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.