Note Taking Has Evolved From Just Pen on Paper

Dyslexia is a disorder that affects nearly one in every ten people in the world. For those that are unaware, dyslexia makes it difficult for people to read and write letters and words and sometimes numbers. Pocket recently released an update to their app that allows users support for the font Dyslexie. This font makes subtle changes to letters and numbers to make it easier for those who suffer from dyslexia to be able to differentiate between them and prevent confusion.

Characters in the Dyslexie font are different than normal characters because some have slanted parts, some are slanted entirely, there is more spacing, letters have different heights, among other changes.

Many students today have used Google Docs at one point in their educational career. It is set up very similar to Microsoft Word, and many have used it to work on group projects or just to take notes. Microsoft also offers OneNote, which is similar to Google Docs, but also very different. For one, Google Docs, as previously stated, is set up similarly to Microsoft Word; it sets up like a piece of paper, it has edges and limits until you start a new page. However, OneNote has an infinite canvas that expands more and more as you use it. OneNote is like a notebook, and less like a file; however it can be a file. Also, OneNote does not require internet access, where Google Docs does, unless steps are taken beforehand. Finally, OneNote is not limited to typed text; you can use a stylus to write within the document.

Address books save the people you've met in alphabetical order, but that isn't a natural way to remember people. Your brain doesn't remember things alphabetically and neither should your software. Evernote Hello is a new way to store and remember people you've met. Instead of saving someone's name, it saves the time you met them. You can get a picture of the person and store their information; then, everyone is shown in a digital mosaic of their image arranged by when you met them, where you were, and what you were doing. This new way of organization will help remember people you've, who you were with and what you were talking about. It's a more natural and easier way of remembering that will benefit all.

Chapter two of "The Connected Educator" focuses on developing a connected learning model. These connected learning communities consist of Professional Learning Communities (PLC), Personal Learning Networks (PLN), and Communities of Practice (CoP). A professional learning community for a school would consist of the teachers, administrators, students, and parents; these communities are all about continuous improvement, shared leadership, and reform. Everything is interconnected and everyone works together. The next step is a community of practice, which would consist of other teachers not at the school and special interest groups; these communities have a common interest and strive to achieve their goal together. Finally, a personal learning network connects you to the rest of the world; users share their thoughts and experiences to get feedback from everyone around the world who share an interest in the same topic. In all, connected learning communities are the new model of 21st century professional development, and they enable individual educators to create their own online learning networks of local and global colleagues.

Every Click You Take... Someone's Watching You

In class last week, we spent the first part of class talking about different forms of social media and how they are and are not beneficial to use in a professional setting. Unbeknownst to most, social media is much more than a time-waster; it plays a huge role for businesses to expand and grow. We also spent some time speaking with Cameron Brenchley, Vice President at Collaborative Communications Group, through Google Hangouts. Cameron gave us a general overview of his work, but then spoke to us about the importance of a positive digital footprint. He also mentioned the importance of social media and how to connect with professionals in our field to benefit ourselves in the future.

Many people think what they do or say on the internet will have no affect on their life outside of the web, but this video on digital baggage proves otherwise. All anyone needs to is search you name to see what you have been saying on social media, and if you post inappropriate material, it can really hinder your chances of getting hired. An interviewer can search you during an interview while asking questions, and even if the interview is going great, if you have a poor image online, you might as well kiss your chances at landing that job goodbye.

When most think of Snapchat, they assume there is no benefit for businesses to use it. Although you cannot share things on Snapchat like you would on Facebook and Twitter, you can use Snapchat to give a live look-in on what you are up to, which can be beneficial to businesses on many fronts. Here you can see how Snapchat can be used to further your career. In short, it's a great, new tool that you can use to seek out potential employers, give a look at your life, or make your résumé a "story".

As the years progress, so does our use of social media; we're using it more than ever! However, we need to be even more careful as technology advances because as social media is getting easy to use and easier to share, it is also getting easier for people to steal your identity. Joe Ross shares his views on thinking twice on what you share through social media. In summary he warns on oversharing, sharing location, knowing what to say, cyber-bullying, and scamming. View his full article here.

