It's official...

 

I know I haven't shared much of myself personally this semester. But I just wanted to say congrats to everyone who graduated today!!!

We have all worked so hard this semester, and throughout this program, so this day was well deserved. I feel I've accomplished so much more this time around. I know I'm walking away with more job readiness than I did last time. I'm not as lost. I might not have a game plan or job offer, but I have a purpose and a sense of fulfillment that I know where to start. 

I'm excited to further my journey by building up my personal learning network. I'm excited to go to bed before midnight. I'm excited to finally be a Florida State Alum. It's a great day to be a 'Nole!

F-L-O-R-I-D-A! S-T-A-T-E! FLORIDA STATE! FLORIDA STATE! FLORIDA STATE! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Job Titles

As we prepare for the real-world, post-graduate school, let us take a minute to wonder why it is so difficult to understand job titles.  Take this one I ran across today.

Academic Analyst.

The advertisement stated to pick up a copy of the job description from the local school board office.

Umm... ok. That's great. But maybe could I get just a smidge of an idea of what this job is? Because in the world of education, that is a very vague job title. 

Did you know that when I Googled that position just as it was written, seven different job titles were pulled up on page 1 of Google. Seven. Sette. Siete. I don't know any other languages but that's just crazy. 

Why do we make it so difficult for potential candidates looking for positions? Can there not be a universal language for job titles.. a singular bank of terms we pull from with a limited combination? Is that too much to ask?  Am I still on a sleep-deprived, energy-drink-fueled rant? Does this bother literally anyone else on the planet or am I the only one being sensitive to the subject? Bueller? Bueller?

Anyways, seeing as how I wasn't job hunting today and just happened to run across it, I haven't gotten my answers. So, sorry for anyone that reads this and is looking for a resolution, because you won't find that here. Unfortunately, I gotta leave you on a cliffhanger, kind of like

Canva Tutorial

For the Produsage Assignment, I had high hopes of completing the full version. But alas, my time management skills got the better of me (largely due to life) and I ended up only completing the concept version. My goal was to create a space and facilitate training on the use of the Web 2.0 tool Canva - a tool that it seems a lot of our classmates previously stated they were unfamiliar with. 

Since I didn't get the chance to see that to fruition, I thought I'd post a little snapshot of what could have been.... sigh.

The first tutorial was going to be on how to create a simple infographic using a Canva template.  I chose to record a video of myself creating an infographic using a screen recording program so users could follow along in real-time.

https://canvas.fsu.edu/courses/15/external_tools/25

I created it and I think I did a great job (not to toot my own horn)... but Kaltura is being mean and Canvas is supporting that decision so I can't download the video. I've been trying for 45 minutes. If I can ever get it to cooperate, I'll come back and upload it. 

So for now, just trust I made it, maybe you can access it through the above link but I doubt it since it's on Canvas. Enjoy the final product shown below :)

After that video, I would've created a second showing how to generate GIFs in Canva and other designs. Then assignments would have followed for the students to create their own and post them on the class page and Pinterest. It was a bit ambitious as I would have had to make all of the student examples as well as my own, but I was kind of looking forward to it since Canva is so fun to play with. But alas (guess I'm channeling my inner Capt. Blackbeard today), it wasn't meant to be. 

Out of curiosity, do you think this would have been a helpful resource for grad students in the ISLT program? 

Reflection

This was a very, very, very long week.

I was so happy about the respite last week. So very thankful. It was just the rest I needed heading into this week. Our church had our MEGA Sports Camp (Vacation Bible School) this week. We do ours at night so that the volunteers don't have to take off work.... which is great. Except that now I'm going to work at 6am, then straight to VBS, getting home at 9:30pm, getting the kids settled, and then trying to get some studying finished.  Whew!

Then there were other things that weren't so great this week. Needless to say, finding time for anything has been hard. So that respite week was perfectly timed.

I'm glad there were only a few readings this week and the normal blog and participation requirements. It was a good balance for me with everything else going on. 

But I am ready to get back in the swing of things. I'm excited about the new project management tools we learned about this week and I plan on trying them out to see how they work for me in the real world this week. We don't have much longer in this course and I'm curious to see just how many more Web 2.0 tools there are out there to discover.

The most important thing I've learned is it's okay to give yourself a break. The competitive side of me wanted to do everything all the time. I learned I had to allow myself time to step back when I needed to and allow myself a mental break or digital detox. It's very easy to get lost in this social media world, especially when you're not used to being in it at all.

Badge Update!

It's so nice to see the fruits of our labor. I've had fun in this class, even though I am thoroughly exhausted. Seeing these badges gives me a sense of pride and reminds me that all of the efforts I've been putting in were for a reason.  It's easy to forget that when you feel like you're just playing on social media on reading fiction novels (that's been my favorite challenge so far). 

I'm going to update the Badges page of the blog, but I thought I'd share a screenshot of the newly released round of badges that were just sent out.

