My Own Random Thoughts

While getting ready to attend my youngest son's high school graduation on Thursday this week, I couldn't help but think about how much technology has changed since I was in school.  Way back when, if you needed to research an assignment, you had to spend the day in the library looking through the card catalog, looking on the shelves for books, and taking lots and lots of notes and hoping you got it all down right! Twenty years later, when I went back to college, computers were the way to go!  Everything you may, or may not, need to know was at our fingertips.  Or so we thought.  Now, technology has evolved a bit more and we have more computing power in our pocket than those computers I used just ten short years ago. In my last post, I wrote that I used Bing and Pinterest to find information. I prefer Pinterest to find information because it doesn't seem like you have to scroll through several advertisements and dozens and dozens of sites that I don't want to find the answers I do want!  Pinterest allows me to see a snapshot of the site before I click.  I know, I know, Google offers the same snapshot of the sites, but the pictures get me every time! After reading some of my classmates blogs, I saw that some of you investigated Feedly.  I had a look around Feedly, and I believe it has lots to offer as well.  Feedly seems to be a bit more organized than Pinterest. Feedly has a summary of the sites they are linked to and has pictures too!  I think Feedly just might be the best of both worlds,

Adding People to my PLN

 I searched with Bing and Pinterest because they are the search engines I use just about any time I search something.  I find Pinterest to be easy to find what I am looking for because Pinterest gives you a small look at what the site you are interested in has to offer before you actually go to that site.  The pictures grab my attention.  (there, I said it.)

Finding blogs to add to my PLN was a little frustrating for me.  While searching for contacts to start my PLN, I discovered a very important issue; there are a lot of 'dead-end' blogs out there!  I found several blogs that looked very informative only to discover that they had not been maintained.  I found one that had not been updated for almost ten years! I call these 'dead-end' blogs.  I persisted and did find two blogs that were up to date and interesting!

The first blog I would like to share is Rick Osborn's Continuing Education Blog at  http://rickosbornscontinuingeducationblog.blogspot.com.  Even though Mr. Osborn is a Continuing Education Administrator in Tennessee, I felt that he has a lot of insight to share.  The second blog I would like to share is The Learning Age by Paul Stanistreet at http://thelearningage.wordpress.com.  Mr. Stanistreet is a journalist and editor who believes that education can help make the world a more fair and just place.  I don't know if education can make the world fair, but it can open our minds and enable us to be more able to help ourselves.

Professional Orgainzation

Someday, I would like to be involved in adult education, either on a corporate level or as an instructor on a college level.  A professional organization I believe would help me along the way is the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education or the AAACE.  This organization provides information to adult educators in the form of professional journals, newsletters, and conferences.  The benefits of being a member of an organization such as this is the ample opportunity to connect with others interested in topics pertaining to adult education.  Members are also able to connect with those who may offer new ideas and help them develop new skills. Their website indicates that they publish a handbook containing information on current issues, research and practices pertaining to the field of adult education.  Keeping current on the issues, research and practices is of the utmost importance if we wish to be successful.

More information about the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education can be found at http://www.aaace.org/

Technology and Learning

My first experience with technology and learning was while I was attending the College of Southern Idaho.  I had enrolled in a math class with out realizing it was a telecom class.  Taking a telecom class was challenging for me because I was not accustomed to not having the face-to-face interaction with the instructor.  When I was in high school 20+ years before, there was no such thing as a telecom class!  After I adjusted to the differences between telecom and traditional classes, I realized how using technology has its advantages. Technology allowed me to take a class that I would not have been able to take otherwise.  Now, I embrace the use of technology because without it, I would not be able to pursue a degree in HRDT.

Greetings!

Greetings and salutations!  I am really new to this, so please bear with me while I learn.
Edi