Weekly Report and Reflection #9

Hey everyone!

So another week is done, and time is flying by.  This week I got to explore VoiceThread.  It’s an online tool where a person can post a presentation and have others add various comments to it either by recording their own voice or just by text.  When it comes to me using this again, I personally don’t think I will, not because I didn’t like the tool, more so because I don’t think I will ever need to create this type of presentation.  However, I am glad that I know how to use a tool like this if need be.  In terms of this being a tool to expand my knowledge, I feel that it is a great one because it allows you to get other people’s opinions on the same topic and realize aspects that you might have overlooked. 

Collective knowledge tools are very different from tools where collaboration is concerned. In collective knowledge we are asked to answer a specific question on based on our opinions.  Whereas, in collaboration we are all working together to complete the same task.  So in both we are working alongside other. 

When it comes to digital rights and responsibilities, I have found that everyone has their own opinion on what they feel are important to them.  This week I came across a new responsibility that I had overlooked in the past as being very important, and that was the right to report cyberbullying and harassment online.  The bullying used to stop for kids when they got home from school because the bully didn’t come into their homes, whereas now day’s kids are being bullied at school and then it continues online when they are at home.  If this isn’t handled quickly it can escalate and reach a breaking point for the child, because it doesn’t stop.

This week has been full of learning new things, can’t wait to see what’s in store for next week.

Take Care

Aarti 

Technology Use Scenario 17

Scenario 17 pg. 94

Ms. Deal does not like having several passwords for all her accounts. Because she has so many she gets into the habit of writing the passwords on a sticky note on her monitor so she won’t forget. While she is out of her office, John, a student who had been in trouble in her class earlier in the day, comes by her office. He sees the passwords and writes down the one for Ms. Deal’s email account. John goes to another computer, logs in as Ms. Deal and sends several insulting emails to staff members. How could this have been avoided?

In this scenario technology is being miss used by going into another person’s email without their consent.  John should not have taken Ms. Deal’s password and sent out various emails to her colleagues.  Given yes John could have been upset from being in her office earlier that day and wanted some sort of revenge but I feel that he took it to a level where her job could be jeopardized. This could have been avoided if Ms. Deal didn’t leave her passwords out in plain sight where others can easily see them.  Now days with many different accounts, everyone has to remember a variety of passwords and which one coordinates with which account can be a tedious task within itself.  I know I have gone completely blank when trying to remember a certain password, when logging into a website. If Ms. Deal has trouble with remembering which password to which account, she should keep them in a secure place where she is the only one with access to them, such as a locked drawer or on her phone.  This way she has them written down but she is now the only person who knows where they are located.  This will keep her passwords more secure and away from the public eye.  

Weekly Report and Reflection #8

Hey everyone,

Week 8 has now come to an end.  Time is going by so fast.  This week I got to explore wiki’s.  Wiki’s are an interesting tool, they are a hybrid between a word document and a webpage.  To me that was fascinating, the way that one thing could switch between two different things.  When it comes to me actually finding a use for a wiki.  I think that I might be able to find a way to include using one.  I think the most useful time to use a wiki is when planning an event with friends.  This will come in handy for everyone seeing what tasks still need to be completed and which things are still outstanding.  As for when comparing wiki’s to blog posts, Google Docs, and Evernote. There is a vast difference, since the others are just ways of sharing information between different parties.  The only one that that can be altered by someone is a Google Doc.  Wiki’s can be altered by anyone who has the link which is the same as a Google Doc. When it comes to preference I like Google Docs more.  They allow you to see all of the changes that are being made, and see things that are being done in real time to the document as you are working on it.

When it comes to wiki’s and learning, they can be integrated in a variety of ways.  One of the most common ways for a wiki is when it comes time to collaborate with other students in the same class as you.  For instance, if I were to set up a wiki for ADED1P32 with major concepts and ideas, other students in the class can add to it and expand on topics that were already posted.  This becomes useful because everyone has their own ideas and thoughts, and by adding it to the post things that one might have forgotten about will be triggered in memory. 

Digital Rights and Responsibilities

Kapoor, A. (CC) 2015

When being a digital citizen, we have a number of rights and responsibilities that we should adhere to. I believe that the three most important rights and responsibilities of a digital citizen should include:

1. The responsibility to give credit where credit is due 
2. The responsibility to make ethical choices 
3. The responsibility to be respectful of others

The responsibility to give credit where credit is due, is important because it is so easy for people to go online and take anything, and then repost it as their own. The ease of gathering information, images, music, etc. online is taken for granted these days and people don’t realize that someone else put time and effort into creating that blog post, or picture, and if you need it for something you are doing then just cite the source of where it came from. 

The responsibility to make ethical choices, this falls hand in hand with the first topic in that when taking things from the internet we are faced with options on whether we want to pay for the new song to add to our playlist of download it from a free source.  Everyone has downloaded music from various sources, where we don’t have to pay for it, and then there are still many people who use iTunes to get their music.  It may seem easy to just take things online but at the end of the day if you believe yourself to be an ethical person in making the right decisions in your daily life, then what is stopping you from having that same belief system when conducting yourself online.

