Week 12 - Blog Post #12 - Weekly Report & Reflection

Hello Everyone,

We are now in our last week of ADED 1P32, which means, this will be my final blog post for the course! In this post, I will talk about my overall learning’s from the course, and how I will continue to expand my knowledge of the digital world. More specifically, I will look at what I have learned about building a positive digital footprint, digital citizenship, and overall appropriateness in the digital world.

Before I started this course, my digital footprint was minimal. Even though I have contributed to many online resources in the past, because my name is so popular, it was difficult to find actual information on myself, Chris Thompson. To my surprise, when I now Google my name, information about me is brought up on the top page! To me personally, I like this new digital footprint as it adds value to my own personal image. I feel like the experiences I have indulged in through out this course have left a positive digital footprint for myself, so I am happy others can now share that experience with me!

Digital citizenship has been a topic discussed many times throughout this course. If there is one thing that this course has taught me, it is that digital citizenship refers to the norms of appropriate, responsible behavior with regard to technology use. With that being said, digital citizenship and the resources we looked at regarding this matter, have really taught me how to appropriately interact with others online.  Most importantly, it has made me conscious of everything I post to the digital world. No matter what the context, everything you post on the web can be traced back to you. Therefore, you should always consider yourself, as well as other online users when interacting on the web.

As an educated digital citizen, I will continue to promote the positive behaviors I have learned throughout this course to others. I feel like I have gathered a deal of knowledge after completing this course, so it will be very easy for me to pass that along to others. Additionally, I will promote this course to my friends and students at University, as I feel it is important for everyone to understand what it means to be a digital citizen.

As stated above, through promoting this course, ADED 1P32, as well as passing my knowledge of digital citizenship along to others, I feel like I will be helping people develop the knowledge needed to work and live in our digital society.  With the way our world is changing, becoming more and more digitized, now is as good of a time as ever to become educated on this subject!

 

Jeff, A. (2013, October 11). The Digital World [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://alexanders.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/print-in-a-digital-world.jpg

Lastly, I would like to say that I have really enjoyed my time here in the ADED 1P32 blog atmosphere. I hope those of you who have had a chance to read through a few of my blog postings think the same way. I look forward to continuing my learning journey!

I hope you enjoyed this week’s final post!

Take care,
Chris

Week 11 - Blog Post #11 - Weekly Report & Reflection

Hello Everyone,

This week’s session allowed us to expand our digital knowledge using webcasting tools. The tool in particular that I took a closer look at this week was podcasts. I used a podcast to reflect on my own knowledge of digital citizenship. The new doors opened though the use of webcasting tools has yet again, broadened my knowledge of the digital world.

As previously stated, my podcast reflected on my own knowledge of digital citizenship. More specifically, I created a 60 second podcast to briefly discuss a certain aspect of digital citizenship, copyrights.  I used this podcast to build upon what we had previously uncovered last week with respect to copyrights in the digital world. Ironically, another task this week was to copyright our own blogs, which fit in perfectly with my podcast.

I found creating a podcast to be a very fascinating and rewarding experience. I have heard many podcasts over the years but have never taken the time to actually make one myself. Even though the podcast I created is very short in length, it gave me a great idea of what it would be like to create a podcast of any size and frequency!

If you would like to visit my podcast page, follow this link: “Chris Thompson Podcast”

I can see podcasts becoming a part of everyone’s learning experience in educational activities in the future. With just a computer and a good microphone, teachers can record their lessons and make them available to students and parents to listen to at home. This makes it easier for students to study and gain a deeper understanding of the material taught in class. Additionally, students can take part in the podcast world as they can share what they have learned about a specific topic with other classmates and receive feedback when applicable (Digital Literacy Classroom, 2013)

 

Venable, C. (2009, January 24). Podcast [Online Image]. Retrieved from https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3305/3223086466_ca3f54f85c_o.jpg

Relating back to my PLE, if I were to categorize podcasts I would place it under a whole new category that combines two already existing classes; those being “Collaborating and Socializing” and “Creating”. The reason why I can see podcasts fitting under both of these categories is because not only was I creating new information when developing my podcast, but I have also created a resource that can be used to collaborate with others online. Just like the many other podcasts that are out there on the web, my podcast can be used as an interaction tool to spark ideas for others, and allows for feedback through comments and critiques. 

