My Experience with RSS Feeds

Week 3 has been a little different compared to the other weeks that have passed by. This week we are required to have two blogs. This week we were introduced to an application also known as Feedly. Feedly is an application for various web browser and mobile devices. Feedly is mainly used to manage RSS feeds. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication which is a web feed that is updated with blogs, news events, podcasts and much more.

While I was exploring on Feedly, I came across a very interesting article about a new Brock led research discovers that lizards create body heat. (new Brock-led research that discovers lizard that creates) Scientist have recently discovered and classified lizards as reptiles that depends on sun light or shade rather then internal metabolism to warm or cool their body. Brock University Prof. Glenn Tattersall and his team showed the tegu lizards are able to generate the own body heat during mating season which usually last for two to three months. Prof. Glenn's research team raise two groups; adult black and white tegu lizards in a captive colony at the State university of Sao Paulo in Brazil. The results of the study stated that one group stayed outdoors for a full year, while the other group was studied under outdoor and indoor conditions over three reproductive seasons. The group that was outdoor was allowed to behave naturally. Its actually really cool how their bodies can adapt and change under extreme changes.

Feedly is a great platform to gain knowledge in various things that occur in the world. As a university student, I will make good use of this tool as it will benefit me to gain more knowledge in various topics!

Thank you,
Suwattzen Nithiananthan

Week 2 Report & Reflection

Hello fellow class mates:

Week 2 has come to an end. I can't believe that week two is already over, feels like the course just started. This week we looked at personal learning environments(PLE); the importance of PLE's and how it relates to us. Also got to explore and learn about two sites, Pootle.com (to make a PLE) and Tagcrowd.com (to make a word cloud).

Where am I headed? 
In 5 to 10 years from now, I see my self as a Accounting major Brock University Graduate, with a related job to my degree. I see myself working in the finance department of a bank or and private firm dealing and building new relationships with current and new clients. After working a couple years, I would like to return back to school to complete my MBA and hopefully obtaining the same job I left. Slowly work my way up the ladder and plant a manager position of a department. Also on the side, I would like to get a real-estate license and work as a property manager on the side. Invest in sever small properties and manage them to potential renters.


Where am I now? 
I am currently a second year Accounting major student attending Brock University; Goodman School of Business with only two more school years to go. I attend school for eight months every year, and work at a bank as a part time summer coop student. One major difference I personally will see in my self is not being in school anymore. In the future, I see my self as a more confident and humble individual. Usually I tend to get nervous and am very scared to try new things.


Changes In My Learning Environment: 
In order to achieve my goals and get to where I want to be, I need to make a few changes with my work ethic. I need to work and improve my communications skills, I personally feel like this blog is a good way to improve that skill.

Nithiananthan, S. (CC) 2016.

As you can see, the following is my personal learning environment. I use many application to assist me while I create, connect, organize and collaborate. My PLE will always be changing; I have a few new tools that I have added. As it was stated in the presentation by Steve Wheeler, my PLE is "just for me"; its a platform I use to help me in my daily learning activities. Every person has a different PLE according to their personal interest and thats what makes this while concept unique and interesting.

One of the tools I experimented with this week is the word cloud tool Wordle.  I noticed when I entered my first week’s blog that I tend to repeat the topic of my blog throughout the post.  Last week in particular was the term "digital footprint".  As you can see below are the largest words in the word cloud indicating the most frequently used words.  I have also noticed this week that I keep saying PLE over and over.  I suppose when you are talking about something, you are going to keep mentioning it throughout your report. 

Week 2 has finally come to an end. I am looking forward to week 3. I hope I inspired my fellow classmates with the material I learnt this week.

