Weekly Report & Reflection Post #3

Exploring Feedly and RSS this week was really eye-opening (to sign up to Feedly, click HERE)! As a user of bookmarking, I had no idea there was a way to compile all the sites I visit on a daily and weekly basis into one tool that allows me to view new content quickly and easily, rather than combing through my endless amounts of bookmarks! If any of you would like to know more about adding RSS/Feedly to your Personal Learning Environment (PLE), click HERE for a great video called "RSS in Plain English" which helped increase my understanding of this amazing tool!

As mentioned in my previous blog, exploring TED-Ed (click HERE to check it out!) was the most influential part of my exploration this week. I adore TED talks but often find many are too long to view on a daily or weekly basis and many are irrelevant to me as a learner. Finding the video on statistics through exploring Feedly not only allowed me to learn about something which is important to me as a learner (and important to my field!), but also opened up a world of brief yet informative videos which help me to understand new concepts quickly and efficiently. I encouraged others in my last blog to add TED-Ed to their Feedly reader, and will do so again here as I truly think everyone will find a video of interest that is related to their educational interests or university program! Also, the short video format makes the content easily digestible and perfect for every busy student!

Stark, S. (CC) 2016

RSS Feed Readers contribute immensely to building my knowledge about digital literacy, the process of informing others and learning about technology and how it is utilized. My exploration of Feedly and RSS Feed Readers and my discovery of TED-Ed not only allowed me to learn more about internet compilation tools and how to properly use them, it also allowed me to discover information I could share with others in hopes of informing them of a new online information outlet to utilize!

RSS Feed Readers and Feedly also allowed me to build upon my knowledge of digital responsibility, the rules and freedoms extended to everyone in a digital world. Feedly is an excellent way to ensure that we as students are sharing and utilizing digital information responsibly by tracking the information we find interesting so we can provide others links to the information we are using, as well as give credit to the individuals or groups who created the information we are sharing. Taking the ideas of others is not cool! Adding Feedly to my Personal Learning Environment (PLE) allows me to track my compilation of resources, allowing me to give credit to other blog writers and content creators easily. This is helping me to become a responsible digital citizen, a goal which I think is necessary in getting the most out of ADED 1P32!

Thanks for reading!

RSS in Plain English Video: http://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english
TED-Ed: https://www.youtube.com/user/TEDEducation
Get started on Feedly by clicking the link & signing up: http://feedly.com/i/welcome

My Experience with RSS Feeds

After setting up my RSS Feed using Feedly, I stumbled across the TED-Ed video channel on YouTube which I added to my RSS Feed. The video which intrigued me the most is entitled "How Statistics Can Be Misleading".

As a psychology major, I am a HUGE consumer of statistical information. In fact, every paper I write for a psychology class is densely filled with statistics from various studies and academic journals. Through learning about statistics at Brock, I know that statistics can be misleading. However, I had no idea there was a name for this until I watched the TED-Ed video which brought the term "Simpson's Paradox" to my attention.

"Simpson's Paradox" highlights the fact that many studies which use statistics have "lurking" variables, or confounding variables. These variables are influencing the statistics at every turn, making the data which we view sometimes untrustworthy. The video highlights several examples of this, all of which shed light on the importance of understanding that "lurking" variables have a huge overarching influence on the statistics we hold to be true.

As I am no Statistician by any means, trying to explain the video in meaningful words might not relay the importance of the issue. For this reason, I encourage my readers to not only check out the video by clicking HERE, but to also check out the entire TED-Ed video channel and add it to their RSS Feed by clicking HERE. The channel has a wide array of videos which I'm sure will pique any interest!

Thanks for reading!

Week 2 Report & Reflection

Before creating my Personal Learning Environment (PLE) Mind Map, I was wondering what that even was! A definition of PLE which helped me navigate the creation process of my own was the "A Bridge in the Cloud?" Slideshare presentation (to view it, click HERE). A PLE is a system that helps learners have autonomy, allowing the learner to set goals, manage learning and idea share with others!

