Week 12

It's here!

It’s hard to believe that we are nearly done this course! To me it doesn’t feel like that long ago we actually just started! I have definitely learned lots about tools and my own learning habits throughout our exploration.

After receiving the rude awakening in week 1 that essentially everyone that uses the Internet has a digital footprint, I have been very conscious of the things I put online. I realize that we have to consider everything that we say and do, because once it is done, it can never truly be undone. While going through this course I have keep this important fact in mind, keeping my privacy settings as high as possible and being conscious of what I do say. That being said, I was still a little bit surprised when I Googled myself and didn’t find anything extra than what I had way back at the beginning, I guess it did work! As you can imagine, we have done lots of work online, so this shows that although my presence is high, I am still able to keep a positive digital footprint - victory!

I think that anyone that wants to use the Internet needs to be taught and be aware of what we have learned in this class! It would really be hard to sum it up quickly, as you can see we have taken a full semester to go through and absorb that course work and understandings. I ABSOLUTELY think that kids need to start learning this stuff as soon as they start school, in some form or another. I think many young people that have grown up with the Internet don’t understand how powerful it truly is! It can be a good or bad thing. Good because there are so many opportunities and tools at your fingers tips to utilize. But you can also do quite a bit of damage to your name if you don’t have the skills to be a good digital citizen. And once something goes online, even though you may remove or delete it, it is never really gone! This is something that needs to be emphasized so kids realize that the actions they take today can have an affect on their future! They problem is making them understand the implications of their actions while they are still so young.

We all need to work together to make sure “newbies” understand what being a good digital citizen means. There are lots of different articles and blogs with much of the information we have learned in this course. The obstacle is to have it all in one place so that others can learn from it as well. As informed individuals it is our responsibility to pass on the knowledge we now have to others that may not be as well informed. We have to work together to keep the Internet safe; safe from people, in all sense of the word. We have to take the necessary steps to mitigate these risks to be able to enjoy and reap the benefits that the online world has to offer.

TTFN

Week 11

Good day everyone!

Today on Feedly I saw something that I think would surprise most of you. In the title of the article I saw “mini hearts.” When was the last time you heard that term used, because I never had, unless we are referring to candy or something! But no, as you can see in this video, they are most definitely not referring to candy! The article explains the scenario in full detail but I will give you a general and concise overview J. With the progression of technology they have actually been able to make miniature hearts that go around veins to help people with bad circulation pump blood easier. I think that the most impressive part of this is that they are using stem cells to create new organs, instead of the old method of just fixing damaged organs. This could open up a whole world of possibilities for the future, and I have no doubt that with time, the technology will become even more advanced and change the world as we know it even further. Until then, I am going to change your world, by introducing the topic we covered this week, webcasting tools! 

Although I know how much you love reading my blog ;), don’t you just wish that sometimes I could ACTUALLY just say things to you, instead of having to go through all that effort of reading it on your own?? Turns out, there is a solution! One solution that I have often heard of is podcast, but to be truthful I was one of those people with the misconception that podcasts were meant for ipods. A video says it best, they are actually just audio files, “just like a song, it is no different.”  So essentially anywhere where you would store a song, such as an MP3 player, computer or tablet for example, you can have a podcast. The possibilities are truly endless. It can be personal, or educational, one person, or a group of people, whatever your little heart desires. I think that tools such as these could make online learning so much more enjoyable. It could really have an impact on people that don’t have the option to physically attended classes, but would like the course to be more interactive. These tools are just another way to contribute to my digital literacy. Now that I know something like this is an option, I am able to make the most suitable decision when presenting information.

Although I find these tools for recording webcasts fairly simple to use and understand, I will most likely not use them in my PLE. I personally like to put lots of thought into things I say, reading them over and over, especially those things that will be displayed for the world to see, such as this blog! Because of this, speaking via video or podcast does not sound all that appealing to me! To be honest, I really don’t do the type of work at school usually that would require such a tool, and now that I am nearly completed school, I imagine there will be even less of a chance soon!

