Weekly Report & Reflection Post #12

Hello everyone

This will be my last blog post of ADED 1P32 and it feels like yesterday I wrote my first! This class has taught me quite a bit about being a better digital citizen and I will make sure to utilize everything I have learned. The digital world is fascinating and is something that should be enjoyed by everyone at sometime or another. This environment needs to be welcoming one where individuals are happy to share their thoughts and ideas respectfully with each other. Everything I have been taught enables me to be a digital citizen that promotes proper netiquette and one that respects and educates others on digital rights and responsibilities.

Retrieved from: http://www.liveadmins.com/blog/how-to-communicate-with-customers-in-a-digital-environment/

I have learned multiple aspects about being a digital citizen and many of these aspects have taught me how to promote quality online interactions with my fellow peers in the digital world. Throughout the course we were taught proper netiquette and the digital rights and responsibilities that all of us have. Gaining a better grasp of these concepts has lead me to not only understand quality online interactions more in depth but how to promote them! The right to assemble is important, respecting others right to comment and join in forums and conversation without hostility is crucial to note. Allowing everyone to share their ideas in a respectful way is key to having quality online interactions. Additionally, giving credit where credit is due and right to privacy are important as you do not want to steal others ideas or invade their privacy. By respecting both of these individuals have set boundaries and they can be comfortable with each other within the digital environment. This only allows for further quality online interactions. 

Retrieved from: http://www.2lovegroup.co.uk/digital-interviews/

Keeping these in mind and promoting them (as I will be doing) will allow for the best quality online interactions to occur between individuals. This course was fantastic and I will most certainly be promoting to my fellow peers for when they choose classes next year. I hope you have enjoyed reading my blogs because I sure have enjoyed writing them. All the best and I will be signing off! Have a great summer everyone and best of luck.

Sincerely 

Jason Wilson 

Weekly Report and Reflection Post #11

Hello again!

We are coming up on the final week of class rather quickly and I must say this semester absolutely flew past! I have loved this school year and by far I have grown and learnt the most this year then any other year. I am leaving for Alberta as soon as exams are done so the countdown has begun for me; one month from today I am gone! This week we created our own podcasts where we were to discuss a certain aspect of living and working in the digital world. I focused my presentation on digital rights and responsibilities and more specifically the right to assemble and giving credit where credit is due. I utilized SoundCloud to create my podcast as I use SoundCloud regularly to find music and just realized I can use it for podcasts as well (so exciting). Check out my podcast on my page titled Podcast!

Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SoundCloud_logo.svg

This week when exploring podcasts I realized how easy it is for anyone to post a podcast and voice their opinions and put out any information on whatever subject they want. As we learned in the CNN video What is Podcasting?, podcasting is not a radio show but a talk show which individuals post online and discuss topics anyone can listen to at any point on almost any audio device! This can be useful to me in my educational activities as podcasts done by academic scholars can offer great insight to the topic they are discussing and it allows listeners (like me) to listen for tone and emotion behind words to get a better grasp of how the podcaster feels on the topic. Individuals can listen to a variety of podcasts done by a variety of people on a variety of subjects, their is no limit to what can be said in a podcast. Educationally, this can be utilized be many intellectual individuals to spread their knowledge on the subject they are focused in. On the flip side, people need to be careful for podcasts that are strictly opinion based and offer information that is not backed up by facts. Individuals can say anything they want and people need to be careful not to take everything heard as truth, take everything with a grain of salt.

Retrieved from: http://myndset.com/2015/10/how-many-podcasts-are-there/

Finishing up this week, I wanted to share a fantastic article I found on PsyBlog which my Feedly brought to my attention! The article is titled 10 Rules From Sleep Experts To Help You Wake Up Refreshed Every Morning and it suggests rules to help with going to sleep and waking up refreshed everyday. I have been told some of these rules many times but believed they weren't important and I did not have to follow them to get good sleep. After realizing I do not follow most of them, it hit me that maybe I am not getting the best sleep possible. After this reading, I am going to make sure to follow most of these rules in order to wake up more refreshed and I suggest everyone does the same. That is it for me this week, have a great day everyone.

Cheers

Jason Wilson 

Weekly Report & Reflection Post #10

Welcome Back!