My RSS Feed Reader…

With this being one of the last weeks to post a blog for this course, I though I better follow suit and share another post from my Feedly reader about hockey! This post is about Nashville Predators player, Shea Weber, and the NHL’s Norris Trophy. Every year around this time, all hockey talk turns to who is going to make the playoffs, and who is going to win what at the NHL Awards.  This article specifically is about the Norris Trophy; the NHL’s top defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in that position. Shea Weber has been a great defensemen this year, but analysts are now scrutinizing who exactly should win this award.  This article talks about the pros and cons of giving this award to Shea Weber, and who the other candidates should be.

For those of you who would like to read more about this story, visit the article, “Do not give Shea Weber the Norris this season.”

Strasinger, M. (2013, October 13). Shea Weber [Online Image]. Retrieved from https://sportsnashville.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/dsc0411.jpg

I hope you enjoyed this weeks post!

Take care,
Chris

Week 10 - Blog Post #10 - Weekly Report & Reflection

Hello Everyone,

This week’s session allowed us to work with those tools that can be used to create our own expressions of knowledge and share that learning with others.  More specifically, we were introduced to different presentation tools, as well as taught important lessons on copyrighting.  To my surprise, there are many different presentation tools out there in the digital world that I have not yet heard of. These opportunities to explore the different tools have really helped me expand my knowledge in the digital world.

As I mentioned above, copyrighting was a very important topic introduced this week. A copyright, which I am sure many of you have at least heard of in the past, is the exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same. With that being said, you can see that understanding what exactly a copyright is proves to be very valuable in the digital world; especially when you are creating a presentation where copyright laws come into context!

Elena, P. (2014, January 12). Magnifying Glass [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://www.cricketanalytix.com/life-analytix

The tool I used to create my presentation this week was called Animoto. Animoto is a cloud-based video creation service that produces video from photos, video clips, and music into video slideshows. I found Animoto to be yet another interesting resource presented through this class! Animoto strays away from the standard ‘boring’ slideshow format in ways that really add value to your presentations. It is quite realistic to say, ‘Animoto brings your pictures to life’. I say this because Animoto turns your photos and other sources of media into a captive video.

Griffin, E. (2013, October 18). Animoto Logo [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Logo-V2_Full-Color1-e1382125340276.jpg

However, Animoto was not the only presentation tool I took a closer look at this week! I also explored the presentation world offered through Prezi. Prezi is just like any other PowerPoint presentation you have made in that past except, it adds the fun factor! Prezi is a presentation tool that can be used as an alternative to traditional slide making programs such as PowerPoint. Instead of slides, Prezi makes use of one large canvas that allows you to pan and zoom to various parts of the slide show to emphasize the ideas presented there. Prezi is also cloud-based, allowing for you to work on and present your presentation from many platforms such as your browser, cell phone, and desktop!

Keszthelyi, C. (2015, February 24). Prezi Logo [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://www.bbj.hu/images2/201411/prezi_logojp_20141106093539331.jpg

Both of these tools I have mentioned above, Animoto and Prezi, will prove to be useful for myself in other educational activities outside of this course. Both tools offer similar capabilities while maintaining their differences. My favorite aspect about both of these tools is that it makes your presentation feel more interactive and captive.  Of course, standard PowerPoint is valuable in very formal settings. However, with more of a relaxed crowd, I think that both of these tools would do a better of a job in maintaining audience interest.

