Blog 4 Digital Student

For my final blog post I'd like to examine an interesting, perhaps curious development in my academic career. The realization of this development occurred on Wednesday afternoon in EDER 671 when as class we prepared to complete the course and instructor evaluations. I didn't have a pen... at all! I had to borrow a pen to complete the evaluations. The epiphany came to me that I crossed over into the digital realm not somewhat, but completely. This wasn't a sudden transformation by any stretch of the imagination, rather a process that I can recall began in the 2007/2008 school year. My school that year received Smart Boards and Notebook software packages in each classroom. I also began to use Gmail and the early Google Doc applications that were available. Over the course of the past four years I've built up my digital portfolio to also include several Web 2.0 tools and most recently emerging cloud applications. What I'd like to do is examine some of the key elements of my paperless academic career and how I've used them as a student.

I've created an ecosystem of devices comprised of my iPhone, iPad, Macbook Air and iMac. The ironic thing for me is that I've only been using Apple products for the last two years. I started with the iMac, then Macbook Air, then iPhone and finally the iPad. I find Apple has an effective, flexible operating system with quality hardware that frees me to concentrate on content.

(Apple screen capture) Edited by Lee Brentnell Retrieved July 14, 2011 from http://store.apple.com/ca/

(Evernote screen capture) Retrieved July 14, 2011 from http://www.evernote.com/

I've found Evernote an effective simple to use note-taking application that syncs to multiple devices, the cloud and most importantly saves offline versions of files. I was able to setup a tag system based on the attributes of that file. Below here is a screen shot of my Evernote iPad app taken from my iPhone then posted on my blog using my Macbook (An Apple Ecosystem)

Dropbox is another cloud application that serves as a storage service across multiple devices. I currently have 56 GB of storage space synced between my Imac, Macbook, iPhone, iPad, older Ipod Touch (backup) and my school desktop. In doing group work I've setup Dropbox between group members to share files

(Dropbox screen capture) Retrieved July 14, 2011 from https://www.dropbox.com/

(Google Docs screen capture) Retrieved July 14, 2011 from https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=writely&passive=1209600&continue=https://docs.google.com/&followup=https://docs.google.com/&ltmpl=homepage

I've used Google Docs to setup shared folders for group work and to do my assignments, Tasks to keep track of meetings and Google Calendars to remind me of important dates (I use text message and email reminders of events)

(Goodreader screen capture) Retrieved July 14, 2011 from http://www.goodreader.net/goodreader.html

Goodreader is an iPad PDF reader with the ability to annotate and additionally syncs with my Mobileme, Dropbox and Google Doc accounts. I've found this app invaluable in completing readings and sharing files I've highlighted with other students.

(Delicious screen capture) Retrieved July 14, 2011 from http://www.delicious.com/

Delicious is a bookmarking service that I've been using for a couple of years. I have Delicious integrated into my Chrome browser and as a stand alone App on my iPad. Currently I have around 2500 bookmarks in 115 tagged categories. Delicious has been invaluable in doing research and organizing information for classes. Below here is a screenshot from of my iPad Delicious App (from my iPhone)

(Flipboard screen capture) Retrieved July 14, 2011 from http://flipboard.com/

Flipboard is an iPad app that has changed the way that I read. Flipboard takes RSS, website, Google Reader and Twitter feeds then displays them as an interactive magazine. From here I can tag articles and information for later use. Currently I have 70 Google Reader feeds, 60 Twitter feeds and close to a dozen newspaper and websites updating 24/7. I find invaluable information through flipboard which I use to enhance my course readings and teaching practice. Below here is a screen shot of Flipboard on my iPad.

(Twitter screen capture) Retrieved July 14, 2011 from http://twitter.com/

I only started to use Twitter at Christmas when my Uncle, who is a teacher in Saskatchewan explained how he uses it as a professional development resource. From his demonstration I've turned twitter into a professional learning network of over 60 teachers, educators and educational reformers. I've recently begun to explore the use of Twitter in the classroom, as I'm becoming more familiar with this technology.

These are the major elements of educational technology that have enabled me to become a digital learner. As I progress through the Master of Educational Technology program I hope to enable my teaching peers to do travel down their own digital paths.

Thanks,

Lee

References

(Apple screen capture) Edited by Lee Brentnell Retrieved July 14, 2011 fromhttp://store.apple.com/ca/

(Delicious screen capture) Retrieved July 14, 2011 from http://www.delicious.com/

(Dropbox screen capture) Retrieved July 14, 2011 from https://www.dropbox.com/

(Evernote screen capture) Retrieved July 14, 2011 from http://www.evernote.com/

(Flipboard screen capture) Retrieved July 14, 2011 from http://flipboard.com/

(Goodreader screen capture) Retrieved July 14, 2011 from http://www.goodreader.net/goodreader.html

(Google Docs screen capture) Retrieved July 14, 2011 from https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin? service=writely&passive=1209600&continue=https://docs.google.com/&followup=https://docs.google.com/&ltmpl=homepage

(Twitter screen capture) Retrieved July 14, 2011 from http://twitter.com/