It's that time of Day (Thing 14 & 15)

Time just seems to disappear when you having fun, especially when you have your head stuck in thought provoking stimuli that leaves you feeling deflated by the end of the day. 

while I would like to attribute ownership of this image to someone, it came without an owner. But given the photo I would imagine Virgin might have something to do with whats going on.

To complete this task I felt it appropriate to share music from sound cloud, of a relaxing tone. To refresh and revitalise for whatever tomorrow might bring. The beach is my favourite place to relax and unwind and leave the stress behind so I felt this clip was appropriate, produced by danish artist called Luftrum, enjoy https://soundcloud.com/luftrum-1/ocean-waves-crashing .

 So sit back, put your feet up and enjoy that cup of tea.

Memories & profound statements combined 'MEME'.....

I have officially created my first MEME, but not what the teenagers describe as a MEME. Their version is often a website or MEME aimed at humiliation or discrediting someone, to the point where they feel a target for online cyber bullying. As adults I believe we like to share affirmations or feel good statements to empower rather than have power over others. So how will my foray into MEME's endure the conflicting emotions I have towards it's uses. We will see!

Flash as Baz, Presentations & Professional wiki's (Thing 12 & 13)

Where does that saying even come from " Flash as Baz" It certainly brings to mind the creepy image of the trench coated man ready to expose his awesomeness. I was intrigued to find out more and ponder the the term as a colloquialism  native to New Zealand/Australia, in short wikipedia has no listings and google just refereed me to quotes in text around how Baz was quick as a flash..... 

My musings translate it to be someone who is flashy. Traditionally I am not one to be flashy in academic presentations. I believe that content is more important than fancy whizbang attention grabbing graphics. That said I have seen a need to maintain peoples attention during the rough spots of full on academia rather than put them to sleep. A recent article I have read aligns nicely with this as it explores what are the fundamental keys for keeping kids engaged in learning. 

Title: Attention! Learning must be meaningful.

Personal Author: Stone, A.;   Barry, G.;   Heazlewood, C.
Source: Teacher Learning Network; v.15 n.2 p.23-25; Winter 2008

In saying that I am not flashy, I have in fact used Prezi

a few years ago for an online paper I was studying at the time. There was a percentage of our grade awarded to our presentation, so at the time I wanted it to be flash and wow the assessor. Hmmmmm, here is a link:

Prezi presentation from a post grad paper on educational change back in 2012.

http://prezi.com/vw9prazva-em/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Moving onto thing 13, the wiki. While exploring this I came across this delightfully simple explanatory youtube clip. I found it most interesting that in presenting the fundamental features of a wiki as a digital tool they had resorted to using paper and pen....... Amusing!

I had heard of wikis before this year but never really got my head around them until I was given the responsibility to co share the technology curriculum wiki hosted by team solutions: https://technologynz.wikispaces.com/ . I have found it fairly easy to navigate, but limited in terms of layout capability. It is difficult to make it look 'Flashy' and therefore does not grab peoples attention, but given that it holds a lot of information relevant to technology curriculum in New Zealand, perhaps it doesn't have to.

better L8 than Nvr, Personal branding, research profiles and networking

I understand I am late to the party with this blog, but not really, because I found I had not much to report as new an exciting. You see I already exist in the online world and have been trying to tailor and craft my online persona as a tool for selling my book!

My brand is important to portray the message that I have to share around 'emotional and social literacy for learning' this is where my research is headed and an area that I have been fascinated in for some time. So here is a snapshot of who I am:

http://www.nicoleprice.co.nz/ my Website

http://nz.linkedin.com/pub/nicole-price/31/556/159 : Linkedin profile

One of the things I have tried to do is to link all publications and articles about my work to my website, so that people can see the depth and reach of the work I have done to date. This has been useful as it has created opportunities where people have come to me for information or to give voice as an expert... lol who would have thought.

GoogleFEST! @ Ulearn + Thing 10 & 11

While smelly eggs did not not deter the intrepid explorer from the sunny shores of lake Rotorua, it is fair to say that one had a slight brain faze as we were overloaded with knowledge and collaborative sharing of information at Ulearn2014. 
Talk about being thrown in the deep end of the pool with tech savvy educators all absorbing the content of the conference like variable sponges, And then there was me.......

Overloaded and then sinking to the bottom of the pool. 

Despite this I came away with some distinct learning points, which I will share below and also with a sense of fulfilment that I had definitely spent my money wisely as I am a whole world away from where I was seven short weeks ago, on my digital journey.

Key Learning's from Ulearn:

• If using or sharing images we should all use a creative commons search to protect the integrity of people work. http://search.creativecommons.org/
• Just because a school says that it is going digital it doesn't mean that they are using digital tools in a way that adds meaning to the classroom or learning experience. The SAMR model is a good way to examine and create shift in the way that we use tools for learning experiences. http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/06/samr-model-explained-for-teachers.html 
• Based on the session aptly named 'how to become a social media ninja' run by Karenmelhuishspencer#virtuallykaren , I am an orange belt..... I would really recommend reading what Karen has to say on her website as it is poignant and interesting.
• I was left wondering, if teenage girls in New Zealand have built resiliency against online 'drama' through desensitising it over time... as a result of the research lecture from our own #23research group member Eunice Price. https://plus.google.com/+EunicePrice/posts .
• The most interesting thing I took out of the conference, was from the last keynote speaker 'Quin Norton' http://quinnnorton.com/ who spoke about the hackerspace movement, in the US and slowly spreading across the rest of the world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackerspace It took me by surprise a little that we have moved so far into the digital realm that there are groups of people creating spaces where people can come together and make stuff... huh. The whole idea of the burning man festival http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFbk4CH2pq8 where thousands of people come together for a week, create a city in the desert and then leave without leaving a footprint fascinates me beyond belief and is now number one thing to do on my bucket list. Also I had the realisation that Technology education within the New Zealand curriculum is an embodiment of promoting the ideals of independent free thinking/ problem solving in our young people. Here are the collaborate notes from the presentation. https://docs.google.com/a/aucklanduni.ac.nz/document/d/19OFn86V-Saz2FM13TcmahbARZtGLRV1molImD_ZNuCk/edit#heading=h.smmpckjna6dz

