So far, out of the technologly tools we have explored, I have seen some uses for a Facebook page, pearl tree (PLN), podcasts and possibly twitter. I plan to work within cardiac rehabilitation so podcasts in technology and medicine would have obvious merits in staying up to date in these respective areas. Pearl tree would help me stay organized both in my leisure interests as well as my career connections and resources. Depending where I worked and who I would know twitter would be of some use hypothetically, although more for me to obtain information rather than to be used as a platform to get my view points across. I just don't see myself using twitter in that form within the profession. Lastly Facebook would help me stay in touch with my colleagues as well as possibly making a fan page for a community event that would take place. Hopefully I get a little more aquainted with all these technology tools first because I'm not used to using some of them yet, however they can be of great use.
Join the discussion! I chose to make a fan page about a book I read recently titled "The Fifth Wave". Some of my friends, along with me, enjoyed the book and thought it would be nice to share it with others. I think that making my first fan page on a topic like this will help me in the future when I decide to make one for my professional career.
The article, "Always On" discusses the potential problems and upsides to those who have grown around using the emerging technology and social media Portals and websites. I can see arguements to both sides because I personally have seen both sides of the argument in my own life. I have become very well aquianted in the technology world we live in and I can see the point made when people say that this generation is quicker in thought and information processing. However I can also see how people, including myself, become much more impatient in terms with how fast things take place or how we become flustered when things take longer than we want. We have become more willing take anything on the Internet for truth while we do little research into what we read. We also have become a little impersonal in our face to face interactions due to the fact a big portion of our conversations take place on the web, Where we can be emotionally and socially lazy with our dialogue.
The article, "Social Networking in Undergraduate Education" reviews how technology has affected undergraduate learning. Does it make it easier, better more interactive or completely the contrary? After reading the article and looking over the results, I can only partially agree with the results of the questionnaires submitted. Three distinct results and conclusions really caught my attention. One was that Facebook helped people strengthen relationships. I disagree, although it is easier to maintain connections the relationships don't become stronger in my opinion. The relationships' depth and quality are restricted by social media itself. Conversations are impersonal, never face to face, they lack emotion and give you a distant feeling to a relationship. Another conclusion that caught my eye was that the majority of students say that social media bring a community together. I think that statement is very ironic. Yes social media keeps you up to date on What may be happening in your community but you only see what has been chosen to be posted, thus your connection is limited. Also the more time you may spend on social media the less time you actually get to interact with these people face to face and really actually get to know the meaning of having a relationship wit h those who live around in your community. Lastly there was a conclusion which said that certain tools like Blackboard help the learning experience and I do agree. Social media can help with education but it needs to be channeled for that purpose. I think that Facebook, due to its social and entertainment commercials, apps and constant feeds can distract from learning so something like Blackboad can be used for education and it would yield great results for members to interact on the topic or class at hand.
I made this picture on funphotobox.com. I made this with the picture that I embedded on my home page. I decided to use this background from the movie Tangled because I've seen it and I thought it would be fun, and at first glance, I thought it was a bit funny (especially within the context of the scene from the movie). I think that this picture sums up the intended purpose of the website, as well as my intention which is to have some fun while learning how to use technology with your photos.
For a personal learning network (PLN) I decided to use Pearl Trees. I found this PLN helpful because it allows you to add websites that you deem important to one place saving you time. You can create "branches" to your tree very easily for different topics and areas of your life. When you are ready to add a website you can search for it, once you have it in front you just click add and it becomes part of that respective branch. It is a great way to store and order not only websites but also documents and pictures so that they are easily found when you need them. It's like having everything you need on one site or one "tree," if you will.
The internet has greatly influenced my learning in a positive way. The Internet has allowed me to have resources such as online data bases, articles, online documents and books as well as see opinions of professionals in my respective field. In terms of websites, I don't really use websites as sources for me to learn new things because it can be hard to check their reliability so I mostly rely on documents and articles found on online data bases like JSTOR or Ebscohost. The Internet can be a distractive thing however. I have caught myself being distracted by it because not only does it give you quicker access to useful information about your profession, it also provides quick access to social media and other things of leisure that can sidetrack you and cause you to procrastinate on the tasks at hand. Due to the fact that blogging and posting articles on the web is easy, this can lead to numerous takes on a single topic which can cause confusion, and again, the question of reliability arises. All in all, the Internet and today's latest technology is definitely useful and resourceful for my respective field (cardiac rehab) as long as I don't become distracted or become misinformed by questionable sources.
After watching Marcus Buckingham's video, I've realized that there are certain situations that I feel that I'm in my 'sweet spot'. I realize that I feel more comfortable and get my best work done when I feel in control of the task at hand and I know what needs to be done. Situations like these are when I'm working alone or when I'm in charge of what needs to be done when I'm working with others. I'm also very competitive and I thrive when I feel I am measured up to someone else or there is a mutual competition. I feel this is the case because I like to know that no one out worked me or outperformed me because I take pride in what I do. Areas that I feel I am out of my strengths are when I'm just told what to do or when I feel I am working with groups and I feel we are underprepared because I heavily believe in preparation.
Micro blogging is a great way to send and receive news, alerts and see what's new in the world of athletics (or virtually any other topic). It's a good way to get your point out there and in turn, see other point of views. It helps you stay on top of what matters most to you. Lastly you can use this as a tool for your profession or for leisure and social purposes.
B.A. In exercise science, I have participated in numerous sports including soccer and track and field (1500m) at the collegiate level. I have worked with young athletes for years and seek to keep helping athletes and people interested in athletics in the clinical setting.