Week 12: Wrapping it up

My online course, ADED 1P32, has come to an end and thus, this will potentially be the last post on this blog. It has truly been an eye opening experience, showing me how little I know about the Internet. This course has introduced me to numerous tools that have and will continue to enhance my learning. For that reason, this is the kind of course I wish I would've taken during my first year at University. Tools such as Diigo would've been helpful while doing research for a paper, while knowing that you can find Copyright friendly images on Flickr would've been helpful for presentations.
Growing up in this digital era I was exposed to technology at an early age and so I am able to easily navigate the Internet and get the hang of new software pretty quickly. I've had a digital footprint for over fifteen years; however, I didn't quite understand what being a responsible digital citizen meant up until I took this course.

Callahan, D. (2012, March 9). Digital Citizenship [Online Image] Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/

One of the biggest things I learned from this course, aside from exploring numerous online tools, was Copyright law and the use of Creative Commons media. Throughout my academic years I have created numerous presentations that included countless images which, although properly cited, might've had Copyright licenses that I wasn't aware of. I could have been committing a crime for all I know. Ever since I found out about Flickr, I've been using it to search images with Creative Commons. I use media appropriately now by reading the terms of the license for each image. Knowing what rights and responsibilities come with the use of technology has helped me become a more responsible digital citizen. I strongly believe that because kids are getting exposed to technology at a younger age, they need to be taught the nine elements of digital citizenship - emphasizing their rights and responsibilities. The use of technology does not automatically make you a digital citizenship, HOW you use technology is the deciding factor.
This course has allowed me to come out of my shell in order to collaborate with others. I had always been reluctant to joining social media sites for fear of damaging my digital footprint. I now believe that as long as I follow proper netiquette when posting on these sites, my digital footprint will remain a positive one. That being said, I plan to continue using sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest to promote appropriate behaviours in others by sharing links to useful tools and websites related to digital citizenship. Edudemic and Free Technology for Teachers have become my favourite sites to share posts from since they regularly promote digital citizenship. The exploration of tools through this course and through resources from my Feedly has greatly expanded my PLN. I am hopeful that although this course has ended, I will continue to explore tools to further expand my PLN and keep up with all the posts on my Feedly so to remain informed of any news regarding the World Wide Web. Here's to life-long learning. Cheers!

Venosdale, K. (2014, January 19). Digital Citizenship Discussion Starter [Online Image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/

Week 11: Webcasting and MOOCs

Forsythe, G. (2012, July 11). What is A MOOC? [Online Image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/

Tools that allow us to create and share our knowledge with others have helped students get actively engaged in their learning. One of the newer ways of sharing knowledge is through webcasts - audio or video that is streamed online and distributed to various listeners/viewers. Webcasting is essentially broadcasting over the Internet and MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have used this as a way of providing more cost-effective options to students. A MOOC is a course that is open, participatory, distributed and supports lifelong networked learning. Dave Cormier (2012) explains What is a MOOC? in the video below:

Similar to MOOCs, organizations like Khan Academy work outside the classic learning system by providing free educational resources, such as video tutorials that are stored on YouTube, to encourage individual self-paced lessons. Richard Byrne (2014) suggests taking MOOCs about search skills that Google offered a couple of summers ago but that are still available online for anyone to use in order to become a better researcher. Additionally, I have included a list of other MOOC courses available just in case you're interested in taking one.

This week I explored two different types of webcasting tools: one for podcasts and another for screencasts. Out of the many free tools to choose from I decided to try the following:

1. GarageBand - As a Mac user, this seemed like the most convenient tool to explore since the software was already pre-installed onto my computer. Although it was really simple to create a podcast on here, I learned a few tricks from this post like how to clean out noise from a recording. Note: if you're not a Mac user I'd suggest you try any of the free podcast tools from this list.

2. Screenr - It does not require software download (unlike Jing) and allows instant online publishing. Again, super simple to use: select the size of the recording frame, click on the red button to record, press Done and then Publish! Here's a helpful tutorial on how to use Screenr. Make sure you check out the screencast I created.

Personally, I don't like listening to myself... I find that my voice sounds totally different than what I think it sounds like and it just weirds me out, so webcasting is not something I plan on doing. On the other hand, watching screencasts and listening to podcasts I do enjoy doing so I'll be adding webcasting tools such as iTunes and YouTube to my PLE as they've been tools that have expanded my learning.

