Promoting Digital Citizenship (Reflection #12)

So week 12 has finally arrived; my last post for my ADED online course and my last program at Brock University, I am finally graduating! And with that being said I know for a fact that I will be using online tools that I have learned from taking this course along with a new perspective of the Internet and my role within it as a Digizen.

I can remember prior to this class I have searched my full name on Google and at the very least would see a direct link to my Facebook page or Twitter account, that was about it. Now my footprint and network have expanded; I now see links to my Scoop.it account, Linkedin, my blog, a more professional Twitter, and Pintrest. And behind Google Search, my PLE has evolved. Feedly is my daily newspaper, I love how simple and organized it is; from now on if I ever need someone to go over any work - I support GoogleDocs/Slides all the way. I really like how there is a history of alterations and who made them and that I can work from any computer because of its ability to store things online into a 'cloud'.

I have learned that to be a positive digital citizen you need to be aware of ones digital etiquette and consideration of other users, appropriate communication, your digital security and protection, and digital law. To go against these elements could mean the increase of Cyberbullying, stolen identity from a hacker,or even time in prison for copyright reasons. However if you are conscious of these elements not only do you leave a positive footprint that others can reflect upon but depending on your profession or knowledge that you are passionate about expressing you can open the doors to learning as an online citizen through communication and exploring.

Thanks to this course I also truly understand the importance of citing or referencing others work online, even if it's just a simple image or personal blog post. After going through the process of creating my own blog, slideshows or word bubbles, I would hate to think that somewhere, someone is using my work - and depending on the work it may not be correct. So not only would that person be stealing my piece, there is the chance of it being shared then misinterpreted. As a frequent Tumblr user I am always going to double check to make sure the images I use always has a source or reference, and that if I create and share something I will definitely refer back to Creative Commons or Fair Dealing.
Hopefully other online users will take notice and consider doing the same as well.

To all ADED classmates and Dave -
Fair well fellow Badgers, and I wish you all a warm and enjoyable summer!

Kylee C
Brock Badger est. 2010-2015

Dino. (March 19 2013). St. Patricks day Brock style. [Image]. http://www.brocku.ca/blogs/futurestudents/2013/03/19/st-patricks-day-brock-style/

More Synthesizing, Remixing, & Creating: Webcasting (Reflection #11)

I cannot believe it, Week 11 down and just one more to go! This week I explored various webcasting tools such as iTunes/Podcast, Soundcloud, Screenr, and Youtube. I have explored all those in the past so navigating through them was simple, however I had never heard of Screenr - which is essentially a screencaster. I thought in order to capture your computer screen on video you would have to download expensive special equipment, but thats not the case thanks to sites like Screenr and Jing. I think screencasters are an excellent tools to include to ones PLE, especially if you are not tech-savvy. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to rely on YouTube and screencastes to fix my computer, to understand how programs work, or even checking out walk-through's of videogames. Screencasts are great for teaching others whether it be for academic or entertainment purposes.

I feel asthough these creative knowledge tools (SoundCloud, Garageband, and Screenr) are different collaborative tools such as GoogleDocs or Evernote due to the fact that they are more intimate based tools. What I mean when I say intimate is that the creative knowledge is typically coming from a single producer. For example a lot of Podcast's have a single host who shares information they are passionate about or are experts in. Creative knowledge tools also tend to not have the same sharing abilities as collaborative tools.  With tools such as Evernote you are able to invite others to edit you work, you cannot do this with most creative tools, the host (or guests) must be present during the recording process.

Throughout this course I have been asked to create multiple web 2.0 tools, all in which have to do with sharing knowledge with the rest of the world wide web; Animoto, Blogger, Pintrest, Twitter, Bubbl.us, etc... By creating multiple pieces and sharing them publically online I have learned the true importance of having a 'clean' digital-footprint as a responsible digitalcitizen and also the fun in communicating with others that share the same interests online and learning from them. With that, I am happy to have had the chance to explore CreativeCommons lisencing, i'm somewhat of a private person so I am relieved to know that if in the future I publish work online I can create a free lisence to protect my work.

On my Feedly a mini article popped up sharing 197 Digital Learning Channels; TEDTalk's, Astronomy, Science, New Station's, or general knowledge videos. I felt that this article was rather relevant for this week's topic, Podcasts or sites like YouTube are advancing when it comes to sharing knowledge. Most universities have lectures posted online for free - what an advantage this generation has at learning more about the world. It's unbelievable: Teaching With Youtube.

Angresultadotcom. YouTube Logo. [Image].  http://media.photobucket.com/user/angresultadotcom/profile. 

Creative Commons Lisence

The Brock Badger by Kylee Clifford is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Synthesizing, Remixing, & Creating (Reflection #10)

In Week 10 of ADED 1P32 our primary focus was to understand Canada's Copyright Act, and how to cite images properly. Our project was to create a slideshow using copyright-friendly images found on various Web 2.0 tools such as Flickr, Creative Commons, and Advanced Google Search. These websites provide free copyright licenses for you to either share your work or use others for educational or reporting purposes.

