Hello all,
This week in ADED 1P32, various web curation tools were explored. I found Diigo to be particularly useful because not only does it allow you to bookmark pages to go back to in the future, it also allows for annotation and highlighting of webpages. To familiarize myself with Diigo, I began by doing a search of pre-operative clinic assessments for my health quality improvement project. I hope to share this tool with the rest of my team so that we can collaborate when working on our literature review by annotating the articles and highlighting the key points from each. This way, everyone can get a general overview about the articles and not have to worry about spending countless hours reading through information that may not be relevant to our topic.
I think that Diigo will also be useful when studying for an infection control class that I am currently enrolled in. Each week, we are required to read a pre-selected article pertaining to infection control and safety topics. I uploaded this week's article to Diigo and was able to highlight the key points that show up in a list in the "My Library" section underneath the article title. I found this to be very beneficial because each week, we are quizzed on these articles. Being able to highlight and review a list of key points will save time while studying as I can review the list made, rather than re-reading the full article repeatedly. I will be adding this to the aggregate category of my PLE as it is a great way to collect information and store it in one spot for future reference.
Another curation tool that I discovered this week was Flipboard. It reminds me of Pinterest, but instead, is more specific and revolves around finding articles and recent news updates related to various topics. I enjoy the fact that my cover stories are tailored to my interests and it is convenient to be able to save specific articles by "flipping" them into your own digital magazine. This tool also fits well under the aggregate section of my PLE. I can see it being beneficial in the future for sharing common interests, or for sharing information regarding project topics and also to know why people "flipped" certain stories into the magazine (Flipboard provides a section when flipping to leave a comment so that others know why it was saved).
As a student, I often (actually, more like always) find myself spending far more time studying and completing school work than sleeping. Due to the fact that it is cold and flu season (and also midterm season), it seemed fitting to read an article in my Feedly reader that described the link between sleep and colds. One of the most interesting facts was that those who sleep less than 7 hours were 3 times more likely to catch a cold after exposure compared to those who sleep 8 hours or more. I tend to have good time management skills, so hopefully between that and relying on hand sanitizer, echinacea, and vitamin C, I can stay healthy enough to ace all of my exams!
Until next week,
Megan
Saturday 30 January 2016
Sunday 24 January 2016
Week 3 Report and Reflection
Hello all!
This week in ADED 1P32 focused on RSS feed readers and following blogs. I'm very excited to virtually get to know my classmates and engage in discussions with them. Educause described RSS feeds as customized, up-to-date resource for academic work. Due to the nature of my program in university, I definitely think that using an RSS feed reader, like Feedly, will help me to discover new medical studies and discoveries that will be useful for research papers and lab reports.
RSS feed readers allow for easier access to information in a digital environment. I think the best way to describe it is one central place for the broad scope of information that exists online. In terms of digital citizenship and digital literacy, tasks can be performed more efficiently on the web using RSS, especially when conducting research. These tools are beneficial for making the most out of the web. Instead of the user spending valuable time searching the internet for information, RSS feed readers are able to collect all of the information the user wants and presents it to them in one convenient location.
This week was my first time using a RSS feed reader and I have added it to the aggregate section of my PLE diagram. It is a useful way to organize information online by keeping it all in one convenient place. I would also consider it a good organization tool and could possibly include it in that section of my PLE diagram as well. This goes to show how diverse some tools are and that many digital tools serve more than one purpose for learning.
In my RSS feed this week, I came across another interesting medical article in the New York Times that discussed HPV vaccination rates being highest among Hispanic girls in poorer areas in the USA. Based on the social determinants of health, this article left me wondering what the cause of these different statistics was. The article mentioned that resistance to vaccines among richer people and promotion of programs that offer free vaccinations to poorer people may contribute to the differences. While reading a follow up article that was referenced regarding refusal of vaccination, I realized that health education is vitally important for all people with respect to the HPV vaccination (and not merely those in poorer communities who may not be able to afford the vaccine). In generating health education programs, statistics are crucial in determining where the need for more education lies within a country (in this case, it seems that richer communities need more education).
