Blog Archives

Personal Learning Network (PLN)

5/16/2015

In just the span of a few days, my social media knowledge and use has grown exponentially, with the latest being that of curation. Curation seems to be the ideal solution for streamlining information gathering and sharing. This process is advantageous when you're looking to save time. For me, the Pearltree site is the best place to begin my curating. It offers the most time effective way to collect information from the web or other Pearltree users, organize it, and potentially share my topics with others in the Pearltree community. As an allied health professional I have the ability to choose topics such as functional rehabilitation and exercise, medicine, team building/leadership, technology in athletic medicine, etc. Any Pearltree user can search for just about any topic, ranging from business to pleasure. I'm excited to see my Pearltree grow and to share my "Pearls" with others.
I hope I've linked my PLN correctly using the RSS button.
If you'd like to add some pearls of wisdom to my tree you can find me at: http://www.pearltrees.com/paulrdiaz

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Internet & Learning

5/14/2015

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I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I was in my undergraduate courses when the World Wide Web was being introduced. Ever since then the Internet has played a major role in my education, either through what now is as simple as email, social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, to blogging. It seems that Whelan (2003) was correct in predicting that the blogosphere would continue to expand unabated. Lingard (2015) lists eight uses for blogs in higher education, from commentary and expert analysis to collaborative authoring.
According to the article by Williams and Jacobs (2004), they concluded that blogging has the potential to be a transformation technology for teaching and learning, and that blogs have become a product of convenience rather than design. I would have to extend this to the Internet in general as well. Life can get very busy with work, school, family, and extracurricular activities, the Internet can help someone stay connected in many ways. For example, as a certified athletic trainer (ATC) the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) site has been very useful in assisting with maintaining my certification by allowing on-line courses and quizzes to count for continuing education credit. Through the NATA's quiz center an ATC can select topics of their choice and really tailor their on-line continuing education to their liking/interests. I know for myself some of my interests are within emergency preparedness and functional rehabilitation. I can either search for courses or topics by either Ron Courson or Gary Gray.
Although one has to be careful by purely relying on the Internet for learning. There something to be said for hands-on application, otherwise known as getting your hands dirty. The Internet is a great starting point to begin to build a solid foundation. To fully master, for example, a certain soft tissue mobilization technique an ATC needs to be able to practice and hone this type of skill.

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Strengths

5/13/2015

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Ah, the "sweet spot", or how I like to call it, "being in the zone." Being in the zone, when everything just clicks, the processing speed slows down to the optimal tempo, and everything seems to work in auto-drive.
For me, I like to have organization and a well thought out plan in pretty much everything I do. On some occasions I can accept when things are out of my control, but for the most part I prefer to be in control.
Working in athletics I know that sounds impossible. As we all know, schedules change, venues change, the weather changes, etc., but somehow for me once I'm at work and the plan for the day is somewhat known I'm okay with the possibility of something throwing me "out of my zone." I know that as I report to work each day I have a list of jobs/tasks I need to complete and I'll organize it in such a way where I can watch out for those "curve balls" and make adjustments.

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Personal Web Presence

5/13/2015

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Personal Web Presence (PWP) is the way to go! I've never been much of a social media person (i.e. Facebook, etc.), but I believe PWP is something I can really get into. The ability to customize everything from the design, layout, color scheme, pages such as blog, resume, philosophy, or whatever you want, and much much more is very appealing to me. In the building process, one can really put their own flavor and signature on their PWP. And to top it all off, using a web-hosting service such as Weebly makes it so easy, just drag and drop.
A well thought out PWP gives that person, group, or company the chance to really show off who they are or what they're trying to sell, and let's them take ownership for what goes on their PWP. A good PWP can be both professional and personal. Adding a bit of a personal touch attracts more of an audience, and keeping the layout and information to the point will only keep a visitor coming back for more. Another bonus that seems to attract today's PWP visitors are images, this will be something I'll have to work on.
I'm hooked already!

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Twitter Nation

5/13/2015

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There is no getting around social media, believe me I've tried for one reason or another. It seems as though social media (ie. Twitter, Facebook, etc.) is here to stay and is only going to continue to grow. Everywhere you click on the world wide web, either a person, group, and/or organization is using social media to get their word out. Everyone from the local Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) to politicians in our local, state, and federal government.
Athletics is very much included in that list are using social media such as Twitter to promote their name/brand, real-time scores, wins/losses, hirings/firings, latest news, etc. For those who have a fear of missing out, Twitter has come to their rescue. With a simple notification push or refresh of the device screen, the Twitter feed can keep a person updated in split second time.
Have no fear, Twitter is here!

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Let me introduce myself...

5/13/2015

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Hello everyone and welcome to my new and first blog site.
If you've already visited my "About" page, this might be a little redundant.
In any case, my name is Paul Diaz. First and foremost,I am a husband of 10 years and daddy to two little girls. Secondly, I am a certified athletic trainer. This May 2015 marks my 17th year working as a certified athletic trainer.
When I am not busy covering workouts, practices and/or games, I love being at home with my family and/or staying active. Some of my outside hobbies/activities include jogging, weight lifting, boxing, snowboarding, and reading non-fiction military books of any era.

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