Chapter one of "Untangling the Web" focuses on curation tools, which are the tools used to establish, maintain, and add value to repositories of digital data for present and future use. The chapter tells us about the past of sharing resources and how it wasn't used much in the past because of how arduous it was for all involved. After blogs were first introduced, Joshua Schechter founded Del.icio.us to enable people to save their bookmarks and share them with others. Tools like Delicious and Diigo allowed users to collect, organize, and share what they found online. These changes made sharing much more personalized, but less private in turn. Today, curation has evolved far beyond just a list of links. It has become less of a "which tool should I use to share" because that question is like asking what car brand is best, it's different for every person. Three of the best curation tools out there today include: Symbaloo, Diigo, and eduClipper. Check them all out and see what's best for you!

No Matter The Question, Google Has The Answer

Language barriers are a huge reason people are hesitant to travel, but Google is trying to change that. Google is updating its Google Translate app to make traveling and communicating easier than ever. The new update will allow you to translate printed text by using your phone's camera, and you don't even need an internet or data connection to do so! You will be able to translate between English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. In addition to the translation of printed text, Google Translate will be able to translate full conversations as they happen; just choose the two languages being used and Google will do the rest. Before, you had to translate between each phrase, but the update greatly improved this feature for travelers and anyone else who will use it. More languages will be available in the future as well.

As technology advances, it is getting easier and easier to communicate, share, and collaborate from anywhere with anyone. Especially in classrooms, students are working together even more than ever before. Google unveiled Google Drive (formerly Google Docs) nearly ten years ago, and since then it has evolved to an extremely helpful tool. However, there is much to Google Drive that many do not know or completely understand. David Chartier set up a list of tips to get the most out of Google Drive, including: searching by person, saving directly to Drive from the Web, and working in over sixty languages, among many others.

Along with Google's updating their translate app and Google Drive, Google recently introduced Google Hangouts, a communication platform that combined the features of several previous Google services, such as Google Talk, Google+ Messenger, and the Hangouts of Google+. Google Hangouts offers a free way to broadcast live to YouTube, which opens up many possible opportunities for yourself. These possibilities include becoming a TV producer, reviewing products, broadcasting a conference live, or interviewing celebrities. Also, minutes after a live broadcast, a recording is saved on YouTube for anyone to see whenever they want! Don Crowther released a Google Hangout Broadcast on how to use Google Hangout to build and grow your business. 

The Power of Twitter

My name is John Matthew Helmandollar, but I have been known as Matt my whole life. I am currently a sophomore at Stockton University, and I am a Business major with a concentration in Accounting. I am partaking in the dual-degree program at Stockton where I will be able to earn my Masters in Business-Accounting in five years. I am a member of Stockton’s Accounting and Finance Society on campus. I plan on taking the CPA exam after I graduate to become a Certified Public Accountant, which is my plan to work after graduation.

Chapter Six of "The Connected Educator" focuses on building your connected learning community. When it comes to starting your personal learning (PLN), there are many platforms to choose from; you can use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Google+, among many others. Finding a mentor can really help when it comes to starting your PLN. Also, you need to know who you should follow for your particular purpose. You should look into each person you are thinking of following to see if they will actually aid you in expanding your PLN. It is tough to maintain a stable relationship with more than 150 people; however, using lists can make it easier to maintain many people by putting them in categories of certain topics that will make it easier to know what is going on and where. Overall, you need to follow the right people, be patient, and get involved if you want your PLN to grow to the greatest of its ability. You must evolve over time and adjust to what is happening so you can stay relevant and up to date in all the current trends. 

The video on why you should use twitter made me realize that other people felt the same was a I did. Eric Sheninger, the principal of New Milford high school stated that he thought Twitter was a "useless, meaningless, time-waster," and, up until recently, I still thought it was used mostly as a time-waster; I was unaware of exactly how much professionals used and relied on Twitter to convey information. I was able to see how you can use Twitter professionally to help yourself and/or your organization grow.

Steven Hughes gives insight in his article about how to gain Twitter followers that are actual users. He recommends users who wish to gain followers to do several things: set a profile picture, tweet often, follow the right people, retweet and mention people, utilize lists, and be patient. Personally, I am not an avid Twitter user, so I did not realize that gaining followers is as easy as Hughes shows. As long as you remain patient with Twitter and are consistent with tweets and everything else, your network will grow and grow.

When it comes to Twitter, if you are following hundreds of people and organizations, your Twitter feed is going to be full of tweets and it will be very difficult to see everything, and because of all these tweets, you may miss important things that you would like to not miss out on. Twitter lists are a great way to follow a lot of people and still have the capability of seeing everything you want to see on Twitter. Twitter lists are a perfect way to break up who you are following on Twitter into specific categories that will help you find what tweets you want when you want to.