My RSS Feed Reader…

The post that I am sharing from my Feedly reader this week is about…you guessed it, hockey! More specifically, this post is about a new suspension handed out to a player of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nazem Kadri, for a head-shot hit on Edmonton Oilers player, Matt Fraser. In this article there is a video with commentary that completely explains the hit and why a suspension was handed out. However, for those leaf fans out there, I am sure you may have your own explanation to this incident. As if things could get any worse for the Leafs! I am curious to see what others think about this play. Feel free to leave a comment and discuss!

For those of you who would like to read more about this story and watch the video, visit the article, “Nazem Kadri suspended four games for head-shot on Matt Fraser.”

Guillet, R. (2013, January 23). Nazem Kadri [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://media.zenfs.com/en_US/Sports/AP_NHL/201301212138778973339-p2.jpg

I hope you enjoyed this weeks post!

Take care,
Chris

Week 9 - Blog Post #9 - Weekly Report & Reflection

Hello Everyone,

This week’s session allowed us to expand our collective knowledge building skills using blog discussions and conversations, as well as multimedia tools such as VoiceThread. These opportunities to try new ways of discussions, as well as multimedia tools have really help me expand my knowledge of the digital world.

The multimedia tool VoiceThread was used this week to connect with other students to gain a deeper understanding of the knowledge components of digital rights and responsibilities of digital citizens. This was done though sharing our own knowledge we had constructed in previous weeks through research and collaboration.

I found VoiceThread to be a very interesting resource. I have never used a tool like this in the past for learning with others in the collaborative setting. I think that it is a fresh and exciting way to view what others think about similar concepts. With its ability to record actual video/audio, it really allows its users to get their messages across as it allows you to add that personal touch and emotion.

For those of you who have not yet had the chance to discover VoiceThread, I suggest you visit their website at www.voicethread.com.  As well, if you are still looking to expand your knowledge on this matter, check out the website edtechteacher where a great description of the tool is provided.  

 

Retrieved from: http://synergiseducation.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/VoiceThread_image.jpg

Another task asked of us this week was to analyze a technology use scenario provided through our textbook to form a blog discussion. I found this to be a great exercise as it allowed us to expand our knowledge and thinking with respect to digital rights and responsibilities.

My scenario was about using technology at school to illegally alter personal information. A great article provided in this weeks “building background’ offered some good thoughts and examples on this matter. The article called “Tools for Teaching Cyber Ethics,” talks about the many different ways students these days are committing cyber crime and becoming accustomed to poor cyber ethics. On top of that, it states that many students don’t see cyber crime as a real “criminal offense.” .

Based off of the materials covered in this course so far regarding digital right and responsibilities, I think it should now become a mandatory practice for students to learn about the hardships of misusing technology at a young age. I think that in many cases, students at a young age don’t fully understand the impact of what they are posting to the web.  Of course, later on in that students life, these posts may come back to haunt them as technology is evolving everyday, allowing for a higher probability of this technology misconduct to re-surface. If students were brought up knowing the consequences of this misuse, hopefully it would reduce the number of wrongful occurrences.

For those of you who would like to take part in the blog discussion I have created surrounding this topic, leave a comment on my blog called “Week 9 -Technology Use Scenario #5.” 

Retrieved from: http://law.widener.edu/NewsandEvents/Articles/2008/~/media/Images/News2008/iStock_laptopDanger.ashx

My RSS Feed Reader…

The post that I am sharing from my Feedly reader this week follows suit with every other post I have created…Sports! More specifically, this post is about the use of GoPro cameras in hockey. Goaltender for the New York Rangers, Henrik Lundqvist, shows off his moves as he has a GoPro strapped to his head! For those of you who have not been following this fad, many other NHL players are also taking part in this “GoPro Challenge” and showing off their moves in the process. It is definitely something worth taking a look at!

For those of you who would like to read more about this story and watch the video, visit the article, “Witness Henrik Lundqvist goalie mastery with GoPro camera on mask.”

Retrieved from: http://assets4.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/lund-1040x572.jpg

I hope you enjoyed this weeks post!

