My Customized Google Map

This week I decided to play around with Google Maps and make my own customized map of my favorite walking route.  I usually walk the same route five times per week with my family after dinner for exercise.  I've used a pedometer app - Accupedo to track the distance and the calories burned and it's almost exactly 3 miles.  I put Google Maps to the test and drew out my route and Google tallied it to be 2.94 miles...cool! Anyway, if you are interested in looking at my custom map you can follow this link: Amanda's Google Map

The "Cloud"

This week I had a situation that required me to do some research on the "cloud."  Everything is moving to the "cloud", but what the heck is the "cloud"?  Cloud computing is focused on using the internet as a place for storage rather than local hard drives.  Cloud is supposed to be the waive of the future and many Fortune 500 companies are investing in cloud technologies.

I started thinking about how cloud computing impacts my personal life and it's amazing if we truly reflect on it for a few moments...like my pictures for example - almost all of them are organized and stored on Facebook.  It's pretty scary and I'm taking it as an assignment to back them up and save them elsewhere.  Also, think about the apps you use everyday.  For example, I use my fitness pal to store my exercise and nutrition information.  Do you have a itunes account with stored music?  How about gmail with stored emails and information...google drive anyone?

The convenience of signing on to any device and accessing your content is great, but do you have concerns about cloud computing?  Are we granting too much trust to cloud providers with out content?  Or is the cloud the safest place for our content to reside?  What are your thoughts?

Mixing Formal and Informal Learning

The Dabbagh and Kitsantas article talks about Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) and their place in higher education.  The article discusses the differences in formal learning (courses) and informal learning (asking questions, searching Google, etc).  Researchers contend that 80% of what a person knows about their job happens through informal learning.  That's a pretty amazing statistic!

Obviously this class is a great mix of both worlds - formal and informal.  However, most college courses are still very structured and formal and do not allow learners to construct or use PLEs.  What are your thoughts on this?  Are higher education institutions out of touch with current trends?  What are your suggestions for blended learning?

Personally, I believe students should be guided by an instructor in a formal environment, but given more flexibility in choosing their learning path.  Students should be able to explore topics of their interest and collect and organize content as it relates to the overall learning goals of the course.  For example, a course on instructional design may require students to use a methodology to create a training course, but students are allowed to research different methodologies, share and compare them with peers, and then choose which methodology they prefer rather than a methodology being taught and then repeated by the student.  The instructor could provide feedback on their selection and execution of the methodology.  I believe I learn more when I try to find my own solutions.  How about you?

Intellectual Property - What Belongs to Who?

We've been discussing IP over the last week or so and this is an important topic in my line of work as a consultant.  I make a living by providing my expertise and knowledge to a client.  If my materials were dispersed to the public and other consultants it would lessen my value because my specialized work could be copied and reproduced.  This brings me to another phenomenon that is common in today's workplace - many employers now claim IP rights to anything their employees create.  This is also the case with my current employer.  What are your thoughts on this issue?  Should companies be able to claim IP rights on YOUR creations?  Why or why not?

Web Development Tool - Wix

I am in the process of building my electronic portfolio for graduation.  I have no web design experience and I was struggling with the design tools on Google sites.  Yesterday, I discovered Wix.  Wix allows you to use templates to build a website and you can simply click to edit text, drag and drop objects, and add images.  It's so much more intuitive and user-friendly than any other web design tool I've used - and it's free!!  Check it out if you need to build a website:

http://www.wix.com

YouTube Share of Learning Materials

Last semester I had to create a video about the Multimedia Learning Principle and post in on YouTube.  I figured this would be a good topic to share for my knowledge tracking assignment.  Check it out here if you are interested! Multimedia Principle YouTube Video

I am also curating a page on Scoopit!  You can check it out here: http://www.scoop.it/t/organizational-change-management-by-amanda-moore-1

Blogging in the Classroom

I came across this interesting blog and it raises a good point...students spend hours and hours writing papers and reflecting on thoughts and materials, but the only person who usually reads all that work is the teacher.  All the time and effort that went into producing the piece of work and it's not appreciated by a larger audience.  Blogging in the classroom can change that.  Blogging can make a global audience when there used to only be an audience of one.  That's a pretty powerful concept!

Check out the blog here: Blogs in the Classroom - what are your thoughts about blogging in the classroom?  Is it a good idea?  Personally, I see the appeal in enlarging an audience for a student's work, but I believe there must be tight oversight of web 2.0 tools used in the classroom to ensure student's learn proper web etiquette and web safety.

Piracy versus Plagiarism

One of our assigned articles this week touched on an interesting subject when interviewing college students about intellectual property.  College students were asked about piracy and music downloads to which many admitted they had downloaded mp3 files to their computers and some admitted to having a whole library of music. 

When asked about plagiarism, students immediately said it was wrong and denied partaking of the practice.  They mentioned honor codes and the misconduct associated with plagiarism.  This was interesting because students knew that piracy was wrong, but they seemed to imply that plagiarism was really, really wrong.  So I wondered why they may feel that way?  What's the difference?