In the aforementioned case, it is important to debunk the myths surrounding the HPV vaccination. Due to the large amounts of (not always accurate) medical information that is readily accessible to people today, it is important to have health education programs that are both rooted in facts and research, and that also provide people with a better understanding of the benefits of vaccination. After taking courses in immunology and medical microbiology, I have definitely gained a better understanding of vaccinations, and always find myself doing research in this field to hopefully be able to pursue a career in which I am able to educate others to improve their overall health and reduce the risk of the spread of infectious diseases.
In no way am I trying to force anyone to go and get vaccinated; the aforementioned is simply just my opinion, and I hope that through my future studies in medicine, that I will become more knowledgeable in the field.
Thanks for reading my blog this week!
Megan
 |
| Brown, M. (CC) 2016 |
RSS feed readers allow for easier access to information in a digital environment. I think the best way to describe it is one central place for the broad scope of information that exists online. In terms of digital citizenship and digital literacy, tasks can be performed more efficiently on the web using RSS, especially when conducting research. These tools are beneficial for making the most out of the web. Instead of the user spending valuable time searching the internet for information, RSS feed readers are able to collect all of the information the user wants and presents it to them in one convenient location.
This week was my first time using a RSS feed reader and I have added it to the aggregate section of my PLE diagram. It is a useful way to organize information online by keeping it all in one convenient place. I would also consider it a good organization tool and could possibly include it in that section of my PLE diagram as well. This goes to show how diverse some tools are and that many digital tools serve more than one purpose for learning.
In my RSS feed this week, I came across another interesting medical article in the New York Times that discussed HPV vaccination rates being highest among Hispanic girls in poorer areas in the USA. Based on the social determinants of health, this article left me wondering what the cause of these different statistics was. The article mentioned that resistance to vaccines among richer people and promotion of programs that offer free vaccinations to poorer people may contribute to the differences. While reading a follow up article that was referenced regarding refusal of vaccination, I realized that health education is vitally important for all people with respect to the HPV vaccination (and not merely those in poorer communities who may not be able to afford the vaccine). In generating health education programs, statistics are crucial in determining where the need for more education lies within a country (in this case, it seems that richer communities need more education).
In the aforementioned case, it is important to debunk the myths surrounding the HPV vaccination. Due to the large amounts of (not always accurate) medical information that is readily accessible to people today, it is important to have health education programs that are both rooted in facts and research, and that also provide people with a better understanding of the benefits of vaccination. After taking courses in immunology and medical microbiology, I have definitely gained a better understanding of vaccinations, and always find myself doing research in this field to hopefully be able to pursue a career in which I am able to educate others to improve their overall health and reduce the risk of the spread of infectious diseases.
In no way am I trying to force anyone to go and get vaccinated; the aforementioned is simply just my opinion, and I hope that through my future studies in medicine, that I will become more knowledgeable in the field.
Thanks for reading my blog this week!
Megan
Friday 22 January 2016
My Experience with RSS Feeds
Happy Friday!
I had the day off today, so I though this would be a great opportunity to brew a cup of coffee and read through some of the new posts in my Feedly reader. Yesterday was my 1st time setting up an RSS feed, and after doing so, I think I'm really going to enjoy it! I love being organized and the fact that I can categorize, sort and read about topics that I am interested all in one place is very exciting for me.
One of the first things that I subscribed to was the New York Times Heath Research section. I came across an article in the "well" blog called Using Phones to Connect Children to Health Care. In my health promotion class last semester, we learned about how technology can shape the future of health promotion as a source of sharing health information, so when I came across this post in my reader, I immediately needed to read it in full.
It was interesting to read about how health care can be incorporated into technology, especially cell phones, that new generations are using on a daily basis. Although I do believe that it is necessary for face to face check ups and assessments, I also feel that technology can be very useful for ensuring that those living with chronic illness are following their health regimens. The blog post mentions that teenagers with chronic illnesses such as Type 1 diabetes may follow regimens better with text reminders. This is a very innovative way to reach patients, and in my opinion, more effective than providing them with pages of literature to read through.