Last week, while on the topic of digital rights and responsibilities, I talked about Creative Commons both in a blog post and on a PhotoPeach slideshow I shared. This week, I am happy to announce that I have added a Creative Commons license to my blog (About time!!). Which brings me to a few articles that came across on my Feedly from Free Technology For Teachers:
1. Videos and Guides to Copyright & Creative Commons
2. Confused About Copyright? Check This Chart
3. 30,000+ Images of Art and Artifacts to Download and Re-use for Free (I have been using Flickr to obtain pictures that I include in my blog posts, but this is another great resource to locate Copyright friendly images)

Week 10: Images & Slideshows

A remix is essentially an alternative version of an existing piece of work and it seems to be one of the newest art forms, not only in music but in other types of media as well. 

Cardoso, M. (2007, May 20). DJ [Online Image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/

Creative tools allow us to express ourselves, and so one must be aware of the responsibilities that come with the use of such tools. Understanding Copyright law is an important concept that digital learners must grasp: Knowing when or how to appropriately use media created by others, and how to protect their own creations. 
According to the Copyright Act of Canada, Copyright is granted the moment an original work is created regardless of whether the creator applied for a license or not. Copyright means "all rights reserved" and only the copyright owner, often the creator of the work, is allowed to produce or reproduce the work or to permit anyone else to do so.

Irish Typepad (2010, June 5). Copyright Locked [Online Image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/

 But what if the owner wants to allow others to use his/her work without having to give them direct permission to do so? 

Bonillo Sierra, A. (2009, April 28). creative_commons [Online Image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/

Creative Commons licenses forge a balance inside the traditional “all rights reserved” setting that copyright law creates. They allow the creator of a work to grant additional permissions when deciding how they want their work to be used. 
The term fair use originated in the United States and permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders. A similar principle, fair dealing, exists in Canadian law and is more restrictive. Differences between fair use and fair dealing can be found on this table.

Kirby Ferguson produced a video series called Everything is a Remix, in which he examines modern attitudes toward intellectual property and how these attitudes stifle creativity rather than foster it.

I used PhotoPeach to create a basic slideshow to explain the importance of Copyright laws, as well as the difference between a work that has a Copyright license and a work with a Creative Commons license. You can check it out on the "SLIDESHOW" page I added to my blog.
Additionally, I used Flickr to locate Copyright friendly images to include in my PhotoPeach slideshow. 
These tools are now part of my PLE: PhotoPeach within the "creating" section and Flickr within the "sharing" section.

While on the topic of creative tools, I came across a post on my Feedly titled 10 Word Cloud Generators You Have Probably Never Tried. On one of my previous posts I talked about Wordle and how I used it to create a word cloud on digital citizenship. While Wordle was simple to use (plug your text into the box, select a few options, and you’ve got yourself a word cloud), it did not have an option to choose a shape for your word cloud. If I would've explored more word cloud tools rather than sticking to just one I would've come across Tagul, which works just like Wordle but allows you to choose from a variety of shapes! Try out some yourself and see which one you like most.

Week 9: Practicing Digital Responsibility

Maxwell, S. (2007, December 16). Working Together Teamwork Puzzle Concept [Online Image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/

Collaborative tools allow us to construct knowledge TOGETHER and this week I used VoiceThread,  Polldaddy, and Blogger to connect with others in order to learn from them as well as share my own expertise with them. As I learn more about becoming a digital citizen, I have come to realize that some areas of digital rights and responsibilities still cause debate. Polls are a great way to see at a glance how a community is thinking!! Polldaddy is a service that allows you to create surveys, polls and quizzes, and get your content rated. It collects responses and gives you the option to display immediate results. My online course (ADED 1P32) used Polldaddy this week to do a quick check of our positions on some of the issues around digital rights and responsibilities by responding to 12 scenarios of the Digital Compass Activity in our textbook (Ribble, 2011, p. 96-98). We were in full agreement on some of the scenarios of appropriate and inappropriate technology use, while not so much on others. Polldaddy's immediate response capability allows users to see the impact of their opinion so that they can engage in discussions.
A great tool for engaging in discussions is VoiceThread - a multimedia slide show that allows users to navigate slides and contribute/comment using audio, text, or video. VoiceThreads can be exported as a video file, shared on social media sites, or embedded into websites to encourage discussions on a topic. I added a page on my blog labeled "VOICETHREAD" that includes a discussion VoiceThread on digital rights and responsibilities. Feel free to add your own comments to the VoiceThread!
Another way to engage in discussions is through blogs. People can leave comments expressing their opinions on a specific topic. This week we were asked to choose a Technology Use Scenario from our textbook (Ribble, 2011, p. 92-94) and write a blog on it addressing some questions. I shared the link on Twitter to encourage more of a discussion as well.

