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Week 11 - 10th Reflection, Slideshow and What do you do when life if handing you lemons and your too tired to make anything?

This week has been busy... Starting to sound like a normal beginning to my posts.. Both my kids finished their travel hockey seasons, with a 3/3 tournament and two out of town tournaments it kept us running. On top of that, I was on the road for three days for work, speaking of technology this week, I had the pleasure of visiting all of our co-op students working at Blackberry in Waterloo and Cambridge. I also had a lovely telephone conference with a Student working for Blackberry in Texas. It’s a bit of a ghost town in some of the Blackberry buildings, but exciting to see things still moving on at their newer campuses. The launch of the Blackberry 10 has left many wondering what will come next for the company... As someone new to Technology this term to build my PLN I bought myself a Blackberry Playbook. These small inexpensive tablets have been sold out across the country. I have enjoyed having this small form of technology with me wherever I go and WHEN I can get an internet signal and have time to sit and wait for it to load I happily have used it. Okay lady, where are you going with all of this... Well this week as I built my PLN I also learned about screencasts and podcasts. I have zero interest in watching myself tape and talk, I don’t even like to skype and see myself, but I do like to hear myself... You can listen to my Podcast in my Pages of Blog.. Enjoy! The Avatar looks just like me, here I discuss the importance of not spending too much time online. I have been trying to figure out where screencasts and podcasts will fit into my life, and thus far here is what I have. I think that podcasts will fit nicely into my continued PLN and will aid in my digital literacy, maybe not so much as myself as the presenter, but more from a learning perspective. With over 3,000 podcasts and counting I can easily go online and listen or watch people talk about given topics. I use you tube regularly for so many things, the ability other podcasts into life will help me greatly. From a digital responsibility, I also have learned that now that I am outputting into the digital world, I need to protect myself and from that perspective learning to protect my creative work is very important to me. It would be sad to see work or my thoughts end up being credited by someone else. I would never take someone else’s work and claim it as my own, but interestingly enough through Twitter as you retweet things I have wondered if I am copying someone’s ideas as I retweet them out... It all leads me to keep in mind everyday that I need to remember where the idea came from and be smart to remember that as someone developing my knowledge of the digital world it is important to remember my values and manners as I participate in this digital age. My google reader is gone and I cannot find it... So, now I must go searching for new items to link to and try to figure where o' where it has gone...

Week 10 - 9th Post - Are we addicted to technology like the generations before were addicted to Rock n' Roll?

This week has been so busy, I am sad to say that I can barely fit anything into my schedule... Saw some awesome Brock students this week and hosted a lovely happy hour for many of them who are away from the University on Co-op, it's those things that make me realize how great our students really are...

Learning about Copyright this week has been really important for me, I often second guess myself if I am citing things right and the last thing I want to do is improperly use someone else's property...

One of the great things about being on a journey and learning about web 2.0 tools is that you can use the ones you have learned about in your future lessons.  I found myself going back to a few this week and storing things there, or searching.. Ah ha moment, when I said "well that made things easier." This is the realization that things I didn't know how to do 10 weeks ago have helped me today.

Learning about Copyright Commons, I developed this Slide Rocket Presentation which outlines the simple, yet important things to consider when copying content online, this week was a good lesson to me on what needs to be said when giving credit where credit is due...

Interesting read this week, where an argument in taking place on whether today's technology users are addicted to the web, technology and whether it will rewire our brains... The comparison that took place compares today's tech users to people of the past being addicted to drugs or a generation addicted to rock n' roll.  The article writer has limited to no credible sources to back up his argument, but Steve Wheeler makes a great point in saying that "It is a great error to assume that technology is addictive or has the power to addict. Any addiction, as many psychiatrists will agree, has its explanation more in the personality of the individual than it is to any inherent quality of the substance or item they are interacting with." 

I for one can agree that I can be neurotic about the amount of time I spend online, my family sits with laptops on each of our laps and watches tv at night, perhaps we are on to something in saying we like technology.  However, I must wonder if it wasn't the internet that was created, it would be something else and this article might just talk about people being addicted to being outside and the downfalls etc...