In the future, I can see technology being more prominent within the health care field because we live in a digital world. Some of the important factors involved in achieving a high performing health system are patient centeredness, efficiency, and timeliness. Technology is readily accessible and something that is used by several patients today. Thus, in many ways it can be used to contribute to a high performing system.
I had the day off today, so I though this would be a great opportunity to brew a cup of coffee and read through some of the new posts in my Feedly reader. Yesterday was my 1st time setting up an RSS feed, and after doing so, I think I'm really going to enjoy it! I love being organized and the fact that I can categorize, sort and read about topics that I am interested all in one place is very exciting for me.
One of the first things that I subscribed to was the New York Times Heath Research section. I came across an article in the "well" blog called Using Phones to Connect Children to Health Care. In my health promotion class last semester, we learned about how technology can shape the future of health promotion as a source of sharing health information, so when I came across this post in my reader, I immediately needed to read it in full.
It was interesting to read about how health care can be incorporated into technology, especially cell phones, that new generations are using on a daily basis. Although I do believe that it is necessary for face to face check ups and assessments, I also feel that technology can be very useful for ensuring that those living with chronic illness are following their health regimens. The blog post mentions that teenagers with chronic illnesses such as Type 1 diabetes may follow regimens better with text reminders. This is a very innovative way to reach patients, and in my opinion, more effective than providing them with pages of literature to read through.
In the future, I can see technology being more prominent within the health care field because we live in a digital world. Some of the important factors involved in achieving a high performing health system are patient centeredness, efficiency, and timeliness. Technology is readily accessible and something that is used by several patients today. Thus, in many ways it can be used to contribute to a high performing system.
Saturday 16 January 2016
Week 2 Report and Reflection- PLE
Hi readers,
This week in ADED 1P32, I created a PLE (personal learning environment). After doing some reading, I found that a paper by Graham Attwell simply defined a PLE as different tools that we use in our everyday life for learning. This definition got me thinking about the various tools that I currently use in my day to day life.
When given the task to create a PLE, I found it necessary to read all of the background resources provided and took some time to reflect on my learning experiences. I realized that a PLE is more than just listing the tools that you use for learning; it is also a way to evaluate how the tools enhance your learning and can help you determine what you can add to your PLE in order to be more successful in the future. The questions throughout the prezi by Andre Malan helped to guide my reflection and allowed me to analyze my goals, who I am now, who I want to become in the future and how my current learning environment can help me to achieve these goals.
This is the first time I actually sat down for a long while and wrote out all of the things I hope to become in the future. Having never done this before, my list (or should I say pages) of notes provided me with some clarity and was an overwhelmingly positive experience to be able to critically assess my goals and to have an idea of what I will need to reach my future goals.
To summarize my notes from this personal reflection process, I found that currently, I am very career driven and still in the discovery phase of what it is that I wish to pursue in the future. I know that I want to pursue a career in healthcare, but still need to determine what I am truly passionate about so that I can narrow down the options to something that I will thoroughly enjoy.
After describing my future self, I noticed that the description expanded from being more career focused, to a more well rounded "lifestyle" focus. I think that this is due to the assumption that in the future, I will have chosen the ideal career, thus allowing me to move on to experience the many other aspects of life, such as marriage, travelling, and applying my career experiences to better the lives of others around the world.
In order to achieve my goals, I noted that having hands on experience through internships will be necessary, as well as being more fluent with online communication to convey scientific and medical messages. I realized that in order for me to achieve my goals, I need to be in an environment that supports lifelong learning, as the medical field is an ever changing world. I work best in an environment that is free of negativity, and that contains peers and a support system for me to share my ideas with. I realized that I need to have more faith in myself and to give myself more credit for the things that I do.
As per my last blog post, I am a medical sciences student and I also work for Brock University in the Student Life and Community Experience department. In creating my PLE, I found that many of the tools listed were the ones which have helped me with both my studies and my job. I am a student coordinator for the honour societies on campus, so I tend to use various organizational tools to schedule meetings, such as Doodle and Outlook calendar.