This week was an interesting week as we were introduced to Animoto and Creative Commons which I utilized to create a slideshow on the importance of copyright. Both of these tools are pertinent to copyright as Animoto is a presentation tool which allows you to remix templates others have created and Creative Commons is a search engine which finds images, media, music, and web items that are copyright free which means you can use them for your own use.

Retrieved from: http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/24/animoto-enterprise/

When exploring these tools I noticed just how many different variations there are for slideshows and presentation tools that can be utilized in the classroom for a myriad of reasons. With last week looking at VoiceThread and this week looking at Animoto, PhotoPeach, and Fotobabble I have learnt of these valuable tools that I can incorporate into my educational activities and how each of them have different aspects within them that makes them unique. With VoiceThread allowing you or viewers/contributors to add slides and comment on them (in video!) and Animoto having video templates that allows you slideshow to be video-like and visual appealing, each tool can be used for different reasons in different settings. 

After using Animoto and creating my slideshow, I had a better understanding of Animoto and how and when to use it. For myself educationally, I would utilize Animoto as an introduction to lead in to my topic of discussion for seminars or presentations. With it being a visually appealing tool, it catches the attention of the audience and creates interest in your presentation. I watched my own slideshow six different times just because of how unique the tool is! (and for how awesome my slideshow was of course). Creative Commons goes hand in hand with Animoto and is an additional tool I will make use of. It allows you to search Youtube, Google, Flickr and more for copyright free images, videos, music and more. With the education system being extremely stringent on plagiarism and copyright, this website saves the hassle of checking for copyright and presents you images you can quickly cite and use. This is something all student will benefit from and is something that should be pushed by faculty. 

Retrieved from: http://www.spring.org.uk/2016/03/study-tests-if-smartphones-may-be-making-us-depressed-and-anxious.php

To conclude this week, once again from my Feedly I wanted to share an article in light of spring and summer being just around the corner. The article is titled Study Tests if Smartphones May Be Making Us Depressed and Anxious and examines how individuals have elevated levels of anxiety and depression when being highly engaged or addicted to their phones. This is becoming a pervasive and predominant issue in our society and the cure is leaving the technology inside and getting out of the house. With the beautiful weather coming in, it is time for everyone to enjoy the fresh air and for me to finish this blog and get outside! Have a great day.

Cheers

Jason Wilson

Weekly Report and Reflection Post #9

Hello Friends!

This week was an interesting week as we were introduced to Polldaddy and VoiceThread which in their own right are both very beneficial tools. Our task this week was to take a few polls on Polldaddy and comment on the results as well as comment on a slideshow on VoiceThread that was about digital rights and responsibilities. Both tasks introduced me to these tools and showed me how useful they can be in my educational activities.  

Retrieved from: https://2011.sandiego.wordcamp.org/sponsor/polldaddy/

Polldaddy consists a myriad of different polls that ask questions and then gather results through polling. Once an individual answers the poll they are able to see the results and comments as well as comment themselves. This would be beneficial in my educational activities as I am in a research class where we have to conduct similar tests on participants to gain information. I will be able to utilize this tool and not only gain quantitative data from the the polls results but I can gain qualitative data as well from the comments where individuals give reason to why they answered how they answered. VoiceThread is similar in this aspect but goes more in depth and assist in group projects. In VoiceThread individuals can start a slideshow and then collaborate online to create a project on any topic. It allows individuals to connect from different devices and work on it simultaneously which is very useful. The uniqueness to VoiceThread is that not only can you comment with words, individuals can comment with video and voice clips or even have it connect to their phone and leave a comment! This gives a way better personalized experience over other tools. It is of great use and VoiceThread will be something I suggest to my group members for future projects.

To finish up this week, I wanted to quickly point out how great I have found Feedly to be before I share another article. Feedly has become a daily part of my routine and I can not get enough of it. It produces the most interesting articles I have seen that are not only relevant to my classes in school but ones that are very appealing to many of my other interests!

Retrieved from:http://www.primanews.org/2015/10/06/uk-prisoner-voting-may-be-affected-by-european-court-ruling/

This week, the article I would like to share is titled Incarcerated people voted in primaries in Vermont, Puerto Rice, and Maine. Why can't they vote anywhere else? and this topic is a predominant discussion in one of my sociology classes. This article discusses how prisoners in certain states can vote while others can not. The argument arises of what rights should be given to prisoners who are serving time in prison. I feel that context is important as certain individuals have committed such heinous criminal acts that I feel it could be argued they can not vote but individuals who commit crimes that harm no one should still have the right to vote. How do you feel about the situation? Have a great weekend!

