Weekly Report and Reflection #7!

Hello fellow blog readers!

cnet. (CC) 2016.

This week we explored Google Drive, I specifically utilized the tools Google Docs and Google Presentations. I have used both of these tools a numerous amount of times throughout my university career. These tools make it so much easier to communicate between group members and they promote cooperative learning and working. Recently, I worked on an assignment with five people and we had to write a group essay as well as make a presentation. We utilized Google Docs and Google Presentation in order to work on the assignment simultaneously, also this benefited the editing process because the website enables everyone to be online at the same time and changes are updated automatically.

One of the most helpful tools on Google Docs is the comment section where you can specifically highlight a certain sentence and add a comment to the side if you are having difficulty communicating your point. Group members can view this comment and resolve it after analyzing the issue, therefore it promotes teamwork as well as builds on each other's knowledge. I have found that my fourth year of university has mainly been composed of group presentations and essays and Google Drive has been effective with working through the assignments. The main limitation that I have found with Google Docs is that the editing tool and spell check is not as sensitive as Microsoft Word. For instance, I have copied and pasted my work from Google Docs into Microsoft Word and MS Word picks up a lot more structural errors compared to GD. I’m interested to know if anyone has experienced any other limitations of Google Drive tools?

I think the collaboration aspect of Google Drive tools is the number one reason as to why it is such a useful tool. From my experience with the tool it enhances communication between group partners, which is one of the major elements when working as a team. In addition, it is common that once you write something it is challenging to detect any errors but with a peer reviewing your work, they are able to provide a fresh set of eyes and fix any undetected errors. In the article called Collaborative Learning/ Learning with Peers, readers are provided with the pros of working collaboratively and how to promote cooperative teamwork learning. The article discusses how to edit other's papers and how to offer constructive criticism, therefore benefiting the writer.

I would add this tool into the Educational section of my PLE because I use it daily in order to work on group assignments, copy notes during lecture, and create to-do lists. Google Drive is a tool that I will use past my university career because of its accessibility and simplicity. I have downloaded the app to my phone that way I can access and edit my notes/presentations no matter where I am.

A blog that I found very helpful from my Feedly account is Let’s Talk About Organization. With several deadlines and group projects to work on, it is important to stay organized and find a balance between leisure and school. This blog offers helpful tips to stay organized and on task and I recommend everyone check it out!

Don’t forget to follow me on this blog as I journey through new online tools! Also be sure to follow me on Twitter for further updates of my learning!

Happy blogging!

Weekly Reflection and Report #6

Hi everyone and welcome back to my blog!

 

Mergy. (CC) 2016.

I hope that everyone has been enjoying his or her reading week! This week I explored the website called Evernote in an educational context. The topic that I will be researching alongside my partners is “Digital Health and Wellness.” There are endless possibilities for the use of Evernote such as checklists, jot notes, bookmark pages, etc. as stated in the blog “What is Evernote? My Favourite Productivity Tool!”.  Evernote is simply a web-clipping tool that has expanding features, setting it aside from typical web-clipping websites, which was mentioned in the blog “Take a Minute to Collect your Thoughts With Evernote”. I think that Evernote is a beneficial website to utilize when researching for a project because it enables the user to chunk all of the websites, pictures, videos, articles, etc. into one notebook. Additionally, you can share your Evernote with your partners that way they can see what information you have found in order to compare notes. I found the most fascinating aspect of Evernote was the ability to screen-cap or “clip” a certain section of any website with the click of the Evernote tool. The screen-cap links directly to your specific notebook in Evernote without having to be on the website, which makes finding research so much easier.

Evernote. (CC) 2016.

In regards to my PLE I would add Evernote into the “Education” section of the diagram. I will continue to use Evernote as I am often making checklists and scheduling assignments for school, and this website allows me to easily access all of this information. Additionally, I find that it is a great alternative to Google Docs for writing short notes during class as it automatically saves the work as you type out your note. Tagging the notes is also beneficial because it allows the search for certain notebooks to be faster and simpler with a search of a tagged word. Furthermore, the Evernote app can be downloaded to your phone or tablet, therefore it can be accessed at all times for future reference.

