Weekly Report and Reflection Post #4

Welcome back readers!

Before I talk to you about this week and what I’ve learned, I would like to share an article that came across my Feedly. Although I know previously I talked about what I love to do when I’m surfing the internet –watching cute pictures and videos of animals doing cute, adorable things. I also use my time for more important things. Many may not know but I am graduating this year and so that means I need to be looking for jobs. As I was on my Feedly earlier this week, I can across this article on Business Insider called The 29 smartest questions to ask at the end of every job interview. Like this many other articles are always coming out of what you should and shouldn’t do at an interview or what to include in your resume and etc. I find feedly helpful because it brings to me the recent updates in an organized fashion so I don’t freak out about the future. If you follow Business Insider, you can see a lot of great things from sports to jobs and much more.

google, 2016

Enough about business! Let’s talk about this week. This week I had the opportunity to learn about bookmarking. Before I even started the thing that came to my mind was the bookmarking option on our toolbars, where if you like something you can bookmark it for later. I stopped using it though because honestly it became hard when you bookmark something on your laptop and then you need access to it at school or something. But this week I got to learn about a cloud bookmarking tool called Diigo. Basically this is a tool which allows you to bookmark different sites and through different devices. Not only can you save your page, you can add notes, screenshot and highlight important information, which will stay for when you visit it next. After learning about this tool, I think I am going to use it a lot because I love saving articles to read later, or highlighting when I’m reading—this tool makes my life easier! I would definitely use this tool on my PLE.

google, 2016

With bookmarking it is important to know what information is good and what is TRASH. Of course everything online isn’t always important or useful, thus we need to screen through the valid and reliable sources. This tool is a simple checklist method that helps ensure that all information is reliable.   

Along with Diigo, I learned about content curation. First I had no clue what it is, so I did what most people would do, search it on google.  I found out that it basically means the act of sorting through large amounts of content and presenting the best posts in a meaningful and organized way. Once I understood that, I looked at some tools that were given and I think LiveBinders and Scoop.it were the two tools I would use. LiveBinders is a great tool because it creates “virtual” three ring binder where I can organize all my websites, documents, movies and images into tables and subtabs and then share my stuff as well. I think it is a cool tool in which I can do everything in one place. Scoop.it is also a great tool I believe because it creates online magazines on topics the author selects and then feeds it through social networks or blogs. When I tried these sites, they were easy to use, minimal details and a lot of good articles.   

As for this week, I think this is it! Until next time!

Nisha Nayyar 

Weekly Report and Reflection Post #3

See I’m back again for another awesome post!

Okay so as I mentioned in my previous post, this week was all about RSS feeds. I’m not sure if you got anything out of my post because all I talked about was cute pictures. So before I start what is RSS? RSS in an acronym for “Really Simple Syndication” and it is a technology that is being used by millions of web users around the world to keep track of their favourite websites. In simpler terms, RSS acts like a bookmark for things you like to browse about.  It keeps everything in one place, so it saves time and it updates you will the latest news so you don’t have to search anything. Isn’t that awesome? I know!!

As I mentioned in my blog before I thought wrapping my head around this was difficult. I didn’t know where to start and how to organize it but I can tell you after a struggle, it is so worth it. I started off my RSS with the things I was interested in which were on the top of my mind like fashion, food and photography of whether it’s animals or the world. Another interesting one was news. So once I gathered the topics that interested me, I started to read around to see what I really like.  This helped me better understand the purpose of RSS, to be able to use one resource for all my sites!

As this week required us to choose what we would like to share, I decided to share the most attractive thing on my RSS. And what I waste all my time on when I’m not studying is cute overload. You can visit the site from the link posted in my previous blog. Another picture is the flash of white.

Herzog, C. (CC) 2016

RSS is important to us because it helps us keep ourselves organized with the goals we have set for ourselves. In week 2, we were required to do a PLE and that helped us outline our learning environment. To keep ourselves connected, and collaborating with the world—RSS is essential. This is because not only can we have things we like on that, but we can have important sites including College Blender and our own university Brock News. This allows us to keep updated with the most updated news or events that are occurring. This is essential for success because to be successful, you need to always be changing.   

