Digital Footprints

My initial thought on this subject is that “active” data collection does not bother me very much because in theory I have some level of say and personal impact on the amount of or detail of this type of data. If I post a picture or video of myself doing something dumb and a prospective employer sees it that’s ultimately my fault. The passive data is what tends to annoy or worry me. It is scary to think how much tracking of our web use is done when you are made aware of your digital footprint in surprising ways this worry hits home. I have been legitimately creeped out by how well targeted Google ads or searches have been for me.  My issue truly comes down to who exactly uses or mines this data and to what end they put it toward. Knowing that others are profiting from selling data about my personal shopping habits is a hard thing to swallow when the practice is blatantly staring you back in the face.

When Googling myself the first thing I found that was related to me was actually business information for my father (Who is also named Forrest Doud). Shortly below that in the first page of the search was my Linkedin profile. It made me realize that this Linkedin would easily come up in an employer search for me, which on one hand is good, but on the other it might be a disservice to me. This is because my page is very barebones and I have never taken the time to keep it updated, accurate, or sufficiently detailed to make me appear as impressive as possible. This assignment actually has motivated me to start working on making my page better, or shall I say polish my digital footprint.

Another thing I have noticed is that because I share the same name as my father there are times where digital footprints are cross over into each other. For example in interactions with my health insurance provider and also UPS I have seen security questions (to verify identity) that pull passive data to ask things like, “Which of these streets have you previously lived on”. There has been more than one instance where the street listed was actually one my father had lived on and not me. Yet that was the answer they were looking for. It makes me wonder what other ways our digital information can get mixed up with another person’s unintentionally. Ultimately I think the issues I have experienced so far with my own digital footprint are just a drop in the bucket compared to what is possible.

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Social Network Learning – Module #2

When creating my nonlinguistical representation of CoPs, Connectivism, and Personal Learning Networks I wanted to create something that mirrored my understanding of these concepts. I created a mind map with images I felt represented the fundamentals of each concept. With CoPs for example I put images of people/groups (doctors, chefs, football players) who are active practitioners in a task that requires expertise, who share best practices amongst each other, and support other members in their community.  With Connectivsm I have IBM watson competing on Jeopardy showing learning can reside in non-human appliances, the globe surrounded by people representing diversity of opinions, a modern house to demonstrate up-to-date knowledge, and the light-map image reflects the concept of information nodes. For Personal Learning Networks I chose the logos of software tools that allow us to connect with others in order to learn. All of these tools can be used at a personal level so that each connection or collaboration can be as strong as you want them to be and achieve various outcomes depending on your intents. The arrows going between each concept are because even though each is unique, they ultimately complement each other and can crossover on some level during the learning process.

References

Downes. (2011, January 05). ‘connectivism’ and connective knowledge . Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-downes/connectivism and-connecti_b_804653.html

Fary, T. (2011, February 22). Social learning vs. communities of practice. Retrieved from http://janetclarey.com/2011/02/22/social-learning-vs-communities-of-practice/

Hoskins Sakamoto, B. (2012, January 03). What is a pln, anyway?. Retrieved from http://www.teachingvillage.org/2012/01/03/what-is-a-pln-anyway/

Rajagopal, K., Joosten-ten Brinke, D., Van Bruggen, J., & Sloep, P. (2012). Understanding personal learning networks: Their structure, content and the networking skills needed to optimally use them. First Monday, 17(1), Retrieved from http://journals.uic.edu/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3559/3131

Seaman, A. (2013, January 03). Personal learning networks: Knowledge sharing as Democracy. Retrieved from http://www.hybridpedagogy.com/Journal/files/Personal_Learning_Networks.html

Siemens, G. (2004, December 12). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

Sigrist, J. (2011, April 28). Communities of practice: The theory behind personal learning networks. Retrieved from http://jensigrist.blogspot.com/2011/04/communities-of-practice-theorybehind.html

Smith, M. K. (2003, 2009) ‘Jean Lave, Etienne Wenger and communities of practice’, the encyclopedia of informal education, Retrieved from www.infed.org/biblio/communities_of_practice.htm.