Cheers

Jason Wilson

Technology Use Scenario

I chose scenario number four and it goes as follows: During word-processing class, Mr. McIntosh notices Mary has both of her hands under the computer desk. As Mr. McIntosh comes around to her station Mary puts her hands back on the keyboard, but he notices that her cellphone is on her lap with a text on the screen. Mr. McIntosh asks Mary to stay after class, where she says that she was sending a text to her mother about picking her up after school. What does the teacher do?

Retrieved from: http://failfandomanonwiki.pbworks.com/w/page/49662836/Texting%20in%20Class%20Wank

In this situation I believe Mary is using technology inappropriately because during class when the teacher is teaching, everyone needs to be able to give their full attention in order to learn to their fullest and give respect to the teacher. What makes this situation inappropriate is that not only is Mary being disrespectful to Mr. McIntosh but not giving her full attention, she is also being disrespectful to her classmates. Multiple studies are being produced which are providing evidence for how detrimental cellphones and texting are in class. A study titled Effects Of Classroom Cell Phone Use On Expected And Actual Learning demonstrates how students lost 30% on quizzes when texting during class and then being quizzed on the material and another study titled The Impact of Mobile Phone Usage on Student Learning demonstrated how it negatively affects individuals around the person using the phone bringing their marks down as well! There can be no argument as to why using cell phones during class is inappropriate. 

Retrieved from:http://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/photo/graduation-student-shaking-hands-with-professor-and-royalty-free-image/479765200

This situation can easily be ameliorated by Mary and Mr. McIntosh if they work together on a solution. Mr. McIntosh should inform Mary and the class that if they need to text their parents they are able to when asking for permission if it is during class or simply just letting them know to wait till after class due to the negative effects of texting during class. Mary should do her part to let the teacher know that she needs to text her parents and let them know of any situation occurring. Rather then hiding, being open about why she needs to use her cellphone is most appropriate. I hope everyone agrees with me!

Cheers

Jason Wilson   

Weekly Report and Reflection Post #8

Hello Everyone!

It is the start of March and this school year is quickly coming to a close. I have my job set in Alberta for the summer and I could not be more excited! Anyone who is looking for their next thrill I highly recommend going out west because as the saying goes, west coast is the best coast! The week for us ADEDers was digital rights and responsibilities and checking out Google Hangouts which was a pretty interesting activity and resource we will be utilizing in the future.

Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_Mountain_(Alberta)

This week was a short week but we still learned some interesting information in regards to being a better digital citizen. We focused on the element of digital rights and responsibilities and I learned more on the rights and responsibilities of living in a digital society. Within this society, every individual who has access to the internet and digital world has rights and responsibilities placed on them. The three that I found to be most important were right to privacy, right to assemble, and giving credit where credit is due and this was because I feel they are where most issues arise on the internet. 

Retrieved from:https://www.thinglink.com/scene/642291121766006784

The pervasive issues of the breaching of privacy on social media and certain information being disseminated when it shouldn't, bullying and excluding others from forums and activities, and stealing the ideas of other individuals and claiming them as your own are some of the predominant problems. These issues arise frequently and I believe it is important individuals in the digital community know they have a right to privacy and to assemble as well that everyone should give credit where it is due as it is proper netiquette. The digital community is unique and allows individuals to utilize technology and connect wherever but this does not give them the right to subvert the right of others. I learnt more on rights and responsibilities this week which will only help me in bettering myself within the digital community and in being a digital citizen. 

To finish up I would like to share an article titled "10 Simple Steps to Stop Procrastinating" from my Feedly feed (is that right? lol). This article suggests 10 steps in stopping or at least limiting procrastination, something that is detrimental to most students. Most have difficulty with procrastination and little suggestions like these go a long way in at least getting the brain started in moving in the right direction. Hope it is of use or interest to someone; That is it for this week, have a great day!


Cheers
Jason Wilson

Weekly Report & Reflection Post #7

Hey Everyone!

I hope those who had reading week had a great time because I know i did. Now it's time to get back to the normal school routine of essays and blogs. This week we were introduced to Google Docs and TodaysMeet which we utilized to do our collaborative Google Docs presentation. My project was on digital communication and I must say it was a pretty interesting topic.

