Ryan Morrow

A New Road Travelled

Category: Digital Skills

Blogging…. Narrating U

September 8, 2018 / / 0 Comments

While the idea of developing a blog is not high on my list of go to activities, it has been interesting to be exposed to the elements of WordPress.  Developing systems for organizing time,  and information at the outset of this leadership program is certainly going to be beneficial.

Some of the challenges that are I currently have as I consider the structure of the blog lie around limited skill set and not knowing what is ahead.  Neither of these things can be solved in the short term and it has been beneficial to see other blog examples to look for possible structures.  I know that as I practice and as this course and the next ones unfold, the structural requirements will become more clear and I may need to make adjustments to the structure to improve the function.

I have decided to create a few pages that will provided a home for some of the areas that I expect to learn about along the way: a place to collect online tool links that may be useful in the future, a place to collect valuable quotations, information about myself, life outside of school and the main blog page.

As it has been suggested, using categories as a  means to sort blog posts seems to be the most functional way to  and organize posts. I am realizing the static nature of the pages and how they are to be used and how that is contrasted by the more fluid nature of the blog post stream.

I have appreciated following the blog of an American colleague over time to help with my understanding of how a blog can be well used.

 

Focus – Annotating U

September 8, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Keep them focused! Incorporating technology into the learning environment is now common practice. Technology provides unlimited resources,  student support and effective organization of student work, it also provides distraction.  Students can at times get lost down a rabbit trail following one piece of information to the next just as adults often do.  Using an extension like Hypothesis keeps students working in an enclosed area where they are less likely to wander.  This will help them practice effective digital time management and focus.

Using Hypothesis helps students stay focused in another manner as well.  By focusing on a single article, or other piece of information, students can learn to comment in a concise and articulate manner while maintaining both voice and choice in their decision making about their topic.

Finally this extension will help them to focus on the thoughts of others.  Students are so focused on themselves as they curate the most polished representation of  how they wish to be seen through their involvement with social media.  Working in a digital environment where the goal is to consider, value, and respond to others will help them to see their digital footprint and online voice and interaction in a new way.

Developing digital skills and improving student focus and time management could all be accomplished through the use of this extension.  It would be great to try with students.

 

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