Take care,

Chris

Week 9 - Technology Use Scenario #5

Scenario 5. Tim and his friends spend a lot of time working on computers and they understand how to get around security features. Tim decides to see how far he can get into the school’s computer system. Tim manages to get onto the school’s server and decides to change a few grades for his friends, “just for the fun of it.” The next day a rumor is circulating that someone has hacked the school’s server. That after-noon, Tim is called to the office to talk to the principal.

In this scenario, it is clear that Tim is using technology inappropriately. However, not only is Tim misusing technology, but he is also breaking the law. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), Tim is breaking into a computer system, with intentions to alter of modify existing information. This goes against the Computer Crime Statues set out by the NCSL. 

I have found two real-world examples where individuals have been caught hacking into their schools systems to change their own grades:

One scenario involves two men who are facing a $250,000 fine or jail time for “unauthorized computer access, identity theft, conspiracy, and wire fraud.” These two individuals altered their University grades to better their overall GPA.  For those of you who would like to read more about this story, visit the article, “Do Grade Changing Hackers Deserve 20Years In Jail?”

The other scenario I found is very similar to the one above, however, in this scenario, a Mom was caught changing the grades of her kids’. This Mom faces six felony charges for doing so. Just like the situation above, if convicted, she will face a $90,000 fine or jail time.  For those of you who would like to read more about this story, visit the article, “Mom Hacks Into School Computer System, Changes Her Kids’ Grades.”

Obviously, Tim, and ever other student should avoid tampering with their grades at all times. Once educated on the consequences associated with doing so, ever student will think twice before misusing technology.

Let me know what you think! I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Cheers,

Chris

Week 8 - Blog Post #8 - Weekly Report & Reflection

Hello Everyone,

This week’s session introduced me to the land of wikis and concept mapping tools. Considering my knowledge in both of these areas was minimal, this week provided a great learning opportunity for myself. The hands on experiences provided though exploring different wikis, as well as through creating our own concept map really helped me expand my knowledge in these areas.  I look forward to continuing my learning journey through these concepts.

When I first realized one of the main topics for this week was wikis, my mind immediately thought of Wikipedia. Of course, with being a student, it has been stressed to me over and over that Wikipedia is an “unreliable source”. With that in mind, I quickly me to jumped to the conclusion that wikis in general are “unreliable sources”.  To my pleasant surprise, a great article was provided this week that debunks this “unreliable source” myth. This sparked me to further my exploration into wikis.

Ironically, Wikipedia provides a great definition of what exactly a wiki is. “A wiki is an application, typically a web application, which allows collaborative modification, extension, or deletion of its content and structure”.  After learning more about wikis, I continued my exploration through many of the wiki resources provided through this week’s session. Through this exploration, I found that wikis can be used as a great way to support our learning.

First and foremost, using a wiki really expands your use of collaboration skills. It forces you to collaborate with others through a set of rules, where negotiation, decision-making, and agreement are necessary. It also allows you to reflect on collaboration in general, in terms of how others are contributing to the wiki.

Additionally, wikis teach us how to perfect our writing and editing skills.  No one wants to sit down and sift through boring information on the web that is full of spelling errors and doesn’t make sense. It is important that the information you post to a wiki is error free and enticing to your audience.

The other main concept looked at this week was concept-mapping tools.  A concept map is a type of graphic organizer used to help people organize and represent knowledge of a subject. Concept maps begin with a main idea and then branch out to show how that main idea can be broken down into specific topics.

The tool that I used to create my own concept map was called Bubbl.us. I found this tool to be very easy to use, providing all of the capabilities needed to complete this week’s assigned task. Below, you can see the concept map I created using Bubbl.us that represents ideas, behaviors, and rules that make up the digital rights and responsibilities of digital citizens.

Thompson, C. (CC) 2015.

My RSS Feed Reader…

The post that I am sharing from my Feedly reader this week relates back to my post from last week regarding the Toronto Maple Leafs and their trade of David Clarkson to the Columbus Blue Jackets for player Nathan Horton.  This week, the news surrounding David Clarkson is his injury. Of course, it is never a good thing to hear about a player getting injured. It just seems funny that right after this big trade was made for what seems to be a better deal for the Leafs, he got what might be a season ending injury…

For those of you who would like to read more about this story, visit the article,  “David Clarkson out for season because he’s a Blue Jacket, hence injured”.

