The Beginning of the Story....

This is the rough, rough draft of my digital story!  As of today, my experiences with Photo Story have been positive.  I watched several videos on how to use and format Photo Story.  They were very helpful for starting the digital story process.  What I like about Photo Story is the step by step process of the software.   For a first time user, creating the story has been easy.  Once I uploaded the pictures I found that I did not completely stick to my original script that I wrote on the Story Board template.  After I finish creating all the voice narrations I will make a decision on the style of music that I will use.

I am creating a digital story that I can incorporate into my advising and or orientation sessions with new students.  It will instruct them how to register for classes using our live web based computer system.  I know this will benefit students who do not know how to use our system.  The goal of the staff is make sure all students are aware and proficient of the software so they are able to register and complete their degree program on time.

Creating a Digital Footprint with Social Media

With all of the recent stories on the morning news programs, I feel compelled to blog about social media, especially Facebook.  I am very interested in reading about any issues that relate to Digital Citizenship or creating or adding to one’s digital footprint.  Everyone I know has Facebook and they keep asking why I am not on Facebook.  I am very torn about the decision.  I do not want to publicize my life publicly  but I do like keeping in touch with what is going on with my family and friends.  I can see how an individual could spend a great deal of time on Facebook.  I don’t have that kind of time to spend surfing Facebook or any other social media outlet.

The other topic that needs to be addressed with college students (I mention this group because I work with college students) is what they post on social media outlets.  I am amazed at what some students deem appropriate to post for the world to see.  I wonder if they realize that what is being posted is out there for everyone to see even if it is private.  I really feel that a class or workshop should be built into a freshman curriculum to teach students about proper netiquette, how social media outlets work, privacy rights and posting.  The key thing to remember is that students in college are getting ready to start careers and what they post today could hurt their chances of getting that dream job.  Facebook was a topic that Richardson devoted time to in his book that we read for class.  Once a post or pictures are posted, that digital footprint is created for everyone to view for eternity!   As a test, Google yourself and see what your footprint says about you.

Should I cave and join Facebook to connect with family and friends?

What are your thoughts or ideas about educating students on safe and proper social media usage?

My Digital Library

I really like using Diigo as a digital library.  It is very convenient having all my documents stored in one location.  Previously I had been using the favorite icon on different computers.  I found myself e-mailing or printing documents as I needed them.  Diigo is very user friendly and easy to set up.   I can’t believe that I have been missing out on this great technology tool!  It offers so many features to keep your documents organized.  Creating sticky notes, highlighting documents, previewing a document with the read later notation, creating notes in the text box, being able to keep documents in the library marked private and being cloud based without having to keep a backup are many of the reasons why I have enjoyed creating and maintaining my personal library.   Most convenient to me is the Tag option.  I like that it allows me to quickly scan the tag list on the left and locate documents with scrolling through my entire library.

I plan on using Diigo for the rest of my courses and expand my digital library.  It will be very helpful next semester when I take Educational Research.  What features do you like about Diigo?   Do you find it as user friendly as I do?


The short video below was very informative when I was setting up my library. It discusses the many features I mentioned in my blog post.   I thought it would be helpful for others getting started.

My Diigo Library

Diigo V5: Collect and Highlight, Then Remember! from diigobuzz on Vimeo.