Weekly Report & Reflection Post #11

Hey everyone,

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Only one more week to go and that means graduation is right around the corner for me! This week we explored some webcasting tools. First we will look at podcasts. Podcasts are audio recordings or soundtracks made on the Internet that can be downloaded or shared with others. The tool that I explored this week was SoundCloud. SoundCloud is podcasting tool that allows you to create, upload, share, and follow others' podcasts. I found this site very easy to navigate, and I even listened to some interesting podcasts that were on the website. 

This week we also explored screencasts. Screencasts are digital recordings of your computer, often accompanied by an audio narrative. Before taking this course, I have heard of podcasts, but not screencasts. Once I watched the video on what a screencast was, I familiar with this concept, I was just not aware of this term. Both podcasts and screencasts are great tools to enhance your educational experience. Both tools bring forth a different type of learning experience on a personal level. I personally find it more effective to retain knowledge when I can hear (podcasts) and see (screencasts) the information that is being taught. 

I find that these creation knowledge expression tools to be the more successful learning tools. I personally always turn to YouTube videos of screencasts for any technological issues because there is someone navigating you through the entire process. I have even used screencasts to help me use my financial calculator (those devices are really confusing). Screencasts and podcasts are a new way of learning and I would definitely add them to my PLE. 

With all the different things we have been creating and sharing on our blog this semester, I have learned that we must protect our own material. I have embedded a Creative Commons licence on my blog this week to protect my work, you should too!

Article of the Week

Since we have been talking about leaving a positive digital footprint in the digital environment, I thought this article would be very fitting: How to debate the big issues on social media. This article talks about the do's and don'ts for debating on issues on the Internet, and the proper etiquette on the Internet. 

Until next week (the final week),

Heidi 

Weekly Report & Reflection Post #10

Welcome back everyone,

This week we explore the importance of copyrights and Creative Commons, as well as exploring the new tool Animoto. Animoto is a slideshow tool that allows you to create quick slideshows. I really liked exploring all the different templates the website provided, and how easy it was to navigate all the different features. However, I did not like that each slide had a character limit- this made it difficult for me to get my point across about copyrights. I wish that I was introduced to Animoto earlier because the only slideshow tool that I use is PowerPoint. This tool tool is much more appealing and I find more professional than PowerPoint. In my original PLE, PowerPoint was listed under my educational tools, but I will definitely add Animoto to the list as I find this slideshow tool to be more more effective and creative than the features PowerPoint provides.


Animoto and Prezi has contributed to my knowledge in other slideshow tools, but also the importance of using copyright free images in those presentations. Copyrights are legal rights that protect a creator from their work (music, speech, images, artwork, etc.). When something on the Internet is copyrighted, it means that you cannot use it without the owner's permission. I was not aware that just referencing the image or work was not enough to protect you from copyright infringement. Flickr is a great website to get copyright free images from the Internet without violating any digital laws. This week definitely contributed to my learning and understanding of becoming a digital citizen. It is important to be aware of all the rules and regulations that come with the territory using information and images we retrieve online. Copyright infringement can lead to serious consequences; therefore, take the initiate to be informed.


Article of the Week
This week's article on my Feedly refers to copyright infringement that has occurred in the music industry. The famous song 'Blurred Lines' by Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams violated copyright laws by using elements of the 1977 Marvin Gay song 'Got to Give it Up.' Read more about it here:  What’s Wrong With the ‘Blurred Lines’ Copyright Ruling. 

Until next week,

Heidi Fung 

Weekly Report & Reflection Post #9

Welcome back!

This definitely has been a hectic week with all the different posts we had to do, and also learning about a new tool called VoiceThread! VoiceThread is a tool that allows you to use different types of media to create an interactive slideshow- this includes both voice and text. It then allows viewers to leave a comment verbally or written in which others can view or hear. This tool is great for building knowledge as the presenter can share their opinions through the slideshow, but also receive feedback from their peers through their comments. 