I really want to utilize this motivation technique in the workplace. I'm not quite sure how this would fit in at my current workplace. But I see the merit in other career positions. 

Seeing these has also given me a renewed sense of accomplishment to finish out the semester. Good luck everyone!

Trello Review

I enjoyed exploring the tools this week in the course, Trello especially. I'm always looking for ways to improve my productivity and help keep myself organized. I like Kanban-style to-do lists and lately, I've been using OneNote - but I've not fully utilized it as I could.

While playing around with Trello, I realized that the ability to use the Kanban method with the drag-and-drop ability of the cards and boards is something my brain has been looking for. It makes it feel like the tactile version of using post-it notes, without wasting all of the paper.

The board menu is very nice as it contains a lot of information. That is something that is lacking in a lot of other project management products. Once you make the task or assignment, you can add descriptions and instructions for team members who might be unaware of what that specific task entails.

Trello also has a lot of templates. Scrolling through, I found one for learning a language. It is set up for a person that is working on learning a foreign language to show a to-do list of creating a daily schedule, choosing a language, completing assignments, etc.  I thought this was pretty nifty as I want to get back into my studies of learning Italian. I think I'm going to use this template and help it to drive how to start getting back into that routine.

While I still plan on using OneNote (because it has all of my training notes stored in it), I do plan on trying out Trello this week at work to see if it is something that would be helpful to my processes, or just something that adds another step. That's the great thing about this course. We're being introduced to so many different tools that we can try and if they work, great! If not, we just keep doing what we're doing.

Blog Makeover

 Lucky me that this challenge came up because I was already planning on doing this anyway :)

Seeing everyone else's blogs so well put together, made me want to redo a few things on mine. 

I like the way the posts flow all on one page. So, that was where I started. I went to the templates and picked a whole new setup. I found one where the posts would stay in chronological order and you could read them from the home page. 

I also wanted to be able to add widgets and other features. I kept that in mind when looking at the templates and made sure the one I chose had the ability to utilize columns. I wanted a smoother, more seamless look from the bulky kind of look my blog was giving in the beginning. I also wanted the ability to add on with everything else we are doing in class.

Here are the before photos.

The colors are off-putting and everything just seems clunky. There is not a lot of room to expand on new items from the course.

Here is the after:

I made the colors and font crisper and clearer. I integrated widgets along the side to show how many views on the blog there are. I also added links to other social media accounts, since that's what this course is all about. I also expanded the labels so they are no longer hidden in a drop-down box. Although, clearly I need to be better about tagging my posts. 

Overall, I am very happy with the changes and I plan to continue making tweaks to the blog throughout the course as I become more comfortable with the platform and everything it entails. Let me know what you think!

Respite Week - Hallelujah

 Is anyone else out there starting to feel the burnout?

Okay, maybe burnout is too strong a word. But, I'm definitely starting to slow down a bit. I can definitely tell I've been more focused on doing my own studies, like SkillShare and LinkedIn Learning - playing around with the different tools, as opposed to actual interaction with classmates. 

I think that's one of the norms we discussed several weeks ago. 

We as a class definitely hit the ground running. Personally, this is my last semester in the program and I think I'm just so excited to be nearing the finish line that I didn't pace myself. Now, I'm looking at being unbalanced. People in life asking how I'm spending more time in this one class than I did in two classes last semester. 

I've never been obsessed with social media... but here, I'm constantly getting notifications on my watch and phone and computer. It's surrounding me all of the time. 

It's no wonder these kids are so heavily influenced by it. There's just information being pushed at them all hours of the day. There are no breaks. Here I am, typing out three blog posts on a Sunday night because by the time I've finished the 'participation' portion of my social media work, my brain is toast. 

I've said all that to say, I am definitely learning. 100%. I don't regret this course at all. I have found some great tools that I didn't even know existed and look forward to learning more about them to implement them in future endeavors. 

But to quote the late, great Michael Clarke Duncan (as said by his character in The Green Mile) "I'm tired, Boss". 

So, hallelujah for a respite week. 

This post is more journal-esque than others.... but I felt it needed to be said.

Social Media and Fiction

🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑Spoilers Ahead🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑🛑

For the Goodreads challenge, I read the book Tweet Cute by Emma Lord.  This book is a YA romance novel that is all about social media. Two high school students are involved in their parents' businesses by helping run their Twitter campaigns. These students, develop this deep relationship that turns into much more (as these stories often do). There's also a side plot of another phone-based app that connects these two students anonymously, while they're building a relationship.  The story ends as most of these YA novels often do. The ups and downs turn into a young romance that we see come to fruition.

Honestly, these types of novels aren't my favorite, because they tend to have too much "romance" in them for the age category being written about. I was very happy to see that there was not an abundance of PDA or sexual scenarios, considering the characters in the novel are high school students. 

It seems the author really did her research into the Twitter platform before writing this book. She used a lot of terminology and had the characters discussing different social media strategies. Even though this was a fiction novel, I enjoyed seeing these strategies "implemented" and what the outcomes were. 

