Week 4 - Blog Post #4 - Weekly Report & Reflection

Hello Everyone!

The main topics covered in this week’s session were content curation, and online bookmarking. My understanding of these two topics was very vague before beginning this session. I knew that I was really going to have to look harder into the materials covered in this session if I was going to come out on top. After reviewing the information provided, I believe I have a lot better of an understanding then I did before hand. However, I would still like to continue this exploration, especially towards content curation tools!

A definition of content curation was provided through one of the blog posts in this weeks session by Gianluca Fiorelli called “Content curation: definition and generation.”  The definition states, “content curation is the capacity of filtering and adding value to the content we receive and are exposed to everyday from all the online sources (Search and Social).” Simple put, content curation allows you to sift through the vast amount of content on the web, and present it in a meaningful and organized way around a specific idea.

The quality curation tool I had a closer look at this week was Google Alerts. This tool is essentially exactly what the name implies; it alerts you when a resource of your interest has been added to Google. As stated in this week’s session about Google Alerts, “it is useful for staying up-to-date on news and happenings in your field or interest area.” A huge benefit that Google Alerts will bring to my learning comes from its ability to streamline processes. This tool will free up more time for my self when conducting research or everyday activities as it provides the alert to me, right when new information is posted about my alert of interest.

The other part if this week’s material was focused on bookmarking, and online bookmarking tools. A simple definition on an online bookmark is, “An Internet browser feature that allows a user to go back to a previously visited website by clicking on the saved link without retyping the site’s address” as stated by the BusinessDictionary. As the definition specified, bookmarking allows for easy access to information you may want to re-read, or want repetitive access to.

The bookmarking tool I looked at this week was Diigo. At first, I found this tool to be very challenging to figure out and was wondering why I would use this tool when I already have a bookmarks tool bar. However, after I got comfortable with the tool, I could clearly see the benefits it possessed. I found Diigo to be a form of Google, based on websites you fine necessary to bookmark. Diigo allows you to place a description on the bookmark allowing you easy access to and from a page, without forgetting why you tagged it in the first place.

A great benefit I could see from Diigo would be during a school project.  In the initial phase of the project when you are doing your research, you could bookmark many pages and websites, tagging them all under a specific tag. After you completed your search, you could refer back to your Diigo library and quickly jump back and forth between the websites you already researched. I think this would reduce redundancies in the research process and make the entire research phase more efficient.

My RSS Feed Reader…

What better way to end off this blog then talk about hockey…? A post that I enjoyed from my Feedly reader this week was called “Inside the matchup: Penguins vs. Capitals.” For those of you who do not follow hockey, the NHL has created a rivalry between these teams based off of their captains, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. Since these team play each other this week, what better way to get the fans going then talk about them through a blog!  This posts talks about there matchup, noting that Pittsburg has beaten Washington every time they have played each other this season. If you would like more information on this article, you can read it though the link I provided above!

Copied From: http://www.sikids.com/sites/default/files/multimedia/photo_gallery/1006/memorable.rivalries/images/crosby.ovechkin.jpg

 

I hope you enjoyed my post this week.

Take care,

Chris

Week 3 - Blog Post #3 - Really Simple Syndication

Hello again,

This week was all about RSS feeds. I had the opportunity to expand my already existing knowledge on this matter and to my surprise, there was a lot more to it then I thought! Not only is there a lot to know about RSS feeds, but also many great tools out there that I was unaware of that take advantage of these feeds. 

As I mentioned in my previous blog for this week called “My Experience with RSS Feeds”, having the right RSS feed tool proves as a “one stop shop” for all your favorite information. After I had my Feedly account up and running, it didn’t take me long before I was using it regularly to get my sport and news updates on a consistent basis. I think it is amazing that the tool provides you with everything you would normally take ages searching for on the Internet in seconds.  The efficiency of this tool is outstanding!

For those of you who are still having trouble wrapping your head around what exactly an RSS feed is, I found the blog called “What is RSS” to be very informing.  A great take away to help better understand RSS feeds from this post by Darren Rowse is that RSS is a technology that allows many people around the world keep track of their favorite websites. These feeds allow the Internet to come to you, rather then you come to them.

Looking at me feed reader…

Again, as I have previously stated in my prior posts, I love sports, especially hockey. This week, the Brock News has written an article on a very special hockey player from the Brock men’s hockey team. His name is Milan Doczy. Milan was diagnosed with cancer this past year and has been battling to his recovery. As the post states, Brock, as well as his former OHL team, the Owen Sound Attack, have rallied behind him and started a fundraiser/campaign called “Do it for Doczy”. As Milan comes from the Czech Republic, he does not receive all the benefits of the Canadian health care system. Because of this, contributions and support is needed from fellow students and colleagues.

For those of you who would like to support and read more, visit the article, Brock set to rally behind ‘Do it For Doczy’. 

Copied From: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B70RMlXIQAEQ1Mu.jpg:large

Being able to use my Feedly RSS feed to stay up-to-date on information like the article above, has aloud me to broaden my knowledge of the world around me. Information such as that above would have normally slipped right under my nose without me even knowing. Having the RSS feed deliver what I want to read has proven to be very beneficial in regards to keeping me informed.

