Weekly Report & Reflection Post #2

Hey everyone,

This week’s session I found to be very hands on as we were exposed to many different tools that would help us create a mindmap of our PLE and word clouds. But first, what is a PLE? PLE stands for Personal Learning Environment, and it is a system that helps learners take control and manage their own learning.

We were told to reflect on where we saw ourselves 5-10 years from now compared to where I am now and the changes that we need to make in my learning environment to help me reach my goals.

My Future

In 5-10 years from now, I hope to have graduated from university, completed all the professional Certified Financial Analyst (CFA) exams, and furthering my career in finance. I see myself working in downtown Toronto in the financial district and interacting with new clients daily. I also hope to be settled in this firm for a couple years and have developed seniority so that I can continue to work my way up and achieve a managing position.

Where am I Now?

Currently, I am finishing up my finial semester of my undergrad at Brock University. I am now taking three finance courses that will prepare me for my Level I CFA exam next December. I have looked into a program at the University of Toronto that helps students prepare for this exam and I am definitely considering this because I will take all the help I can get. When people ask me how I feel about graduating (only a few more months away), I have mixed emotions. I am unquestionably excited to be finished university, but I am also nervous for the “real world.” Nonetheless, I do believe my experiences thus far have prepared me for whatever my future holds.

Changes in the Environment

In order to reach my future goals, there are some changes that need to be made in my learning environment. Although I like to study alone, to prepare myself for the CFA exam, I want to work in study groups. I find that working with others who are also preparing to write this exam will be more helpful because this information is self-taught. The courses we take in university were not designed specifically for these exams, but were intended as tools to help with the process.

After creating my PLE Concept Map I realized I used a lot more social media tools than educational tools. I am interested to see what others tools people are using as I am opened expanding my knowledge through these digital forums. The tool I used was Popplet (http://popplet.com ). This was the first time using this tool and I found that it was really simple to navigate the different functions, and this website also provided a small tutorial for new users. Here is my PLE using this tool: 

Fung, H. (CC) 2014.

Finally, I was introduced to Wordle that is a tool that creates word clouds. From this tool I learned I enjoy the artistic and visual aspect of these tools. I liked that I was able to customize the colour palette of the word cloud and adjust the shape. I like the artistic aspect of blogging as well. I tried to make my blog visually appealing so that I can capture the audiences attention and engage them when reading my thoughts. 

Fung, H. (CC) 2014.

Until next week!

Heidi