Augmented reality, not surprisingly, is something I have never heard of. In reading the article, "Finally, augmented reality with real utility: meet Blippar", by Ian Greenleigh, I learned that augmented reality is the next big thing in mobile technology and that it is still at the very beginning of the technology adoption curve. It is quite intriguing to see what this app allows you to do and what the creators feel the future will bring for us in using this app. Blippar is an app from the UK that succeeds where most augmented reality in the past has failed and that is with its utility and ease of use. Basically Blippar lets consumers interact with products, ads, and media in really interesting ways. To blipp is to hold your phone up to anything in the real world and enjoy an instantaneous interaction or content-rich experience. They have several interesting examples on their website. The best one is with a bottle of ketchup! In the creators words, "Blippar is not just a technology, it's a brand new consumer behavior!"
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Digital resumes are the up and coming thing in getting noticed and making yourself stand out in the job market crowd! The question is, are employers ready for what is possible in creating a resume these days? It is amazing what these sites allow you to do when building your resumeThere are a multitude of sites that offer resume building services, but I am going to focus on a few that stood out to me.
LinkedIn Resume Builder is convenient because it takes your profile info and formats it into a traditionally-styled word-based resume. The big plus here is the convenience factor! ResumeBaking.com has a powerful interface and it features all of the most up-to-date social sharing links to get yourself noticed. It also offers a cover letter builder, an adjustable template, and stats and insights. ResumUp is an app powered by Facebook and it makes your social profile visual. Their motto is they can make any work history/experience look HOT! Zerply.com is one of the more high profile and socially-shaped resume and career sites. Visiting their site you will learn it is the network for the world's top creative talent in TV, film and games. They're good at what they do based on their site, but they're limited in their job market expertise. Zerply does feature all of the social elements you’d expect including the ability to follow people, access a news stream and analyze stats. BranchOut.com is a more of a network rather than a plain old resume builder, but it does allow you to create a profile that is all about you and allows you to draw attention to everything that is wonderful about you! The article advises that statistics is historically perceived as the most rigorous course one can take and students tend to have negative attitudes about the course. In addition to this teachers are ill-prepared to teach statistics in American schools. Teachers need to confront their own misconceptions before they can help students overcome theirs. The ERIC Digest addresses the problem of the absence of probability and statistics in our schools and why this subject is so scarce in our education system. Using computers would give students a real world look at the concepts while allowing students to investigate more realistic solutions. A fresh approach to the way this course is taught and keying in on the kids level of comfort with computers may be just what is needed to turn things around in our education system and to get students and teachers more comfortable with this subject. I remember stats from high school and college and it was not fun either time I took the class! The only program I use for statistics is Microsoft Excel. It is an easy program that I am very comfortable with and it allows me to do calculations quickly and quite simply once you input the necessary information is into the spreadsheet. I found some interesting things when researching about statistics and probability and the remainder of the blog talks about these items.
Statistics in Sports is seeking papers on predicting NCAA tournament game outcomes. I am a big tourney fan and fill out my own brackets every year so this is quite appealing and interesting to me. I find it fascinating that some people would use statistics to formulate decisions in selecting teams for their tourney brackets. In addition to this there are conferences all over the world relating to Math and Computers in Sport. It is very fascinating to me that one conference is in its 12th year and I have never heard of it! The math.yorku website and statpages.net are mind boggling-there is so much information on these pages- so many links to any statistical topic you can think of! I never knew how revered statistics is! Brightstat was an interesting site to visit. Their webpage is BRIGHT alright! They have a lot of useful features for data analysis, data manipulation, and for me the graphical output was a big plus. The graphs are customizable-one can chose different line, symbols, or bar styles, colors are adjustable , and you can format labels and titles. They have video tutorials to walk you through everything contained on their site. It is a very user friendly site. A professional portfolio is a collection of documents highlighting ones achievements, training, education, and skills. In the past, portfolios were presented in binders, but electronic portfolios are becoming more popular and more common. There are several websites that can be used in creating a professional portfolio. I will be focusing on the pros and cons of utilizing a personal web page, LinkedIn, and Facebook when creating a professional portfolio.