These three tools can be included in the "sharing" section of my PLE since this week I used them for collaboration. Additionally, VoiceThread can be included in the "creating" section, while Polldaddy can also be included into the "collecting information" section. Either way, they're all great collaborating tools. 
The Internet has made it easier to obtain and share information, thus increasing our knowledge exponentially. Almost every single website now has the option to share their posts: through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, google+, email... bringing infinite amounts of information right to our fingertips. 

Licht, M. (2011, July 16). Speak, Memory [Online Image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/

I'd like to share two posts from my Feedly reader this week, both from Edudemic. The first post by Katie Lepi outlines four ways the Internet is making kids smarter: by improving cognition, writing ability and social skills, as well as increasing interest in reading. "By the age of 2, 90% of kids have an online history" and "by the age of 5, 50% have used a tablet or other internet connected device".  Because kids are leaving their digital footprint at such an early age, it is imperative that they are taught how to be digital citizens as early as possible. The second post, also by Katie Lepi, lists 45 tools to create polls and quizzes (in case you weren't convinced by Polldaddy's capabilities).

Technology Use Scenario

Alberto G. (2006, July 26). Exam [Online Image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/

Scenario 6: John and his friend Mike both have camera phones. Mike sits in the back of the class and uses his phone to photograph the test for John, who is taking the test that afternoon. Mike then emails the photograph of the test to John's phone (Ribble, 2011).

As we review digital rights and responsibilities in my online class (ADED 1P32), we were asked to select one of the 17 Technology Use Scenarios from our textbook, like the one above, and consider the following questions:

1. Is the individual in the scenario using technology inappropriately?
I think most of us would agree that Mike is engaging in inappropriate academic behaviour that would lead to disciplinary measures. Mike is helping John to cheat on the test.

2. What actions make the scenario appropriate or inappropriate?
Brock University has an Academic Integrity Policy that outlines the use of unauthorized material, the making of unauthorized information available to other students, and the copying of information from another student on examinations or tests as academic misconduct:
 “Academic Dishonesty refers to a Student’s engagement (knowingly or otherwise) in behaviours that serve to deceive members of the University community in an effort to achieve academic benefit.”

Mike is making unauthorized information available to John in an effort to help John achieve academic benefit, and if John chooses to use the photograph of the test that John sent him, he'd be using unauthorized material and copying information from another student.

3. What could or should the individual have done differently?
Mike should not be using his phone during a test. It is imperative that students familiarize themselves with their educational institution's academic integrity policies and that the institution is clear about their Acceptable Use Policy as more and more technology makes its way into academic institutions.
The use of cell phones during a test or examination should be prohibited. Students should be asked to place unauthorized material out of reach, such as under their chairs or at the front of the room. 

I found an interesting post on the psychology of cheating that gives an insight into why people cheat and outlines situations in which people are more likely to cheat. But how do you prevent students from cheating? Plymouth University had signs up warning students not to cheat without realizing that the signs had mathematical formulas that helped students cheat... Talk about ironic. Here's the link to the news article, along with pictures of the signs the University had made.

What do you think about the scenario above?  Is it appropriate or inappropriate? What do you think is the best way to prevent academic dishonesty? The University of Maryland has a list of suggestions on how to prevent academic dishonesty. Share your thoughts on the comment box below :)

Storr, F. (2006, June 24). School Exam Sign [Online Image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/

Week 8: Wikis and Concept Mapping

Nohat. (2006, July 1). Wikipedia Logo [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://commons.wikimedia.org/

Anyone who owns a computer has come across Wikipedia - the most popular wiki on the World Wide Web. We all know what it is: a collaboratively edited, multilingual, free-access, free content Internet encyclopedia. But what exactly is a wiki? A wiki is a s a web application that allows people to add, modify, or delete content in collaboration with others. Ward Cunningham, the developer of the first wiki software, WikiWikiWeb, originally described it as "the simplest online database that could possibly work." Due to their simplicity and collaborative feature, wikis can be used to plan a camping trip, or to create and share instructional content on the web. Can I see myself using a wiki? If you would've asked me this question a week ago I would've said no. Wikipedia was one of the only wikis I knew about, and in all honestly it seems awfully complicated to edit a page. However, now that I've learned about how easy they are to use I might just use it to plan the camping trip I'm going to in a few months with my friends - a handy way to create lists of what we 'have' and what we 'need' to get organized.
A wiki differs from a blog in that the content is created without any defined owner or leader. Additionally, a wiki differs from Google Drive and Evernote in that wikis have little implicit structure, allowing structure to emerge according to the needs of the users.
Which one do I like better? Hard to say since it depends on what each is used for: Wikis are great for sharing information with others; Google Drive is, in my opinion, the best tool for group projects; Evernote is handy for storing content you find on the web and creating your own notes; and blogs allow for sharing of opinions and discussions. 
Each of these tools have enhanced my learning, with wikis (Wikipedia in particular) being one of the tools I use the most. Although educational institutions don't view wikis as a reliable source of information, since anyone can edit them, they are great at summarizing information on a specific topic and often provide references. This one particular wiki lists several resources on digital rights and responsibilities and provides a step-by-step guide on how to use brainstorming tools such as bubbl.us to create concept map diagrams.
One of the most important aspects about being a digital citizen is knowing the expectations that accompany the privileges and freedom to engage in technology. I made a simple concept map using bubbl.us to highlight what I feel are the most important digital rights and responsibilities a digital citizen must know: 