This author did a great job with the character development and I'd be really interested to see what other kind of books she writes. If you're interested her information, I've linked it below.

Twitter: @dilemmalord

Goodreads: Emma Lord

Tweet Cute is available on Kindle Unlimited or for purchase on Amazon.

Days of the Week Twitter Challenge

 #SumItUpSunday

Whew... This was a long week on Twitter... Don't get me wrong. I usually take time every day to scroll through the feed and interact by liking or commenting. 

But coming up with content to post every day was kind of exhausting on top of keeping up with everything else. It was a lot of fun seeing what everyone else came up with - especially those #tbt. 

I started my week off a day late with the #MemeMonday challenge. I don't generally log in on Mondays because it's by far my busiest day at work. It often carries over into home so I take what little time I do have and spend it with family. So, when I logged in Tuesday and saw the challenge, I went ahead and double-posted to make up for it.

I might be a day late... but at least I'm not a dollar short!#MemeMonday #EME6414 pic.twitter.com/48Rx3KA1cA

— Christine Wise (@23christinewise) June 14, 2023

My #ToolboxTuesday post is all about Canva. This tool is great because you can make so many designs for so many different types of media, even on the free version.

#EME6414 #ToolboxTuesday Just like @GabHaggins,
Canva is my go-to online tool!! I use it to create graphics for personal, academic, and internship use. It's so user-friendly and I have apps on my laptop, phone, and web browser. That's where my Twitter header and pic came from!

— Christine Wise (@23christinewise) June 14, 2023

#WonderingWednesday had me asking for advice on creating more interactive educational videos. This is one of my weaker areas that I'm trying to improve! 

#EME6414 #WonderingWednesday Best tools/apps for vlogging/creating educational videos on YouTube? wanna be a touch more interactive than screen recording with narration, without paying for Articulate or Captivate.

— Christine Wise (@23christinewise) June 14, 2023

One of my favorite hashtags is #tbt! I love the nostalgia of going back in time and seeing the Nintendos, hit clips, and flip phones :) 

#eme6414 #tbt anybody use Yahoo Messenger back in the day or was it just me?! Image retrieved from: https://t.co/TDZzVwFqJQ pic.twitter.com/VD6bsuU6EA

— Christine Wise (@23christinewise) June 16, 2023

I was most proud of my #FollowFriday. Not only is this an amazing account that everyone should follow, but I even got a retweet and a follow back!! If only I was on my own account and not my pseudonym for this class! 

#EME6414 #FollowFriday My recommended account is @TCEA. This is a non-profit whose goal is to advance teaching/learning through tech... and they are always posting some great content to be transferred to the classroom or for IDers!

— Christine Wise (@23christinewise) June 16, 2023

My #ShoutoutSaturday went to @GabHaggins because I'm only slightly (don't look at me) jealous of how well she tweets. 

#eme6414 #ShoutoutSaturday goes to @GabHaggins! You've shared great content and I love your use of emojis. I'm still stuck in the basic smiley faces 🤣 I feel I have a lot to learn from your tweets!

— Christine Wise (@23christinewise) June 17, 2023

I had a lot of fun this week on Twitter. I also did a few other things that I'll post about later when I have time. #TTYL #SLFN (that's a little #tbt for ya - even on a Sunday) 

I had Lasik surgery yesterday....

 It was an eye-opening experience.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I'm so sorry... I just had to. Why you may ask? Why did I make you endure an awful pun? Glad you asked.

Today, I made a 'Vision Board' on Pinterest... see what I did there?

BTW.. I didn't actually have Lasik so don't come for me. I do want it though and really need it.😳

Pinterest has always been my favorite social media platform.. and my least favorite. This is the one I can spend the most time on. For nothing. I can literally (and that's not a misuse of the word) spend hours upon hours just scrolling and saving pins to various boards. Anything from future home build plans to makeup and hairstyles, to dinner recipes, or educational resources. Pinterest is my go-to. 

When my daughter was diagnosed with Celiac disease, I ran to Pinterest first for gluten-free recipes and tips. 

When I wanted to get back in the gym, I went to none other than Pinterest for workout recommendations. 

When I wanted to style my living room furniture, Pinterest was my first stop.

Whatever the need, Pinterest always seems to have the answer. Even if I just want some funny quotes or serious quotes or Bible quotes, Pinterest has that, too.

I have very rarely, probably less than five times in all honesty, pinned anything from the internet myself. There is an extension for Google Chrome where you can pin something that you find online and create your own pin. This is a way of social bookmarking. Generally, I search within Pinterest itself for what I need and there are so many items already bookmarked and generated in this site, that I don't need to source my own material.

That's what I did today with the vision board. Click here to go to Pinterest and see what my dream home office would look like.

Here's a sample of one of my favorites!!

If you'd like to see the pin I made, you can follow this link, or go to my blog post here!