With the RSS feed providing me with only the information I want to read, it has aloud me to expand my own learning in terms of reading. Before the feed, reading was not something I did a lot of. I would always struggle to find something of interest to myself and then by the time I did, I wouldn’t have the time to read it. With the feed pulling only the information of importance to me, it has encouraged my positive reading habits and in turn, resulted in myself expanding my reading capabilities.

I hope you enjoyed my post and get a chance to look at the articles I have made reference to!

Take care,

Chris

Week 3 - My Experience with RSS Feeds

Hello Everyone,

This week I had the opportunity to learn about RSS feeds. I have come across these feeds in the past, and have actually used them before, but never from a website like Feedly that organizes the information for you. I find this to be a very useful tool, as it has become a “one stop shop” for myself when I want to catch-up on events I find interesting.

Sport news is something I check regularly as I have a strong passion for the sports world. Feedly has allowed me to capture all of my regular sport news bloggers in one area. Even with checking my account regularly, I am always amazed with the amount of new posts Feedly has available for me to read.

One post in particular that I would like to share with everyone is by Greg Wyshynski, called “Zac Rinaldo’s got jokes about ejection for Kris Letang hit”. The blog is called Puck Daddy and comes from the Yahoo Sport website. This post talks about the illegal hit Zac Rinaldo had on the Pittsburg Penguin’s star defensemen, Kris Letang. It also sheds some light on the roughness of the NHL game and how suspensions are being treated.

Copied From: http://assets2.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/rinaldo-letang-640x360.jpg

However, I will not ruin this post for everyone. Check it out yourself! It also has some great clips of the play so you can make your own inferences!

Enjoy,

Chris

Week 2 - Blog Post #2 - Understanding my own PLE and PLN

Hello Again!

I hope everyone enjoyed the first official week of the course. I know I enjoyed learning more about my own digital footprint and the impact it possesses. I also had the chance to read over a few other blogs, they were all great, but more importantly, shed new light on information I had missed throughout my time in the session!

This weeks session was focused on figuring out what a PLE and PLN are. Before reading the information presented this week, I had no idea what either of these acronyms referred to! I found the definition that made the most sense to me relating to PLEs on the website “What the heck is a PLE and why would I want one”. Simply put, a PLE is a system that helps you take control of and manage your learning.  As stated in the opening YouTube video, the emphasis is on self-directed learning and personal selection of tools.

Similar, yet different to the PLE, a PLN is your Personal Learning Network. A great blurb on PLNs can be found through the blog by Clint Lalonde called “Twitter, PLEs and PLNs”. There are a few definitions of what a PLN is in this blog, but my favorite is, “a PLN is the sum of all social capital and connections that result in the development and facilitation of a personal learning environment” (2010, p. 125). The emphasis is on interacting with and learning from others. Just like I stated in my opening paragraph, after reading other student’s blogs, I was able to expand my knowledge on digital footprints through my PLN.

As stated in this week’s material, in order to have an effective PLE, you need to go through the personal, learning, environment, habits evaluation process recursively.  Below is my discussion on these topics:

Personal

In 5-10 years I want to be living on my own with a steady job/income. Nearing the 10-year point, I would hope to be starting my own family and have the ability to support this family. Currently, I am living at home and only have a job as a co-op student. Obviously, there is an apparent gap between where I am and where I want to be.

Learning

To bridge the gap talked about above, I will first need to finish my degree at Brock. In order to obtain the successful career I desire, I will need to expand my knowledge in the Finance world by keeping up to date on the latest news and trends relating to finance. These skills would fit under my own named category called “Progressing My Career”.

Environment

I currently possess a good learning environment. As I live at home, there are not to many distractions that get in my way. However, when working from home whether it be school or career work, I need to make sure I keep my electronic devices away from my personal environment as I tend to procrastinate if these devices are close by.

Habits

I would like to say I don’t have any bad habits…but that wouldn’t be true. The first bad habit that I would like to eliminate with a 30-day trial period is to spend less time out with my friends and colleagues. I have trouble saying no when I am asked if I want to go out or go to an event. Even though I know I do not have the time to go out, I refuse to say no. I would like to work on this habit by reducing the amount of time I go out in a month.

I will revisit my thinking about these topics throughout the course and make note of any changes in my thinking that occur along the way in these blogs!

Not only did I learn about what a PLE is and how to continually progress it, but I also had the chance to create my own PLE! This can be seen below. I had fun creating this diagram and tried to make it appealing to my viewers. As you can see, my main categories are: creating, progressing my career, organizing content, and collaborating/socializing. I feel like my diagram would be similar to most other students. I say this because the tools I use are very basic and almost the essentials to survive in the University world. However, looking at my diagram, I feel like there is room to expand. I feel like I could maybe take on a new interest or hobby and expand my current tool selection. 

Thompson, C. (CC) 2015.

Last but not least, my Word Cloud! I found Word Cloud to be a fun tool that really “brings your blog post to life”. Even though I wrote my post just last week, I some what forgot what it was about. After I simply copy and pasted it into the program, I was soon reminded what it was about! As you can see from the image below, Word Cloud transformed the key points from my first blog post into a footprint (how fitting – technology never seizes to amaze me…).  I am very curious to see what it did to everyone else’s blog!

Thompson, C. (CC) 2015.

I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on this week’s material.

Take care,

Chris