Collaboration is important in the Student Life department, and also for completing group assignments. Brock's online involvement portal called ExperienceBU, allows many student groups to collaborate, share and collect information, and to stay informed. It is a tool that probably falls under almost all of the categories in my PLE.
Being a science student who writes several lab reports and complies literature to complete assignments, I often need to aggregate the references I find for ease of access later on (before I started using Refworks and Zotero, I was keeping roughly 20-30 tabs open on my laptop until I finished the assignment... definitely not an efficient process!)
I haven't had much experience working with the tools in the create category of my PLE. It was through my job that I discovered Canva, when I had marketing tasks to complete and needed a simple and quick way to design appealing posters needed to promote an event. I definitely look forward to discovering more tools to add to this section of my PLE.
The connect and share category contains several social media tools, as well as the newest addition being Blogger. I use the majority of these tools to communicate and share messages with family and friends. I also find that in terms of learning, it is becoming more common to use social media such as Facebook to connect with group members for assignments. Apple Mail on my laptop enables me to check all of my email accounts to stay updated with what is going on at school, at work, and in my personal life.
The word cloud I created helped to visually highlight the key words relating to what ADED 1P32 is all about. It is a good reminder of the key concepts that will contribute to my learning in the future.
This week in ADED 1P32, I created a PLE (personal learning environment). After doing some reading, I found that a paper by Graham Attwell simply defined a PLE as different tools that we use in our everyday life for learning. This definition got me thinking about the various tools that I currently use in my day to day life.
When given the task to create a PLE, I found it necessary to read all of the background resources provided and took some time to reflect on my learning experiences. I realized that a PLE is more than just listing the tools that you use for learning; it is also a way to evaluate how the tools enhance your learning and can help you determine what you can add to your PLE in order to be more successful in the future. The questions throughout the prezi by Andre Malan helped to guide my reflection and allowed me to analyze my goals, who I am now, who I want to become in the future and how my current learning environment can help me to achieve these goals.
This is the first time I actually sat down for a long while and wrote out all of the things I hope to become in the future. Having never done this before, my list (or should I say pages) of notes provided me with some clarity and was an overwhelmingly positive experience to be able to critically assess my goals and to have an idea of what I will need to reach my future goals.
To summarize my notes from this personal reflection process, I found that currently, I am very career driven and still in the discovery phase of what it is that I wish to pursue in the future. I know that I want to pursue a career in healthcare, but still need to determine what I am truly passionate about so that I can narrow down the options to something that I will thoroughly enjoy.
After describing my future self, I noticed that the description expanded from being more career focused, to a more well rounded "lifestyle" focus. I think that this is due to the assumption that in the future, I will have chosen the ideal career, thus allowing me to move on to experience the many other aspects of life, such as marriage, travelling, and applying my career experiences to better the lives of others around the world.
In order to achieve my goals, I noted that having hands on experience through internships will be necessary, as well as being more fluent with online communication to convey scientific and medical messages. I realized that in order for me to achieve my goals, I need to be in an environment that supports lifelong learning, as the medical field is an ever changing world. I work best in an environment that is free of negativity, and that contains peers and a support system for me to share my ideas with. I realized that I need to have more faith in myself and to give myself more credit for the things that I do.
As per my last blog post, I am a medical sciences student and I also work for Brock University in the Student Life and Community Experience department. In creating my PLE, I found that many of the tools listed were the ones which have helped me with both my studies and my job. I am a student coordinator for the honour societies on campus, so I tend to use various organizational tools to schedule meetings, such as Doodle and Outlook calendar.
Collaboration is important in the Student Life department, and also for completing group assignments. Brock's online involvement portal called ExperienceBU, allows many student groups to collaborate, share and collect information, and to stay informed. It is a tool that probably falls under almost all of the categories in my PLE.