Week 9 - Who Needs LMS Systems anymore???

This week, I have given alot of thought to the creation of an ideal online classroom and whether you would truly need a main Learning Management System to house all the students etc.  In the end, I guess I have to say yes, you do.  For an on-line classroom you still need a main platform, however I struggle with what the inside course content should look like.  

As we looked at Voice Thread this week, it opened my eyes to a great content site that would allow students to share thoughts and information.  My worry however in using sites like this has been raised this week by the fact that while great products like this exist, they can just as easily disapear.  Let's take Google Reader, the annoucement this week that the product will cease to exist, you can never plan ahead on when an outside source will pull the plug on something you rely on.

This week brought back some memories as I remembered situations when I started to use techonology where I too waivered into uncharted territory providing way too much information in a chat room in 1996.  Given the difference in education about what is right and wrong in technology, I can imagine that my Daugher would now know better then to follow in my Digital Footprints...

A funny read this week, one of the bloggers I follow visited a University where students power their technical devices my pedaling bikes... What an interesting, but great idea.. Green to the max, healthy, fitness and technology.  It will be interesting to see if this catches on... COMING TO YOU SOON AT BROCK UNIVERSITY YOU CAN ONLY USE YOUR LAPTOP IF YOU ARE ON A SPIN BIKE... he he.. We will see...

To buy or not to buy.. Could their be an educational reason that students are buying music online on School computers???

Copied from http://pinterest.com/pin/243827767297135822/

As we learn more about acceptable technology scenarios...

I chose scenario Number 8 that addressess students buying music online through School computers.  

"Mr. Scott, Principal of Rural High School is walking through the library and sees a student working on a computer.  Strolling by, he sees that the student on a music site that requires a credit card to purchase music.  Mr. Scott informs the students that the district's acceptable use policy does not allow buying items online using school computers.

Monitoring open computer spaces in an education setting is difficult.  Depending on the number of teachers it can be hard to see what students are visiting and doing.  This student is doing something inappropriate in the sense that School computers should be used for conducting School based work, research etc. However, the Principal should have asked the student before quoting the district policy whether the Music they are downloading is part of a School assigment, eg. Music to be added to a presentation, for a music class or drama skit.  If it was, then the student should have been commended for "buying" the music and not pirating the music, but then informed that while it is school based they are still now allowed to buy items online and even though it is for a School assignment they still need to download it at home. 

Weekly Reflection 7 -- Life, fresh starts and using wikkis to help new staff!

A long long time ago in a galaxy far far away... On Day 1 at my new job a year ago,  I was told that I could use the wikki to learn about my job.  I immediately thought that this was a Star Wars term and maybe I needed to channel George Lucas to figure out how to use this term. 

Alas, I realized the benefit and why wikkis are important... So, though not a Star Wars term, but still a cool to way to keep track of information in the great beyond we have used this to track information on the organization, things to know and important facts.  For security reasons we have one person add to it so things aren't typed over and it is a great way to look at little bits of information.  This week would have been a good week to learn last year so that I didn't give a blank stare to the person who gave me the wikki suggestion on Day 1. My main take away is the value of wikkis as a source for people to add information, useful in workplaces and many organizations.

Learning lots, this week was so busy. Kids returned from vacation, however it was so busy I barely had time to miss them. My fresh start begins this week, not only did I paint many things white this week in our house, but it's March Break, a chance to use this mid-way point to improve on things that I want to do for the next quarter of this year. 

Pinterest... If your not on it your missing out.  I like this picture this week it was on my reader.. "You mean to tell me their are people who do not know about Pinterest?" My fresh start also included Pinterest this week as I used this amazing technology site to look for suggestions of white paint colours, linked to sites that sold paint.  I like the fact that Pinterest allows me to openly search others ideas, I have learned alot from other people who like me used to tear 100's of pages out of magazines in hopes of one day making that recipe.  Now, I can be sustainable and just see what others are pinning.

Week 6 - Collaborative Groups, The Bahamas and Why the Internet Signal Sucks in the Country!

