will crossover to enhance one another. 

I am just beginning my PLN. This is an interesting challenge as I learn new technological tools and ways to connect with others besides using Facebook. I added a widget to my blog to keep track of blogs I am following. You can find my list under My Blog List located to the right of this blog. 

I used our class blogs and Google to locate my first two blogs of interest. I will continue to add to My Blog List.

I chose Dr. Cindy’s Blog because I instantly connected with the blog she wrote on Profession Learning Networks (PLN). She is very educated.  The information she shared inspires me to search deeper into the resources available to enhance my knowledge and career.  I love how she describes growth and development in areas of personal, professional, and societal areas you can follow her at http://drcseaman.blogspot.com/.

I chose Beth Holland’s blog because she shares amazing information and works in Communications & Instruction at EdTechTeacher. She coordinates communications such as web sites, social media, blog posts, webinars, and newsletters and instructs at workshops for EdTechTeacher. You can follow her at http://www.edutopia.org/blog/professional-learning-curate-share-connect-beth-holland. 

Business Professionals of America

Business Professionals of America (BPA) is the first professional organization I became a member of. I was introduced to BPA 1998, while attending ISU College of Technology. BPA prepared me for the workforce in areas such as leadership, citizenship, academics and technological skills. 

As a member I was given the opportunity to an compete in regional and state conferences. I had an amazing opportunity to travel to Boise with my college classmates to compete in state competitions. I placed third in the state mathematics competition. Many of my classmates participated in Nationals.

BPA has five divisions of membership. The divisions of membership include College/Post-secondary, High School/Secondary, Middle Level (middle school), Alumni, and Professionals.

There are many benefits to joining a professional organization like Business Professionals of America such as:

• Opportunites to explore career options
• Keeps you up to date with the newest information
• Attendance at annual conferences
• Opportunities to receive scholarships
• Seminars and Webinars
• Learn professional ethics and behaviors
• Networking with students, businesses, and professionals
• Opportunities to participate in service projects
  

If you are pursing a career in business management, office administration or any other information technology field this is the organization for you. BPA is a leading Career and Technical Student Organization for students pursuing such careers.

You can find more information about Business Professionals of America at the following links:

http://www.bpa.org/about/history

http://www.bpa.org/about/traditions

http://www.bpa.org/about

There's an App for That! Learning with Technology

All the time we hear, “There’s an App for that.”, “Just Google it.”, but what does it mean? Technology, that’s what it means. Technology exists in every aspect of our lives. We use it to communicate, to simplify, to make things easier and less manual. It has changed the way people interact.

As I think about the new technologies I've learned to use, my mind wanders to when I was in junior high. The tragedy of being taught how to type on a typewriter and how painful it was physically. I couldn't keep my fingers on the keys. Every time I missed a key my finger would scrape on the metal. I remember thinking "I never want to be a secretary! EVER!"

Shortly thereafter, I was surprised with a fabulous gift from my grandparents...my very own electric typewriter. Grandpa said I'd "do well in the world if I practiced my skills." Well, I'd like to say I jumped in with both feet, however, that was not the case. I think fear of past pains kept me from becoming a great typist in my early years. However, during my senior year I was using an electric word processor with a mini screen that allowed me to preview before I printed...Absolutely Amazing!

As the years flew by, I got my first computer. It took two people to move, but I loved it. Today, I have a laptop, an iPad and a smartphone. I use these devices everyday. I am fascinated by new technologies and that is the reason my career goal is to become a teacher. I want to share with students the amazing technologies at their finger tips.

Preparing to become a teacher in the 21st involves learning and using many different types of computers and technology. Today’s teachers are using technology to teach, as well as connect with their students. Some of the computers and technologies used by teachers today include: SMART Boards, Microsoft Web Apps, Smartphones, iPads, and laptop computers. Technology has changed the way students and teachers interact.

 

Some technologies used for learning and communicating are portable computers such as; Smartphones, iPads, and laptop computers. These devices allow access to phone calls, emails, contacts, calendars, notes, Office documents, voice recognition software, and the internet, just to name a few. Teachers have the capability to learn new technology, create lesson plans and enjoy their favorite music while waiting in the doctor’s office, walking on a treadmill or having lunch in the park. These devices give teachers the connect ability needed in this generation. I believe the interaction among teachers and students has been revolutionized by technology.

It is essential for me to continually learn and use new technology to prepare to teach the next generation’s workforce. Technology intertwines in every aspect of my current education. I need to become technologically literate and stay current as new programs, hardware, software, and apps become available. Technology continues to change, because people are creating new technology this very moment.