Weekly Report & Reflection Post #12

Hello everyone (for one last time!),

This week we were asked to Google ourselves and find out if there were any chances made to our digital footprint. From my exploration, I am surprised that more programs and tools we discovered throughout this course did not pop up on the first eight pages on google. I discovered that there are multiple “Robert DeMelo’s” in the world, making it difficult for my own personal footprint activities to be displayed on the first couple of pages of google.  Most of the information shown about myself in the top pages of google are relating to sports. Due to the fact that I am a Varsity Soccer player here at Brock University, majority of the content provided is about my participation in Brock Athletics. The only course tool that I came across was my ADED 1p32 Twitter account. As a digital citizen, I have privacy settings on most of my personal social media accounts, making it hard for people to find out about my personal life.

From partaking in this course, I have learned a large amount of valuable information surrounding how to be a positive digital citizen and how to create a positive digital footprint. I learned that the three important rights and responsibilities digital citizens need to understand include:

1.    Right to Privacy – As digital citizens, we have the right to choose which information we share with our friends via social media and what information we don’t want to be shared.

2.    Right to Freedom of Expression – As digital citizens, we have the right to express our thoughts and opinions online

3.    Right to Ownership - As digital citizens, we have the rights to the information that we create being posted online

http://betanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Think-safety-600x398.jpg

There are many other important rights and responsibilities; however, I believe that there are three key ones that every digital citizen should have knowledge of.  One connection that I have made between being a digital citizen, leaving a positive digital footprint and living/learning online is that anything you post online via social media or blogs can be seen by anyone and will always stay in the digital world, even if the post is deleted.

Furthermore, I believe that the digital world is a great place for anyone to explore and use. However, make sure you are cautious when using the Internet, due to unfortunately having many dishonest digital citizens in today’s society. If you are aware of the possible dangers online, you can protect yourself from being digitally harmed.  Lastly, make sure you act properly online, becoming a positive digital citizen so that our online world can develop into a safe and protected place.

Thank you for stopping by my blogger weekly and reading my posts. I hope you guys enjoyed this course as much as I did. I learned many useful concepts that I will cherish for the rest of my life. See you guys in the digital world!

Robert DeMelo

Weekly Report & Reflection #11

In this week's session, we looked at webcasting tools such as SoundCloud (click HERE to visit website). Soundcloud is a social sound platform where anyone can listen to or create sounds and share them everywhere online. After exploring SoundCloud, I enjoyed this tool for music purposes. I find this tool extremely useful when listening to your favourite songs online. Through using SoundCloud, I learned how to create a sound clip by using my laptop. I was able to record myself talking through my webcam. My podcast presented information I learned about regarding Digital Privacy (click HERE to view my podcast on SoundCloud).

https://soundcloud.com

I believe that SoundCloud is an excellent tool that can be used for educational purposes. Since SoundCloud can be used for educational purposes, I will indeed be adding this awesome tool to my Personal Learning Environment (PLE). This podcasting tool suits my personal learning style due to how user-friendly and interactive this program is. I did not know what podcasting was until this week's session. Due to having this information presented to me, I will incorporate this digital method of presenting information into my daily digital footprint. SoundCloud is the only tool we discovered in this class that was completely verbal related. We did explore the tool of VoiceThread, which has a verbal option, however, most people chose to use the written option instead of the verbal option due to what we are use to. Most digital citizens are use to typing or writing out messages online via social media, email etc. rather than getting their message across through verbal sound waves. I think that most people are shy and uncomfortable when talking infant of large crowds, which relates to why they would not choose the verbal option.

https://www.brocku.ca/brock-news/

One article I found interesting on my Feedly is titled "Brock launches security program to thwart hackers" by the Brock News (click HERE to view article). This article talks about how universities are a common place for criminals to target and as a result, Brock is trying to protect their students and staff from criminal attacks. “Security in general has become the main focus for post-secondary institutions as they are deemed easy targets by hackers,” said David Cullum, Vice-President of Information Technology Services. ITS is launching a Security Awareness Program to help faculty, staff and students of Brock University feel safer when using technology at home and at work. The goal is to have a security-aware community where people think before they click.

Cheers,

Robert DeMelo

Creative Commons Licensing

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.



ADED 1P32 Blogger by Robert DeMelo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Weekly Report & Reflection #10

During this week's session, we began working with tools that allow you to create in the online environment. We were asked to find images online relating to what digital citizens need to understand about copyright, Creative Commons, using images and media created by other authors. At first, I tried using the presentation tool called Animoto, but did not really enjoy it due to not being familiar with this tool. Following the discovery of Animoto, I transferred over to another tool called Prezi because I have used it a couple of times prior. To view my slideshow either click HERE or click on the Prezi Slideshow Tap on the top of my blog page.

www.prezi.com

Following this week's task of creating a slideshow, I think I have regained an enjoyment in the presentation tool Prezi. Normally, when creating a slideshow presentation I use Microsoft Powerpoint  because of the fact that I am extremely comfortable and used to their templates. But after using Prezi for this week's activity, I have came to the realization that I might enjoy this tool more than Microsoft Powerpoint due to the fact that most people use Powerpoint over other presentation tools. Prezi offers more user-friendly features and a different sense of how presentations should look like to their audience. I have already added this user-friendly tool to my Personal Learning Plan due to the occasional use.

