Wow, What A Ride!

 This course was very informative in the short six weeks we spent on it. When I first started this course, I am not sure what I expected.  It was very fast paced and confusing at first, but I have learned how valuable social networking can be to ones professional goals.  I am not sure if I will continue with this blog because I started it strictly as a requirement for this class.  I may rename it and continue, or I may just start another.  I am not sure yet.  I am also not sure if I am ready for Twitter and LinkedIn at this stage of my career but I do plan on keeping up with all my connections I have made on both of these platforms.

Workin' on the Wiki!

When I first started this class, I was unaware of what a Wiki is.  I had heard of Wikipedia, and had read articles on Wikipedia.  But I was unaware that anyone could create a Wiki to share information.  I didn't find anything particularly frustrating when creating my portion of the class Wiki.  I would advise anyone contemplating creation of a Wiki to go ahead and jump right in! It's not that hard. In the future, I don't know if I will create my own Wiki or just continue to gather information that others have posted.  I believe Wiki's could be helpful in my chosen profession because they are an easy way to share lots of information in one place.  I have used Wikipedia in research for papers I have written and will encourage students to do the same.  As long as your verify the information found on Wikipedia, through citations at the end of the articles, it is a good source for class research.

A Bit More About Pinterest

After reading about security concerns on Royce Reardon's blog about his tool, Today's Meet, I decided to check the privacy settings available on Pinterest.

The only privacy setting you can change on Pinterest is whether or not you want your profile to be searchable by an internet search engine.  Even though you can make your profile 'non searchable,' your pins are still visible to a search engine.  The help menu says the only way to fix that is to pin under a pseudonym! You are able to create secret boards, however.  
Pinterest offers what they call personalization.  They accomplish this through the use of cookies.  If you don't want your Pinterest experience to be personalized, you are able to change that under the account settings.

Pinterest also uses third party analytics providers on their website and apps,  They do include instructions to opt out in the help center on the Pinterest site.  Punterest fully supports Do Not Track.  For more details on Do Not Track Universal Web Tracking Opt Out initiative, check out the following link:  donottrack.us

I was a bit disappointed that there were not more security options with Pinterest, but I still believe Pinterest is a valuable tool to include in a PLN.

My Amazing PLN

Most of the topics I have included in my PLN are education topics since I would like to eventually enter the field of adult education.  the other topics that interest me are home improvement and leadership/management.

I have few companies in my PLN and could probably stand to have a few more.  When I find some I feel will benefit me, I will certainly add them!  I mostly have people and organizations in my PLN and I will continue to add more as I find those that interest me.  Since my PLN is relatively new, I don't have any dead end connections, but I will monitor my PLN regularly and delete those that are dead end connections or those that don't interest me any more!  As many of you might have figured out, I find dead end links very annoying!  If I click on a link, it had better take me to where it says it does!  I also try to keep current.  If content hasn't been updated for over a year, I feel it is no longer pertinent! 

More About Pintrest

The more I use Pinterest, the more I learn about it!  For instance, did you know you can add a 'Pin it' button to your own web site to make it easier for visitors to bookmark your site on Pinterest? I didn't either, until I started researching Pinterest! There is also a mobile app available for either android or iOS.  With a simple visit to the App Store, on your Apple device, or Google Play, on your Android device, you can take Pinterest everywhere with you.  This would come in very handy if you needed to access your information and weren't near a computer.

There are several guides on how to use Pinterest.  I found this one particularly helpful: The Unoffical Pinterest Guide.  This is a text only guide.  I found it helpful because I was able to print out and follow while I was using Pinterest, which is easier than trying to follow a video guide if you have a small screen!  For those who prefer video, You Tube has several guides as well. This one was helpful to me: New Pinterest Tutorial. The only thing I didn't like about this one is that it doesn't start by telling you how to sign up for Pinterest!  That can be found here: Pinterest Sign Up. This person also has an interesting blog!  At least I thought it was interesting.  The name really caught my attention!  Check it out:  http://www.topsecretsocialnetworkingtips.com/  She has lots and lots of information posted there.

My Own Thoughts: Is Google Making Us Stupid?

In his blog post on May 30th Abdullah Alhelal posed the question, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?"  I don't believe it is!  I believe Google is making us more inquisitive about the world because so much information is at our fingertips.  Years ago, I was a Lead-person in a sanitation department of a large food processing company.  One day, a representative from a cleaning chemical company told me, "Because it is impossible to KNOW all the information, all the time, it is more important to know where to find the information when you need it!"  He told me this because I was struggling to remember a cleaning procedure.  As soon as he told me this, I went to the procedure manual and found the information I needed.

I think Google is a 'procedure' manual to help us find the information we need, when we need it.  Some say it is important to know information so we don't have to wast time looking for it.  The information we need to know is the information we have learned through experience and instruction.  After all, we don't have to read the phone manual every time we pick up the phone and make a call; we don't have to read the driver's manual every time we drive, although some of us could use a refresher course from time to time!  The information we need to look up in the 'procedure manual' is the information we need only occasionally or information to appease our curiosity!  

Growing My PLN

Building my PLN isn't as easy as I first thought it was going to be!  At first I thought all I would have to do is find a few web sites that I found interesting and informational and VIOLA!  PLN constructed!  There so many blogs, resources, and groups on the web that, at first glance, look like they are informational.  But after further review, they are advertisements for services, phishing for information that leaves us open to identity theft, or just not maintained.  Due diligence is definitely required while searching for resources.

The Linkedin group I chose to join is Andragogy, which can be accessed at www.linkedin.com/groups/Andragogy-1848366?none=&gid+1848366 .  Andragogy is a network for people who are committed to continuing education.  I chose this group because I think everyone should be dedicated to some kind of continuing education, whether it be for career advancement or personal enrichment. This group is also an open group, meaning, you do not have to be a member of an association to join this group.  I found several groups I would have liked to join, but they were closed groups.  This group will connect me with others who feel the same way.  As I was looking through the information posted to this group, I came across an article that caught my eye because it is something I hadn't really gave much consideration to.  The Hidden Cost of Unsolicited Textbooks - A View from the Mail Room, by Robert Talbert, discusses why the distribution of unsolicited textbooks is unnecessary. Dealing with these textbooks places unnecessary costs on the university which is passed on to students through tuition.

One person I chose to follow outside of class on Twitter is Steven W. Anderson, who can be found @web20classroom.  I chose him because as I was browsing through education themed search results, his header photo caught my eye!  It is a photo of a blackboard that says "Be Awesome Today!"  As I was reading through some of his Tweets, I discovered he is very high-spirited and RT's a lot of information.  He is also a motivational speaker.  The two people I chose to follow from his list are Micheal, @Micheal_eSM, and PicardTips, @PicardTips.  I chose to follow Micheal because he is an Associate Editor for Online and Social Media for @eschoolnews and @ecampusnews.  He tweets education technology news. I found an article, on his feed, pondering the advantage of Microsoft Surface 3 as opposed to an iPad for use by faculty in higher education settings.  I chose to follow PicardTips because of the inspirational sayings that are tweeted!  I enjoy the types of inspirational sayings found there!  I think Steven W. Anderson followed these people for the same reason I did.