Krahn, A. (CC) 2014

An interesting article on anonymity came up on my Feedly recently. It talks about the pros and cons of user annonymity, with one of the cons being cyberbullying. It is imperative that kids be taught the nine rules of digital citizenship, specifically highlighting their digital responsibilities. Within this technological era one cannot afford to be "digitally unaware" as ahoneysett (2014) points out on another blog.

Week 7: Collaborative Work

Throughout my educational journey, all the way from middle school and up until university, I've been assigned group projects... My thoughts on group projects? Probably the same as everyone else: Endless amounts of stress.

Calvin. (2013, November 26). 'Group Projects' [Cartoon]. Retrieved from http://allmyroads.com/

There's always the problem of not everyone putting in the same amount of effort into the project, but the whole process of collaborating with others and the messiness that comes with it is a much bigger problem. Back in the day, working on a group project could sometimes be a bit of a hassle:

•  In middle school, it meant getting your parents to drive you to someone's house so that everyone could work on the project together <-- Takes a bit of planning 
• In high school, MSN Messenger was useful to chat with your group and brainstorm on how to go about completing the project. But completing the project was still a hassle since it involved numerous document attachments being sent over email - creating copies and copies of the same file <-- Can be somewhat confusing if you lose track of which version is the edited version
• Later on, MSN messenger got replaced with Skype, which allowed you to share your screen with others, but it still required everyone to split the work and have someone who was in charge of editing and bringing all the 'sections' together <-- Still annoying
• In university, I was introduced to Google Drive <-- Totally changed how school work is done

Technology has now made it easy to collaborate online: Google Drive is a FREE service provided by Google, which enables user cloud storage, file sharing and collaborative editing. It features word processing, as well as spreadsheet and presentation programs, but its best feature is the comment option - a chat tool that allows you to work on the document simultaneously while discussing the work with your partners.

Another useful tool for collaborating on group projects is TodaysMeet - a no-registration temporary chat site. This is great for brainstorming if members in the group do not have accounts for other social networking sites, such as Facebook or Twitter. Similar to Twitter, however, TodaysMeet limits messages to 140 characters, which means that you may have to edit your messages sometimes before sending (or just send multiple messages if you have a long comment). TodaysMeet also features an option to transcribe the chat for submission and review later.

Being a Google user and having used Google Drive for a number of years now, this tool was already included in the 'sharing' section of my PLE. Now I can add TodaysMeet to the 'socializing' section of my PLE: 

Krahn, A. (CC) 2014

As my PLE keeps growing, my need for productivity is increasing as well. Because there isn't time to read everything in depth, I'm starting to develop skills for skimming/scanning and selecting a few articles for reading. Which brings me to an article I came across on my Feedly from Scientific American: Speed-Reading Reborn for Smartphones. Samsung recently integrated the new Spritz speed-reading app into their Galaxy S5 smartphone, allowing users to speed read e-mails, text messages, social media feeds, maps and other digital content. More time to absorb more information now thanks to this cool app!

Week 6: Working in the Cloud

Being a Google user, I had already been introduced to the wonderful world of online collaboration through Google Drive - a service provided by Google, which allows users to store and share files within the cloud, with the option of collaborative editing. A great tool for group projects since Google Drive features a word processor, a spreadsheet program, a presentation program, and a vector graphics editor. It also gives you the option to create files within the cloud or upload files from your computer and edit them directly online. Additionally, you can view your files offline, which is useful if you're on the go and nowhere near Internet connection. But the best thing about it is that it's FREE!

barrymieny. (2011, September 10). Evernote Icon [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://www.softicons.com/

This week I discovered another great tool for online collaborating: Evernote - an information management tool that allows you to archieve, organize, and manage information, including documents, images, bookmarks, etc., from any Internet-capable device. I find it to be a mash between Diigo (a great online bookmarking tool that I talked about on one of my previous posts) and Google Docs. The only drawback with Evernote is that unless you have a 'Premium' account (which you need to pay $$$ in order to have), online collaboration is out of the picture - you can still share 'notes' with others but they're not allowed to edit them. Evernote, however, does allow a 3 month trial period when you sign up for the 'Free' account, which I'm definitely taking advantage of (never turn anything down when it's FREE).