My opinion is people do not think piracy is as bad as plagiarism because they are only thinking about what they do with the material.  If they are not passing it off as their own, with their name on it, or attempting to make a profit from it then they do not see the harm.  Plagiarism is much like a lie - you are saying you created something that you did not.  Downloading music is not a lie if you are only listening to it.  However, each of them have different impacts and consequences.

What are your thoughts?  Is plagiarism worse than piracy?

Etsy? Any luck?

So, last week I decided to open an Etsy shop and feature a few items I've made recently to see if I can get some side sales.  The process was fairly easy, but I noticed that you get buried deep, deep down in the listings if you do not make purchases from other vendors and/or if you are a new vendor. 

This brings me back to the topic of the difficulty in building up an audience/clientele/following for any new social media launching.  Has anyone else had success with Etsy?  If so, please share!

Here is one of my listings: Etsy Listing

Feel free to share any listings you may have!

Resistance to Change

I am an Organizational Change Manager, so dealing with change it what I do.  I know that resistance to change is normal and logical.  Even though I manage change and help others through change, I still resist changes in my own life.  For example, I have caught myself moaning a time or two about having to create a blog for this class, yes it's true!  Resistance usually results from someone feeling uncomfortable and having to make a change to something they are comfortable with...in other words people resistance when they are forced out of their comfort zone.

Opening a blog forced me out of my comfort zone because I instantly was a little intimidated and knew I would have to learn and apply something new.  Let's face it - it's easier to not have to learn and apply something new and humans generally like easier.  Anyway, I say all of this because I believe this is an area that is a struggle for the older generation.  They are intimidated by new technology and it's easier to not change and not learn to use it.  I made, yes made, my mother-in-law create an email account when she came to visit us last weekend.  I couldn't believe there was a person left on the planet without an email, but there was!  I had to explain the technology, the benefits of using it, and then walked her through opening it.  Anyway, she's using it now and I hope it makes her life a little easier.

What are your thoughts on the older generation and technology?  Are they embracing it or are their heels still dug in?  Why or why not?

Twitter as a Learning Tool. Really?

I was searching through articles on the American Society for Training and Development, specifically how tools like Twitter can be used for learning.

I came across this article: ASTD - Twitter as a Learning Tool

The article talks about how people within a classroom or workshop are tweeting about their experience and thoughts in real time as they are learning and participating in classes.  This can be annoying to teachers, but the author argues that Web 2.0 is helping with making learning more interactive and can provide real time feedback on the learning environment.

I pondered this for a moment and tried to think how I would react if half of the attendees in one of my workshops was tweeting as I was talking.  I have to say I believe I would be somewhat annoyed because I would assume they were not paying attention.  However, I can understand the collaborative possibilities for Twitter in the learning environment.  I believe there is still work to be done to incorporate micro-blogging into the classroom in a way that is collaborative and not distracting.

Online versus Classroom Learning?

I ran across a compilation of Letters to the Editor for the NY Times that discussed the difference between online and classroom learning. 

NY Times - Letters to the Editor

It was interesting to read some of the strong opinion against online learning.  The first featured letter was written by a Rhodes Scholar and graduate of Yale Law School - his main criticisms included:

• No one to impress or disappoint
• Transaction in nature, not personal
• Felt unsupported and alone
• Struggled to stay motivated

He went on to say that classroom learning imposes accountability, inspires effort, and encourages academic accountability in subtle ways such as keeping a learner's attention because they are afraid of what the teacher will think if they stop paying attention.

First, I disagree with his opinion - I believe you have to be motivated to be an online learner, but you can engage your peers and your teacher, maybe just not instantaneously.  I've never felt unsupported or alone and I work to impress myself and my instructor with each assignment.  This writer was taking math classes at Stanford, maybe he should try FSU! :)

Anyway, all of us are online students and something is obviously right about online learning for us.  I enjoy the flexibility of being able to change locations - I've lived in 3 states since starting my Master's at FSU.  I also like being able to "attend" class when it's best for my schedule, which is extremely important with three kids.  I also feel the ability to express myself more through the discussion board than I would in a face to face setting with so many other people.  However, I do miss having real time conversations and being able to hear other people's questions and thoughts in a spontaneous environment, but that doesn't outweigh the pros for me.

What are your pros and cons for online learning?  Why did you choose online classes?  Are they better than traditional classes?

Beginning to Blog

Our readings this week talked about blogging and we are all starting to get into the routine of being bloggers, so I thought I would dive into the topic a little more and find some tips for beginning bloggers.

This article Beginning Blogger Tips gives some tips for new bloggers.  Here are some of the highlights:

1. Define your blogging goal
2. Know your audience
3. Be consistent
4. Be persistent
5. Be inviting
6. Be visible
7. Take risks
8. Ask for help
9. Keep learning
10. Be yourself

I think these are some simple and straight-forward tips that can help new bloggers like me.  In particular, I believe it's important to define the goal of blogging, stay active and keep your blog frequent, be visible and share your blog on social media outlets to build an audience, and keep learning and staying current on new tools and technology.