This is me and my view this week, I blog to you from Sunny Bahamas!  I wish! My kids deserted me this week for one week of fun in the sun... So, for one week I will not need to fight anyone to use the computer...

I have officially decided that living way out in the country, a whole 5 minute drive means that your internet signal can severely struggle.  I experienced this challenge so many times this week that at one point I was ready to climb on the roof with tinfoil... This frustration affected using today'smeet and drove me insane as I constantly lost my internet signal while chatting er... Reflecting, this taught me something that can create chaos in online group collaboration.

Over the last two weeks, three group members and I have collaborated to learn about digital literacy.  Great topic and the really the starting point for how anyone can build their PLN.  Without access, competence or the means, it would be impossible for anyone, myself included to build their PLN.

Great group effort from my partners, we navigated through evernote, and today's meet chat sessions, and google docs to create a well rounded 10 slide presentation.  Working on-line collaboratively was fantastic, our group was dedicated, everyone contributed and google docs allowed us to meet together and develop a presentation at the same time.  Take that, PowerPoint, even if we all worked on the same PowerPoint at the same time we couldn't chat and work together and we would be stuck with only one person able to update it. 

Over the past two weeks I have been using my twitter sparingly, call it the time constraints, or lack of things to come up with.  I like the tips that have come up from Social Media today teaching you ways to smartly navigate Twitter, develop how you will use it and how to make the most.  I like the last point, be patient... That's hard for me, but learning to use Twitter properly will be more effective in the end then following a zillion people now and try to keep up with them.  So for this week, I will find  5 new people and do my best to retweet and comment on interesting this they say...

Weekly Reflection 5 - What's the difference between a Hashbrown and a Hashtag?

Copyright by me!

Last night my Sister was at my home and I was discussing or maybe telling her about my new found technical genius. I think she was humouring me or it may have been the lovely Niagara wine we were drinking, but she listened to all my technical stories. 

 I may not be Jane Jetson, but I was showing her my new toy I bought this week, a garbage can (picture included using my photographic genius for your viewing pleasure)  that you wave your hand over and it opens for you. This, coupled with my handsoap dispenser that does the same caused quite a bit of excitement... She was very in awe, mouth dropping and everything...  Now, my garbage can may not be part of my PLN, however the fact thit is part of our new fanagled world of technology just shows the emergence of technology in my life....

I have used Learning Management Systems in varied roles over the last 14 years, School, Work etc. as they develop I have found that very few instructors use all the tools available to develop a course into a learning series outside the classroom.  I developed my PLN with the use of Evernote, Google Scholar, Google Presentations and a few other sources this week while looking for articles on Digital Literacy.  These new tools are very useful to being part of a group projet.  It would be great to all combine to one Evernote notebook, which I guess we could do if we paid more money or used the same email and login.. However, so far it works just the same.

What's the difference between a Hashbrown and a Hashtag? This week my new Twitter friend Pam, okay I am one of the 200,000 of her friends (and she has no idea who I am)... She reposted this blog post from two years ago.  Our Group is focusing on Digital Literacy. The Language of technology is important to consider, verbage and words can deter people to avoid technology, now I don't have any proven research yet, despite the fact that I suffered from this, being afraid to try tech if I didn't know what people were talking about.  While our groups topic is digital literacy, I have noticed that others may be put off or feel stupid when others discuss technology they are not aware of.  We plan to incorporate language into digital literacy.  Eg. Making someone understand what a hashtag is...

Happy Family Day!  Kathryn

Should Universities change their teaching style to mirror that at the College level?

 I often have thought that many of my colleagues who teach or work at a University do not understand how people actually learn!  Bold statement, maybe? We have so many trained and doctored professionals around us everyday invoking great thoughts on young minds, but have these professionals been trained to teach this material in a way that students actually learn or enjoy learning it? This week someone suggested I was coddling students by holding seminars to discuss a topic as opposed to a large classroom with 240 people. It made me wonder, are we or are we just giving students what they want?