Well everybody, 11 posts down and only 1 more to go! Hard to believe this journey is almost over!

TTFN

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Sabrina Gibbons Blog is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Week 10

It’s nice to “see” you all back here!

Giardino, J. (CC) 2014 Retrieved from http://nyti.ms/1jNryp1

I don’t think I have fully expressed how much I enjoy Feedly! I set it up way back at the beginning of the semester and every week I get to enjoy articles on topics I am actaully interested in! As I may have mentioned a time or two before, I try to live an active lifestyle and today I found an article that shocked me! “Exercising for Healthier Eyes,” does that sound right to you!? I thought we were supposed to eat carrots to have healthy eyes, not exercise! I have been misinformed! As you can probably predict, I read on so I could inform all you lovely people (maybe a little bit for myself too ;)! The research done on humans so far is limited but tests done on rats lead us to believe this could actually be true! Like our brains, our retinas are filled with neurons, and as these deteriorate, so does our eyesight. Long story short, technology has allowed us to measure these neurones. Those rats that exercise show increased growth factors, which keep the neurons from degeneration in the brain and eyes. Although it will take a long time to have studies from humans, I personally believe that if this happens to animals then it most likely happens to us! So why not go out, get some exercise, and feel great! Maybe we can even do fun things outside soon…. if winter ever ends!

I know one thing that seems to be never ending, the tools that we learn about every week! The people organizing this course seem to have an endless supply J. This week we explored some slideshow tools; Animoto, Photopeach and Prezi are my preferred choices. I find that Prezi is very useful in the school environment to present information in a creative way, while Animoto and Photopeach are tailored for the use of photos. In my personal life, and beyond university, it is most likely that I will use Photopeach again. It is very useful for school related presentations, as well as for personal use to display pictures to friends and family. The downfall with this, as it seems to be with all the similar tools, is that the free version is very limited compared to its full capabilities. There is a limited amount of pictures you can put in one presentation and the song choices are VERY limited. This is true for both Animoto and Photopeach.

I think that I could and would add Prezi and Photopeach to my PLE. I choose Photopeach over Animoto because a larger amount of pictures can be included in the free version of Photopeach. I love the idea of Prezi, it is far more eye catching than a simple (and possibly overdone) Powerpoint presentation! And the tool is also very user friendly. Using these tools will allow me to create visually appealing presentations, and will also contribute to the learning of others. When information is presented in an interesting manner, it is much easier (and more fun!) to learn. For this reason, they both shall go in create!

Well, that’s all folks! Don’t worry, we still have 2 more weeks left of exploring together!

TTFN

Week 9

Long time, no blog!

Rabin, R. (CC) 2014 Retrieved from: http://nyti.ms/1kT9qqN

I feel as though it has been weeks, when it fact it has been a week and a half since my last reflection. When visiting my Feedly I found something that ‘caught’ my eye. J I have always been told that I do not eat enough fish, and that fish is brain food. WELL, I thought that I had found an article that would prove my parents wrong! It discusses how the increasing level of mercury in fish is a growing concern, detected with some advanced technology no doubt! It could potentially do more harm than good. I thought I was going to win this battle, until I read on. I realized that they are saying that because of this people need to be more conscious of what kinds of fish they eat and make sure they don’t have high levels of mercury. This means that people should avoid eating predatory fish, or larges amounts of it, because they have high amounts of mercury built up. So for now, I have lost this battle and will just keep swimming along, telling you all about my discoveries this week!

