Final Vanity Search

My digital footprint has not changed much.  The first time I did a search, I didn’t find anything about myself.  This last time that I did a search, my avatar came up under images.

I feel that my digital footprint does represent me well because I am a very private person.  I value and love my family.  Being able to be found by my students could cause a problem in my professional life and in my private life, so I chose not to expose myself.

I honestly don’t want to make the changes about myself on the web.  I think that a male has to be very careful about the way they conduct themselves in person and on the web.  A simple accusation can end a career and a relationship.  I have seen it happen.  Though the accusations turned out to be false, I saw a man lose everything because a teen was upset with his response to her offers.  In his case, the web left footprints that, on the surface harmed him, but later turned out not to be his.  Although he was found not guilty of any of the accusations, his reputation was so tarnished that he resigned to go elsewhere.    Regarding myself, I think that if you can only find my avatar, I’ve done a good job.

Dragon's Lair

Creating a protopage was very easy; though figuring out how to embed certain things can be difficult.  I was glad for the assistance from my peers that were able to accomplish what I wanted for my page. I enjoyed tailoring the widgets for my page and deleting those that I did not want.  It was easier to have preset widgets rather than starting from a blank canvas.  The thoughts of what I wanted to do with the page started flowing and I found myself doing more research for what I wanted on the page rather than for the assignment.  To be more concise, I found that a protopage is a way to express oneself with personal designs and preferences.  It is different from Facebook and Twitter because one is able to incorporate different aspects of social media, personal expression, and humor. To look at my protogage, visit                          http://www.protopage.com/jm_mondragon#Untitled/Home

Twitter Adventure

Cybrary Man’s Educational Web Sites are good resources for students, teachers and parents to be able to find information.  The existence of this page reduces research time.  This is a great tool to use for project ideas, team building, and collaboration.  I enjoyed going through several of the hash tag searches and looking at the information presented.  Had this been available to me when I was a teacher, it would have helped me greatly.  Looking at the counseling page gave me many ideas and designs for my e chalk page for next year.  It also gave me different ways to present my information to the students while keeping them engaged.

Students and Teachers

     The latest information suggests that students and teachers might benefit when Twitter is used as a “backchannel” for communication within or between classes. The intention is to use Twitter to “ask and answer questions, brainstorm, focus or extend in-class discussions, help students connect, collaboratively generate information, and learn concise writing styles”.  Facilitating communication and language amongst students is one of the hardest things to do as an educator, but once this can be overcome, it will change the dynamic of the classroom allowing more collaboration opportunities, thus solidifying learning.

Vanity Search

While doing my vanity search, I found nothing about myself, not even a picture on google from a former or current social networking site.  I suppose that is because I hardly post pictures or anything on social media.  Though I occasionally use social media, it is not a priority and couldn’t find my profile.  My digital footprint is small, to be honest with you, I don’t feel bad about it.  My “ID” stage with regards to my personal desire to utilize social media is not on par with today’s teens.   I’m rather a private person who likes to personally interact with others in the face to face context. I rather not put every idea or fraction of my life out there for anyone to know or take advantage of.   I have developed in the social media realm which started in 2006 with Myspace, then Facebook, and now Google+.  I use the networking site to interact with old friends and colleagues.  I have also used services such as Skype for college discussions and college instructor dialogue for questions and recommendations for research proposals. I can attribute my small digital footprint to my two newborn sons of 19 months and 6 weeks old, they literally keep my on my toes with diaper changes, bottles, and constant love/affection. I will soon open up a Twitter account which is required for my current college course, perhaps then my digital footprint will grow. Till then, tah tah…

E-Portfolio

https://www.evernote.com/Home.action?login=true&newReg=true#b=c4c0e44c-99f1-4e94-9fa2-cdcf56d3c7f6&ses=4&sh=1&sds=3&


https://www.evernote.com/Home.action?login=true&newReg=true#b=c4c0e44c-99f1-4e94-9fa2-cdcf56d3c7f6&ses=4&sh=1&sds=3&

Virtual Counseling - Option 2

I chose this option instead of the information literacy option because everything that I write, I want to be able to link to my dissertation.  I chose to explore the options of second life as a virtual environment that can be used in my field to be able to connect to students that are reluctant to meet with counselors face to face..

I like that an administrator or district can own an island and restrict their users from entering inappropriate areas.  Moreover, I like some of the free areas that allow you to be able change your avatar to the way you want them to look like and be.  The image of the avatar not only affects interactions with others, but influences the way one choses to communicate.

In a virtual counseling setting students would be able to create their avatar and enter a session that would allow them to work on intrapersonal communication and issues. 

Using the TPAC Model, counselors would be able to enter into the technological knowledge world.  Though our teachers and students are encroached in technology, our counseling department lags behind.  A virtual counseling corner or an island on SL with a counseling center would be very beneficial.  The pedagogical knowledge allows counselors to track the lessons that absolutely need to be covered because of issues that may be plaguing a classroom environment.  Covering the content knowledge in a virtual classroom environment allows the counseling curriculum that I don’t always get to cover in every classroom to be done and allows anonymity where they would normally have to show their face to receive services.

There are open sim(s) that can allow the same type of virtual environment, but it would not allow for the same type of control.