Surfing the news feeds like a BOSS! (Thing 5)

To set the mood...

Now to straighten the record, opps I slipped

I have always stayed away from RSS feeds as I have never wanted to tackle the complexity of never ending information that I would feel compelled to read, which in turn would take up so much of my time.......... just for the odd snippet that might be useful.

However seeing how it could be used as a tool in an online class environment, has shifted my perception slightly. But I am not yet 

This week I am heading to Rotorua to attend the Ulearn 2014 conference in the hope that I can engage in more digital learning that I can utilise in both my research and as a teacher within the classroom. I will ensure that my next post will be a reflection of any tidbits I have come across.

Superhero vs Viking warrioress

I think I may have unleashed a monster. Who knew that writing a blog could be so entertaining. I find myself creatively inspired but given that I started with a rather bold string of creativity in my first blog, I have realised that the possibility to maintain this might be hard.

Honesty pays, so they say so I am first to admit that I did not meet the deadline this week. The school holidays have turned into a never-ending crusade of busyness to entertain the youngsters, which at times has felt like I have braved fire and brimstone!

So in my quest to find a superhero figurehead to spear my online campaign, I am drawn to a character in a series of books that I have become engrossed in reading. I liken my alter ego to that of Daenerys Targaryen, otherwise known to all game of thrones followers as 'Mother of dragons’, which aptly describes my current role as guardian of little hellions.

One of my duties during the week has been as chief designer, maker and structural engineer within the newly zoned legoland (My Lounge!) and therefore I felt it apt to share that my new alter ego was in fact already a lego character! So my two passions are united and I am still true to my viking theme (Sort of).

So, now for task 5!

Cyber Safety - Thing 2,3 & 4

Step one was to make the decision to undertake the journey, step two is to ensure that the boat and any equipment I might need is safe and ready to use. It would be a terrible faux par to be up the mast when a gust of wind pulls me off my sure footing and then my safety rope snags and slowly tears while I am dangling upside down.

In terms of my digital Journey the relevance of password and security is timely. Having just had one of the crew (Children) go onto my online bank and transfer some money for an activity that they were doing, before I had given permission. When questioned as to how they could have done it the two direct answers, Mum your passwords are always the same and it’s my name and a few numbers... too easy.

So the major information that I have taken away from thing 2, was to change all my passwords and how to check if they were safe. Using the detector tool with my original combination was a wake up call as it predicted it would take 11 seconds for an average desktop to break the code and gain access. WOW!

I have also found a parallel to my research under this topic, under the issue of passwords to social media. If you take cyber bullying as a tool to inflect pain, humiliation and to gain power over others, you will often find cases where adolescents and adults will get into a social media account and post comments or pictures that are not from the owner of the page. This can unleash a torrent of humiliation for the victim in the real world, as they have to face the repercussions. Especially if the owner has spent a great deal of time cultivating what they perceive as the perfect persona online. 

I came across this blog while doing thing 4 this week and find that it's relevance resonates with me and the research field that I am working in http://thecybersafetylady.com.au/news-blog/. 

I am now of a mind to reinvent myself as a superhero in cyberspace.......... mmmmmm this requires pondering!

Maiden Voyage

I have to admit the overcast skies, howling wind rattling the windows and the drizzly wet weather that seems to have set in for the week, bring to mind setting out on a big adventure, so while trying to find an identity to set my blog up as, I came across the historical reference to a female viking explorer -  Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir (Icelandic: Guðríður Þorbjarnardóttir) also known as Vidforla or “the Far-Traveler” was a Norse woman born around the year 980 in Laugarbrekka.

So while I see parallels from her adventures across seas to mine in the realms of digital knowledge. I have to acknowledge that unlike her I feel a little safer sitting at my laptop drinking tea and surfing the waves in a future context. Do not make the mistake that I did that Tea drinking is a relatively safe option http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/drinking-tea-was-once-considered-an-irresponsible-reckless-pursuit-for-women-153082872/?no-ist

Although I am hoping, having embarked on my maiden voyage through 23 things, the journey itself will see good weather and fine sailing.

As I take another gulp of fine eastern tea, I am adamant that I can stand up to the challenges set before me, and voice my eagerness.... "Bring it on"!

As to who I am, that is a complex question with many tangible answers:

• Mother of 3 kids 9, 15 & 19
• Student undertaking a PhD part/time within the faculty of education: Looking at the role of digital citizenship education in schools to reduce cyberbullying or harm.
• Working Full/time as a curriculum PLD facilitator at Team solutions, also based in the faculty of education.
• Idealistic explorer.

I have joined the 23 things Forum as basic training to enhance my ongoing professional journey. Given my PhD topic I am also interested in observing an online community in practice.