Am I Following you with Google Reader?

I would like to follow everyone in the class with the Reader App, so please let me know if I missed your Blog.  Thanks! 

I am following:

Amy Lyn

Grace

Rebekah

Sherman

Theresa

Brian

April

Michael

Candice

Wordle - Words from my Blog

Wordle Google Drive

Jing Video Creating Google Presentation

Here is a video of the steps involved when creating a Google Presentation.

Click Here to observe the Steps involved in Creating a Google Presentation

Jing Video Viewing Google Presentation

Viewing the Presentation

Click Here to View the Google Presentation

Google Docs Part Two - Survey Says...

Fill out this survey to learn more about your classmates!
This survey is about your Empire State College studies.  Find out what your classmates are doing at ESC.

Click here to take part in the survey and to see results

Google Docs Part One

Google Docs, now known as Google Drive, has many interesting and useful options. Google Drive gives you the capability to create text based documents, spreadsheets for calculations and presentations for slide shows.
I created the following form using the form feature found within the spreadsheet app. It was fun and amazingly easy! I will be using this form for future courses. I will have the instructors fill this out. It will save me tons of time! I am still trying to get the calculated fields to show up in this form, but I am not having much luck. Feel free to fill out the form with any sample information. I won't be going live with the instructors for a few weeks. Let me know if there are any glitches.

Mobile Devices Used in Business

How Mobil Devices Are Being Used in Business

Mobil phones are getting to be the normal method of doing business.  I think it would be odd to find a business owner that did not have a smart phone to aid in business operations.  Mobil devices allow a business person to take and place calls away from the office, access email, access their calendar, take pictures of items and send them anywhere, text coworkers and clients, map out the route to the next meeting, read the news or a trade journal, stay current with LinkedIn connections, track packages, track inventory, access Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, and even access training modules. 

I personally use my phone for most of these functions while acting as a training coordinator.  I access my email and calendar, check LinkedIn connections, text coworkers and sometimes clients, take and place calls while away from the office, take pictures of training sessions, map out routes to new client sites, read trade journals, access training and look at Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. 

The biggest disadvantage is the blurred line between work and personal life.  The phone is sometimes ringing during dinner and other important family events.  The expense can also be a deterrent to using smart phones.  Even with the special promotions available upon renewal, a smart phone still costs $200 and up for the newest technology.  The monthly bill tends to be at least $100 per month for the data plan and minutes.  If you do not buy insurance, which costs about $10 per month, in the unfortunate circumstance of a lost or damaged phone, it will cost the full retail value of about $450-500 to replace the phone. 

The following video is Tony Bingham: President & CEO, American Society for Training & Development (ASTD), Keynote Address focused on Mobil Learning, training which is delivered to your smart phone. Uploaded by TheBigSpeak on Jan 26, 2012.  

The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) is a long standing, well-respected organization.   Training and development professionals have come to depend on the ASTD for dependable and current information on the trends in training.  

A Google search using the text "smart phones for business use WSJ" revealed a Wall Street Journal article about NTT, a Japanese company, who lets employees use their own smart phones and tablets for work.  This is reputable information from The Wall Street Journal.  It is an objective in its coverage of this story.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120930-700837.html

LinkedIn

I have been using LinkedIn for several years.  I have found it a useful tool for networking.  When networking, it is easy to see how many contacts you have in common with another person.  Introductions can be easily made also.

Many times people don't check their LinkedIn as often as they do their email though, so it is best to patient when waiting for a connection.