I created a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) Mind Map of the different tools I am currently utilizing to support my own personal learning goals using Bubble.us (check out this cool tool by clicking HERE). It took me creating a mind map to truly realize how many tools I use to support my own understanding! I based my PLE model off the Malan model (to check this out, click HERE) but I also added a "Review" category since I find myself using online tools and computer programs to help me perfect my writing. 

Stark, S. (CC) 2016.

The best way to critically assess whether my PLE is effective is by reviewing individual "personal learning environment habits". The personal component of this involves some envisioning. In 5-10 years, I see myself with a successful career within a post-secondary institution in a role which allows me to support student success. In order to excel in this field, there is still some exploration of online tools to do in the future!

Learning more about various Photoshop tools will help me increase my knowledge in the "Create" section of my PLE and allow me to add to my knowledge of Adobe InDesign, while also being able to use photos I have edited within my own graphic design work. I know through working with Career Services that knowledge of creating marketing content is very important in many post-secondary positions and is an area I would love to work on. Although this addition between my current PLE and my future PLE seem small, it is indicative of the vast array of resources and tools that can be incorporated into my existing PLE!



Stark, S. (CC) 2016.

This week, I also explored another neat tool called Wordle (to explore this site, click HERE). I was able to see the top words used in my last blog post, with the most used words being positive, digital and footprint. Since having a positive digital footprint was the focus of my last blog post, it was nice to see I was using buzzwords effectively so readers understood the main idea of my post.

Overall, I learned a lot about myself through all of this online exploration. I learned about the tools I use to help me become a better learner through the creation of a PLE Mind Map. I learned about the quality of my writing through the Wordle activity. Finally, I also discovered areas of improvement I can work on in the future by reflecting on my personal learning environment and identifying tools I should incorporate into my PLE toolbox!

Thanks for reading!






"A Bridge in the Cloud?" Presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/timbuckteeth/a-bridge-in-the-cloud/20-The_one_and_onlyhttpchrissaadwordpresscomSteveWheelerUniversityofPlymouth2010

Growing Your Personal Learning Environment Slideshow: https://prezi.com/-xhpuupxgjin/growing-your-personal-learning-environment/

Week 1 Report & Reflection

After going through all of the content on digital footprints, I have to say that I'm extremely intrigued by my own digital footprint that I have built and that others have helped me build! Watching the Digital Dossier video (to watch the video click HERE) really sparked my intrigue because the video really lays out the path of your digital footprint from birth to death. One thing which I didn't get to experience that was outlined in the Digital Dossier video was how social media and digital footprints connect for young infants. "Andy", the character we are following in the video, has pictures posted of him on social media as a small infant, pictures shared on behalf of his parents and family members. Because social media didn't exist when I was an infant, this was not a part of my digital footprint or my digital dossier. However, I found it interesting just how much technology and social media has changed the digital footprint of children born today.

Thinking of my digital footprint prompted me to wonder if I was leaving a positive digital footprint. I had gone through my social media posts and content before and also googled myself several times to ensure my name and my reputation was positive. But in the past, I had never found anything to be worried about. I think a big part of my positive digital footprint is my job at Career Services at Brock as a Sr. Career Assistant. Many students come in  to the Career Resource Centre wondering how important online reputation is when it comes to the job market and I always tell them it is crucial! Employers can easily type your name in to Google and find out about you through your digital footprint so it is vital to make sure you are making a positive imprint.

Creating a positive digital footprint isn't as difficult is many think it is! I think a good resource which outlined simple rules or netiquette to follow to make sure you are leaving a positive digital trail is the Core Rules of Netiquette (to read these, click HERE). One example of leaving a positive digital footprint presented is the quality of writing in your online content. It is important to note grammar and punctuation to present yourself as an intelligent and conscientious individual even though it is tempting to avoid doing this online!

