Symbaloo

SYMBALOO 

Symbaloo is considered a form of social bookmarking, its relatively simple; yet very futuristic. The view of symbaloo very much reminds me of an iphone app pool. It is used as direct links to website. This website was very inventive and easy to work with. I felt like it was a different take on tool bar. For example across the top of my screen I have bookmarks linking me directly to my most common websites. With symbaloo however, it gives you the option of complying your websites based on their category. Which is not only fun, but very convenient. I also appreciate how it allows you to like the website to the common icon. For example: Ebay has an ebay icon, the Indianapolis Colts have a colts icon. Easy to see, easy to decipher. 

Depending on the field of Sports Management I enter, this tool could be very useful. If I were in charge of community service I could be helpful to have direct links to certain non-profits and other organizations that we might be able to help. Obviously the links such as webmail, yellow pages, etc would be easily accessed through Symbaloo also.

Below is introduction on how symbaloo works:

Concept Maps and Brainstorming

Concept Mapping is a technique used for representing knowledge in graphs or an organized manner. A concept map is generally used to generate ideas for brainstorming. It also enables the user to design a complex structure with ideas and side notes to further elaborate on ideas the user has. It is a great communication tool to use in the workplace when trying to explain or describe an idea to another person or a group. It compliments the learning by integrating new and old knowledge. It allows expansion of ideas.

Mind Mapping or concept maps are a very popular trend that have been seen more frequently in most professional workplaces. Mind maps are slightly different than concept maps. Mind Maps consist of a central word or concept, around the central word you draw the five to ten main ideas that relate to that word. Then, you take each of those words and elaborate further on those five to ten words with main ideas that relate to each of the words. The difference between the two ( Mind Mapping and Concept Maps) is that a mind map has only one main concept, which a concept map has several. 

In the picture above I did a short Mind map on the process of creating a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. I used the website bubbl.us which is an online brainstorming or mind mapping site that allows anyone with an email address to access it. The site is extremely simple to use and pretty much self explanatory. 

In my professional field, I definitely believe that concept maps, brainstorming, and mind mapping could be extremely useful and beneficial in many different ways. If I were hired to work for a professional football team, and I was in charge of their volunteer work and community service I could easily present ideas to the board about what the players could do. That would enable me to have a simple visual for the people I was presenting to. Hopefully at that point it would make everything a bit clearer and be easily understood. Now, I could also use these resources for a personal tool. These could help me create ideas and put them together in what you might call an "organized mess". Usually when professionals are coming up with ideas that is what tends to happen, however with this tool you can put all of your ideas together in one place and even in specific order! Not only could I use this in my field but also in almost every professional workplace, but also in the school system. I presented this to my room mate who is a Family, Youth and Community Sciences Major with a minor in education and she was so interested in the topic because these are the types of tools that are extremely useful to her. She explained that this concept mapping and brainstorming ideas could benefit her in each of her fields. 

There are other websites that are also easy to use and here are a few links to check out:

Educational Technology

We were taught in class the importance of educational technology. There are various methods to use technology for classroom management, administration, and teaching. Whether its a new and inventive way to offer spelling words to a fifth grade class or a site such as Sakaii that allows college students to have direct access to learning resources the teacher provides. Technology is rapidly enhancing the manner in which students learn and teachers teach. Below are some examples of teaching tools that can be found online and for free.

WORDLE

"Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you."

Wordle is a free tool found on the internet. You provide specific texts and it complies them into an picture with "clouds." The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. The program allows you to select fonts, colors, and schemes to appeal to the viewer in a specific manner. Wordle is a really fun tool that could be used as a marketing and advertising for various occasions. I could see myself using this tool to promote specific community service events that I have been involved in with the football team.

 This tool may not be as applicable for my future profession, in the sports industry. It would be nice to use for someone in the education field, however. For instance, you could use it for spelling words. Lets say you were teaching 2nd grade and you had 10 spelling words, you could put them into wordle and have the kids take turns identifying the word and spelling it on the chalkboard. I think that with all the technology we have nowadays, the more you trying to create fun learning environments for kids the more likely they are to want to learn. So as opposed to just handing them a list of their spelling words, handing them a wordle might just make that much of a difference. 

Web Technology

Did You Know?

        Personally, this video made me feel very uneasy. Our society is so dependent on technology, that if there were to be some sort of epic technological crash (if you will) our society would basically cease to exist. I felt the video was very informative and somewhat blew my mind when it put things into perspective. For example, according to the video: 25% of India's population with the highest IQ's is greater than the total population of the United States. India also has more honors kids than America has kids. It also says that 1 out of 8 couples married in the US last year met online, what does that say about our society? Our social skills? Our technology is growing at such a rapid rate that for student starting a 4 year degree, half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study. In all honesty these statistics are a little frightening to me, call me a coward but how can you not be scared when the world as you know it is constantly changing. I believe the quote "the only consistent thing in this world is that everything is always changing" strongly applies to technology. Students are being prepared for jobs that do not even exist at the moment. How can you stand on your own two feet when the world is constantly shifting?

        

        From an athletic stand point, in the world of sports management, transformation is inevitable.  We have athletes tweeting during games, blogs about every subject you can imagine, magazines coming out with their own online versions, websites devoted to high school recruiting. All of it is available to you via computer, cell phone, ipad, etc. All at the click of a button, all at the touch of a mouse. Recently, Chad Ochocinco was fine a total of 25K for "in game tweeting." This fine led to numerous blogs/articles about where the NFL will draw the line. Was it alright for the NFL to step in? Is it their place? Should it be up to the team? All very valid questions, but yet no real answer can be concluded. Nowadays, cell phone service providers offer you the ability to access NFL, NBA, and MLB updates via text message or internet browser. I will admit I am guilty of checking the updates of my beloved Colts, while sitting in Raymond James Stadium watching the Bucs play the Falcons or checking play off scores while at a family dinner. Call it extreme, but it is definitely convenient. The examples are endless. You can site online recruiting websites, those things can legitamately make or break a high school player. Same goes for online draft reports, one bad physical or a strongly worded opinion from a scouting coach and you will forever be proving yourself in the eyes of the public. Is it good for the sports industry? Arguably, yes? It makes having a love for the game much easier, it can take someone who knows very little about sports into a worldly spectator. Some may argue otherwise. 

        http://games.espn.go.com/frontpage/football

         Take Fantasy Football for example. Most avid football fans would love nothing more than to be in control of their favorite football team. Be an advisor on draft day, make cuts, hires coaches, the whole nine-yards. Fantasy football gives these fans that opportunity. You can put together a team of athletes to compete against friends and other people in the "league." They claim in order to be successful in fantasy football "you need the business savvy of a general manager, the knowledge of a pro scout, and the strategy of a head coach." People take football to a whole new level in fantasy football. 

         DID YOU KNOW? 2.0