My Digital Portfolio:

I have enjoyed creating my professional learning network these last few months. I started out this endeavor with creating a blog that I posted to weekly. It was a challenge at first but once I got past writers block it wasn't to bad. I enjoyed learning about new apps every week and then posting information about them. When you place your thoughts down on paper it helps you to understand the app that much more. Our professor also gave us interesting topics to write about. I would spend hours gathering my thoughts about a particular topic and locating just the right picture to go along with the topic. There was a lot of re-sizing of pictures and placing it in the right location with your material. The font color and size was also adjusted between sections to break up the blog. My blog is now linked to my new web site which was also a first for me. If you are not sure what to blog about try the following ideas:

• Communicate news, events, building projects, student achievements, staff accomplishments, and other information

• Tell great stories as a means to take control of your public relations

• Reflect on your learning, successes, and failures

• Develop a positive brand presence

• Share practical strategies and evidence that have resulted from change initiatives

• Provide insight on how specific technology tools can be successfully integrated to support/enhance student learning

Professional Twitter Account and LinkedIn

I have been following professionals in my field and classmates on Twitter. It is a great way to stay connected with current events affecting your intended profession. I try to share articles that may interest my classmates and may also assist them with their digital portfolio. I currently have 22 followers.   

LinkedIn is also a good way to stay connected with professionals in your field. I have updated my profile to include a picture, work experience, education, and volunteer work. I am going to try to continue to improve my account and also reach out to professionals in my field of study. 

Web Page on Weebly

I was pretty excited to create my first personal web page. I had some issues uploading my video introduction and my resume, but both issues were corrected. I was not able to upload my resume utilizing Word 2016 but the resume was finally uploaded into Weebly by using a prior version of word. The You Tube option works just fine but you cannot upload a HD video  or a file with a video without upgrading. I also utilized multiple pages for my web site:

1. Home Page - Snap shot of my current occupation, education and achievements, Cross Fit LLC, and my volunteer work. 
2. About Me Page - Links to my different accounts and a slide show. 
3. Resume Page - Letters of recommendation and contact form.
4. Project Page - Pixton business article, prezi, and my Finance Daily paper. 
5. Activities Page - Softball link, CYO schedule, and basketball training videos. 

Before I commit to Weebly as my Professional website I am going to check the capabilities of Wix. I am also thinking of creating a website for my coaching duties.

Some of the apps I enjoy using regularly are Flipboard, Evernote, and Paper.Li. The reason I enjoy Flipboard is because all my interests are caught under one magazine app. I utilize Evernote to make copies of business receipts quickly and easily. I created a Finance newspaper on Paper.Li to catch up on current events. I would like to thank my professor for introducing these apps to us and assisting us with our PLN.  

Makey Makey Meets Frogger

Makey Makey is a unique way to turn just about anything into a controller or key that tells your computer what to do. The kit consist of a USB cable, alligator clips, and a circuit board. Our group was able to play Frogger and Guitar Hero with some simple modifications. We struggled at first since the instructions were deliberately not given to us but we pressed on with trial and error. Our professor was placing us in a real world scenario where we could be placed in a group and instructed to come up with a solution to a problem. This happens in the business world every day. Our group utilized the below four items to get Frogger to move across the game:

1. Blue - Attached to foil - Forward

2. Gray - Attached to banana - Left    

3. Green - Attached to foil - Back

4. Red - Attached to play doh - Right

One participant in the group was the ground and she got Frogger across in 19 seconds. Our group was the first to accomplish the task given to us. The Makey Makey board requires no special tools and it was very easy to use.

Class Guest Robyn Hrivnatz from Microsoft

We had a interesting speaker from Microsoft Robyn Hrivnatz. She is the Marketing and Educator Programs Manager at the company. Her background is in education and computer science. She expressed that she misses the classroom at times. Some of the ways she stays connected on social media is by utilizing Linkedin, Skype, and Facebook. In business she mentioned you need to understand your competition. The following main points were made:

1. Connect to the customer

2. What is the customer asking for?

3. Instant communication to customers

4. Feedback

  Skype and OneNote are her favorite pieces of technology. She told us to search out to our peer community and professionals in our field in Linkedin. It should not look like a resume. You can build your own personality and your social profile should reflect your interest in the field you are applying for.

 What the Future Holds

The book the Connected Educator made some good points about the future of Education. New technologies that make it easy to connect and collaborate online are challenging traditional structures of many institutions. Connected learners today gain knowledge different than their parents did. Connected educators should not change the way they teach or lead but change the way they learn. Below are the four core components of Learning 2.0:

1. Knowledge - Utilize connected learning communities

2. Pedagogy - Empowering students to chase their passion 

3. Connections - PLNs

4. Capacity - An ongoing process through which to enhance the individual's or group's ability to identify and meet development challenges.  

Lessen the Workload with IFTTT Recipes

IFTTT Recipes is a free tool you may use to connect web services together. It stands for "If This Then That". Here are a few examples on how you may lessen your work load:

1.  Share your new blog posts to Twitter

2. Save your favorite tweets in an Evernote notebook

3. Add meeting minutes from Google Calendar to Evernote

4. Make an Evernote journal based on your Google Calendar 

 There are numerous recipes to choose from but if you cannot find one that fits your needs just create one. There are three simple steps to create one once you have established an account.

1. Click Create Recipe

2. Choose your trigger channel, what “If then” does

3. Choose your action channel, what “Then that” does

You should add an description and test it out. That is basically it.

 Best IFTTT Recipes for Saving Money

Here are some neat recipes that may save you money.

1. Track price drops to some of your favorite stores e.g. Best Buy or Home Depot

2. Utilized smart devises to save electricity

• Nest Thermostat

• Hue Light Bulb

• WeMo Switch

3. Round up rule: Round up purchase to the nearest dollar and place in savings

By making your home a little smarter you are only using electricity when you need it.

About Me Page

A great way for an individual to get to know you and relate to you is by having a good "About Me" page on your web site. You should answer the following questions when tweaking your page:

• Who am I? Less is better. Do not add too many details

• What can I do for you, the visitor? For potential customers explain your service.

• How can I be contacted? Add your social media buttons to your page

The above three items are key to creating a sound "About Me" page.

 

During our last session we discussed IFTTT Recipe, Paper.li, and different web site tools. Some of the web site tools discussed were Google Sites, Weebly, and WIX. It is best to try the different web site tools to see which one suits your needs best. Once you are comfortable with one of the tools you are ready to start working on your web site. You can utilized another helpful tool Paper.li to create a web presence with your very own on-line newspaper tailored to your and your followers interest.   

Social Networking Tools

The textbook "Untangling The Web" was a wealth of information for the following tools.

1. TodaysMeet can be used to create a chat room with your students. You should provide your students with clear guidelines so they discover how social tools can enhanced the learning process.

2. Skype can be used to connect your students to other educators, experts, or even other students. You can connect to other classrooms around the world.

3. Kidblog is safe and simple for your students. They can share their thoughts, creations, and opinions through their posts.

4. Edmodo is the first social network exclusively for schools. Teachers can create a digital class and are provided a code for their students so they may join the community. You can connect with people with common interest.

5. Twitter is referred to as a microblog. Individuals share their thoughts utilizing 140 characters or less. Once you post a message is up to individuals to decide if they would like to follow you or not.