The 2 tools that we explored this week were VoiceThread and PollDaddy. VoiceThread allows people to make interactive presentations. They can use text, voice clips and videos to express themsleves and make learning easier and more interesting. Also, the audience of the presentation can comment and add their knowledge using the methods I mentioned above and also have the option to call in or upload a file. This can be very useful when trying to get input and collaborate with others. PollDaddy is a tool that easily allows people to ask questions and poll the results. It is free and is easy for both the creator and the user. This is very important because usually when you are asking someone to do a survey they are going out of their way to do you a favor, they would not be as willing if it was complicated or if there was a fee. Both of these tools are very useful and serve their purpose for those people who need these services. I am currently in my last year of my undergrad(finally!). At this point in my life I do not do the type of work that would need this kind of collaboration. However, like technology, life is always changing, and there may come a time when I may need such tools. I will not be including them in my PLE now, but I will keep them in mind moving forward.

It seems that VoiceThread’s main purpose is to get the thoughts, knowledge, and opinions of an idea from many people, understanding different arguments, and working through any ambiguous information. While a collaborative tool such as Google Docs is there to facilitate the work between people, working together to complete a common project or task. The work I do in school is more geared towards reports and presentations in a team environment, making Google Docs my preferred choice. I think there is starting to be a pattern here… I am now a HUGE fan of Google Docs, but no need to fret, I am still keeping an open mind for all the other tools!

TTFN

Technology Use Scenario

Scenario #16
Kelly just got her driver’s license. Her parents allow her to take the car to school and to her part time job. She enjoys the freedom of being able to drive. One night, her parents allow her to pick up her friend Sally and go to the movies. She begins driving to Sally’s house and remembers she wanted to remind her other friend Lisa that they would be meeting after the movie. She decides that she can text Lisa and continue to drive to Sally’s house. Kelly gets so involved with typing her text to Lisa that she does not see the car ahead of her braking. At the last minute, she is able to step on the brakes and stop her car before becoming involved in an accident. What went wrong? (Ribble, 2011, p. 93)

As I touched on in my Week 8 blog, I believe that technology has more responsibilities then there are rights. In this situation Kelly exemplifies how we as users forget this very important fact. The first reason we can see she is in the wrong is because texting or using your phone while driving is illegal. But it is so far beyond that. It is illegal because it is dangerous and irresponsible. I think that our generation has all done this at one point or another, and for the most part, everyone knows it is wrong. But why do we continue to send little messages here and there, thinking it is harmless? Our generation is so fast paced; we want everything done as quickly as possible and are always multitasking. We can see this by the way society has transformed. Kelly made a bad decision when she decided to text while driving. From the context of this scenario is seems that she was not even in a hurry, so why the rush? There were a number of options that would have been far better.

1) Kelly should have waited until she got to Sally’s house, then texted

2) She also could have pulled over and texted while safely parked
3) As she only needed to send the message for a plan after the movie, she could have texted while at the theatre before the movie started

It is not a shock, but 77% of young drivers are confident that they can safely text and drive. When it comes to driving, it is not solely based on the individual. You also have to remember that even if you personally are able to safely text and drive, there are other people that you have to share the road with as well. If you are texting while driving, that probably means there are other people doing it too, and they may not be as capable as you. In 2011, 23% of vehicle collisionswere admitted to have involved cell phones, that is the equivalent of 1.3 million crashes, and that is only what people actually admitted to! When you are driving and using a phone you are distracted, whether you want to admit it or not. This decreases your reaction time, which could lead to an accident that could have potentially been avoided. Even if you are reaching for a phone to use the speech to text application or dialing a phone number and using your Bluetooth, you are distracted in some way.

When you do this, it is not only your life you are putting in danger, it is everyone around you. Can you imagine the guilt you would feel if you had texted a buddy of yours to say hi, and you got in an accident that killed people? What if you killed someone’s parents? Would you like to tell those children that they will never see their parents again because you wanted to ask ‘John’ what he was up to that night? What if your parents, a sibling, a friend or even a friend of a friend had their life taken away from them because someone driving felt they had the RIGHT to text while driving?

Our actions and the decisions we make everyday are very powerful, we have to be aware of this and make educated choices. 

Does that put things in perspective?

TTFN

Ribble, M. (2011). Digital citizenships in schools (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: International Society for Technology in Education.