This week Steve Wheeler posted a blog post relating to reverting to the way people learned as a child. Based on the research in the February 2013 edition of The Psychologist. In an article entitled 'Learning from Learners', Rachel Wu (Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Rochester, New York).  She recommends that schools and universities adopt 'immersive' approaches to learning where little structure is imposed upon new learning in much the same way that infants perceive no boundaries to their exploration. She advocates doing and making, rather than receiving instruction as the best way for students to excel, especially in creative areas of learning.

Having worked in a College and University and having seen feedback cards from students at both after a course saying they don't want to be continuously lectured at, they want things interactive it leads me to wonder that based on these immersive approaches should we incorporate more exploratory teaching into a University?   I work in co-operative education and have seen the first hand impacts of students applying knowledge in the workplace, but what about a little more exploration in the classroom?

Week 5 - 4th Reflection: Kathryn meets the world!

I am suddenly not so boring... Adult learning is about being collaborative, learning from eachother and usually, learning by doing. I viewed and started to comment on many of my classmates blogs this week. I challenge others to do the same...

Well, with that in mind and seeing other's blogs, I am making this blog a little more fun, trumpets please new title "Kate gets technical" very engaging (end trumpets)

Twitter, who would have thought, maybe I have been in the dark ages.. I am a young Gen Y, and yet the step into Twitter terrified me.  Giggle nervously as I admit I actually had a racing heart creating this new account. My basic thoughts were, who cares about me... Who wants to hear what I have to say.... I am proud to say that last night someone chose to follow me, oh yes, they are from Spain but I am very excited for this development.  Somewhere in the world someone said, wow, here is this person in Jordan, Ontario and I think they have something interesting to say.  Well the rest is history I am officially a followed...This will greatly aid in my learning, allowing me to read and connect with theorists and educators around the world will help me to stay up to date and involved.

 This week I realized that I have been growing all the areas of my PLN, last week I began to take stock of the 4 areas of my PLN and add new things to this.  I am proud to have added Twitter to CONNECT and I bought a Blackberry Playbook to add to my AGGEGATE allowing me to use all my tools no matter where I am.  I find my COLLABORATE section is still only at three items and I plan to investigate this further to see what I can add to this section.

OH GEEZ!  So, here I am doing so well in my whole new found world of technology when this pops into my reader today! How hackers use social media to destroy your on-line life. I know how important it is to be safe, but still it's like someone threw a pie in my face! Reading Element 9 in our text Self-protection is important, this article is a great and useful tool to aid in this topic.  

See you on Twitter... Techie Savvy Kate, oka.. @kathrynleistner

Arguing for social media to become part of my job...

On February 12, I am proposing to my Director that social media become part of our daily work.  As part of this I am asking that time in the work day be dedicated to this by members of our team.  Right now we have a pretty ineffective facebook page, a Linked In account and Twitter account for our University department.  However, we rarely do anything with them, wait hold that.. I think we posted a picture of Brock students in John Deere hats this week, woo hoo! 

Reading Steve Wheeler's blog this week he said that their ar three things we need to know about learning for this generation, it needs to be personalised, social and globalized.

With that in mind, I think the impact of allowing students to interact with our staff while away from the University could have a profound impact on their co-op experiences.  We are currently the only staff on campus that interact with over 1200 - 2000 students per year who leave to go on placements, some ending their studies and throughout.  As the link to this I think they need to hear from us to still remain a part of the University.

It would be great to hear from other's who have made social media part of their worklife to know how much time is needed per day to use technology to aid learning.  I love taking on new things, but I don't want it to become a chore that impacts my other work.. Any thoughts?

Week 4 - Reflection 3... My exploding brain..

Like so many others this week, I am on information overload... I made the mistake of starting this weeks session early in the week at 3:00 a.m. when I was up and couldn't sleep... Yikes, not even the chammoile tea I was drinking could calm my brain down as I started to learn..This week I had my A-ha moment.  I found through this course something I was lacking, I realized that you could work and research topics of interest, mine being elearning and the importance of teaching the Gen X generation (the group of us that were just getting computers into our classes when leaving high school, but are not really sure what a smartboard is..) about current technology and you can possibly make it your career path....