Retrieved from: http://www.edgalaxy.com/journal/2013/4/12/20-google-docs-secrets-for-busy-teachers-and-students

Google Docs was an extremely beneficial tool and utilizing it for this project was very helpful and is something I will promoting to my fellow classmates if they do not have it already. I used Google Docs for my project on digital communication, I learned how to utilize it and realized just how useful it is; but this week instead of discussing Google Docs I wanted to discuss what this project taught me in regards to becoming a digital citizen (and a better one at that). My topic discussed digital communication which can be defined as exchanging information electronically; think of texting, email, Skyping, etc. It taught me what is considered appropriate and inappropriate digital communication within the digital community. As I read and learnt the more appropriate ways to digitally communicate, it assisted me in making adjustments to how I communicate digitally. I am now (or trying to be) more perceptive on how people perceive my messages and I am going to try my best and make sure they are going to be interpreted properly and that they are appropriate from the get go. Though digital communication is one aspect of the overall digital citizen, learning about it in more depth and understanding what is considered appropriate digital communication helped me and is leading me to becoming a better digital citizen 

Retrieved from: http://epicnewsezine.com/site/2015/08/09/anger/

To conclude, this week from my Feedly I would like to share an article which discusses how to effectively and appropriately express your anger towards your peers. Many individuals in our society react to situations angrily and inappropriately which is hurtful towards the ones they are angry at and in turn is something they may feel bad about/regret doing after the fact. The article titled How to Express Your Anger Effectively by Margarita Tartakovsky goes into detail on anger and gives tips on how to effectively express your anger and deal with it in certain situations. It is a great read and I hope you utilize and enjoy it!

Sincerely

Jason Wilson

Weekly Report & Reflection Post #6

Hello My Fellow Peers

Well, it seems like I have survived to the halfway mark of the semester. Good job to everyone who made it thus far and hopefully all of us can continue to be successful. This week I was introduced to a new tool called Evernote which I will be utilizing for my research project. The topic I have chosen to research is Digital Communication and I am excited to learn more on the topic. Evernote is a tool I had not yet heard of but boy am I glad I have been introduced to it. It will be the main tool used for this project and after a bit of a confusing start I am starting to see just how useful Evernote will be in my future.

Retrieved from:http://mergy.org/2012/05/use-the-evernote-clipper-with-safari-on-ipad-and-iphone/ 

Evernote is an online tool which contains an extremely useful web clipping tool (if you choose to download it, I recommend you do ASAP) that allows you to collect, save and categorize information throughout the web which you feel is important. As I explored Evernote I learned just how beneficial and useful a tool it is. I learned I was able to create separate notebooks and have dozens of notes within each. This allows me to have a notebook for each class and save tons of relevant websites with pertinent information which is extremely useful academically. Additionally, I can put a tag on everything I save which allows me to categorize information and remain organized while I collect a myriad of articles. The web clipping tool you can download allows you to clip any article, bookmark it for future use, screenshot it, and more. As you use the tool it sends everything you select and save to the Evernote notebook you are using. Evernote also auto-saves so you do not have to worry about losing the information as you continue finding more websites and articles. For my academic career this tool will be useful as I am able to collect and save websites, screenshot quotes, and more which will assist me with my essay writing and the qualitative research I will be conducting. I am able to categorize and condense the information I save which is extremely beneficial as I know I am saving only the best websites and knowledge.  I have already recommended Evernote to my family and now I recommend it to anyone reading this! It is a very useful tool which will help you with any projects or just let you collect and save information.

Retrieved from:http://www.spring.org.uk/2016/02/giving-support-effects-on-brain.php

To conclude this week I wanted to share an article titled Giving Support To Others Has Remarkable Effects On Your Brain which I found on my Feedly (It is amazing the articles you find). It discusses a study which examines the effects on the brain when an individual is giving support to others. It turns out that the effects are positive and it stimulates the stress and reward area of the brain. Learning of this should only give people more reason to be selfless and give support to others in their environment. Should it be friends, families, peers, or just someone who looks like they need a smile, give support to those around you. I hope you enjoyed this blog, it is time for me to relax and enjoy my reading week. Kindest regards

Sincerely,
Jason Wilson

Weekly Report & Reflection Post #5

Hey Everyone

Another week and another blog! This week I have joined the social media phenomenon Twitter and created my own account for which I will expand my PLN (Personal Learning Network). We are joining Twitter in order to connect with individuals and classmates to grow our PLN and to discover and utilize its educational benefits.

Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/11900012/Twitter-to-get-rid-of-140-character-limit.html

In the previous weeks we have been adding and learning about useful tools on the internet to assist in our learning and in growing our PLEs (Personal Learning Enviroment) and PLNs. One tool I have mentioned and we were introduced to in a previous week is the tool Feedly. When I first added it I found interesting articles but did not think more of it then that, As I checked it more frequently I discovered it was producing articles that were connected directly to the topics I was writing about for my classes. As I utilized it further I found scholarly articles for each of my classes that I have been able to quote and paraphrase in order to support my work. With the teachers requiring scholarly articles, it is fantastic to know I can look to Feedly as an academic resource that is beneficial and trustworthy. I am continuing to expand the topics that will be showing up on my feed as I know that within time they might be a good read or something extremely useful I can use in my educational career.

Now back to this week; After I joined Twitter I did a little searching and viewed some of my peers, favourite personalities, and educational individuals and discovered just how Twitter works and how useful it can be educationally. With the search engine, you can look for people or hashtags of subjects and phrases and they will be brought to your screen. You can see how people talk and think about certain topics which gives a variety of perspectives and opinions which is fantastic, view posts and links people have shared to get more information (some scholarly as well), and see what is trending and interesting which could be something you need to be informed about! This week as I just started out, I have started following a few individuals and some of my peers from ADED 1P32. Thus far, I have seen interesting articles and viewed opinions and perspectives (some I agree with, others I just did not understand) presented by these people and now I am excited to add it Twitter my PLE and expand my PLN! For the remaining people who do not have Twitter, I recommend you join as soon as you can.

Retrieved from: http://www.spring.org.uk/2016/02/reason-never-use-term-mentally-ill.php

Continuing the trend and finishing up this week, I wanted to share an interesting article I found on my Feedly! It is titled "The Reason You Should Never Use The Term 'The Mentally Ill' and I found it on PSYBLOG. The article discusses terminology and the detriment to the label of 'the mentally ill', it gives great evidence and is an interesting read. That is it for me, have a great weekend friends!

Cheers

Jason Wilson

Weekly Report & Reflection Post #4

Welcome Back,

The activities I completed this week required me to set up an account on Diigo as well as with the curation tool known as Google Alerts. Diigo is a beneficial bookmarking tool that allows you to bookmark your favorite websites, highlight text within them, and more (it's great)! Google Alerts is also a valuable tool which allows you to input keywords and topics for which it will collect information up to the minute and alert you immediately. Both are useful ways to gather pertinent information and stay up to date on topics of your choosing!

Retrieved From: http://www.insurancesplash.com/blog/using-google-alerts-for-insurance-marketing-11-tips-bonus-video/

When exploring Diigo and the tools it contains such as bookmarking and tagging, I learned the benefits it has for my academic career. With Diigo you have the ability to open your account on your other devices, may it be phone or tablet, and continue where you left off. For myself this is extremely beneficial as when I am doing essays I find myself utilizing my laptop, tablet, and phone (I am very lucky to have all three) and moving from location to location to complete my paper. With using all three and moving around, I find that I lose many websites and quotes that I wanted to utilize in my paper because they get lost between the three devices or forgotten during my shift in locations. Diigo allows me to bookmark all my websites that I find useful as well as tag subjects and highlight any quotes or specific sections I found interesting or useful to my work. What is even more awesome and valuable is that Diigo allows me to tag together subjects that are relevant and leave a description with each to remember why I had done so. This allows me to be a more organized student and I believe this will only help me succeed in my educational activities and academic career.

Retrieved From: http://kpcreativecommons.com/2013/05/28/shelley-wight-diigo-and-symbaloo/

With valid and reliable online bookmarks, they are very valuable and can contribute in building your knowledge. They contribute to knowledge (at least mine) as with them be valid and reliable I know the information I am receiving is more often then not relevant, educational, and trusted. After doing some preliminary scans, I find that a majority of the websites presented are articles and journals written by academics that have a vested interest in the topic they are writing about. They put forth up to date information and discuss pertinent topics occurring in today's world relevant to the sunject. For me in sociology, the more articles I have to cite and support my theories and arguments the better I do academically. This in turn builds my knowledge and assists me in becoming a better student. Therefore, utilizing valid and reliable online bookmarks is beneficial to my education and will help to build my knowledge on whatever I hope to study and bookmark.  