Creating a personal web page for the purpose of formulating a professional portfolio has many perks. First, a personal web page is a great way to network and build a customized picture of yourself. Second, the personal web page offers a lot of flexibility in design which can help in conveying your personality to potential employers. Third, blogging is an integral part of ones personal web page and this allows people to get an idea of who you are and what you are about. Blogging allows you the freedom to write on just about any topic you want and this offers readers insight into your opinions and perspectives on countless topics. The cons of a personal web page is the fact that you have to keep it up to date and relevant at all times which is very time consuming. In addition to that you must create a following to your personal web page in order to generate visitors and a significant web presence, and again this is time consuming. Also, due to the current nature of the internet it is virtually impossible to create a web presence without the likes of a social giant like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, or Pinterest there to back you up and help generate a following. Facebook is a giant when it comes to web presence and it allows users to connect with nearly everyone they know, past and present. Facebook provides an easy means to connect with others on a daily basis and it allows you to reach out to friends of friends or colleagues or family. The number of connections you are able to make is virtually endless. Visitors to your site can scroll through pictures, posts, and status updates to both your personal and professional life. Facebook is more friendly and far less serious in terms of seeking a professional following. The biggest con with Facebook is it creates an open book to your personal life and this could be detrimental to your professional life! It is imperative to be selective when sharing material and delving out information because it could seriously harm your professional credibility and integrity. LinkedIn on the other hand is quite the opposite. It is more of a professional networking website that allows you to create an open book into your professional work history. It is a vehicle for you to portray your work experience and background history, as well as your skills, strengths, and achievements. This is a huge positive when it comes to creating a professional image and depicting your personal integrity and professional character and employ-ability with a company. The con of using LinkedIn as a means for creating a professional portfolio is the fact that the value of the site hinges on the number of people actually using it and the length of time they are using it to make key connections and building and updating your profile. Like the personal web page it can be very time consuming and right now the people are on Facebook more than they are on LinkedIn and this will cause a severe limit to personal interaction and perspective job opportunities. There are a number of pros and cons for each of the three professional portfolio methods I have looked at here. One needs to decide which will be most beneficial and lucrative to him or her and go for it and see where it takes you. Overall, no matter which route you go, personal web page, Facebook, or LinkedIn, you and any potential employer are going to have access to your successes, achievements, work history, and strengths in a matter of seconds and this could be a win-win when it comes to interviewing for your next job! I reviewed several survey software sites in preparation of creating my simple survey. I looked at the following survey software sites: Surveymoz which has a lot of poweful features at a small price of $15/month or $120/year, dotsurvey which is the leader in intuitive software as a service technology as well as tools for digital marketing professionals, and esurveyspro.com which is the leader in managing feedback via the web and is very easy to use. The top players in providing online survey tools are Survey Monkey, Zoomerang, eSurveysPro, SurveyGizmo, QuestionPro, Jot Form, and Google Docs. When comparing these survey sites they have various pros and cons. Some limit questions, while others limit responses, and yet others limit the number of question types. They all provide online survey reports so it is a matter of deciding what your personal needs are for the survey you are conducting and utilizing the one that best meets your needs.
As you can see my blog is finally running correctly with the RSS feed and the ability for you all to leave comments. I have to thank Jenn for taking the time to talk me through correcting the problem over the phone. It was a simple error, but it had cost me many hours in trying to figure it out. Thank you so much Jenn for reaching out to me, taking the time to walk me through it over the phone, and helping me in correcting the problem! I also have to give thanks to my oldest child Stephanie for her amazing perseverance in helping her technologically challenged mom! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I appreciate you both so much!
There are several ways to go about Professional Networking in order to get you name out there and connect with others. Don't rely on one source for being your go to source of networking!
In person is always a good way of connecting with or meeting others in your profession. Word of mouth is a beneficial way to meet up with potential employers. Always take the time to speak to others in your professional field. It is always beneficial to hear the thoughts and opinions of those who pretty much walk in your shoes each and every day. It is a general rule of thumb that the more people you know the better! Using technology is another good choice in professional networking. Some website options for networking are Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn. It is probably a good idea to utilize more than one of these options if you can. An important fact to remember is you are connecting with professional in your field and it is imperative that you keep your professional and social network as two separate entities. You know the old adage, "don't mix business with pleasure"....it is very true in this sense so be careful of what you hear on your professional site. Wikis allow you to coordinate others to edit a group project or collaborate and share information or knowledge. Using wikis is a great way for students to complete a group project without ever having to meet. Wiki's eliminates the age old problem of some members not doing their share of the work. The edit and save buttons allow each member to do their part of the assignment when it is convenient for them. A tracking tool within wikis allows everyone to see what has been changed and by whom. Wikis definitely has the potential to change how group projects have historically been completed.
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