Another great resource which has to do with identifying what a positive digital footprint is and how to go about building a positive digital footprint which I discovered this week was the CHARACTER COUNTS program created by the Josephson Institute highlighted in the textbook (to check it out, click HERE). Trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship are all pillars which are described as the basis for working effectively with others. In digital contexts, and in order to maintain a positive digital footprint, these pillars are important to remember! What we post online about others reflects us just as much as what we post about ourselves!

After doing the Secondary Digital Citizenship Quiz in the textbook, the areas I should explore to further my knowledge of digital citizenship in the coming weeks are digital right and responsibilities and digital health and wellness. Both of these areas of digital citizenship interest me. Digital rights and responsibilities is particularly interesting for me because of my newfound interest in knowing more about my digital footprint. It's important to remember that there are expectations that need to be upheld by us as users of technology and I'd like to explore these expectations more to improve upon my digital dossier. Digital health and wellness interests me because I never really considered the health factors of using technology, like not using the right computer chair as an example. I'm also very interested in my own health and wellness and want to learn more on how to use technology safely.

I'm excited to learn more through my online exploration and can't wait to post again next week!

Photo: http://dpollina22625.blogspot.ca/
Digital Dossier Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79IYZVYIVLA&noredirect=1
Josephson Institute: www.josephsoninstitute.org
Core Rules of Netiquette: http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html
Textbook: Ribble, M. (2015). Digital Citizenship in Schools. International Society for Technology in Education.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!

My name is Scarlet Stark and I will be the sole writer of this blog (which just happens to be my first personal blog ever!). As a psychology student at Brock University, I'm obviously very busy with classes, homework, essays and readings. But I also like to get involved! I work on campus at Career Services as a Sr. Career Assistant where I help other students find work, update and improve their career documents, show them new ways to job search, help them figure out what they will do with their degree, and assist with graduate school applications. And that's just a handful of things I do in my role!

Aside from this, I am also a Research Assistant in the Forensic Psychology Lab and a Sr. Mentor for the Mentorship Plus Program at Brock - a program which provides senior guidance for incoming first year students. I have also volunteered with the Brock University Student Union as an Advocacy Volunteer, with The Brock Press  as a Contributing Writer, and with the promotions section of Career Services as a Graphic Design and Events Assistant (for more information about my involvement click HERE to view my Linkedin profile). And when I'm not busy with all of this, I enjoy yoga, meditation, exercise, playing with my dog, movies, music and just about anything that gets me moving!

What initially sparked the creation of this blog is my enrollment in a course called Learning in Digital Contexts (ADED 1P32), a course which I am taking as part of gaining my degree. I chose to sign up for this course because I am very interested in understanding the various digital platforms used to support traditional education and why these platforms succeed in enhancing learning. But only a small part of my blog will be about exploring these tools. The focus will be on how students can get more involved in post-secondary education in order to get the most out of their university experience!

I wasn't always an involved student. In fact, in first year, I wasn't involved in anything! I didn't volunteer, was not employed in a field that made me feel empowered and was restless to make a change. This restlessness I felt pushed me into getting more involved at Brock which lead to enormous gains in my confidence, my experience, my knowledge, my network and even my grades!

The goal of this blog will be to show other post-secondary students the importance of getting involved outside the classroom and the skills that practical experience can add to classroom knowledge from a newly involved student's perspective. After all, you can only learn so much from books! The rest comes from volunteering, working and getting involved in activities that you are passionate about. I also encounter many students who are struggling with balancing school and involvement. I think this blog will help shed some light on good time management and organization techniques which can help students get the most out of their post-secondary experience without getting overwhelmed. I encourage my readers to view this blog as a "How-to" for making the most out of your university experience outside the classroom!

I can't wait to share more of my experiences, thoughts, and tips for other students to utilize and look forward to future posts!

Scarlet Stark