Marietta's 23 New Digital Knowledge Things Journey

Thing 9 – Google Hangouts

I’ve not used Hangouts before but it’s very similar to WhatsApp, which I use regularly to talk to overseas family. What a fun app. I love the cute little ponies and the shy dinosaur – just wish I could send them in a message!

My daughter and I had fun chatting between two rooms in the house on a video call and (her) sending photos of our dog Winter. Unfortunately she couldn’t access the document feature and the YouTube video option didn’t display for me. She used her iPhone and I was on my PC. Any ideas??

I suppose, in the end it’s what you’re used to. I use WhatsApp, which offers both video and voice calls and allows users to share photos and videos.

Bonus! I just realised that WhatsApp offers a Group Call function! I must try that tonight when South Africa wakes and I can talk to both my grand mother, mum and sister at once…

Thing 8 – Facebook

It’s been a while since my last post. I’m ashamed. Hopefully I’ll be able to stay on track and finish off my 23 Things!

I’ve been using Facebook on-and-off-again for a long time and have joined formal FB groups, such as our local ‘Buy, Swap and Sell’ and ‘Dog Walkers’ groups. I never considered using the group function for my own benefit. Creating a group to arrange that Christmas party, hens night or birthday bash seems like the natural thing to do now! Using a poll to vote on place, time and other items.

Time will tell whether I actually use this function given I’m already using WhatsApp with my overseas family, but it’s certainly an option in my mind now!

Thing 7 – Twitter

I completed this Thing as a beginner. The first thing I learned was that I had set up a Twitter account in November 2010 and had not posted a single tweet! I still haven’t and I’m not sure that I ever will.

I find the application intuitive and very easy to use – it is very much like using Facebook. I can see its value as a source of information around current events and trending topics but won’t rush back.

Thing 6 – Accessibility

Years ago my husband and I started a little import business and built our website from scratch. We spent hours planning the content and working on our site.

The topic of accessibility was an eye opener for me. I learned many things but mainly I learned how uninformed and ignorant I was about the range of disabilities people can live with and the technology available to assist people with disability.

I viewed a few websites using Website Accessibility eValuation Tool (WAVE) and they all listed similar errors. The website chose to report on showed the following errors:

Document language missing
178 x Very low contrast items
30 x Missing alternative text
18 x Linked images missing alternative text
36 x Missing form label
4 x Empty form label
60 x Empty links
4 x Broken same page links
130 x Redundant links

From this review it’s evident that vision impaired people will find it difficult to see this website properly. I decided to email this organisation to share the findings with them as I think it would be fairly easy to fix at least the contrast issue as a start.

I also found the article on gender thought-provoking. I’m motivated to share the article provided to spread awareness.

Thing 5 – Diversity

I have enjoyed using emoji’s since they were introduced and had no idea of the hidden meaning behind some of them. To me a peach is a peach!

The use of emoji’s make messages more personal and I think everyone should be able to choose emoji’s which are representative of their person, culture and beliefs.

I remember clearly thinking “it’s about time” when the skin tones were first made available and it didn’t even cross my mind that some people may want to use the function to cause hurt to others. It’s a relief to see through the University of Edinburgh’s study that people are in fact using the function to self-identify, which is the purpose of creating skin tone in the first place.

Bitmoji was a new concept to me, so I embraced it and created my own. It was a fun process. I will use my avatar in messages to my family only, but am happy to share it here.

Thing 4 – Digital Security

This was a worthwhile and long overdue exercise.

I was quite pleased with my permissions settings on my device – only one app had been given unneccessary permissions. This was a game my son had installed.

I downloaded the My Permissions app through the Apple Store and was surprised to find that three apps had permissions to access my inbox and contacts through my Facebook account. One app had permission to use my location totally unnecessarily and three apps required basic information. My Instagram account is secure.

This exercise lead to an audit of my Facebook privacy settings and the location and other settings on my device. I’m enjoying learning about things I have always put in the “too hard basket”!

Thing 3 – Digital Footprint

I didn’t find much about myself on Google and DuckDuckGo, but what I did find was terribly out of date. My LinkedIn profile picture was an inappropriate professional choice and the information old and not a reflection of my current professional role.

I’ve reviewed my platform privacy settings as a result of this module, and a ‘contacts review’ is up next.

I didn’t know I could limit people who are able to tag me in photos and messages, so that was a great learning.

As a mum, I have spoken to my daughter about the Digital Footprint topic and hope that she will heed the message to think carefully before comments or photos.

Thing 2 – Create a Blog

I set out to complete this programme towards my continuing professional development and I will definitely tick that box, but since starting the programme and building this blog I have become excited about the opportunity to become much more familiar with the social media platforms my children use so that I can have some fun with them.

First things first. Social Media Policies. A very important place to start!

I read the documents provided with the 23 Things programme and found them very useful but they also highlighted to me how much I have to learn! I’ll be referring back to these documents as I work my way throuhg the 23 Things list.

I also consulted my workplace social media policy which is quite similar to the University of Edinburgh’s.

Introduction

I’ve always thought of myself as tech-savvy, but recently I realised that I have become that person who calls on her 7-or-15 year olds to connect Netflix to chromecast! They are both using words and apps I don’t understand. I’m become out of touch.

So, thank you University of Edinburgh for this opportunity to upskill and become relevant again! I’m super excited to have launced this blog and to learn some exciting new (to me) digital skills with support from the 23 Things community.