Photos can say so much. To get a point across, creating a fun photo or a blend of photos together can paint an image that is both visually attractive and that can say more in a small space rather than a large space full of words. Such as this photo I did above. What do you get from this picture above? I am new to developing a Personal Learning Network (PLN). I decided to use Pearltrees because I liked the idea that I get to build multiple interest groups. I will continue to add my interests and organize my trees as I build. I do love organizing, so this really excites me to have a single place I can go to and have all of my interests there. So far, I have selected a couple of Athletic Training sites, Fresno State Athletics site, and WebMD. These are all initial interests of mine that I deal with on a daily basis. As time goes, I will add different forms of information and see where my interests take me.
The internet is a great resource for fast information. Accuracy is the problem. Not all information on the internet is true and accurate. Knowing this, I utilize google search for information and then narrow down the sites for more accurate information. I like using WebMD for quick references on medical issues. If I want information that needs to be accurate, then I looks for journal articles that have been peer-reviewed.
The key is to understand that not all information on the internet is to be trusted, but the information can be used to assist in finding the correct information. I think technology and the internet has been a great resource for society. News information can reach the public in a blink of the eye. For education purposes, finding resources to write research papers has decreased the hunting time. The computer searches the data bases for you through the search bar. The time that students save in researching is many hours. Marcus Buckingham does a great job in expressing how important it is to know what your strengths are and to continue developing those strengths. He talks about finding a role where you can play to your strengths for the majority of the working day. I grew up learning that one should identify what their weaknesses are and work on improving those. What a novice idea to actually discover what one's strengths are and further develop those.
My sweet spots are my desire to solve problems and teach people new skills. I love puzzles and I am good at solving problems or issues that arise. I also love teaching someone something. I will give examples to my athletic training. The puzzles in athletic training are finding out the cause to an injury. I look beyond the site of pain and really try to figure out why the pain was created. Teaching something is when I can teach a rehabilitation skill to an athlete and they can perform it correctly and feel the purpose of the exercise. With coaching, it was teaching a softball player how to hit and having them successfully hit a great ball. Those moments of achievements are my strengths. I am patient and great with communication, this is why athletic training is such a great fit for me. Twitter is a great microblogger. The comments are short and can be accessed by everyone, especially using keyword searches. Fresno State Athletics uses Twitter to keep fans up-to-date during events and for upcoming events. It is a great experience to follow a team and see what they do on the road and view their experiences. If it is impossible to attend a game or see it on television, then the sport team's Twitter account is a great place to follow along. Microblogging is a great resource for news, events, community activities, and to see what is trending.
Personal Web Presence (PWP) is a great way to represent yourself in both the professional and personal world. A great professional site should have a bit of a personal touch. The PWP offers a variety of designs and options to make it have that personal touch. The two examples of the PWP offered two different views. Both were clean and organized. Photos and the background pictures are a nice touch. The color selections give the PWP a different feels as well. One had a rich blue color making the feel more professional and one had earth tones that made it feel more relaxed.
Just from starting my design of my PWP, I have learned that improvements may be constant. Just as with the two PWP that were reviewed, little improvements can be made. For the most part, the organization is nicely done. Both PWPs have things to take away from. I want to use a blend of the two and make my page professional in a personal way. I like the dark rich color for a more professional feel and the personal photos for a more personal touch. I want to mention my road to becoming an Athletic Trainer in my thirties. I played Division 1 softball for the University of Iowa. After about a year, I injured my back and was medically released the following year. My college athletic career only lasted 2.5 years and I was devastated. I had an amazing athletic training staff there that spent many hours with me. I continued to live my life and having amazing experiences that finally lead me to the life that I hold so special to me now. I love athletic training and being surrounded by athletes. My goal is to keep the athletes playing and help them recover from their injuries in a safe and timely manner.
There is a little something about me. |