Flip Yeah

Before attending my TEAC 259 class last week, this F icon held no meaning to me. In fact, I might have had trouble even guessing that this symbol is supposed to represent an F. However, I discovered that this is the icon for Flipboard, a website/app that advertises itself as "your personal magazine." You can subscribe to topics that interest you, then Flipboard will highlight current event articles from major publications about the topics you have chosen.
We had to create a Flipboard account as an assignment for class, so I figured I would find the required number of articles, share them, and never log back in again. However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover this is a website I could see myself coming back to visit regularly. There are several reasons why Flipboard is worth checking out- here's what drew me in:

1. It plays into one of my favorite things: mindlessly scrolling.
Whether through Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter, I enjoy devoting large quantities of time each day to scrolling. Flipboard is no different, as you scroll through the many different articles pulled to find one you want to read. The difference is, here I'm much more likely to read a meaningful article than on other sites.

2. Keeping up on current events is on my New Year's Resolutions list- every. year.
"I'm going to stay more informed about what's going on in the world." How many times have I told myself that? But frankly, it's usually just not convenient enough to fit into my daily life. This is a fun way to counter that mindset.

3. It's personalized to you.
What makes Flipboard unique is that you get to make it your own. I don't have to scroll through a hundred articles to find the two that actually interest me; Flipboard does some of the hard work for me.

4. I get to view content specific to my field.
Flipboard is a great starting place to keep up-to-date on the current happenings in the education and speech pathology fields. Staying current on what's going on elsewhere in my field will be important to my career, and I can see myself perusing Flipboard to get a sense of what's up.

I loved getting this chance to learn about one site that's out there to keep us more connected to the world. If anyone has any similar websites they like to use, feel free to let me know!

Staying Sane at the Start of the Semester

New year.
New classes.
New stress.
The start of a new semester can be overwhelming, to say the least. Syllabus week consists of learning what is due when and who allows what, for all of your classes, all at once. It's enough to confuse even the best of us. And if we're not careful, things will start to slip through the cracks. That's not the way anyone wants to start off the semester!
In my first Instructional Technology (TEAC 259) class, we talked about the technology we encounter every day, and what affordances these technologies allow us. That got me thinking about the technology I take advantage of every day to keep myself organized, aka what keeps me from becoming an overwhelmed, assignment-forgetting blob.

Planner: My motto: Write down EVERYTHING. Even the simple things that I'm sure I'll remember to do a couple hours from now. Because I won't remember to do them. I would be lost without this guide to my assignments.

iPhone Calendar: My iCalendar is my life. Literally... everything I do is written here. It helps me keep track of when things are happening and sends me a reminder an hour before events. And since it's on my phone, I have access to it wherever I go. Plus, I can sync it with my family's calendar, so I always know what their schedule is like, even when I'm away at school.

Sticky notes: Even with these other methods to remember things, I'm still apt to forget. A well-placed sticky note at my desk can serve as the perfect reminder at the end of the day.


What would I do if I didn't have these simple technologies to keep me organized? Honestly, I would probably forget over half of what I'm supposed to be doing on any given day. Being organized is the key to keeping your sanity as a new semester begins.

I'm excited to see where my adventure into blogging takes me as I learn more about instructional technology and how it applies to my field of speech-language pathology!