Week 6 - Collaborative and Cloud Tools

This week, we looked at the role and importance of collaborative and cloud tools in the growing and expansion of our personal learning environments and networks. The tool of emphasis was Evernote, which was described as the "perfect solution for the students’ need to archive and organize traditional and non-traditional sources of information. (Hamilon, 2011)" (http://blog.evernote.com/blog/2011/01/05/how-my-students-started-using-evernote-education-series/)

How useful is Evernote? 

The session guide for this week started by saying that, "managing the information that you locate on the Internet so that you can revisit or locate that information again is an impossible chore for your browser bookmarking tool." I couldn't have related to this quote any more! I use the Internet excessively for both personal and academic research, and over the years, I have accumulated way too many bookmarks in my browser that are, without a doubt, slowing my computer down. Last week, we looked at a tool called Diigo to help with online content curating. With our introduction to Evernote this week, I feel that I will be using that more than Diigo, simply because it does everything that Diigo does, and more (i.e. note taking, adding images, tags, etc.). I prefer centralized tools where I can use it for multiple functions, so naturally, Evernote is my tool of choice.

Evernote has many functions and advantages that sets it apart from other content curation tools and resources. MacrGeek (2010) pointed out in his video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyrE6SpTNSA) that users can embed research articles into Evernote - a function that Microsoft Word can't even do. That way, we can keep our notes and the primary sources that we use in the same file and access it pretty much anywhere. Green (2012) takes a more critical approach when looking at Evernote's usefulness, considering both the pros and the cons (http://theflannelboard.blogspot.ca/2012/03/my-tribute-to-evernote-students-guide.html). He points out that it is a great tool to use to take class notes because we can then access it on any other device, and states that its tagging ability makes searching for the work that we have done much easier. He also points out the incredible usefulness of its web clipping too, and the fact that we can use it to annotate our PDFs - an advantage over any other tool we've looked at in this course. Even though Evernote allows us to keep everything in the same place, its data limit means that there is only so much work that we can store on it, which is unfortunate. However, we must consider that we are using the tool for free, and most cloud-based tools must limit the amount of data that we can put on it. Miller (2010) points out in his writing that Evernote can sync to pretty much any device - giving it a major edge over other content curation tools, many of which require the use of an Internet browser (http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/take-a-minute-to-collect-your-thoughts-with-evernote/24020). Miller strikes an important point - successful digital tools must be able to function on a variety of popular devices that people use; otherwise, it's usefulness and popularity will be seriously diminished.

I foresee Evernote becoming a key supplementary learning tool for me, and I'm sure that it will make my life much easier in many ways. First of all, the fact that I can access my notes on any device means that I can be studying even when I don't have my laptop with me - which saves me a lot of normally wasted time. Furthermore, as we have practiced this week, Evernote allows us to share our resources and notes with people we are working on with a significant amount of ease. Group work will continue to be a significant aspect of my academic career, so Evernote will be relevant for me throughout my years a student (only issue would be that many people don't use Evernote). Most importantly, Evernote's web clipping feature its the most useful, in my opinion. The fact that I can keep track of all of the useful information I find online, and access it on any device (whether off or online, because I have installed the app) means a significant reduction in the time spent re-researching. Many tools allow us to simply save our bookmarks and access it on another computer, but Evernote actually allows us to directly take a screenshot of the page, meaning that we won't need to rely on the Internet in the future if we want to access it after it has synced to our app. Clearly, we can see that the creators of Evernote have a tendency to go above and beyond, which is why I wasn't surprised when I learned that I can also embed research articles in it. This means that I can access all of my research articles on any device, and annotate them and have them sync to all of the other ones. Furthermore, the ease at which I can switch between using different articles means that I don't need to have 20 different .pdf files opened (which lags my computer significantly). In all, I see Evernote becoming my central organizational tool.

(Tan, n.d.) (http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/evernote-5-new-features/)

How does this add to my PLE?

Under the Organizing Content section of my PLE was Microsoft Word, computer desktop organization, and browser bookmarking. Evernote has the ability to replace all 3 of these parts of my PLE - I can take notes with them, organize my notes with them, and keep track of everything I find on the Internet. However, the one issue that is stopping Evernote from becoming the app I use for everything is the fact that there is limited storage. This means that eventually, I will have to start clearing out the things I have on my Evernote account, but I don't want to lose the work that I have done. Although I can take the files, transfer them to Microsoft Word, then save them to a hard drive, it just seems like it would be easier if I just kept everything organized on my computer. This means that I am risking losing everything if I ever lose my computer, but I have been able to rely on my computer for the past 3 years, so I see no reason to completely change the way I am doing things. Reliability, it seems, is my main issue with Evernote - I will gradually use the app for more and more of my work, but I can't simply decide that I will now completely rely on it - I need to build my trust in this tool!

Interestingly, Evernote can also be used in conjunction with other tools in different parts of my PLE (i.e. Twitter). As fellow student Emily pointed out, it is quite neat and powerful that this app can be connected to different useful tools (http://emilyf93.blogspot.ca/2014/02/week-6-report.html). This is just another quality that sets Evernote apart from other helpful tools!

Lessons Related to Digital Citizenship 

This week's work brings up a problem related to element 1, digital access (Ribble, 2011, p.16). Though Evernote is incredibly useful for sharing work and saves time when doing group assignments, we must consider those who don't have access to any digital tools at home. This means that even with the state of the art technology that are available to us now, we must keep in mind those who don't have access to even the most basic tools, and be flexible in terms of the tools that we choose to use with each assignment. It's not about constantly using the most powerful tools - but choosing the ones that fit the situation. In a group atmosphere, we must select tools that are accessible to all members.