VoiceThread would be a great tool for teachers to use outside the classroom. Like we did in this week's session, we commented on several slides while also learning from others who left comments. Not only are we learning from the instructor but we are also able to communicate with our peers and receive feedback on a more personal level. I think this is a good method for teachers to mark participation, especially for those students who are too shy to put up their hand in the classroom. 

This tool would be categorized as communicative and educational under my PLE. I do not think that will include this in my PLE because I would not have many opportunities to use this in the future. However, I highly recommend this tool for any students in Concurrent Education as this could be a new and effective way to engage students in participating and interacting with each other. 

Article of the Week
This week's article on my Feedly tied in with my Technology Use Scenario very well. My scenario was about a boy named Max who was addicted to the internet. This week's article reflected on how society is so consumed with having the 'perfect' social media post. Check it out here: Obsessing over the perfect social media post is ruining your life, study says.

Until next week,

Heidi 

Technology Use Scenario

Scenario #15

Max is always on the computer. Except when he is at school, Max is on his social networking sites, video sites, or just surfing websites. He communicates with many people using his social networking sites or texting, but rarely leaves the house. His mother is becoming concerned that he is not seeing his friends or going out. What should Max's mother do?

In this scenario, Max is not showing understanding of digital health and wellness. One of the main issues is that he is becoming consumed with the use of the internet and withdrawing from society. Max is spending the majority of his time on social media and playing video games which can be harmful physically to his eyes and his social life. Also, he can develop repetitive strain injuries from constantly being on his phone or a computer. Although surfing the web and texting can be fun, it is important to take a break from those activities and actually communicate with others in person instead of hiding behind a cellphone. If I were Max's mother, I would take away his privileges from his cellphone or computer for a number of hours during the day. This way, he will learn to focus on enjoying his time with his friends or studies, and also learn to communicate in more effect ways. 

This article on my Feedly this week ties in perfectly with this scenario: Obsessing over the perfect social media. It explains how people in society today are more consumed about posting the perfect picture on their Instagram or Facebook than actually enjoying the moment. This article states that 91% of respondents have witnessed tourists miss a great moment because they were too busy capturing it for social media. I can say that I am guilty of being part of that 91%, but after reading about the severity of this issue, I will definitely limit how much time I focus on social media. 

Weekly Report & Reflection Post #8

Welcome back!

Another month has gone by, and soon the semester will be over! But we still have a lot more learning to do. This week we learned about wiki's. A wiki is an internet database that allows anyone to view, edit, share, and delete information. One of the most well-known wikis is Wikipedia. I personally love using Wikipedia to help me jump start a research paper because you can access a lot of information on the website. However, Wikipedia does have its downfalls, which I will discuss later on. 

We have already been introduced to a wiki on our ADED 1P32 Sakai page when we posted our Twitter handles, our blog URL, and signed up for our research topic! Google Docs and blogs can also be considered a Wiki because it allows anyone with proper access to view and edit the information. Last week we worked with others in a Google Doc to create a presentation where my group members had the power to edit and add information to the project. Most of the tools we have been introduced to such as our blogs, Evernote, and Google Docs have privacy settings that do not allow others to edit the information. However, most of them allow viewers to leave comments. 

I mentioned before that Wikipedia has its downfalls, and the main one is that the information is not reliable. Because Wikipedia is a Wiki, anyone has the power to change the information on the database; therefore, the data may be incorrect. I do like using Wikipedia to start a research project because it provides a brief summary of the topic before starting in-depth research. However, an effective way to use a wikis is to compare the information on a wiki database to another valid source (ie. a journal article, or peer reviewed article). You can also validate the information presented on a wiki by reviewing the resources referenced in the wiki. 


How 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart' conquered the social web is an article that appeared on my Feedly this week that related to this week's topic of wikis. In the article it mentioned that Jon Stewart, a television host, told his viewers to change the facts on Wikipedia about elephants. This article further demonstrates that you cannot solely rely on Wikipedia as a valid source. A Wiki allows anyone (in this case, anyone that tuned into his show that day) to change the information on the wiki. Therefore, it is important to  learn how to validate web sources.

Until next week,

Heidi