To conclude this week, I wanted to put forth an article I discovered on my Feedly that I found to be extremely interesting. The article which is titled 5 Simple Tricks to Bring Major Happiness to Your Life is found on the Psych Central website. This article suggests five tricks to make you happy and personally I found it put a smile on my face. That's it for me this week, have a great weekend friends!

Cheers,

Jason Wilson 

      

Weekly Report & Reflection Post #3

Hey All,

I'm back for my second blog post of the week! I am excited to talk about an article of interest I had read and how it informed my learning as well as discuss what the RSS Feed Reader contributed to building my knowledge about digital literacy, responsibility, and citizenship. 

Earlier this week in my previous blog post I talked about Feedly and how useful of a tool it is/could be in my learning and already it is turning out to be better then I expected. The articles it collects for you are extremely interesting and it actually provides articles/blogs that can be utilized for my education. One blog of interest I would like to share as it was very beneficial is written by Dr. Raul Pacheco-Vega and is titled Five strategies to get your academic writing "unstuck". 

Retrieved from: http://theodysseyonline.com/ccny/unhealthy-amount-stress/259336

This blog is helpful with academic writing and can be useful in kick starting your mind into writing an academic paper. It outlines five strategies to get you mind and writing unstuck and in the groove of writing a paper. As writing academic papers are a large aspect of my academic career, this blog was very useful and I wanted to share it as I feel it may be able to assist my fellow peers! This blog informed my learning as it provided me alternative strategies I can apply to get me going on my academic papers. As someone who procrastinates and struggles with writing a well written paper, this article gave me ideas to better start and write my papers. After finding this article I realized just how many blogs/articles I can find on my Feedly that are similar or just as useful in academic career. I have been surfing Feedly and have already read countless articles and have bookmarked some for future reference for essays and just for general knowledge. Following this, I wanted to discuss what RSS feeds contributed to building my knowledge about digital literacy, responsibility, and citizenship. 

Retrieved from: http://www.blogtips.org/how-i-read-200-newspapers-every-day/

What the RSS feed contributed to building my knowledge on digital literacy, responsibility, and citizenship was with reading a myriad of different blogs and articles, I was able to see how to act on the internet with proper netiquette. Seeing how my fellow peers and other authors wrote their blogs and articles, I have the ability to build on my own blogs and to be a digitally literate, responsible, good citizen on the internet. Feedly provides scholarly articles and blogs that are well written and are a good guide on how to write my own that are responsible and appropriate. They allow me to see what it takes to be a good citizen on the internet and what it is like and how to write papers that allow me to be digitally literate. As I continue in this course I hope to continue to build on this knowledge and become a better digital citizen. Hopefully my RSS feed continues to bring me interesting articles (which I know it will).

This is it for me this week, I will be back to write another blog so you'll be hearing from me soon!

All the best,

Jason Wilson

My Experience With RSS Feeds

Hello Friends!

This week I will be writing two blogs which is a first for me and I must say it is very exciting. This week I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Feedly which is an extremely useful tool. I personally have never heard of it but it seems to have quite the buzz around it. How it functions is that it collects news for you! By searching within Feedly you can search up your favorite topics or add a URL, Feedly then allows you to follow the topic you searched or selected, then not only does it categorize the topics for you it collects news from them! It presents the categories in a side bar and allows you to explore within them, it also suggest other blogs and news to follow that pertain to the interests and blogs you have followed already. Feedly is extremely beneficial and can be used for a variety of reasons. Feedly is very similar to the website Stumbleupon which enabled me to grasp it's concept and before I knew it I was Feedlying away (is that a word?). I have added multiple interests I have and Feedly has presented articles that are different and interesting in their own way, it is easy to see how someone can get stuck on it for awhile.   

                                 Retrieved from: http://www.geeksonfinance.com/how_5420450_win-scratch-off-lottery-ticket.html 

Utilizing Feedly, I searched up a sociology blog and I was not disappointed. I found the Everyday Sociology blog which contains a myriad of articles relating all to sociology. Within the multiple blog posts I read one by Jonathan Wynn titled "The Lottery as Gift: Who Wins?" which was a thought provoking article. Wynn (2015) suggests that lottery tickets are essentially a voluntary tax which many individuals in the lower socioeconomic status pay into when they buy these tickets. They a very little odds of winning and are essentially just funneling money back to the government. This article was very relevant to my education and was a very enjoyable read. Knowing that Feedly will present me with articles like this only wants me to continue using it and only expand which blogs I follow for the best articles! Feedly has many benefits and is a tool I will definitely be suggesting to my peers. It has the capability of helping me greatly on future assignments as I will be able to find articles that could be utilized to support my perspective in a paper. This is it for this blog, I suggest you check out Feedly ASAP!