Being a science student who writes several lab reports and complies literature to complete assignments, I often need to aggregate the references I find for ease of access later on (before I started using Refworks and Zotero, I was keeping roughly 20-30 tabs open on my laptop until I finished the assignment... definitely not an efficient process!)
I haven't had much experience working with the tools in the create category of my PLE. It was through my job that I discovered Canva, when I had marketing tasks to complete and needed a simple and quick way to design appealing posters needed to promote an event. I definitely look forward to discovering more tools to add to this section of my PLE.
The connect and share category contains several social media tools, as well as the newest addition being Blogger. I use the majority of these tools to communicate and share messages with family and friends. I also find that in terms of learning, it is becoming more common to use social media such as Facebook to connect with group members for assignments. Apple Mail on my laptop enables me to check all of my email accounts to stay updated with what is going on at school, at work, and in my personal life.
 |
| Brown, M. (CC) 2016. |
The word cloud I created helped to visually highlight the key words relating to what ADED 1P32 is all about. It is a good reminder of the key concepts that will contribute to my learning in the future.
 |
| Brown, M. (CC) 2016. |
This week has been very positive and has left me excited to further this reflection process to shape my learning, such that it has the utmost positive influence on my future.
Until next week!
Megan
Sunday 10 January 2016
Week 1 Report and Reflection
Hello everyone,
This week in ADED 1P32 revolved around one's digital footprint and being a digital citizen. Being a science student, I have learned a lot about one's carbon footprint and how it can contribute to climate change and global warming. I learned that it was important to strive to reduce your carbon footprint to create more sustainable environments. Before I started this week's tasks, I associated the idea of a digital footprint with something that needed to be reduced in order to have a positive impact. However, after reading Dodie Ainslie's blog post called "yes you should have a digital footprint...and keep track of it", I got a better idea of what a digital footprint was and that it can be a positive thing if the user is mindful of what they are posting on the internet. Because we live in a digital world and are constantly surrounded by technology, it is inevitable that we have all have a digital footprint. I feel that it is important to have a positive digital footprint to portray a true representation of yourself to future employers, colleagues, educational institutions, etc. It is so easy to find information on the internet, and oftentimes, people do not think about how readily accessible this information is to virtually anyone who has access to technology.
In order to better define a positive digital footprint, I think it is necessary to tie in the concept of proper net etiquette. After reading about the term "netiquette" this week, I believe that the set of rules of how to properly conduct yourself online strongly contribute to whether or not one has a positive digital footprint. Rule #1 really resonated with me and was a good reminder to always think about what you would do or say in real life when posting comments, blogs, photos, etc online. I am a strong advocate for making positive change and strive to be a positive role model for all everyday. Reading the rules of proper netiquette reinforce that not only do I have the power to influence people through my actions, but also through how I am viewed online. It is important to post with caution and to make sure that you are portraying the same message in person as you are online. In my opinion, that is the definition of a positive digital footprint: having the information about you online be a reflection of the person you are everyday.
The Secondary Digital Driver's License exam helped me to understand that digital access is an important component of digital citizenship. My score of 19/20 made me realize that although technology is something that surrounds us daily, it is important to realize that full electronic participation may not be feasible for some people. In order for all to have the opportunity to be digital citizens and to create a positive digital footprint, providing adequate accommodations, such as allowing students to use school computers to complete assignments, public library access, etc, are necessary to ensure that access is somewhat equitable. In the future weeks of the course, I hope to brainstorm and become aware of more ways to provide all groups of people with access to the digital world.
I look forward to reflecting again next week!
Megan
This week in ADED 1P32 revolved around one's digital footprint and being a digital citizen. Being a science student, I have learned a lot about one's carbon footprint and how it can contribute to climate change and global warming. I learned that it was important to strive to reduce your carbon footprint to create more sustainable environments. Before I started this week's tasks, I associated the idea of a digital footprint with something that needed to be reduced in order to have a positive impact. However, after reading Dodie Ainslie's blog post called "yes you should have a digital footprint...and keep track of it", I got a better idea of what a digital footprint was and that it can be a positive thing if the user is mindful of what they are posting on the internet. Because we live in a digital world and are constantly surrounded by technology, it is inevitable that we have all have a digital footprint. I feel that it is important to have a positive digital footprint to portray a true representation of yourself to future employers, colleagues, educational institutions, etc. It is so easy to find information on the internet, and oftentimes, people do not think about how readily accessible this information is to virtually anyone who has access to technology.