I would say RSS feed is a good tool to use and if this was introduced before the PLE, I would definitely have included it because it fits perfectly with my goals and the process to attain them.

Thanks for reading, until next time!!

Nisha Nayyar  

My Experience with RSS Feeds

Hello Everyone!!

Today was the first time I have ever come across RSS feeds. It was a very interesting and confusing process trying to wrap my head around it. I will explain more about RSS feeds in my second post.  But for now, when I first started looking around, I got distracted by this picture of a dog. When I clicked on it, it brought me to a page of various cute animals doing cute things. It’s called Cute Overload.  On this website you can see the finest cute imagery. It also includes videos and people can post their opinions about the latest picture and etc.

Brikne, 2016

Personally I am not a big animal lover. I mean I love dogs but anything else is okay. BUT regardless I love looking at anything that melts my heart and makes me say awwwww! Usually when I’m not studying or browsing the internet for news, I am looking at cute imagery. Like who wouldn’t enjoy a dog or cat doing something cute like rolling around or just sleeping! I suggest this website to anyone who is an animal lover or like me a softie for cute pictures.                                                                                                                                  

See you again for my next blog!

Nisha Nayyar   

Personal Learning Environment

Hello Everyone! We are back this week to talk about some things we learned while doing our PLE’s. First of all to get started what is a PLE? Well it’s an acronym that stands for Personal Learning Environment. It’s a great tool that can tell you what your individual learning habits are and how exactly you learn! The resource that helped me better understand PLE's was the Digital Study Skills website.  

This week I started off by creating my own PLE, as shown below.

Nayyar, N. (CC) 2016.

As you can see I divided my PLE into five main categories: Education, Organize, Create, Connect, and Collaborate. Within these, I have divided them into subcategories of what I thought are vital to my life and my success. As I envision myself to be in one of the top management positions in the next 5-10years, I see myself using these digital tools and resources for my success. To stay connected with all the important people in my life, I would continue to use things like hotmail, text messaging and Facebook. Along with sites like LinkedIn. To keep myself organized and on top of my things, I would continue using what I already use because I have been successful so far and hope to be in the future as well. I believe I have a good habit of writing things down so I don’t forget them later.  For example, things like note pads, so I don’t forget deadlines, an agenda so I can keep myself organized and pace my work and a Google calendar so I know when things need to be done and how much time I have in between my tasks and assignments. To get to my future position I would need to collaborate, and as shown in my PLE, I would continue doing that through Sakai, until I graduate, Skype and Google Docs.  Even once I graduate, I would continue to use these tools because I think it has become a learning tool for me. I feel that these tools are helpful in keeping everything organized and together. Another main category I had for myself is create because we need something to portray our work. Alongside with the blogs and Pineterst, an essential creating tool I prefer is PowerPoint. I feel that I am comfortable using PowerPoint because I have been using it for so many years and that even when I’m in a higher position of some company, PowerPoint’s can always be a tool to a good presentation. Lastly, for my goals to be successful I need to be educated and that is going to continue through sites like Sakai. That is wherever I have any form of online assessment or site to keep in contact with my work.

As everyone has done their own PLE’s, they know how they learn best and how they are going to reach their goals. This tool helps every individual because it is made to everyone’s own learning ways.

Along with the PLE’s this week, we also got the chance to work with word cloud or also known as Wordle. As you can see below, I got the chance to create my own wordle.

 

Nayyar, N. (CC) 2016. 

Honestly before this, I didn’t even know that, that’s what you called it. I can say for a fact this week was an awesome learning experience. I got make my own PLE which I thought was so much fun because it taught me more about myself, and I got to see how a word cloud is formed. I think this not only helped me but everyone who did this exercise because it visually showed them what they are capable of.

So until next time, thank you for reading my blog and I will see you all very soon!!