 

   Retrieved from:http://www.liveandsocial.com/blog/content-marketing/how-to-use-feedly/

Cheers!

Jason Wilson  

Week 2 ADED 1P32

Hello Everyone!

Envisioning My Future
When I look ahead 5-10 years in my future in regards to who and where I will be I can not help but see myself taking one of the two paths I believe to be unfolding before me. After graduating Brock I see myself working with my dad which I consider my first path; I have worked for him in the past and quite enjoyed it, especially the aspect that I could have a lifelong career. On the other hand, my education is leading me in the direction of my second path of law enforcement. Sociology fascinates me and from what I have learned I want to be part of the solution to many problems and help anyone that I can. Being in law enforcement with my own discretion would allow me to help people who need assistance. I want to be someone who is known to help people and who has only good intentions for anyone who needs assistance. Both of these paths are appealing and I believe I will be taking one of these directions in the future.

Where I Am Now
As of now I am in third year Sociology with a concentration in Criminology at Brock University. I have found with this year I have become more vested into my program and am absolutely fascinated by what I am learning. I concentrate most of my time on school while enjoying my hobbies in my spare time. I enjoy a somewhat carefree lifestyle and am able to focus on my educational career more than my work career. I find the main difference between myself now and how I envision the future is that now I am very education oriented and extremely focused on my schooling while in the future education is not be as important as finding a successful career. In order to get from where I am now to where I want to be I will need to learn skills and knowledge relative to my future career. What I am learning in school is precisely what I need for either path I hope to take. The tools I utilize such as the library, textbooks, lectures, and internet tools such as Google and Youtube all assist and support what I am and need to learn.

Learning Environment
When focusing on my schooling I need to adapt my surroundings to better suit my learning needs. When I begin to do assignments or study I change my environment by finding a place with no distractions and with complete silence. This helps with my learning as I am distracted easily and as a result the less distractions I have around me the better. I have a terrible habit of looking at my phone when studying which (as studies have proven) lowers the amount of information that one attains. This will be the first bad habit I attempt to break by ensuring it is not near when I study for the next 30 days.

But What Did I Learn About A PLE And WordCloud?
From the resources and readings provided, I learned what a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) is and just how beneficial it can be to an individuals learning. A PLE is a system that consists of tools and personal connections utilized by an individual to assist in creating a personalized learning environment suited to them. I discovered that it is very personalized, everyone learns differently and through different tools which are suited to their learning; anyone can create this environment and thrive within it. While creating my PLE using Popplet, I found that it contained few tools pertinent to my education and furthering my learning. It has the obvious tools such as Google, Youtube, and Facebook but nothing more along the lines of education and career. With realizing this, as I continue on in this class I hope to add tools that are useful and that I can utilize for my education and my future career. Additionally, I created a Wordcloud which I completed using the website Wordle. I used my first reflection and put it into Wordle to see the language that is dominant throughout it. It helped with viewing my vocabulary and seeing the type of language I used when discussing the digital footprint. I found that I use clear writing and I repeat words from the articles I read in order to present what I am attempting to explain.

My Current PLE
When looking to my PLE, I notice that many of my tools are associated to the two groups I am apart of according to Josh Bernoff. Looking to Josh's Social Technographic Ladder, I am a part of the joiners and spectators rung on the ladder. In relation to my PLE, many of my tools fall into these two groups. Additionally, as said by Graham Attwell in his article Personal Learning Environmentts- the future of Elearning? (2007) "PLEs offer considerable potential for knowledge development and sharing and what has been called organisational learning" and I find this to be true with my PLE. I am beginning to organize my tools into sections that I will be able to utilize to enhance my learning development and which will allow me to share with my fellow peers during our class together.

Cheers!

Jason Wilson

Week 1 ADED 1P32

Hello Again!