The responsibility to be respectful of others, now day’s people share every aspect of their daily lives with the world online.  There are those people who may be jealous of the things others are doing and make hurtful comments, and can get away with it because they are behind a computer screen, and have anonymity.  I think that people tend to forget that it’s another human being on the receiving end of those words and to properly conduct oneself online we have to respect one another.  

Have a great day!

Aarti 

Weekly Report and Reflection #7

Hey everyone,

So this week brings week 7 to an end.  This week I got to explore Google Docs.  Over the past weeks I have been learning and exploring new tools that I had never used.  However, this week I had experience with Google Docs in the past.  I love using this tool when working on group projects.  It makes it so much easier to collaborate and ensure that the final report flows properly. I love how you can see the changes being made to the document in real time.  Another great aspect of using Google Docs is when working you can message your group members and ask for ideas or get immediate feedback from them. 

Google Docs is also a great way to keep all personal documents in a place where you can access them from anywhere in the world.  Just because documents are online doesn’t mean that they need to be shared with everyone. Google docs allows you keep the documents private so that you are the only one who has access to them.  I have started to use my Google drive on a regular basis now, rather than making sure I had a Flash drive on me or even emailing the files to myself. When doing this there is always an inherent risk that the file may be corrupted and not open, which can become an even larger problem. 

Google docs allows you to share particular files with family and friends, through Google Drive.  My first experience with Google Drive was a few weeks ago when I had to send one of my managers a few files that happened to be too large for attachments.  So I ended up uploading them to Google Drive and then emailing them to her that way.  The only complaint I have with this method is that due to the file size, it took each file around one hour to upload onto the drive.  Other than that she got all of the necessary files and had no problem opening them. 

Feedly Reader

The article that I will be talking about this week comes from studysuccessful.com and is titled Should You get a Masters Degree.  http://studysuccessful.com/should-you-get-a-masters-degree/

After reading this I am definitely going to spend some time considering all of my options for the future, since I was honestly considering to continue my education after I finish my undergrad degree. 

The article has three main points that they want the reader to consider and they are:

1.   Consider Salary, and whether having the advanced degree is going to make a difference in your starting wages.  Some industries will pay more for a person who has a masters degree in comparison to those who only have an undergrad degree.  
2. The financial cost of going back to school. Do you have enough money to put towards completing the program? Post grad programs are expensive and seeing where you have the financial means to go back to school without putting yourself into more debt. 
3.  Managing classes, there are two ways to complete a master’s degree and they are either full time or part time.  In part time you have the ability to work and go to class at the same time, and for some people it is difficult to find that balance between the two worlds and give enough attention to their school work and or family. 

These are all things that need to be considered when making the decision on whether to go back to school and further your education or just go into the work force.

Have a great day!

Aarti 

Weekly Report and Reflection #6

Hey everyone,

So week 6 has come to an end. This week I got to explore the online tool Evernote.  This tool has changed my life in terms of collecting information.  It is soo easy to just add a variety of files, whether they are PDF, videos, articles, blog posts, or even diagrams, in one place.  I was close to going overboard with the clippings, especially with the extension on my internet browser, adding to my notebook is so easy. 

I was surprised to see everyone having the same reaction to this tool.  On the discussion board, I didn’t see a bad evaluation of the tool.  I am curious to see how it works in a group project setting, especially when it comes to collaborating with the other members.   

In terms of Evernote and my PLE, I know for a fact that it is going to be a great asset for me in my future career.  I am just not too sure on where to place it as of right now.  I will be taking the next few days to think about where it will fit in and how to showcase all of the different things Evernote is capable of doing. 

This week as I was going through my Feedly reader, I found an article that caught my attention.  It was titled 3 Ace ways to break away from your studies from College Blender.  http://www.collegeblender.com/3-ace-ways-to-break-away-from-your-studies/

I think every student has had that moment when sitting in a class wondering when they will ever need to know the information that is being taught.  I have had that moment in a variety of classes thinking when I will need to take the partial derivative of a function, when I’m an accountant? The article discusses three ways to branch out when in a rut and learn from other aspects of being a student.  The first being finding a hobby, the example they give is getting involved in the beauty industry.  I will admit I have a slight problem when it comes to that industry in the fact that I spend way too much money on cosmetics, and now have more makeup than any normal person.  All of my closet friends have told me that I should take a course in makeup artistry to get certified. It is definitely an option for me to consider since I do enjoy doing everyone’s makeup when we go out.

The second way to branch out that is mentioned in the article is by joining a high society.  This is a good way to meet people with the same interests as you outside of school. It sounds like a great way to network and make connections to help when looking for a job in the future. 

The third way mentioned is go outside your campus walls.  I know when I’m in full school mode I’m either in the library or at home studying.  The article made me realize that I have one more year of university to make the most of, so it’s a great time for me to volunteer and work on skills that will come in handy for the future. 

So this has been a fun week with learning a new tool and everything. I’m looking forward to what the coming weeks have in store for me. 

Take Care

Aarti