Krahn, A. (CC) 2014

Discovering all these awesome online tools is great, but as my PLE grows, monitoring and curating those tools is beginning to become fairly time-consuming. Thankfully there are online services such as Zapier and IFTTT that integrate webapps to easily move your data and automate tedious tasks. They're based on a conditional statement that includes a 'trigger' and an 'action': "If [this happens on one service], then [do that on another service]."As expected, though, there are pros and cons with everything. Zapier provided a greater number of apps that you can integrate as well as A LOT more 'triggers', but you need to pay in order to integrate some webapps. IFFT, although it has less webapps that you can integrate and less 'triggers', it is completely FREE.
I used Zapier to integrate Evernote and Twitter since I liked the triggers on Zapier better, but I used IFTTT to integrate Evernote and Feedly since that specific integration in Zapier required $$$.

I've now added 3 new tools to my PLE: one to my 'creating' section (Evernote), and two to my 'organizing' section (Zapier and IFTTT). Hooray!

Krahn, A. (CC) 2014

Since I explored Twitter last week, I thought this post that came across on my Feedly would be relevant for sharing: It's a post from readwrite.com titled It's Twitter vs. Free Speech, And Free Speech Is Losing. Twitter had long distinguished itself as a strong supporter of free speech and an advocate for its users' privacy, but recently it's succumbed to various requests from countries (Pakistan, Turkey, and Russia) to block accounts and remove tweets. Users are suffering the consequences of yet another tech company putting profit before people. Thoughts?

Week 5: Microblogging and Building my PLN

As I've been exploring various types of tools that can be used to 'curate' the web and collect information, my PLE keeps expanding (and I love it). But the Internet also allows us to connect with people who are useful in guiding our learning experiences and, according to Light (2001), social learning is key for success. That is why I'm developing a Personal Learning Network (PLN) of individuals who can be useful in supporting my learning through the use of Twitter.

ebooksinternational. (2014, April 10). "Twitter Logo" [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/

Yes, I'm 22 years old and up until now I was never interested in joining Twitter (Even my 18 year old sister has had a Twitter account for a few years now... awkward). As I've said before multiple times already, I've always felt like Facebook was enough of a distraction in my life and I thought that the more involved I got with social media, the less productive I would be. However, after setting up a Twitter account (as per the requirements for my online class and not so  much by choice) I saw the potential for it to become a useful tool that could be included in my PLE - it allows me to be updated on trending topics around the world and obtain useful information, while also being able to share my own knowledge. I began following journals related to my field, such as Scientific American Mind (@sciammind) and quickly had a list of 50+ people and sites that I follow (all within less than an hour). My worst nightmare came true: I am now addicted to Twitter (thanks ADED 1P32). I can't stop. I start by following someone with similar interests as me and then quickly follow people they're following - it's the never ending circle of Twitter following.

Krahn, A. (2014, May 26). "Twitter Account" [Screenshot]

As with anything on the Internet, too much information can be overwhelming. That's where TweetDeck comes in handy - it organizes your Twitter account through a customizable layout that allows you to create searches to track topics, events and hashtags.
I previously mentioned how I was surprised that Google Reader had been discontinued due to declining use. I first blamed 'information overload' but I believe now that Twitter is to blame. Twitter keeps you updated on what's happening around the world with the most trending tags. More conveniently, Twitter allows me to follow most of the RSS subscriptions on my Feedly (such as news sites and bloggers). For that reason, I think I'll be spending more time on Twitter than on Feedly.
I had trouble deciding which section of my PLE to add Twitter on since it is handy for sharing resources, socializing, and obtaining information. I decided, however, that Twitter fit more into the socializing section since it's all about 'connecting' with other people.