As all of us are digital citizens, we all need to be aware of how to act properly and effectively online in our digital world. This week has taught me more about becoming a better digital citizen in regards to the understanding of copyright and Creative Commons on public websites. We as digital citizens need to give credit to the appropriate authors of work presented online through referencing and citing properly. This can be done in a variety of different methods in order to not be classified as plagiarism.

www.brockpress.com

One article I found interesting on my Feedly reader this week is titled "Seminar System" by Jacqueline from Brock University Student Bloggers. Click HERE to view the article. This article talks about how Brock University offers small class seminars to students in order to receive a greater academic experience and not to be just considered a "number" to the professor. Having seminar classes of around 20 students per classroom results in " students the opportunity to actively engage with the material they learn from lecture as they work alongside their peers and fellow classmates and their Teaching Assistant. The students in seminar practically apply their knowledge to relevant discussions." The seminar system helps connect lecture material and my course reading for students and provide them with a better overall classroom experience.

Cheers,

Robert DeMelo

Weekly Report & Reflection #9

This week we discovered the tool of VoiceThread and how it can help my personal academic learning. VoiceThread is an application that can be used right from your browser, which allows you to use different types of media to create an interactive slideshow. To learn more about what VoiceThread is and how it affects my personal learning, please visit the following LINK on my blogger.

https://voicethread.com

Throughout this course, I have progressed as a digital citizen and have expanded my knowledge surrounding technology. Prior to partaking in this course, I knew the basics of what a digital citizen was and how I can develop into becoming a positive citizen. This development has happened through learning about different types of Personal Learning Experience tools, such as, VoiceThread, wikis, Google Docs, Evernote and Diigo. I have learned different ways to collaborate, create, connect, organize and research through my personal learning experience. Recently, I have also learned that there are three important rights and responsibilities digital citizens need to understand in order to help keep our digital society user-friendly. They include: Right to Privacy, Right to Freedom of Expression and Right to Ownership.  See previous post for more detail.

http://www.yourbus.com/

One article I found interesting this week on my feedly reader is titled “School, Homework and Public Transit OH MY.” This article explains that there is no need for future Brock University students to worry about public transit in St Catharines. The author describes that St. Catharines transit makes life easier for you as a student. The St. Catharines offers two different types of resources in order to help students play their trips around the local region. They offer schedule times online via www.yourbus.com and a mobile app called “SC Transit”. This app can help you search for different routes and follow exactly where the bus is and when it will arrive at your stop. Whether you are heading to campus, travelling downtown or even heading to explore Niagara Falls, St. Catharines transit offers students free service and convenience. Click HERE to read more about the article.

Cheers,

Robert DeMelo

Technology Use Scenario

Scenario #2: Michelle likes to go to her Facebook site. Often she will spend two or three hours each day on Facebook. She has a friend list of over 200—some are close friends but others are just friends of friends. She updates her status several times a day and goes to many friends’ sites as well. Michelle’s mom thinks that she has about 20 friends on Facebook. What issues might this cause?

http://bigseadesign.com/social-media-blog/when-facebook-says-you-have-too-many-friends

In this scenario, I believe that Michelle is using technology inappropriately. In my opinion, I think that there is no need to Michelle to have over 200 friends on Facebook. Having too many friends on a social media site such as Facebook can result in less privacy, and depression. According to the article by Tech Times (Click HERE for article), having too many friends on Facebook can result in depression. A research from Montreal researchers, found that teenagers with over 300 Facebook friends have higher stress levels. There is no need for Michelle to harm herself by having so many “friends” on a social media website. Her parents should get involved in the situation and monitor what she does online and who she interacts with while being on Facebook. Michelle should also evaluate whom she accepts as a friend depending on how well she knows each person. A real friend is supposed to be someone who spends time with you outside of the digital world and interacts with you in a face-to-face environment. When trying to consider who your real life friends are, think about whom you would invite to a private event such as your wedding. This example can help you determine who are your real life friend and who is just someone that likes and comments on your pictures.

Cheers,

Robert DeMelo

Weekly Report & Reflection #8

During this week’s session, we learned about using wikis and concept mapping tools. As stated in the K12Learning article, a wiki is a website that anyone can edit easily using a regular web browser (Click HERE for link). Prior to this course, I have had a great amount of experience with wikis due to the usage of Wikipedia. Even though I have used Wikipedia, I have never collaborated work on a wiki before. Throughout this course, we have discovered three different types of collaboration tools – Evernote, Google Docs and now Wikis. Based on collaboration tools, my favourite tool is Google Docs because of the layout and options connected through the program. All three tools can be beneficial to people, it just depends on your personal preference.

I see myself using wikis for the purpose of finding quick information surrounding topics of interest to me. For example, if I am looking up Cristiano Ronaldo’s career statistics based on goals and assists, I will search it up on Wikipedia. This method of researching can be a quick and simple way of acquiring the necessary information for my needs.

https://wikipd.wiki.farmington.k12.mi.us

In addition, I have learned about becoming a digital citizen and the rights and responsibilities of living in a digital society. There are three important rights and responsibilities digital citizens need to understand in order to help keep our digital society user-friendly. The first responsibility is Right to Privacy. As digital citizens, we have the right to choose which information we share with our friends via social media and what information we don’t want to be shared. The second responsibility is Right to Freedom of Expression. As digital citizens, we have the right to express our thoughts and opinions online. Lastly, the third responsibility is Right to Ownership. As digital citizens, we have the rights to the information that we create being posted online. Below is my personal mind map regarding my top three digital rights and responsibilities (Click HERE for attachment).

DeMelo, R.(CC) 2016.

One article I found from my feedly reader this week is titled “Liverpool eliminates Man United in Europa League” (click HERE for article). This article talks about the Europa League match between Manchester United and Liverpool. The result of the match ended in a 1-1 draw between both teams. As a result of the first and second leg matches, Manchester United got eliminated from the European Cup tournament due to a 3-1 aggregate score. Goal scorers in the match included Philippe Coutinho and Anthony Martial.

Cheers,

Robert DeMelo