My reflections with week are brought to you in a very unusual manner by the use of a simplistic tool that I have discovered, for FREE! The discovery was due to my need of organizing thoughts and to do lists in an easily accessible and viewable manner within my professional occupation. I began searching and I found LinoIt! As I began using it, I realized this tool held value in many uses; adding attachments, videos, text, and icons in one consolidated area. I further realized I could use the colored sticky notes to delineate content. This tool has allowed me to collect a variety of material in one platform/canvas that can be accessed on any computing/mobile device. It is readily accessible to me anywhere; compatibility issues are none that I can find.
As I hold myself accountable to my challenge of expanding my use of web 2.0 tools within an e-learning environment, I had the idea of using LinoIt as my blog reflective post for this week. It offers the ability to provide thoughtful statements and personal reflections in a timestamped manner yet in an unconventional manner or at least one that I have not seen used within a blog before. I felt the the quote by Abraham Maslow, pictured here, is indicative of my desire to move outside my zone of proximal development and reach towards expansion of knowledge and experiences. |
The use of this tool allowed me the opportunity to record my thoughts and reflections in snapshot moments throughout the creation of our collaborative assessment toolkit. What better manner in which to blog, right? Our project followed a jigsaw technique for group collaboration whereby each member contributes information as parts to a whole. Individual research was completed by each team member and then synthesized together into a final culminating artifact. My experience participating within a jigsaw activity are shared above. My comments are short, yet offer viewers insight into my thought processes and experiences throughout this collaborative activity. You will notice that I have utilized the colored sticky notes to delineate the pre-planning, production, synthesis and reflection stages of my collaborative experiences this week. I also began to realize the value of adding key terms, or subject line, at the bottom of each note. This assisted in focusing my thought and also provided topic identifiers for quick navigation and content depth.
Each sticky note can be selected to read, can be moved around the board by the hand tool, and security settings can restrict editing by viewers. The canvas provides copious space to add information. Scrolling may be required as content is added. Embedding this tool to my website was effortless as well. I have enjoyed the use of this tool. It has been efficient, comprehensive and easily adaptive. As I uploaded my LinoIt canvas to share, I have taken the role of the viewer. I have selected each sticky note, read the contents, reviewed my posted video and attachment and see that this tool has captured by collaborative experience, in an asynchronous timeline, to share with others. I am hopeful you enjoy reading my thoughts along my journey. Further information regarding the Assessment Toolkit Collaboration artifact can be found on the Assessment Toolkit page within my website. The final artifact can be be viewed and/or downloaded on that page, by selecting the adjacent e-book or viewing the pdf file posted within my canvas. The e-book was an additional challenge that I set for this week. Knowing the final artifact was a pdf document that included multiple pages, I was determined to present its content in a user-friendly, asthetically pleasing manner. My search was to discover an open-resource that would offer the ability to upload a pdf file into an e-book format. Being cognizant of device compatibility I was seeking a resource that was HTML-based and did not require a flash player. I arrived at the discovery of FlipHTML5. Sign-up was simple, uploading was fast and the generation of the e-book was instantaneous. Further more, this program offers me the ability to retrieve an embed code to place within my blog. Url links are also offered for sharing capabilities. This tool has yet been another valuable find in my challenge to expand my experiences with web 2.0 tools within an e-learning environment. Please share your comments and any difficulties you may experience with viewing my blog canvas or e-book. I am eager to learn from your feedback! Enjoy. |
Tips for LinoIt Canvas Navigation
Best viewing: Chrome, Firefox, or Safari To move canvas around: Move arrow/cursor to background; hand will appear, click and pull up/down/left/right to see additional areas of the canvas To read notes: Click on the sticky note of choice to read; layering of notes with change based upon current selection |