Krahn, A. (CC) 2014

Because I've been spending so much time on the Internet lately and feel the need to still be productive I thought I'd share a blog from Edudemic on How To Be More Productive. If you wanna read more, you can subscribe to an RSS feed from the Edudemic website OR follow Edudemic on Twitter @Edudemic - your choice ;)

Week 4: Curating the Web

The bookmarking tool in your browser is handy for "saving" sites you want to revisit. However, bookmarking can get complicated when you are trying to track many websites at once. Although RSS readers, such as Feedly, are a handy online tool for acquiring and reading information that is updated frequently (blogs, news) some of the sites on your browser's bookmarking tool are static and remain as bookmarks on my computer. But because bookmarks collected through browsers remain on the computer where they are collected, you can't access those bookmarks on a different computer!  Fortunately, there are some cloud resources that allow us to collect bookmarks that can be accessed through any device that has Internet capability. 

 jPodcaster. (2011, July 3). Diigo Icon [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://elifelonglearning.wordpress.com/

Honestly, my MIND was BLOWN when I discovered Diigo - a social bookmarking website which allows users to, not only bookmark and tag webpages, but also highlight and attach sticky notes. I cannot believe I cruised through four years of undergraduate studies not knowing about this tool! Diigo takes research to a whole new level. As a science student preparing for a research paper, I would always save the PDF of a journal directly onto my computer so that I could use Adobe Reader to highlight and add sticky notes onto the file - kind of how Diigo does it, except that doing it this way takes up a lot of memory on my laptop and it's hard to remember which journals were on what topic looking solely at the title. Diigo keeps ALL of my journal articles categorized based on tags that I add, saving memory space on my laptop. It also allows me to read sites I've bookmarked even if I'm offline and revisit pages that no longer exist!  
I further explored Google Alerts, which sends me email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on my queries, unlike Feedly, which updates you on ALL content on a specific site you subscribe to. The one problem with Google, however, is that it chooses which sites are near the top of the search results based on their Panda ranking algorithm. Bharati Ahuja describes this on her blog as a Darwinian fitness of quality content for websites. With so much content out on the Internet and so little time to digest, one can get 'content fried' as Beth Canter explains content curation on her blog. Whatis.com defines content curation as 'the gathering, organizing and online presentation of content related to a particular theme or topic' - which is handy if you want to learn about a topic in a quick and concise manner. 
Diigo and Google Alerts are GREAT tools to add onto the 'collecting information' section of my PLE. 

Krahn, A. (CC) 2014

 This week I came across a news article from my Feedly titled 'The Plan To Kill The Internet Uncovered: 10 Ways Web Freedom Is Being Butchered Worldwide'. I found it relevant to my learning as I further explore the World Wide Web and all that it has to offer, since there are numerous threats to the freedom of the Internet. Now that I've become a more engaged digital citizen, I sure hope the Internet does not cease to exist as we know it because I'm not done exploring just yet!

“content fried” or so much good content and so little time to digest it. - See more at: http://www.bethkanter.org/content-curation-101/#sthash.YJbxqK3A.dpufWhatis.com defines content curation as 'the gathering, organizing and online presentation of content related to a particular theme or topic'.

My Experience With RSS Feeds

This week, I explored yet another new tool online: an RSS reader called Feedly. I subscribed to about 20+ websites while exploring it but I had trouble subscribing to feeds using the icon on my browser toolbar so I decided to try a different RSS reader. Being a Google user, my first choice was Google Reader, but to my surprise it was discontinued last year due to declining use (which made me wonder why less people were using RSS readers- Information overload maybe?). Anyway, I decided to just leave it at that and keep using Feedly since I've been pretty busy with work lately. Other than the minor problem I had using the RSS icon, Feedly is a simple site to use. It also suggests new sites to follow based on my existing subscriptions, which has been fun so far but I am afraid that I might soon get overwhelmed with all the information available for me to read. Feedly does, however, have a 'read it later' option so I don't have to worry about information overload for now. I subscribed to the New York Times for news updates, but I haven't been really following those feeds since I already have a news app on my phone that provides me with constant updates on current news all over the world. I've been mostly enjoying reading feeds on blogs, which aren't necessarily enriching my learning. A while back someone had shared a link to a blog called Fashion by Mayhem in which a mother posts pictures of dresses her daughter makes out of paper.

Angie. (2013). "Mayhem" [Screenshot]. Retrieved from http://www.fashionbymayhem.com/

She usually writes a paragraph or two explaining the inspiration behind the design and updates on how famous her daughter is getting. This child is honestly a prodigy. The designs and patterns she creates for her dresses look like the ones a professional designer would come up with and sell for millions of dollars. I was following the blog for a while, back when I had just found out about them, but soon forgot about it and stopped visiting their blog. Then I learned about RSS feeds and decided to subscribe to their blog, along with many others I had once visited but stopped following because I forgot about them. Now instead of aimlessly surfing the Internet on my free time I can just read the updates on my Feedly. My favourite post on Fashion by Mayhem was the one in which Mayhem (that's the child's nickname for anonymity purposes) designs a dress inspired by an image she found on Google while searching for 'Project Runway dresses'. Here's the link to the post: Anatomy of a Paper Project Runway Dress.