This week in my Feedly account I found an article posted by the Huffington Post, which sparked my interest. It is called “How To Boost Your Creativity,” I found this article to be very inspiring because I was feeling drained from the several essays I have been writing and I felt like I was running out of creative ideas for assignments. The article provides helpful tips to encourage creativity, as everyone is creative in their own way. I practiced a couple of the tips suggested by the article, for instance writing my essay in a coffee shop that I had never been to before, going for a walk/ stepping away from the essay writing, and “embracing the mess” where I left my work area messier than usual during writing times. I recommend that if you are facing a creative block to check out this article and it will surely be helpful and inspiring!

As always, happy blogging everyone! Also be sure to follow me on my educational Twitter for further updates of my postings and findings.

Weekly Reflection and Report #5

Hello fellow bloggers/ readers!

Google Images. (CC). 2016

This week we are taking a closer look at the very popular social networking site, Twitter. I have been using Twitter for several years now and I use it daily in order to communicate with my friends and stay up to date with the current news. 

The “Trending Topics” and tailored hashtags make searching for specific news much simpler, faster, and efficient. Additionally, I commonly read through other people’s tweets from around the world to see what their thoughts are on important “Trending Topics” or even topics that are for fun. Another great aspect of Twitter is that people often “live tweet,” which is when individuals tweet their opinion/reaction while watching TV, listening to new music, or anything they are currently experiencing. In the past, I have used Twitter for work in order to advocate to youth the dangers about smoking, we did this through something called a Twitter bomb where everyone uses the same hashtag for several days in order to make it trend. I think that Twitter is a great outlet to reach out to a large population in the most concise way possible.

Recently, on my educational Twitter account I have been using the hashtag #ADED1P32, therefore when I search this hashtag it lists everyone that is discussing this topic and course in a feed. This has made it much easier to locate my fellow classmates Twitter's as well as read what they are finding interesting. In my opinion, the main disadvantage of Twitter is the character limit because users are not able to tweet their full thoughts on a situation because they have to cut so many words to fit a mere 140 characters. However, this can also work as an advantage in educational contexts because it teaches you how to be concise with the statement that is being shared. Therefore, when you read through your Twitter updates you can quickly get a grasp on what people are trying to communicate without a lot of filler information. In addition, a website called Twitlonger allows you to expand on your tweets by linking your full statement in a current tweet, this allows you to bypass the 140 character limit.

The main thing that I have noticed throughout my years of using Twitter is how easy it is to obtain information and how fast new information is posted to Twitter. There are millions of tweets being posted per second and people from all over the world are forming connections through 140 character statements. The hashtags enable people to find others with  common interests and thoughts, or they may find that other individuals have completely different views on a certain topic. This demonstrates the uniqueness of Twitter and this sets it apart from any other social networking site. The Twitter Handbook for Teacher's breaks down Twitter step by step for new users that want to use it in an academic context. The handbook is quite helpful because it demonstrates how to implement Twitter into the classroom and how to show students that it can not only be fun but it can be used in an educational sense. Furthermore, I have already placed Twitter in my PLE under "Collaboration," however if I created a "Social" branch in the diagram I would place it under this category as well. Moreover, Twitter can also fit under the the "Educational" category as I am currently using it academically for this class. This demonstrates the fluidity and links between PLE categories that Twitter supports.

I’ve also continued to keep up with my Feedly account and this week I recommend you check out this interesting link on 10 Simple Hacks to Land Better Grades Possible in College. This is a really interesting article that breaks down some tips for excelling in school. I found this article helpful because recently I have been working through a ton of assignments and sometimes lack of sleep and an overload of coffee is not the best option! I’m intrigued to read everyone else’s thoughts on Twitter and until then…

Happy tweeting and be sure to follow me on Twitter for future updates!