In order to better define a positive digital footprint, I think it is necessary to tie in the concept of proper net etiquette. After reading about the term "netiquette" this week, I believe that the set of rules of how to properly conduct yourself online strongly contribute to whether or not one has a positive digital footprint. Rule #1 really resonated with me and was a good reminder to always think about what you would do or say in real life when posting comments, blogs, photos, etc online. I am a strong advocate for making positive change and strive to be a positive role model for all everyday. Reading the rules of proper netiquette reinforce that not only do I have the power to influence people through my actions, but also through how I am viewed online. It is important to post with caution and to make sure that you are portraying the same message in person as you are online. In my opinion, that is the definition of a positive digital footprint: having the information about you online be a reflection of the person you are everyday.
The Secondary Digital Driver's License exam helped me to understand that digital access is an important component of digital citizenship. My score of 19/20 made me realize that although technology is something that surrounds us daily, it is important to realize that full electronic participation may not be feasible for some people. In order for all to have the opportunity to be digital citizens and to create a positive digital footprint, providing adequate accommodations, such as allowing students to use school computers to complete assignments, public library access, etc, are necessary to ensure that access is somewhat equitable. In the future weeks of the course, I hope to brainstorm and become aware of more ways to provide all groups of people with access to the digital world.
I look forward to reflecting again next week!
Megan
Thursday 7 January 2016
1st Ever Blog Post: An Introduction
Hello readers!
After doing some extensive reading and research on the technical aspects of setting up a blog, I finally think I've started to figure it out. I am a perfectionist and tend to become stressed when I do not fully understand things right away! Expert bloggers reading this would probably laugh if they knew how long it took for me to set everything up properly... that is the perfectionist in me (Please note that I am used to writing scientific papers and lab reports; I am definitely a beginner in this digital learning process!) It will be a new learning experience and there will definitely be challenges to overcome along the way, but I look forward to reflecting on my experiences in the ADED 1P32 course. The purpose of this blog will be to document and reflect on what I've learned about the digital world.
I am a Medical Sciences student, so this course will be very different from the science based courses that I am used to taking. I believe that it is important to diversify the courses that are taken in post-secondary education in order to have a well rounded experience and to attain a multitude of different skill-sets. I am intrigued to learn about my digital footprint, and how to become more fluent with digital learning. There are transferrable skills that can be applied in every university course, and I am excited to be able to apply what I learn in this course to various other aspects of my degree and later on in my future career (in which I am still trying to determine...)
Thank you for reading! I look forward to improving my blogging skills throughout the semester.
Megan
After doing some extensive reading and research on the technical aspects of setting up a blog, I finally think I've started to figure it out. I am a perfectionist and tend to become stressed when I do not fully understand things right away! Expert bloggers reading this would probably laugh if they knew how long it took for me to set everything up properly... that is the perfectionist in me (Please note that I am used to writing scientific papers and lab reports; I am definitely a beginner in this digital learning process!) It will be a new learning experience and there will definitely be challenges to overcome along the way, but I look forward to reflecting on my experiences in the ADED 1P32 course. The purpose of this blog will be to document and reflect on what I've learned about the digital world.
I am a Medical Sciences student, so this course will be very different from the science based courses that I am used to taking. I believe that it is important to diversify the courses that are taken in post-secondary education in order to have a well rounded experience and to attain a multitude of different skill-sets. I am intrigued to learn about my digital footprint, and how to become more fluent with digital learning. There are transferrable skills that can be applied in every university course, and I am excited to be able to apply what I learn in this course to various other aspects of my degree and later on in my future career (in which I am still trying to determine...)
Thank you for reading! I look forward to improving my blogging skills throughout the semester.
Megan
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