 

Sabau, J. (2015, February 28). David Clarkson [online image]. Retrieved from http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/NHWI5b01VGwinIjxFnUGrQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTM3NztpbD1wbGFuZTtweG9mZj01MDtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz02NzA-/http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/sports/2015-03-04/fce80cb0-c291-11e4-ab82-917e4a0c43f7_DavidClarkson.jpg

 

I hope you enjoyed this weeks post!

Take care,

Chris

Week 7 – Blog Post #7 – Weekly Report & Reflection

Hello Everyone,

This week’s session allowed us to experience working in a collaborative group to complete a presentation cooperatively online.  The presentation gave us the opportunity to gain a more in depth knowledge on a topic related to building digital citizenship.  In order to do so, we were introduced to Google Docs, as well as TodaysMeet. Upon exploration into these tools, I was pleasantly surprised with just how easy and resourceful these collaborative instruments were.

Google Docs, which I am sure many of you are most likely familiar with, is an online word processor that lets you create and format text documents and collaborate with other people in real time. For the purposes of this presentation, I found this to be the perfect tool. Not only did it make my groups lives easier, but it aloud for some fun along the way.

I have worked with Google Docs before in the past, however, never to create a presentation. In the past, I have used it to create reports with a group, or work together on a spreadsheet. What I found great about creating a presentation in the drive is that it allows you to maximize the efficiency of your time. For this presentation, my partner and I would simultaneously be working in the presentation on two different slides. Once we were both complete our slide, were would then take a look at what the other person had created and make any changes we saw fit. This easily reduced the amount of time spent working on the presentation as it resulted in half the work, plus additional editing time!

Copied From: http://www.autourduweb.fr/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/google-docs.jpg

In order for my partner and I to get in touch and coordinate a timeframe as to when we were going to work on our presentation, we communicated through the tool introduced this week called TodaysMeet. TodaysMeet website describes their platform as such:

“TodaysMeet is the premier backchannel chat platform for classroom teachers and learners. TodaysMeet takes great care to respect the needs and privacy of students while giving educators the tools for success.”

I found this tool, just like Google Docs, to be very easy and straightforward to use. Just like Twitter, it allows you to type messages back and forth in a chat room, with a maximum of 140 characters. I found this to be a benefit of the tool as it made sure you got right to the point in the messages you were trying to convey, rather then providing lengthy responses. 

Copied From: http://www.edinazephyrus.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/TodaysMeet.png

Relating back to my PLE, if I were to categorize these tools I would place them under 2 different categories; those being “Collaborating and Socializing” and “Creating”. TodaysMeet is a tool in which its sole purpose is to communicate with others; therefore, I would place it under my “Collaborating and Socializing” category. Google Docs however seems to fit under both categories. Not only was I creating new content when working in the drive, but I was also collaborating with my group. Therefore I would have to place this tool in a separate section where it could link to both categories.

My RSS Feed Reader…

For those of you who have read my blog before, you have probably now realized that I like to end off with a reference to a sports article of some kind from my Feedly Reader.  This week, its about the Toronto Maple Leafs and there all-famous, David Clarkson. Clarkson has recently been traded from the Leafs to the Columbus Blue Jackets for player, Nathan Horton. The funny thing about this trade is that player Nathan Horton is severely injured and may not play hockey again. This means the Leafs may have essentially just made this trade to free up cap space and get rid of Clarkson…

For those of you who would like to read more about this story, visit the article,  “Toronto Maple Leads shed David Clarkson and Contract in ColumbusTrade".

Copied From: http://storage.torontosun.com/v1/dynamic_resize/sws_path/suns-prod-images/1297541890172_ORIGINAL.jpg?quality=80&size=650x

I hope you enjoyed this weeks post!

Take care,

Chris