Angie. (2014, January 23). "Project Runway Dress" [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://www.fashionbymayhem.com/

Week 3: RSS Feeds

I've been guilty of surfing the Internet a few times with no real purpose - mostly scrolling down my Facebook news feed to see if anyone has done anything interesting or has posted any cool pictures. Sometimes I go on random websites and bookmark them if they catch my eye so I can come back to them later. To be honest though, I don't usually check my bookmarks that often so most of those sites are eventually forgotten. Not to mention that keeping up with all the information that is out on the Internet can sometimes be overwhelming. 

OCAL. (2008, March 26). RSS Logo [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://www.clker.com/

But what if I told you there's a way to sort out the information that you need and keep up with the headlines, policies, trends, and tools you want to know about? Putting the Internet to work ... for ME (Now that's a thought). RSS stands for ‘Really Simple Syndication’ and many people describe it as a 'news feed' that you subscribe to. Feedly is an RSS reader that provides you with a method of getting relevant and up to date information sent to you for you to read in your own time. It saves you time and helps you to get the information you want quickly after it was published. RSS feeds solve the problems with bookmarking, such as seeing the same information over and over again on sites that don’t update very often or missing information when you forget to check your bookmarks, which is the case for me. 

Hansel. (2013, July 3). "Feedly Logo" [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://hansel.co.in/

One thing I liked about using Feedly was that you can personalize the layout of your feeds and you can add or delete as many subscriptions as you like, depending on how often your needs or interest change. The one problem I had with Feedly, however, was that it wouldn’t let me subscribe to feeds using the icon on my browser toolbar, which is not a big deal since I can always manually input the URL onto the search box on Feedly. Perhaps when I have more time I will explore other readers such as Bloglines, and see which one I’m more comfortable using. RSS readers are a great tool to add to my PLE since they conveniently bring several pieces of information from all over the Internet to one place. Below is an updated diagram of my PLE. I changed the layout of my last PLE and added and ‘organizing’ section to it for Feedly. As I continue to explore new tools, I am sure that my PLE will be constantly updated and forever changing. 

Krahn, A. (CC) 2014

Learning about RSS feeds reminded me of several blogs I used to visit often but forgot about, as I got busier with school and work. I had a great laugh reading Texts from Bennett (which might not be the most appropriate at times, but still hilarious) and looking through the cutest pictures of paper dresses made by a little girl on Fashion by Mayhem. Now that I’ve founds such a great tool to keep me updated on my favourite blogs, I might have to organize my time more wisely so that I can read posts while still be somewhat productive.

Week 2: Defining my personal learning environment

As a university student in this technological era I have been engaged in a learning management system (LMS) throughout the past four years. An LMS such as the one Brock University uses (Sakai) is a software that controls how students learn, while a personal learning environment (PLE) gives you control over how you learn by integrating a number of Web 2.0 technologies like blogs, Wikis, RRS feeds, and Facebook.

Krahn, A. (CC) 2014

To the left is a diagram made using Gliffy that maps out the sites I use, as of today, in my PLE . It is not concrete, however, since my learning environment is always changing as my goals change and as I come across new sites. Envisioning myself in 5 years I see myself in research, having obtained a PhD in Neuroscience. Because technology is rapidly advancing, it is important to keep myself up to date in order to be confident with my skills if I want to evolve as well. As a researcher, it would be beneficial to collaborate with other fellow researchers through tools such as Google Drive and Wikis to expand my knowledge on current topics. A social PLE empowers learners to obtain information through peer-to-peer learning. After creating a diagram of my PLE I realize I haven't allowed myself to explore new tools and have limited my learning to basic tools such as Microsoft Office Suite. As a science student, most of my time on the Internet is spent on research, relying heavily on Google and the Brock Library database to find scientific journals. As I have mentioned before (and I'm sure I will mention it multiple times again), I have not been very social on the Internet for fear of damaging my digital footprint. I would like, however, to engage myself in online activities that will allow me to become more social, such as following people on Twitter who have similar interests as me, or subscribing to RRS feeds for journals of professors and researchers in my field of study. I believe it would be beneficial to get into the habit of keeping up to date with such feeds, perhaps starting by checking them once a week and hopefully checking them more often as I assign more time of my day to Internet activities.  I would also like to explore new tools that could expand my PLE, as well as find tools redundant to the ones I have, since at some point in the future some of the sites and tools I use for my PLE will cease to exist. This week I explored Dropbox, a site similar to Google Drive. Although I highly doubt Google will cease to exist (or could it?), not everyone I know uses Google Drive and prefers to use Dropbox. 

