Week 2

This week we went beyond the introduction of the course and now into learning more about ourselves, and how we learn in a digital context. As I mentioned before, I always have felt that I am a native user of technology, as applications in the digital world come fairly easily to me, but I also consider myself as someone that does not really, truly, rely on technology. I felt that if I didn’t have access to it, I would be fine. Once again, the resources we looked at this week made me rethink my initial thought, and I was proved wrong!

Gibbons, S. (CC) 2014.

The first step was to understand what a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) is and to examine our own. I understand it as being all of the tools a person uses consistently while working online or with digital resources. There are also many, many different categories that these resources fit into, as you can see in my lovely PLE diagram : ). Before I made this diagram on the Gliffy tool I thought there couldn’t possibly be many online applications I use, since I was so convinced that I would be able to go without all of this technology EASILY…my mistake! Turns out when I actually sat down and starting listing out the applications that I use on a daily basis, there are quite a few. 

Next we learned exactly what a Personal Learning Network (PLN) is. I found that the video that was provided by our instructor made it very clear. A PLN is how we use tools to engage, interact and communicate with other people online. SO, an individual’s PLN would be a sub-group within their PLE. Make sense? There are a number of websites I personally use to communicate with people, and I have never really considered them all that educational, but now I am thinking they are. If I want people’s opinions on certain things I will post a question on Facebook, and I often use the responses to make an informed decision. Or, on Facebook (I use Facebook quite often as you will notice!) I will create a group chat for the classes where I have a group assignment, then members can easily communicate with each other about ideas and meeting times. I could probably come up with lots more examples, but long story short, I can’t imagine getting rid of my account. How else would I ask classmates for help!?!

When thinking 5 to 10 years down the road from now, nothing is for certain. One thing that I do hope is that I have graduated from Brock University and learned lots from this course : ). I am assuming I will no longer be in school so having access to the internet and being able to utilize all that is has to offer will be very important! I hope to be aware of (and be able to use!) more search tools as well as FREE applications to create. They could always come in useful! I want to be able to search it order to keep myself connected to global issues as a way of learning. I plan on building my PLE by, first of all, paying more attention to tools used around me, and asking more questions to find out what tools other have already found very useful.

Gibbons, S. (CC) 2014.

Speaking of useful tools! Another tool that we were introduced to this week was Wordle. It is extremely easy to use and SO visually appealing. I had seen different collages of words portrayed like this in the past but I honestly never had an idea of how it was done, I guess I thought it was going to be difficult, because I never looked into it any further. It is a really intuitive tool and allows you to change the direction of text, the colours, etc.

Week 2, and I am already feeling so much more knowledgeable!

TTFN

Week 1

I have always thought of myself as a native user of technology. Since our generation has grown up with it, unlike our parents. We had the 2D Nintendo when we were little, and with time the majority of people got the ‘fancy’ Nintendo 64 or a computer to play with, escalating to the technology that we have today. Little did I know that I thought wrong! One week into this course and I am already surprised by how little I know- well, KNEW. While reading through the questions before my exploration into the content I decided I did not want a digital footprint. It took me a whole of 2 minutes to realize that people in this day and age do not really get a choice whether they have one or not.

http://bit.ly/1gNb8rh

Before children are even born or get a choice they are being tracked, starting with their hospital file. Now with media such as Facebook, many pictures such as sonograms and newborn photos are uploaded on the Internet for all friends and family to view. Once a child is old enough to use technology they will register themselves on different online tools. And this will progress with time, having more and more personal information available to the world! My initial thought of not wanting a digital footprint and all of my information available on the Internet is gone. Now I have to think deeper about it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79IYZVYIVLA

If I can’t avoid a digital footprint, I will have to make a positive one! I have to make sure that the things I say and share online do not negatively affect me in any way. Because what I say on the Internet will never truly go away or be undone, I need to think before acting. Just like everything else in life, things can come back to haunt you, and Internet has just made it that much easier! It is important to have your online identity reflect you in a positive light, one which members of the community will find respectable. Luckily for people that have not consciously been thinking about what they have been putting on the Internet for years, there are tools to help enhance your online profile, such as Google Profile and Friendfeed!

After taking a ‘Digital Driver’s License Exam’ from our textbook it seems that I really know my stuff! Many of these dos and don’ts in the test I have learned through growing up with technology in society, although I know there is much more for me to learn. The one area where I was lacking was Digital communication. I am glad to know this at the beginning, so I can work on this through the course. I think that this exam is a good way to test people’s basic knowledge but I think that to really test understanding, the questions would have to be far more in depth. Since we have just started this course, it is implied that the test can not be extremely difficult but I trust that with our further understanding of the digital world as we work through this course all of this information will become second nature to us.

TTFN

Introduction

My name is Sabrina and I must admit that this is my first time ever considering writing a blog. This semester I decided to enroll in an Adult Education course, “Learning in a Digital Context,” in order to better understand how people are utilizing the Internet as a resource and opening their minds to all of the possibilities of learning it has to offer. I will be posting each week to outline what knowledge I have gained through this course.

I am in my last year of Business Administration Co-op, concentrating in Operations Management at Brock University. I have no idea where I will end up after school or what I will be doing but I can guarantee that the Internet will be a resource I am asked to utilize in one way or another over and over again. I have never taken an online course so I decided to take this one to feel more comfortable with this technique of learning and to give me some insight into tools that I may be using in the future.

Now, to tell you a little more about myself and what drives me. I LOVE to travel. I had never been outside of North America until I was 16 years old and I went on an educational tour to Greece for 10 days over March break, it was love. I had the travel bug that so many of us have now caught, and made traveling my mission. I worked whenever I could and saved up all my money. In the two consecutive years of high school I traveled to Egypt and Italy, and could not get enough! When I applied to Brock, I made special note that they had partner business schools across the World that were available for exchange for students that kept up their average. I dreamed of Australia like many of us do and decided to try it out on Christmas break of first year. It was great but I decided that it wasn’t the place for my exchange because it is such a large country and I wanted to travel lots. After years of contemplating where to go, in August of 2013 I set out for Paris, France, which has been my second home for the past 4 months.

Paris was great, but I am a homebody and love spending time with my family! I have always been an only child (if we discount the dog) but in December 2008 my family grew exponentially! All of a sudden I had 6 step siblings! Don’t worry, that wasn’t a typo, I did in fact mean 6. Most would consider it a little overwhelming, but there is a catch to this story. The eldest has been my best friend since we were 12, so I have grown up with all of the kids. I must admit that it gets a little chaotic in our house when everyone is together but I love them all! Of course our family would not be complete without an excitable dog! He is the most spoiled one in the family, getting whatever he wants but I cannot imagine my life without him!

Ta ta for now (TTFN)