This week I decided to back and list everything I could add to my PLE from week 1.  I was amazed I have at least 20 things now listed that I have tried and had no idea existed a week ago.  I do have some concerns on the impact on my digital footprint as I constantly sign up for sites etc. to try out these tools.  Prior to this course I would't have given too much thought on this and so I now myst ponder whether to go back and delete accounts etc. and remember what I have joined.

Diigo was a valuable tool to learn about this week, an app to take my bookmarking sites with me is fantastic.  I constantly am emailing home saying can you send me the link to this and that that is bookmarked on the computer. This will greatly aid in not only organizing myself, my work life and my learning environment.

For the past week, I have been reading blog posts by Steve Wheeler, an Associate Professor in England focusing his research on elearning,  The irony of finding Steve's blog while completing the lessons this week, learning about his profession and research has opened my eyes to something lacking, a sense of direction in my own career path... Steve talks about the importance of educating in elearning which is something I am completely interested in, I found myself going back and reading all of his past blog posts, linking on my diigo to others he referenced and getting excited about his own research to the point that I started to research the University he works at.  This week Steve posted on value of blogging. Check him out and see what he has to say, you will find valuable tips to help you with your own PLE.

2nd Reflection Post! - Stunning the masses and learning about inappropriate search terms!

So, I must admit this has not been in a great week for learning! Hence it's Monday and here I am working on last week's work!  Just so busy! I really enjoy the things I am learning and feel excited to take the time to learn these things.

Today at work, I found myself telling several Brock University employees that "did they know" they can can set up an RSS Feed for all the blogs or news sites we read and the info will come to you? And boy o' boy by definition I have stunned the masses! Really seriously, they were shocked!

stunned past participle, past tense of stun (Verb)

Verb Knock unconscious or into a dazed or semiconscious state. Astonish or shock (someone) so that they are temporarily unable to react.

With that being said, most interesting things in my life I learn from my kids, I think I shocked them when this week thanks to my new reader subscription I learned  Justin Beiber was writing a love song, now I can already say that this course is teaching so much more then I expected! I am on the cusp of becoming a Mother to a teenage girl, hence I have been trying to learn about teenage girls.

I learned this week trying to put "teenage girl" into google is quite upsetting.  I did find a few interesting blogs about this topic, some from professionals and some from from people I am pretty sure have never had a child. This week I took the time to take this scary topic to the net and see what others had to say.  I found a few useful sites for modern topics, like the recent Lance Armstrong issue and explaining this to our teenage kids.  I have found it useful to read what others have to say, makes you not feel so crazy. I like that my PLE is expanding, I am adding in many new things that didn't exist and really makes me feel like I am learning something new and exciting.  It's exciting to think that in one week I learned how to stun the masses, learn about a 18 year teenage hartthrob's musical talents and find a way to talk to my Daughter about important issues, who knew!

Week 2 Reflection

It would be unreasonable for anyone to not expect to have a digital footprint.  It's the future!  For over 30 years I have been creating a digital footprint and I didn't even realize it. Now that I need to really consider what my digital footprint will continue to look like from this point forward I will be smart about what I post, what sites I sign up for, keeping in my mind the thought of that eye in the sky and someone could be recording everything and it very important to create a good self image of yourself and those that you meet on-line.

I don't want to fall behind on technology, it's easy to do.  I see it with people who say everyday that it's for young people.  That they are not aware of what their children are doing.  If I want to stay informed, and remain in this digital word then I need to keep up with everything that is available to me on-line and create a strong PLE that represents me.

My PLE

My current PLE seems simplistic, I am well aware that I am not maximizing the tools available to develop a stronger PLE. 

Upon creating and seeing the limited things I wrote this week I was a little embarrassed that this was all I am using. 

My current personal learning environment includes the use of minimal tools, and resources available to aid my knowledge and learning. 

Some of the tools I have used in my PLE for years are the Microsoft Office Suite, however I have never taken a course to learn to maximize the abilities of these and I am sure I am just hitting the barebones. 

This week I brought in a guest speaker to talk to a group of MBA students at Brock University.  One of the topics was to discuss the fact that employers will google you and look at what you do online, this led me to consider what I want to add to my PLE that might be interesting or damaging from an employer perspective.