Krahn, A. (CC) 2014

I have also explored a REALLY cool site called Wordle. It generates "word clouds" from text that you provide. To the right is a word cloud I created using text from my last blog about digital footprints. As I dive deeper into the World Wide Web and explore potential resources to expand my PLE, I still hope to have a balance between the time I spend staring at a computer and the time I spend interacting with people in the real world.

Week 1: What it means to live in this technological era

Retrieved from http://www.greading.org/

Almost everyone you know has a digital footprint by now. It is nearly impossible for anyone that owns a computer or a cell phone, not to have one. That is why following proper netiquette is important in order to maintain a positive digital footprint. "Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life". Everything you do online leaves ongoing traces that can be monitored through resources such as Google Alerts or Social Mention. These websites alert you every time your name is used online by sending you an RSS document. 

Retrieved from http://4.bp.blogspot.com/

Managing your digital footprint provides you with an opportunity to create a positive, on-going public presence about yourself as a digital citizen since anything that goes online is basically addressed to the entire world. Although digital citizenship potentially begins when a person participates in any electronic function, such as signing up for an email address or posting pictures online, the process of becoming a digital citizen goes beyond simple Internet activity. A digital citizen generally has access to the Internet through electronic devices, as well as extensive skills and knowledge on technological information to engage in society by using the Internet regularly and effectively. You are NOT the center of cyberspace and should therefore exchange information in a short and concise manner.

Obtaining a perfect score on the Digital Driver's License Exam by Riddle (2011) was not too much of a surprise since I consider myself an avid digital user. Having a computer growing up was extremely beneficial in allowing me to become the digital citizen that I am now since it is easier to learn new things at a young age. As I had mentioned on my previous post, however, I was never really interested in being involved in social media sites such as Twitter and Pinterest. Reflecting back on how little or how much I choose to involve myself online, I believe my reasoning behind it was that I wanted to maintain a positive digital footprint and was afraid that the more engaged I was in the digital world, the greater the risk was of damaging my digital footprint. Now that I have involved myself further into the World Wide Web and my digital footprint is expanding through my pins on Pinterest and weekly blogs, I must be conscious about EVERYTHING I post - because once it's out there, it will ALWAYS be out there. Knowing that anyone can gain access to your digital presence (including potential employers), as well as the potential risk of someone stealing your identity (Heartbleed Virus), is especially scary. That being said, I have created a Google Alert about myself so that I'm aware of how my digital footprint is being portrayed online. Additionally, I have increased the security settings on my Facebook and have gotten into the habit of changing passwords often for my multiple accounts online. I still believe I have a lot more to learn about how to protect my information online, so Digital Security is an area I would like to spend more time learning about.

Internet, be my friend?

For most people in university, May is that time of the year when the slightest thought about school is completely out of mind. Exams are done and the stress is over. Time to enjoy the summer by hanging out with friends, going to the beach, spending time at the cottage, or just relaxing. Well that's not the case for me. Being enrolled in a co-op program means that a regular four year program turns into five years of school since you have to complete three 4-month work placements in between academic terms (that's an extra 12 months if you do the math). Wanting to be in the same graduating class as friends who were enrolled in the regular four year program, I decided to fast track my university experience. I rearranged my co-op work term schedule in a way that I was able to take courses in the spring and have all my program requirements met within four years. It has been a long and hard road, but it has been one that I am thankful to have gone through. I am currently half a credit and a work placement away from meeting my program requirements. Some would think that working full time while taking spring courses can be a bit too much, but believe me when I say that choosing which course to take this summer was hard work. The ideal summer course had to meet at least three requirements:
1) It had to be a course which prerequisites I had met, or preferably a course that had no prerequisites at all
2) It had to be offered at night since I would be working full time during the day, or better yet be offered online so I could work on it during my own time
3) It had to be a subject that interests me (because let's be real, why would I torture myself even more by taking a course which content I would be miserable learning?)

So here I am ADED 1P32: an online course that focuses on learning with contemporary media in digital university-level contexts. Although I would not consider myself someone to be technologically challenged, I am definitely not one to venture off to social media sites (except for Facebook). I cannot tell you the amount of times my friends have asked me to create accounts for websites, such as Pinterest and Twitter, which I had no interest in joining because Facebook was already enough of a distraction in my already busy university life. I believe that this course, however, will force me to come out of my comfort zone in order to become a digital citizen and create a positive digital footprint. Within a week I have managed to create a Pinterest account and "pin" some resources onto my "board", AND create a blog (which actually took longer than I thought it would). I honestly never thought I would be writing a blog, yet here I am. So hello Internet, you will be seeing more of me around. Oh, and please be nice to me. I need to pass this course so that I can finally graduate!

Retrieved from https://www.ccsf.edu/