Thing 23 - We've made it!

I have really enjoyed this program especially in the later half of it as I was able to time manage much better and get everything I needed to get done in my normal day to day duties as well as my "thing" for the week.

The things I enjoyed most of all were

• thing 14 which was collaboration tools 
• thing 16 youtube 
• thing 17 Create content and content curation. 
• I also really enjoyed looking at google glass & Augmented reality (AR).

23 things has encouraged me to explore the way I learn, to time manage better and it and has broadened my knowledge of online learning in a postivie way.

One thing I would do differently is take the time to connect with others doing the program that were not located on my campus, I only discussed things with my colleague here at Strahtfield and while that was very helpful I missed an opportunity to network!


Thanks to Kate for your motivation and your time to answer any questions I asked

Thing 22 - Networking

This week we looked at Personal Learning Network.

I looked at LinkedIn and saw staff I knew from the library on it, I liked the ACU profile. LinkedIn has less information than other social networking sites which is a plus for me. I can see it would be a great tool to build an online professional profile that features your experience and skills.

I also like the job searching aspect of it and the opportunity to connect with others in a professional setting.

My  PLN is not something I have given a lot of thought to up to this point, which is something that I would like to change, I have always been a stay in the background type of person but I think in this competitive society we are currently in I will need to put myself out there more and starting with something like LinkedIn is a good idea.
 

Thing 21 – Mobile, QR, AR!

I did this week's thing on my work ipad as my phone was having trouble connecting to wireless, I also like a bigger screen to look on and see everything

I took the scenic route and looked at Google Glass.  It was fascinating and fun, and reminded me a little of the sci -fi movies in the 70's where people were dreaming up these ideas that we now actually have.
I also looked at Augmented reality (AR)  and looked at the IKEA app which I  loved.  I found this week's thing  informative and entertaining and that is a great way to learn for me.

 If you're after quick information on the go you can use all these things and I think it is wonderful that dreams are becoming reality.

Thing 20 - Online learning, where is it going?

This week we looked at online learning or MOOC's.

Online learning is a great way to retrain or start a new career for yourself and it is very flexible for people who have certain time constraints

I have done some online training related to work including 23 things but learning for me is easier face to face.  I think online learning would require a great deal of discipline and time management skills and  it is something I want to do in the future when I have developed those skills and have completed more online learning as I need to retrain my way of learning.

I know people who have studied education fully online and are now enjoying teaching as a career.  Family committments were the main reason they chose online learning and they completed it in the timeframe they had intially personally committed to.

I can see  online learning growing even more in the future, it opens up more avenues for people who may never have thought to study or who may not have had the opportunity when they younger.  There are so many interesting courses being offered not just univerity degrees but diplomas and certificates that can be benificial to people who want to retrain and do it at their own pace.

Thing 19 – Tweet, tweet – Twitter

Twitter Twitter Twitter disturbs me - whilst after reading all the good things twitter can be used for unfortunately all you do read and hear about is celebrity slanging matches and quite frankly it puts me right off.

I have never used it but I  know people who do and they have showed me many tweets and the type of people they are following and I am disappointed as I have never been shown anything along the lines of  people following people as a tool for building professional contacts and for staying up to date in their area of study or career.  I don't have anything positive to say unfortunately.

Thing 18 - Reflection week

What a whirlind this has been.  I got worried when semester 1 started up that I wouldn't be able to keep up but it is all about time management.

23 things is worthwhile for me as I can get stuck in what I am comfortable with and also I assume anything technology wise has to be difficult, by doing 23 things I now believe this is simply not true

While I may not use everything I have discovered on this journey I will be using some of it for work and personally and who knows study down the track.

I have really enjoyed completing each week as I get a sense of achievment and accomplishment.

Thank you Kate for all your hard work on keeping us motivated and reading all our blogs!

Thing 17 - Create content and content curation

I had no idea these tools were out there....I am behind the times

Scoop.it  - creating collections of the best resources on topics that you are passionate about  and sharing them is a noble thing to do, educating others on your interests and topics make information accessible to everyone and  I can see how it would work well in the academic world.  I read some things about Scoop it where people were saying it broadened their presence on the web more so than twitter or facebook.  I could see this as a valuable tool for work in lending services

I also had a look at Storybird - it is quite cute!  It is great for kids and adults alike to creat online stories and share them.  My only concern with internet tools like this is not everyone will get to experience it first hand, some children simply won't be able to access it.  I still love the old fashioned book you can hold in your hand, but I also love my kindle.........I am half half I suppose