Stranack, K. (2012, August 16). Critical review of connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved from http://stranack.ca/2012/08/16/critical-review-of-connectivism-a-learning theory-for-the-digital-age/

Willeke, M. (2011, January 20). Connectivism: A digital social learning theory. Retrieved from http://www.mhwilleke.com/connectivism-a-digital-social-learning-theory

Social Network Learning – Blog Post #1

What are you initial reactions about joining these social networks for use in this course?

I am excited to see how all these different social networks can be used to promote and enhance learning. To be honest I am feeling slightly nervous as I have no experience in social networking other than some occasional Facebook use at a personal level and creating a LinkedIn account that I have hardly ever touched.

What is your experience in using social media for your own professional development?

In terms of professional development using social media I have basically no experience. As previously mentioned I do have a LinkedIn account but I don’t use it. My profile on there is pretty outdated at this point and has little to no detail attached to it that would truly help me as far as professional growth or networking opportunities. I did actually have a recruiter from UCLA message me through it about job opportunities a month ago so that was interesting to see how people are really using it.

What is your experience in using social media as an instructional strategy in your learning environment?

My department has a Facebook and Twitter that we use to communicate with students however only my Director has access to post or use it in any way. Also because I work for a public university anything posted social media wise is extremely vetted by PR/Communications people because of the desire to avoid any possible problems. This year we have already experienced the downsides of communicating on Facebook with students as it opened the door for public criticism and slander issues.

What are your expectations for this course?

I would really like to just have a better functional knowledge of Facebook, Twitter, Diigo, etc. so that I don’t feel so lost. It would be great to also have a better understanding of pedagogy in terms of using these tools effectively in a learning environment. Also learning the do’s and don’ts or shall I say etiquette of these tools would be nice.

Week 13 Reflection

Putting together the rough draft of my final project this week was a tough but enjoyable experience. I thought I had done a good job of creating all my previous weeks images to match up with the overall unit I had planned but there were still some challenges to be faced. I ended up actually not including a few of the images that I thought didn’t end up fitting into the lessons as well as I originally envisioned. What I realized is that I probably should have started crafting the site itself from the start of the semester rather than just a few weeks ago. That way I could have made sure the images and the web design complemented each other to a larger degree. The one thing I appreciated most about finalizing my unit this week was the realization of the important tools my other EDTECH courses have given me to create this final project. I have been so wrapped up with the image creation aspect so far in this course that it was a nice challenge to integrate those skills with other technology integration and pedagogy teachings.

Week 12 Reflection

Reading about space this week I came to the realization that I was already using it as a design tool in previous assignments without really knowing it. I think this is because a lot of what I think of as good advertising and website design is the result of using white space correctly. I like symmetry and I also don’t like empty spaces that stand out, which I now know is called trapped space. Because the book reading was short this week I ended up doing some follow up reading online. Through that follow up research I came across a great web article on the use of white space in design at the following site, http://webdesignledger.com/tips/whitespace-the-underutilized-design-element. Reading this article and seeing its recognition of how Apple has great use of white space in their design was interesting. I have always loved their design work and now I know a fundamental reason behind that feeling.

 

Week 11 Reflection

I got a lot out of this week because understanding hierarchy is something I have always taken for granted. I feel that as a reader or consumer of learning I am good at following the intended flow of something. However, when put in the shoes of a designer you realize that all those times you consumed information in the correct order was because someone created it with that goal in mind. Your success as a learner or reader is due to the success of the designer. Like our text mentioned it would have been easy to crossover much of the hierarchy content into the selection or integration chapters. Yet when I look at how much new information was delivered I am glad that Lhor decided to keep hierarchy in its own chapter.  There is a lot of technique for creating organizational hierarchy that rely on what we learned in other chapters so I was glad to have gone through the CARP chapter before this one. It was nice to see CARP principles integrated into techniques to show hierarchy.

Week 10 Reflection

I greatly appreciated this weeks focus  on the appropriate and purposeful use of  color based on theory. I have to admit that I have been guilty of using color just for the sake of having color in many if my past artistic and design projects. Through the reading in the book and reflecting on its content, I now know that color choices should go beyond personal preference and need to have a solid reasoning behind them. The realization has hit me that for my final project submission I will probably want to go back and revise some of the coloring of my earlier images. I think that I have done an OK job with previous color choice thanks to my user feedback, but I known there are a few images in particular that could benefit from my new knowledge.