Connecting with educators/professionals

What is an App Smack down?

Have you ever wondered what an App Smack down was? For the longest time I never heard of it nor did I know what it was until one day I went to school and one of my Professors told us to come prepared to discuss your app. You have a total of two minutes to get up in the front of the classroom to discuss your app. Of course not knowing what it was all about, I got a little nervous. However, all it was, it was a way to describe an application on your device about what interests you and why it could be helpful in your career path. It is a way to share websites, tools, and teaching ideas that is discovered and can be used efficiently and effectively. Honestly, two minutes was not enough time because I got so caught up in my nerves I didn't even get to explain everything my app included. With everyone else who got to go up and present their app is a great way to see what is really out there. There is always something new to be discovered and could become beneficial to you to use in the future.

Empower Productivity 

One of the most useful tools that I have learned just recently is the uses of Evernote. Yes, it is a website and it also has an app. It has many features to keep you as a student or being in your profession and being organized. Organization skills are the keys to success. Mike Vardy explains how Evernote can be used to utilize reminders. This is a helpful tool because you can set reminders to ensure that you complete whatever it is that you need to complete or start on that date. Then you can set another reminder to go back to it, until you do complete it. It's important to have emails that are associated with these types of accounts. I say this because you do not want to have your "business" email used for emails about all of your app updates or personal emails. You want to use an email that is appropriate in these aspects. With these organizational skills it will help prepare yourself for when you have to juggle several tasks at hand for a specific job or even as being a student, if you are not juggling them already. Managing your schedule to complete any given task at hand is essential in everyday life.


Flip Board
One of the most frequent apps on your android devices is the Flipboard app, that plays as your own personal flip magazine. You can introduce this app to several users through Facebook, Twitter, or any other forms of social media. In an article written by Calif Palo Alto, talks about how still a lot of our population do not use their mobile devices to view updated news and information on any topics throughout the world. They are now prevalent in PC's which can help those who are more familiar with using a PC rather than a mobile device. I used to use Flipboard on my android mobile device and thought well what is really the point of this being pre-downloaded on my phone. Until this class, I just recently started to put Flipboard into good use. It is a great way to view broad topics that are of interest for you; science, medicine, business, entrepreneur, sports, and so many more.It is a fun and easy to use type of magazine to keep you informed and updated. It is also cost-effective which is important.
 

Flipboard is continuing to advance as do everything else does as well. There are such a vast array of topics that could be shared throughout the whole globe and we do not even realize it. Nathan Olivearez-Giles, explains how there are over 10 million user generated magazines on Flipboard. You can customize this app to fit your needs just by using the menu status bar. You have your home button, who you are following or subscribing to, your search engine to search related topics in your field of interests, receive various notifications of new stories and article that come up with the ones you have subscribed to as being first and your account setting where you can change notification settings just as you could on any device or mobile app. This app is very informative and can definitely help you broaden your horizon to a vast array of information you never even knew about.

Developing a Connected Learning Model

As individuals we continue to learn something new in our every day lives. There is not one single individual that does not. Building a professional learning community helps to engage in social communities whether or not we are online. We find different ways on collaborating as a team based community to get a certain job done at times. As discussed in The Connected Educator, we come across three-pronged approach to professional development; a local community: being face-to-face to one another, through a global network: whether it be Facebook or Twitter, and a bounded community: where you share the same interests with other individuals. Using online etiquette we all share a common language and learning about others through various diversities. This helps the readers and ourselves understand the unique traits and roles of several different learning strategies. With our personal learning network we learn to connect with other individuals in a respectable manner and as we continue to grow we will continue to learn.