Sharing is Caring

My journey through professional development with technology is still continuing. Here I am once again to share with you what I think is the value of being a content curator as opposed to being a content consumer. After visiting some sites such as http://www.bethkanker.org/, http://debbiefuco.blogspot.co/, http://ezinearticles.com/, http://www.bogdanfiedur.info/c and looking at the pros and cons of bookmarking and content curation these are some of the values of being a content curator as opposed to content consumer

1. A content curator gets to be conversant with the most quality information on the web, gets the best out of it unlike a content consumer whose focus is not on quality.  

2.  A curator visits so many sites and sets up pages that others follow on certain topics. This makes him a master at these topics because of the experience he eventually is looked at as an authority on an issue or topic, which is not the case with a content consumer whose only task is to view, read and get informed.  

3. Whereas a content curator captures attention because of the quality of his work, the content consumer does not put emphasis on quality.

Curation requires a lot of time, attention and focus. The act of curation itself is not as frightening as the fact that I have to face an ocean of sites and be overwhelmed with the information on the web. Curation softens the frustration as it offers you chance to view sites at leisure without fearing that you may not access the site again if there is need to revisit it. To answer the question, I feel ready and confident about this role now than I was before.

To me, the value of sharing and organizing resources is that;

1. It helps me to capture attention in today's information cluttered world and be trusted by the learners for guidance.

2. It helps me get quality information to pass on to my learners,

3. It helps establish me as a go-to authority on certain issues or topic and I will therefore be useful to my learners,

4.  It helps me to tell stories using pictures and words to go with the pictures and become a  great teacher who inspires my learners to engage in various activities online.

5. It gives me a chance to collect, publish and share content from the web not only with my learners but with the entire populace on the web.

I would strongly recommend content curation to new users of technology because of the ease, the high value and quality content it offers.

Margaret Serabidde's video: Is it better at the Movies?

Margaret Serabidde playlist

Smart Workers Network

                                               Smart Workers Network.
At this point I feel I am a smarter learner than I was before I was introduced to the course. I have learnt quite a lot to justify calling myself a smarter learner.

I have joined two social media networks, that is Google+ and twitter where I have been exposed to the goodness of technology. In the past, when a person would talk of Google+ or twitter, I would look on like a fool and would refrain from any comments. Now, I am smarter. I know what the two social medias are all about.

By joining the above two social medias, I have learnt to access information that is valuable to my professional development as well as for my students' learning process. I have encountered tools that are not only valuable but would also ease my work and help me achieve professional development. These social media networks have taught me that I could achieve quite a lot with minimum effort.

Through Twitter and Google+ I have made my own personal learning network. I have connected with other people in my line of interest and I intend to follow their blogs.   I have also learnt that to benefit fully from these social networks, I need to leave comments or even start discussions in order to keep growing my professional learning network. It is not just a matter of joining but I need to be a part of the social media network myself and make my own contribution so as to get people to follow me.

Google and twitter have been very helpful in suggesting some of the tools and resources that I could use to get what I needed.  Social media offers tools/ways  for people to interact, find out their problems and together look for solutions to their problems. In this respect, social media has helped me to find blogs and resources that would enhance my professional development.

My next steps towards achieving my professional learning goal include;

• learning how to upload videos
• learning to make slides
• how to use social bookmarking resources

Professional Development with Technology

I have learnt that while I possessed little knowledge of technology, I thought I knew everything I needed to know. I have learnt quite a lot in this course that I am surprised I knew very little. What I thought was enough for me was actually not enough. I was limiting my chances of learning easier means of accessing information and developing professionally. I believe there are others out there who are like that.

This program explores a number of learning opportunities that are geared towards improving technology literacy, knowledge deepening, and knowledge creation skills. I have advanced a step or two in technology and I hope to learn more by the end of the entire course.

As Jane Hart says, " jump in" and be part of the social web and get introduced to a "knowledge deepening experience". The social web introduces a person to the knowledge deepening experience that enhances their understanding of technology while at the same time offering them an opportunity to develop their technology skills.

The rate at which technology is advancing requires better learning tools than physical interaction alone which  is bound to delay a person's professional development and acquisition of knowledge. The inventors of the technology/medias are moving at a fast rate coming up with new inventions now and then, and need an equally fast audience/learners. The more reason why Hart's invitation to "jump in" and join the social web is very significant because the social web sets a pace to match that of the inventions. It brings the person up to speed and helps them to keep abreast of the latest/newest inventions.

However, as seen in the topic, "Factors influencing progress with technology", the entire setup does not go without hurdles. Some of the factors discussed in the above mentioned topic would still have an influence at whatever stage of technology advancement. For instance, the financial aspect and having to keep pace with the latest/newest inventions. In the face of all hurdles, a person should maintain positivity. It is only through having a positive attitude that technology will fully be embraced. Transformation into digital citizens is the way to go now so we should move with the times in order to promote social development and improve economic productivity.

I intend to fully utilize any given chance to explore and learn more so as to improve and advance my technology status. In the same way, I intend to apply what I learn to helping my students in their learning process so that they get to a level where they are equipped with skills of "problem solving, communication, collaboration, experimentation, critical thinking and creative expression" as expressed in knowledge creation approach.

Thanks for reading this. I hope it benefits you. I invite my tutor and the group members to make comments