Feedly Reader Update

This week, I found an article related to 'going paperless' from my Feedly reader (http://www.documentsnap.com/top-paperless-products-2013/). Interestingly, the top 2 ebooks related to going paperless were about Evernote (Duncan, 2014). The article brings up an important thought - these tools are all helping us reduce paper consumption, saving students money and making it much easier to organize their files. When I look back at how my parents organized their files years before, with boxes and boxes of folders, it's shocking to me that there is something like Evernote that allows us to access and work with all of our files absolutely anywhere!

(Long, 2012) (http://digitalageofliterature.wordpress.com/) 

Week 5 - Microblogging & Building My PLN

Hi everyone,

Hope you all had a great week! This week, I learned about the importance of Personal Learning Networks and the possibility of using microbloggers, such as Twitter, as a learning tool.

As a student, I've recently come to realize that I need to start to diversify my learning strategies, and start pushing myself to learn in different ways. Personal learning networks are defined by Weisgerber (2011) as deliberately formed networks of people and resources capable of guiding our independent learning goals and professional development needs (http://www.slideshare.net/corinnew/empowering-students-through-learning-networks). Similarly, Dickens (2012) describes personal learning networks as a collection of different groups, websites, social networks and conversations that one brings together to increase learning (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A667plNCzwA&feature=youtu.be). Essentially, personal learning networks are everything we use to help us achieve our learning goals, and what I've recently discovered is that my personal learning networks that are related to my academic goals need to be expanded beyond textbooks and lectures.

Klingensmith (2009) suggests many ways to increase one's PLN - including using social networking, wikis, blogs, and RSS's. I have slowly adapted these tools into my PLE over the past few weeks, and so far it has been a success - these tools are, without a doubt, enhancing my learning. One of the tools that he mentioned, which is this week's emphasis, was microblogs such as Twitter. When I first read that, I was slightly confused - how could I possibly learn using Twitter? Fortunately, I chose to explore the Twitter Handbook for Teachers (http://bisd-it.wikispaces.com/file/view/twitter-handbook-for-teachers.pdf/348795912/twitter-handbook-for-teachers.pdf), which detailed all of the incredible ways I can use Twitter to enhance my learning. What I have learned this week is that Twitter can actually be a hub for ideas. Hill (2010) compared Twitter to a stream of ideas - every Tweet someone sends out is an idea that adds to the stream (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tT6N_8wcn4&feature=player_embedded). Like every other part of the Internet, though, we need to use it carefully, and only 'pluck' the ideas from credible sources (Tweeters) and ideas that inspire us. Digital literacy and using the Internet critically again plays a role here - we need to be careful, but if we do use these incredible tools the right way, it can absolutely make a difference in our lives. Interestingly, one of the links I explored even stated that we can cite Tweets, implying that we can use it as a source when writing (http://www.mla.org/style/handbook_faq/cite_a_tweet)! Upon further consideration, this makes sense, as Tweets that are sent out from credible sources should be as valid as something that they publish professionally. By following people who have achieved success in the field of our interest or organizations that are leaders in our field of interest, and following their Tweets, Twitter can be just as effective as blogs or newspapers for learning about current developments related to things that we are interested in.

(Webb, B.) (http://www.kickass-creatives.com/creativity-101-idea-streaming/)

A significant theme of this week's activities is the importance of integrating social activities with learning. Light (2001) states that studying together with others is central to academic success - an idea I never took seriously before (http://innovativelearning.com/teaching/social_learning.html). Light's arguments for social learning are convincing, and in the future I will begin to attempt to develop my use of social learning - I trust that it will significantly benefit me as a student. As I explored Twitter this week, I also learned that I can use it to achieve this new goal that I have set. Connecting with others and keeping up with their new ideas can teach me a lot! I will absolutely be adding Twitter to my PLE in the collaborating and socializing section, and I am excited to see how using these new tools can enhance my personal learning environment.

(Cushard, 2012) (http://www.mindflash.com/blog/2012/10/practical-ways-social-learning-can-enhance-formal-learning/)

As the amount of sources we have learned to use increases, the need to carefully choose our resources and the information that we use becomes more important. A realization that I had this week was that my focus when using the Internet should be my goals - a lot of times, as a digital citizen, I tend to get carried away and spend to much time on one source or another. That goes against my goal for efficient learning, and I really need to begin to be much more critical about how I use all of these magnificent tools that I now know how to use (ex. ScoopIt, LinkedIn, Google Alerts, Twitter, etc.).

This week, an interesting article that I found using my RSS discussed a real life implication of using Twitter to take advantage of and grow our personal learning networks. Naugle (2014) states in his blog post (http://plnaugle.blogspot.ca/2014/01/bc3-website-i-cant-live-without.html) that, "because of tweets sent out by members of my PLN, I've been able to attend conference sessions that are being lived streamed while I sit in the comfort of my home. I've learned about the newest innovative strategies...(Naugle, 2014)" I'm very glad I was able to find this article through my Feedly, as it gives an important real-life example of how Twitter can truly help us grow our personal learning network. It truly motivates me to better use the tool and to truly take advantage of all that it offers by continuing to expand my network. Fellow classmate Connor discusses an important key quality of Twitter that can be extremely helpful to users. He states, "Twitter supports a broad base of individuals, who all range from a variety of backgrounds. (Scott, 2014) (http://www.connors93.blogspot.ca)" The fact that Twitter is a popular and widely known tool worldwide in all fields of study and interest makes it the ideal tool to connect to others with. Through Twitter, we are able to learn from people we've never met before, from places miles and miles away that we've never been to before! Imagine telling that to someone 50 years ago!

It truly has been a pleasure learning about these magnificent tools this week! Can't wait to continue to expand my PLE!

Take care everyone,
Lewis