The technology scenario I have chosen...

Scenario #10

Kevin has just purchased the latest video game, Too Fast ’22.  He and his friends enjoy playing games on the computer.  His best friend Vince also likes to play video games, but doesn’t have the money to buy the latest games.  Kevin decides to be a good friend and give a copy of the game to Vince. 

     Well, I can certainly relate to this scenario because I have played video games for years and still enjoy doing so for my pass time.  However, Kevin has definitely made a poor choice by giving his friend Vince a copy of the video game.  Not only is this wrong and inappropriate, it is actually against the law.  Digital law is "the electronic responsibility for actions and deeds" (Ribble, 2011:31).  Digital law is part of the digital world. It must be respected and followed if an individual wants to freely partake in a digital world and  maintain a positive digital footprint.  Digital law really is no different than the laws created for social living.  As citizens of our communities we must obey and conform to the laws to remain free and active members of our societies.  If we chose not to submit to rules there will be repercussions and consequences for such corrupt behaviour.  Sometimes the consequences could even mean that an individual will not be able to remain in society and be placed in jail.  Many people do not even think that copying a music CD or game is wrong, let alone illegal.  In 2011 the Canadian government decided to get serious about the escalating issues revolving around copying video games, DVD’s, and e-books (Chase, 2011).  It is definitely illegal to share or copy material that is copyrighted or has intellectual property rights (Ribble, 2011).  A person can receive a large fine or even be jailed (Dachis, 2012). Scary stuff that’s for sure!

     I believe that Kevin was feeling the pressures of just wanting to help his best friend Vince.  Nonetheless, it would have been best for Kevin to just lend his friend the video game or invite his friend over to play it at his house.  Borrowing video games is an appropriate option; my friends and I have done this many times in the past. It was an incorrect choice to cave to these forms of implicit peer pressure or guilt and make a copy of this game.  An alternative option would be to purchase the game when it’s been on the market for a while or buy a used copy from a restore.  Most of the games drop in value and become much more affordable.  Kevin may think he is being a good friend but he actually is not.  Truthfully, he is being a very poor example of a good digital citizen to his best friend Vince and others he associates with.  He needs to be taught and reminded of proper digital citizenship and educated about suitable ethics, copyright laws, and legal rights and responsibilities within the cyber world.

Alex

Reschke, A. © (2015)

References

Chase, S. (2011). Law cracks down on digital piracy in Canada. Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/law-cracks-down-on-digital-piracy-in-canada/article596121/

Dachas, A. (2012). How You're Breaking the Law Every Day (and What You Can Do About It). Retrieved from http://lifehacker.com/5888488/how-youre-breaking-the-law-every-day-and-what-you-can-do-about-it

 Ribble, M. (2011). Digital citizenship in schools (2nd ed.). Eugene, Or.: International Society for Technology in Education.

Weekly Report and Reflection Post #8

   I will begin by saying I hope everyone’s digital experience to this point has been as educational as mine has!  I’m not quite there yet... but getting close to digital information overload.  However just as Salha pointed out in her blog, I am also so excited that this term is almost over and summer is on the way. J

   Once again our lesson was concentrating on an influential, teaching collaboration tool. So this week’s reflection blog will focus around the word “Wiki”.  I have never actually thought about what the word “Wiki” means, nevertheless during this week’s learning activities I discovered this term or expression originated from the Hawaiian language and refers to “fast” or “quick” (TeachersFirst. 2008-2013).  A wiki is a website that will allow any guest to become a contributor or editor of the work.  One very well known wiki is “Wikipedia”.  Currently, this tool is so well liked in the world that it managed to earn a spot on the top 100 websites list.  The actual concept behind this idea is that a person, who has a computer as well as access to the Internet, can create a document regarding any subject matter and edit it whenever they wish.  A wiki just doesn’t have one author it has many authors!  This is an open platform system that basically has limitless opportunities.  Many skills can be learned and promoted by using a tool like wiki.  For instance group collaborations, learning with equal contribution by all, critical thinking, and even the benefit of gaining knowledge socially (TeachersFirst. 2008-2013).  

     Now could I see myself using a wiki?  First of all, I really enjoyed the video in our learning guide called Wikis in Plain English (Lefever, L. 2005).  It was an insightful short explanation about how wikis in fact work and are utilized. I could relate to this video because I thoroughly enjoyed camping with my family as a child, and secondly because I never realized that this 2.0 web technology and collaboration tool could be used in this manner.  I have always just thought a wiki was for informing the general public of knowledge known about any subject matter.  I might see myself using wiki for small assignments or maybe using it with fellow students to collaborate a web page in regards to an assigned project topic.  However, I think I would still prefer using Google Docs because I am comfortable with this system, I have had prior experience with it, and it seems a little more private.  On the other hand, sometimes we just stick with what we know... and sometimes we miss great opportunities by doing so! 

