Regarding the use of Twitter, from a work standpoint, I would use it to share ideas with colleagues in similar positions to exchange information or obtain answers to questions. I’ve already started following some technology accounts such as Tech Crunch and Read/Write in order to get started.  From a personal standpoint, I would use Twitter to follow things that I’m interested in.  For example, I like to walk for fitness, so I would follow accounts like Women’s Health, Livestrong, and Discovery Health in order to get new ideas about health and wellness, and nutrition.

I think that Twitter’s strengths are that there are so many different categories of topics for people to follow.  It’s an easy and quick way to communicate with others about the everyday things that go on in people’s lives, or to get information quickly.  One of Twitters weaknesses that I can see would be that there are a lot of people out there who might not give a hoot about what kind of a day I had, or that I just bought a new pair of shoes I really like.

The link to my Twitter account is https://twitter.com/Zak56

Colleen Zak - How I’m Going to Start my PLN

How I’m Going to Start my PLN

First of all, I wanted to find out what a PLN is and why I should start one.  One definition is that it’s a social network that you can use to make new connections with others to strengthen your learning process.   You make a connection with other people with the end game being to learn something or many things through these connections.

How am I going to build mine?  To start with, I’m going to look for blogs that are written about what I want to learn.  You can post your own blogs, as well as comment on other’s blogs. 

I’m going to try to find, and then join personal learning networks that people with interests similar to mine would be frequenting.

I’m going to use Twitter more often to follow people that are writing or posting about the things that I want to learn.

I will check Linked In more often to find out what people in my line of work are doing on a regular basis.

I’ve already joined Pinterest and I’m checking it regularly to see what others are liking, reading or learning about, or what they’re watching on YouTube.

What will a PLN do for me?

It will help me improve and develop my skills beyond what I could learn in the workplace. I already use Google and YouTube on a regular basis to find answers I need to questions I have on the job, I plan to use social networking more to develop this PLN and find some of the answers I’ve been seeking.

After searching through numerous sites to find out how to start a PLN and how to do it, I came across the following site which I found extremely helpful:

http://www.edudemic.com/build-personal-learning-network/

The gentleman who wrote the article, Eric Patnoudes, makes some excellent points in his video such as:

No one is to get anywhere waiting for someone to do something for us – we need to find the answers ourselves.

What if the go-to person you’re learning from leaves?  That happens all the time – we need other sources to find answers.

Chapter 2 Browsing the Web

One of the items I found most interesting while reading Chapter 2 was the “shopping safely online” part.  All too often these days, we hear of many instances of identity theft, such as credit card information being stolen from individuals. 

Viruses are another danger when using computers.  Many people do not keep their virus subscriptions up to date, or even run an occasional scan.  A huge hint that your computer might be infected is when it starts to slow down, or it can take the form of a home page hijacking, and prevent your computer from accessing any other site but the one that comes up when you open a browser.  It’s difficult to stay ahead of hackers that want to do harm to your computer and its files.

There were a few other things in Chapter 2 that I had not come across before when using browsers. One thing I never really knew a lot about was the tracking protection lists, and that you can allow or block certain web sites.  This was something I never really explored, but as soon as I read this chapter, I went in and made changes to all three browsers that I currently use.  I also never knew that I could “opt out” of certain web sites in order to make sure that those companies were not collecting data about me.

In the last module, we talked about net neutrality and keeping the web open and unregulated, but it can be dangerous because it is unprotected.  Many times over the years, I worried what our three kids were viewing on the Internet, or who they might be in contact with through their use of the Internet.  There are safeguards available out there such as firewalls, and software like Net Nanny, but parents need to have eyes wide open, and be more aware of what their children are doing on a computer every day.

The Internet is certainly a wonderful item that we have access to, and I’d be lost without it, but it can be also have its drawbacks when used by the unscrupulous who want to do harm to others.  All in all, this was a very enlightening chapter.

 

  

Net Neutrality Wordle

Net Neutrality Assignment

The concept of net neutrality thus far has meant that there are no restrictions of any kind on the Internet.  It has guaranteed that there are no slow-downs in data uploads or downloads, and that no content on the web will be blocked.  It also says that ISPs should not be able to restrict or discriminate against any type of Internet user, and every Web site and Web searcher will be treated equally.

For the most part, I am totally against regulations that would jeopardize net neutrality. If net neutrality gets voted down, a possible occurrence could be that there will be tiered data plans for Internet usage, similar to the tiered plans for data that were introduced into the cell phone world.  A few years ago, when I bought my first smartphone, the plan I had gave me unlimited data.  I have resisted upgrading my smartphone for the last 3 years because when I do, I will be forced to choose one of those tiered data plans. I don’t like the idea of someone telling me what I should or should not do when downloading or uploading data to my phone.

As far as businesses are concerned, I don’t think I would like it even if large corporations like Netflix were charged more money for their Internet access. Netflix seems to be one of the first in line that is going to be affected by the change in net neutrality that took place on January 16^th of this year.  From what I’ve read about net neutrality, it seems that discrimination that is going to be allowed to take place – providers like Verizon can charge companies based on the bandwidth they use.  As a consumer, user of a smartphone, and a customer of Netflix, I think this whole idea stinks, and plan to write my Congressman about it.

There are many different opinions on the Internet right now – some people claim net neutrality is dead, and others claim the opposite, and some say we are just at a “fork in the road”.  Check out this site:

http://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/01/21/net-neutrality-fcc-netflix-streaming

Colleen Zak's Wordle Post