Well technically this isn't my first blog, initially I used the webnode blog page and then found that it was suggested that we use a separate blog technology so here I am. So far I have created my google drive account, website, completed my "Home page" and "About me" page without too many problems. I did have a scare at one stage where I had thought that my work had not saved and did panic until I realised that I needed to press the publish button at the top of each individual page to see any edited work. Still it did reinforce the importance of backing up my work, along with the accidental spillage of coffee onto my computer that made me fear that I could loose all my precious photos so I am in the process of uploading them onto my newly created Dropbox account. However my right arrow key now sticks, but it could have been so much worse!
I have created a Linkedin page to share my professional accomplishments and linked it to my webpage, you can also view it here. http//au.linkedin.com/pub/jodie-connors/78/6a2/5b0/ At this stage I have not started on the Digital Citizenship poster however I am hoping to make a start on that today. Up until 2 weeks ago all of these technologies I had never heard of. My experience with technology has been LMS, internet and past internal software packages designed for previous jobs and past employment. In relation to social media I have only ever used Facebook and even that was a big step to take to set up due to a nervous apprehension of new technology and being usually a very private person.
To gain the skills necessary to use these technologies I have been following comments on LMS and learning from fellow peers and their experiences. I am also sourcing instructions from the help sections of each technology and searching for information on the www. At this stage I am still unsure of how to make this blog appear on my webnobe website so that is a challenge I hope to sort out today. My plan at this stage is to play around on the editing section of my webnode page and hopefully figure it out myself, a good example of learning with technology and authentic learning.
I am fortunate that I have met a fellow student in the town where I live and we have arranged to meet up next week to go through our websites. I am looking forward to catching up in person and feel that it will be beneficial to reduce the feeling of isolation as an external student. However, I have a couple of other friends based in Perth that I am hoping to receive some feedback from and vice versa. I am appreciating these internet based technologies that affords us the opportunity to feel connected to our peers even when distance is an issue. I was hoping to skype with my Perth based peers, however my internet connection here is very slow and at times skype does not work so I may have to use LMS to send feedback in the form of comments. I will check with them to see if they can use facetime as I find that it seems to work more often than skype.
Gaining an appreciation of the capabilities of these technologies is also giving me a new perspective in regards to some aspects of my personal life. With my daughter starting high school next year, my husband and I were hoping to have her complete her schooling here in town. We have been concerned with the level of support and opportunity of subjects on offer due to the small class numbers at the local high school. Now that I am using these online technologies I have a better understanding of how they can support her in her future studies and I feel less concerned about these issues knowing that there are skills she will gain from using these resources. After speaking to administration at the school they explained that they can offer students subjects through "SIDE" an off site resource run through the Education Department that is internet based. I plan to research this further to gain a better understanding. I have found this website that I will look at in detail in the future http://www.side.wa.edu.au/
Well I shall leave it here, lots of questions to find the answers to and many more technologies to use and become familiar with.
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