Nisha Nayyar          

Week 1: Digital Footprint

Do I really want a digital footprint? To be completely honest, I didn't know if I wanted a digital footprint or not. I've heard about all the warnings about having a digital footprint from my teachers in middle school as well as high school and how we must be very careful on the internet; but I never really realized that having a positive digital footprint could be beneficial for me in many ways. I came into this realization after going through the background information of Week 1 of my adult education course. So what is a digital footprint? It's basically a trail of everything you have done through the internet or even some sort of technology that you may have been unaware of until now. A digital footprint is also known as a digital dossier. In the digital dossier video the narrator makes an eye opening remark. She says that our earliest digital footprint is created through a sonogram before we are even born. 

What is a positive digital footprint? A positive digital footprint is a footprint in which there is no negative portrayal of an individual. In this age, I believe that it is very easy to be sucked into having a digital footprint that many people may not consider to be a positive one. I also believe that steps can be taken in order to ensure that you have a positive digital footprint. For example, just simply thinking twice before putting up a picture on Facebook or Instagram, just taking an extra few seconds and thinking would a prospective employer want to hire me if they saw this picture of me online? It doesn't even have to be a picture, it can be a negative comment made towards someone or something else. I found the idea of Netiquette to be very interesting and intriguing. Netiquette is essentially a list of 10 rules which should be followed in order to maintain a positive digital footprint. After taking a look at these rules and navigating through the website, I learned a lot about how to maintain a positive footprint, and so can you. After reading through the Netiquette website, you can even try the Netiquette quiz and see how well you know these rules. 

I have always been cautious of putting things like pictures or videos online and even the friends I keep on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. I have learned that instead of avoiding a digital footprint at all costs, that I can use it to my advantage especially by maintaining a positive professional digital footprint for social networking platforms such as LinkedIn. As a business student I have come to realize how important this platform is in trying to get a job in addition to networking and keeping in touch with connections. 

Based on the results of the Digital Driver's License exam I have learned that I need to focus on security. This includes ensuring that my privacy settings are turned on my social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. But also beyond social media, and to make sure things like my anti-virus and firewall are up to date. Which is another essential part of security as well as maintaining a positive footprint, as anyone can play around with your accounts if you are not careful. 

All About Nisha

     Hey everyone! My name is Nisha and I am originally from Mississauga, Ontario. I recently moved to Brampton with my family. I am currently living in Thorold as I am attending the Goodman School of Business at Brock University. I am in my fourth and final year of the Bachelor of Business Administration program (BBA). I have chosen a concentration in marketing because this is an area of Business that interests me the most and I also have some work experience in marketing. After graduating from Brock I hope to get a job in marketing somewhere in downtown Toronto. I want to work in Toronto because it has always been a dream of mine to live downtown.

     I have many hobbies and I love trying new things. One of my biggest hobbies is playing sports, I play all kinds of different sports. I have been on multiple school teams during my grade school days. I have played on the football team and I have been on the cross-country team in my school for a number of years. I also love to play soccer, I am currently on an intramural team at school. I also love to watch all sorts of television shows and movies. My favourite way to pass time after a long day is to turn on Netflix, grab a box of pizza, cozy up into bed and watch shows. My favourite show is Criminal Minds.

     My dream is to one day travel the world. After graduating I am hoping to get a job in marketing. I am crossing my fingers and hoping that if I do find a job in marketing, it is a job where I can travel often. I have not been to many different countries yet, however, I am planning on visiting Europe with my siblings at some point this summer. I would love to backpack through Central Europe for a week or two. France is on the top of my priority list for traveling. I have wanted to visit the Eiffel Tower ever since I first learned about it in school, and I would love for Paris to be the first city that I travel to on my trip this upcoming summer.

     Another big hobby of mine is dancing. I love dancing and have always been on dance teams at school for as long as I can remember. I am currently on the dance team at Brock; we compete in a competition every year and this is one of my favourite times of the entire school year. I have held various positions for the dance club at Brock. I am currently an executive on the team helping to manage schedules for all of the dancers, choreographers as well as all the other members of the team.


The purpose of this blog is to document everything that I have learned about how the digital world can support and improve learning, as the digital world is becoming an ever-increasing resource in learning in today's age. This is a part of my adult education course that I am taking as an elective towards my degree.