Reilly, A. (2013)

     Google Docs and Wikis certainly have some similar features.  Google Docs and Wikipedia both have online systems that allow for collaboration and sharing.  Additionally, wikis are generally made public and usually can be edited by everyone, however it could depend on how the original author authorizes the setting.  This is slightly contrasting to Google Docs, as they must be shared in order to correct or add any changes to the article, document, or assignment.  Both can revert back to previously saved history and both can embed pictures, videos, or links.  Now as for Evernote I think this tool is more for curating, note taking, storing great articles, building on knowledge, and sharing with others.  When comparing a “Blog” to these tools, most of the time a blog post only consists of one author who is expressing his or her opinions and usually allows comments to be posted.  No one is able to edit or change a person’s posted blog; only the owner of the blog can do this.  A Blog is a form of expression that is much more controlled and conservative.  Since this  lesson has focused on “Wikis” I am sharing a link to an interesting read about the Ten things you may not know about Wikipedia.  It sure cleared up some questionable knowledge I had towards this 2.0 web based tool! 

   Last but not least, here is an exciting article from The Brock News fed about the appearance of Bryan Giordano and the Biological Science Department of Brock being broadcasted on CBC Marketplace.  The show is titled Drugstore Remedies: Licence to Deceive!  They have tested a "so called" natural mosquito repellent that is taken orally and was showcased on Dragons Den.  I think you may be shocked when witnessing the results.  It aired on March 13^th at 8:00pm around the 10 minute mark in the program, however you may even want to watch the whole show because it is rather interesting.  Best of all you will get to see our famous university on TV.  Way to go Brock University and the Biological Lab Department!!

Take care everyone,

Alex

Lefever, L. (2005). Wikis in Plain English. Retrieved from https://www.commoncraft.com/video/wikis

Market Place (2015). Drugstore Remedies: Licence to Deceive. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/

Reilly, A. (2013, November 6). Creating a Wiki, or Sticking with a Blog? Wiki [Online Image] Retrieved from http://allisonmidorireilly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/creating-a-wiki.jpg

Aziz, S. (2015) Weekly Report & Reflection Post #8. Retrieved from http://themamadiariesbysalha.blogspot.ca

TeachersFirst. (2008-2013). Wiki Walkthrough Step-by-Step. Retrieved from http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/wikistep2.cfm

The Brock News (2015). Retrieved from  http://www.brocku.ca/brock-news/?p=32832

Wikipedia (2015). Retrieved from http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Weekly Report and Reflection Post #7

     I don’t know if everyone else is feeling the same way, but I sure have numerous assignments to complete in the next six week and I am certainly feeling the crunch!  I think I might need to make a Google Doc note to help me organize all my projects, exams, and essays that are coming due!  Well... I presume you may have figured this out already from my previous statement; nonetheless this week’s digital exploration began with Google Docs and TodaysMeet!  I had a good chuckle as I started working through the weekly building background and learning activities because I quickly realized that I have in fact used this system before!   I thought to myself... finally I have a little experience with a Cloud based collaboration tool we are exploring. J

    Although this week learning activities primarily focused on connecting with our research partners and use of the Google Docs/Slides, I also believe it was necessary to help us expand our personal learning environments in order to become more effective digital citizens.  Additionally, it helped us establish an alternate method of communicating with our partners on an Internet based tool called TodaysMeet. As stated above, I have already used Google Drive before therefore I didn’t really struggle with the system’s platform.  However, it has been updated so I decided to re-familiarize myself with the PowerPoint or “Slides” feature seeing that my partners and I need to develop a presentation on Digital Security.  Here is the link to my PowerPoint presentation called “Google Docs Experiment!” that I created in Google Slides. 

      I similarly agree with Abby from our ADED 1P32 class when she mentioned in her Weekly Refection #7 that Google Docs could be used in many different stages of education (Myers, 2015).  I have also noticed that my sister is using this system much earlier than I had and is additionally utilizing many more features than I ever did at her age.  It certainly can be stated that children today are being introduced to these Cloud based tools younger and younger!  However, not only can this Google Doc be beneficial with education it also is a great tool to use in a workplace environment. I believe working on assignments or projects through this collaboration instrument actually holds everyone accountable.  I certainly can relate this concept to my personal work setting.  I am a lifeguard and I work in partnership with many other lifeguards during my shift.  If we do not participate or take on the required responsibilities of our duties, it could result in serious consequences.  We all have to work together as a team and be dependable team players. This is 100% necessary to keep the pool safe and operating efficiently.  The same concept applies when working on projects or assignments within Google Drive. People rely on one another by collaborating their work to get the job done right!  Therefore, I believe Google Docs is great because it encourages a positive team environment where everyone can be a responsible team player and effective digital citizen.      

     Now where will I place this digital tool in my PLE chart and will I continue using this digital tool? I definitely will be placing this tool under the creating and connecting categories. This tool will be very useful in producing group presentations, educational documents, and projects in my present and future undertakings.  Lastly, I would like to share an interesting item and video that was fed into my Feedly Reader.  This video is titled Why sitting is bad for you.  It really made me think about what affects sitting may have on our bodies that's for sure.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Take care all,

Alex

 Dalkilinç, M. ©(2015).

 Dalkilinç, M. (2015) Why sitting is bad for you.Ted-Ed. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUEl8KrMz14&feature=youtube_gdata
Google Docs. Retrieved from http://www.google.ca/docs/about/

Myers, A. (2015) Weekly Report and Reflection: Week 7. Retrieved from http://brockblogger16.blogspot.ca/
Reschke, A. (2015). Google Docs Experiment! Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JZVNoVwrE7OuQGk_yd2sEGRTMbWylk4FDfyBhESDRkU/pub?start=true&loop=true&delayms=10000&slide=id.g8ce6c8dc3_2_0
TodaysMeet. Retrieved from https://todaysmeet.com/