 I noticed that with online tools such as Animoto with the combination of copyright-friendly images it can create not only educational pieces but more personal shows (be sure to properly reference each image!). Animoto is another online slideshow/movie generator so it is perfect for students creating presentations since they can access their project from any computer, an excellent PLE due to its portability. Students can work stress free knowing that their presentation is saved through the web and will not have to worry about where their USB key went. However, I would not use this tool for Collaborative work, unlike GoogleSlides or Evernote you cannot invite a partner via email to assist in the completion of the show. A group account would have to be created and there would be no history of who changed any content. By creating an image-based presentation I was able to practice citing images properly. I have always been a strong supporter of referencing other peoples work, especially images (since it is not something that is commonly done). Image based 2.0 websites such as Tumblr lack proper imagery citation, now that I know how to reference accurately this will be something that I always do - and hopefully other users will pick up the habit.

I came across an article on my Feedly titled Do Students Understand Plagiarism. At first I was shocked with the amount of students that were caught plagiarizing, but then it had me wondering out of the sum of students cheating, how many of them truly just did not know how to cite accurately. The article did not say, but I am aware of how often citation formats (APA, MLA) change, it makes me wonder if in some cases just a couple of students genuinely made an error. Let me know what you think :)

Dombers, Christopher. (9 June, 2011). The battle of copyright. [image]. http://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:THE_BATTLE_OF_COPYRIGHT.jpg

My Animoto Slideshow

My slideshow in regards to Digital Citizenship and understanding Copyright rules was created on Animoto, an online tool which allows you to create videos or slideshows with the option of adding audio. By using Animoto I have learned the importance of leaving a positive Footprint as a Digital Citizen. Through my exploration of various Web 2.0 tools such as Creative Commons (which provides users with images that the creators have allowed others to use without direct permission, or in other words Fair Dealing). Using an image is fine as long as you make reference to it's creator. This demonstrates online netiquette by respecting the digital rights of other users; the creator allowed their image or textual content to be used for educational purposes or news reporting.
If the creator has placed a license on their work, in Canada under the Copyrights Act, it is said that you need permission of use or duplication of work.

Enclosed is my presentation:

Collective Knowledge Building (Reflection #9)

The primary focus of Week 9 was engaging conversation in blogs to gain more experience in collective knowledge building. I had never heard of VoiceThread until this week, while exploring the site I couldn't help but notice how it shares similar qualities to GoogleDocs/ Slides. The primary difference is that with VoiceThread you are able to leave audio,video, and text responses whereas with GoogleDocs/Slides only has the texting feature. To be honest, I don't see VoiceThread being a tool that I would add to my PLN unless it was necessary, since I don't not like being recorded online (It is a little out of my comfort zone so I wouldn't want that to effect my Digital Footprint) I would choose GoogleDocs as my PLN as I am more familiar with it.

What's good about VoiceThread having the ability to post audio/video responses is that it can create a more intimate setting when it comes to education and collaborative work. It can give you the chance to "meet up" with partners online to work on a presentation if for any reason there is a conflict. Another bonus is that VoiceThread has an app so you can send audio clips from your phone if you have to. This grants you the ability to access your collaborative work almost anywhere providing you with new knowledge gained from your partners in your VoiceThread.

This week I learned something about my own Technological Rights as a digital citizen. I am uncomfortable video recording myself and having the video online, I guess you could say I'm shy and am also sensitive about my Digital Footprint. So when we were asked to explore VoiceThread It was a relief to see that a recording response was not necessary, I enjoyed how my rights were respected. If I had to post a video response of myself it would be interesting to watch because I would not feel comfortable and would not be my true myself, in turn effecting my Digital Footprint negatively.

So Spring is finally here! And do you know what that means? Spring allergies, and this season is going to be rough according to CBS Article: Sneeze, Wheeze, & Itch... Timing couldn't be better right? Especially with finals just around the corner, how inconvenient. So remember: wash your hands as often as you can, avoid touching your eyes, nose, wear sunglasses to protect your eyes and be sure to stock up on nasal spray.

Technology Use Scenario #11

Mrs Smith believes she is savvy on the computer, shes been using them for 5 years and regularly in class. Mrs. Smith receives an anonymous email but opens it anyways. Once opened, an advertisement appeared for a free gift, but Mrs. Smith ignores and deletes the email. Days past and Mrs. Smith notices her Internet browser is running a lot slower than normal so she scans the computer with an anti virus program. Mrs. Smith soon finds out that her computer has a virus and determines that it came from the anonymous email she opened. 

It is surprising that someone who had worked with computers for five years would be uneducated about viruses and how they spread. Mrs. Smith did not use her email appropriately, in fact what she did was rather risky. Depending on how much Mrs. Smith relied on her computer, she could have a lot of private information stored on the hard drive which could easily be invaded by a virus. Mrs. Smith, or any computer/Internet user needs to understand the importance of knowing who does and does not have your email address and be familiar with your contacts. Just like adding a number to a cellphone you can add an email address to your online address book and then edit the contacts information accordingly.

One thing Mrs. Smith had done correctly was recognizing that her computer was not running normally so she ran an anti virus scan. If you are going to be using the Internet it is highly recommended that you download a reliable anti virus program, this protects all your personal and valuable information from hackers.  Take for example this article from Newyork Times, a group of Cybercrimminals were able to hack into the bank's software using a virus  (or malware) and steal $300 million dollars. Computer users need to understand that there are such things as viruses and Cybercrimminals and it is very possible for someone to hack into your computer and obtain your bank information. Be aware of anonymous emails, especially if they are offering you something for free. If you keep on receiving spam either block that address or report them.