The focus this week and the discussion for my weekly report and reflection blog post is on digital footprints and net etiquette aka netiquette. A digital footprint is essentially the combination of the activities and information you have done and left on the internet. It is compiled throughout your entire digital life and in today's society begins for many at birth. As mentioned in the video the "Digital Dossier" by Youth and Media, simply a picture of yourself being posted online kick starts your digital dossier and your digital footprint begins. Netiquette is closely associated to the digital footprint as they work hand in hand. Netiquette is ones etiquette on the internet throughout their interactions in the digital world. Personally, with being a part of Facebook and other social media sites, I myself have a digital footprint containing information on me as well!

A discussion arises on whether one should have a digital footprint; I believe, along with certain author's, that everyone should have a digital footprint. In today's ever growing digital society, it is important to be educated on the digital world and it's many aspects as it is becoming pervasive in the work environment. As Ainslie's presents in her article "Yes, you should have a digital footprint...and keep track of it", employers are viewing and discussing the digital presence of employees and potential employees in order to get a better understanding of who they are. Ainslie suggests maintaining and having a digital footprint in order to watch what is said about you online and be presentable to employers. I want a digital footprint as with law enforcement they are stringent on how your digital footprint is, everything must be positive. With having a positive digital footprint and maintaining it, I would look better in the eyes of my future employers. Ainslie's article presents and supports why having a digital footprint is a good idea.With this knowledge of ones digital presence and footprint it is evident why it is important to maintain a positive digital footprint.

A positive digital footprint is when someone leaves behind only a positive image of themselves in the digital world. By having Facebook and other social media sites clear of profanity, negative remarks and other negative/illegal activities, one can work towards having a positive digital footprint. Another strategy to leaving a positive digital footprint is utilizing proper netiquette. Proper netiquette can be utilized by following the core rules of netiquette which assist people in leaving a positive digital footprint. The "Core Rules Of Netiquette" presented by Virginia Shea lays out ten rules which can be followed and assist in maintaining a positive digital footprint.

For the activities for the week, I had to take the Digital Driver License Exam with which I received 20/20 on the test. The test is administered to test someones' knowledge on the multiple aspects of the digital world from etiquette to literacy.  Based on the results of the exam, over the next few weeks of the course I will be focusing my learning on maintaining and staying up to date on the digital world and it's varying aspects. By doing this I hope to begin and sustain my own positive digital footprint from here on out.

Thanks!

Jason Wilson

Jason W Blogging Introduction

Hello Everyone!
            My Name is Jason and I am currently attending Brock University for Sociology with a concentration in Criminology. I transferred over from Niagara College which is where I graduated from the Police Foundations program in two years. I learned the interesting world of policing and wanted to expand my knowledge in to law and society which is why I continued my education with Brock University. I find sociology to be absolutely fascinating and intriguing; learning about people within society is giving me a better appreciation for the world we live in. I chose to take sociology as I felt it was extremely relevant to a career in law enforcement or social services and it was a subject I have always had a knack for and found to be uniquely interesting. With my education, I hope to go into a career predicated on helping people no matter who they are. With this goal, I am leaning towards policing, social work, and therapy while keeping my eyes open for any other opportunities.           
             I am from Cambridge and live next the African Lion Safari which is interesting to say the least (listening to lions in the morning is amazing). I grew up in the town of Waterdown and played a variety of sports growing up and loved to interact with everyone. I am extremely outgoing and enjoy being out of the house. I currently play ultimate frisbee, hockey, and multiple intramurals in my free time. Last summer I went out to Jasper, Alberta where I climbed my first mountains and enjoyed the west coast air. This was by far the best experience of my life and I hope to head out there in the not too distant future; it is a place I recommend everyone puts on their bucket list! I moved away from Cambridge for a scenery change which consequently brought me over to St. Catharine's; I have lived here for 4 years now and love the city.
            The reason I am writing this blog is to give my blogging audience a better idea of who I am personally and for the Adult Education course I am taking online with Brock University. With this course I am already learning more about the digital world and how to better navigate it which is important in today's society. With employers being stringent on what prospect employees post throughout the digital world, from this course I hope to take away how to be a positive citizen on the internet. With utilizing proper netiquette and leaving a positive digital footprint, which this class teaches, will help me in achieving my goal. As discussed in the TED talk, internet learning is extremely beneficial and assists greatly in learning and sharing information amongst peers. With this, from the course I also hope to take a myriad of perspectives from my peers and how they view the digital world as well as how we can better utilize it to benefit ourselves and how we can navigate it.