Our Last Class : (

I am sad that this class is coming to a close and that our last day is this Wednesday, July 29th. I have truly enjoyed working with and getting to know each one of you a bit more.

During our last class we will try to wrap up our weblog, portfolio and personal branding projects. I will give you an overview of your grade and any outstanding work, and you will present your weblog and portfolio projects to the class. We may have a visitor (Susan Helser) in class Wednesday interested in seeing the excellent work you have done this semester.

Finally we will wrap up the class by completing our Final Exam which will also become part of our weblogs. The Final Exam will be much like the research assignments we have been completing.

I will give you time to research and compose the exam/essay in class. I ask that you save your sources in a Diigo list and in a Word document as well. The exam, which will be in essay format, will ultimately be posted to your weblog and also saved in a Word document. I will be looking at the printed version and the weblog version when I grade it.

The topic for the Final Exam is:

Learning environments, web 2.0 and web 2.0 learners: How are web 2.0 services and ideals revolutionizing our approach to learning? How does this carry over into the world of work?

Here are a couple of lists to get you started:
web 2.0 + work | learning 2.0 + web 2.0 learners

Portkeys, portfolios and portmanteau

As always we had lots of fun in class discussing our portfolio projects and how to create a network of sites that help to define and illustrate your personal niche and talents.

Specifically we discussed how to incorporate VisualCV, LinkedIn, print versions of resumes and portfolio items. We also looked at ways to extend our portfolios using creative strategies such as adding slide shares for portfolio items, or creating a personal videos that professionally highlight personal skill sets.

Spongeblog Squarepants and the Online Portfolio

Earlier today I was undecided on whether to move on in the book and cover a new topic, but I have decided to continue researching and developing our online portfolios. There are many ways to approach the project so we will continue to explore them and develop our ideas as well as look at some additional examples this week.

As outlined last week in our Spongeblog Squarepants Social Networking Presence Diagram, the portfolio is a piece of our online identity.

Today we discussed how we can make our portfolios stand out from the crowd, and we generated ideas about what to include in our online portfolios. ...And on that note, here's Version 2 of Spongeblog Squarepants Social Networking (The online portfolio) for your viewing pleasure.

Developing your online portfolio and preparing for your job search

Today we will be further developing our online portfolios and preparing materials for future job search expeditions.

Specifically we will continue to add information to our LinkedIn profiles and explore other ways to exhibit our work and skills online.

We will also explore site names and domain names as an additional step to help build and place emphasis on your personal brand.

I will be asking you to research how other people are using social networking tools, such as wikis, blogs and other tools to showcase and link up their experience, skills and samples of work. As always I would like you to compile your sources into a list on Diigo and post a summary of your findings (with the link to the Diigo list) on your weblog.