Thankyou,
Suwattzen Nithiananthan

Week 1 Report & Reflection

Hello fellow classmates:

Week one has finally come to an end. One down, 11 more weeks to go. This week has been a very interesting experience. Throughout the course of this week I was introduced to two social networking sites known as Pintrest and Blogger. The whole concept behind Pintrest was confusing at first but I started to understand as I kept exploring. Pintrest is on an online platform where users can upload, save, sort and manage various images which are also known as "pins". Through these various pins, users are able to personalize their board with media they find interesting. This created a personal media platform full of pictures and videos that relate to the user. I found this concept to be very unique. The other platform we learned about was known as Blogger. The concept behind blogger.com was straight forward. Blogger is a personalized platform which gives the user the opportunity to blog about what ever the topic is. I have never blogged before, so this was very new to me. Even though the concept behind blogging seems simple, i found myself self having and think about what to write next. As I keep blogging I will be an expert. The concept behind both social were very interesting and there is still a lot more to learn about the two.

Furthermore aside from learning about Pintrest and Blogger we got a chance to look into our personal digital footprints. "Digital footprint" is term used to describe the trail that users leave behind in the online world. This type of information is transmitted online through various sources such as forums, emails, uploading pictures/ videos on social media and any other form of personal information being transmitted online. 

When talking about digital footprints, not all are good. Personal digital footprints are very serious because you don't want a negative trail online that lead to you. Having a positive digital footprint is ensuring that your digital footprint is appropriate and well maintained. This is includes pictures, videos etc... Personal media that is uploaded on the web should always be appropriate, because whatever it is that get uploaded on the web is there forever. Just because you delete doesn't necessarily mean its off the web, it will be in you digital footprint. I currently have a positive digital footprint. There are sever basic steps that are needed to maintain a positive digital footprint. Always keep your social networking up to date. Make sure that all media that's being uploaded is appropriate and user friendly. Do not share personal information such as numbers, addresses and bank information. Maintaing a positive digital footprint if straight forward for the most part. 

Some netiquettes that are crucial in maintaing a positive digital footprint is to always respect other people's privacy and don't misuse authority. Always make yourself look like a good citizen to the online world. In conclusion, I have learned a lot about being a digital citizen and maintaing a positive digital footprint. 

There are plenty of netiquettes, however I don't want to make this blog too long. This is a link to more netiquettes: http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html

Digital Driver's License Exam:

I completed the Digital Drivers license exam and my final mark was a 19/20. The question I got wrong was on purchasing products online. For that specific question I answered saying that it is not necessary for student to purchase online goods. The reasoning behind my answer was because I personally don't see the need for students to be purchasing online, however that is incorrect because that is a very biased answer on my part. In the twenty first century, everything is dependent on the online world, so it only makes sense that students should be able to purchase goods online. As years go by, everything will be done online instead of in person.

Hopefully throughout this blog, I have inspired and taught my fellow classmates. 

Thank you,

Suwattzen Nithiananthan

Introduction

Hello fellow classmates, welcome to my blog,

My name is Suwattzen Nithiananthan and Im currently a second year Accounting major at Brock University. I was born and raised from Brampton so my choice in moving to St Catherines for school was kind of scary at first. I'm a simple, kind hearted guy for the most part. Aside from school, I have plenty of hobbies such as reading and playing football. As a second year university student, I always have the urge to seek and learn new things to better myself as a person. My future plans are to finish my undergrad and hopefully also complete my masters aswell (MBA). I hope to live a simple life with my family and be happy!

The reason behind this blog is for an online course called, learning in a digital context, where I interact with my fellow class mates and engage in related activated to further my knowledge in using digital tools for a variety of activities. This course would be a great way to educate myself on the digital world. I hope to broaden my knowledge in understanding digital context and the various platforms in order to improve my online learning skills. Through my blogs, I hope to learn more as and inspire others throughout this course.

In the current twenty first century we live in, we are all entirely dependent on digital media. Im personally not very active on any social media but I have always been interested and this course is a great way for me to learn. I wouldn't call myself a "know it all" when it comes to computers but I know more of the technical side to it. I think it's time for me to start educating my self in the current digital world that we live in!

Wish everyone good luck, and hope every one has a good year!
Happy New Years!