Week 5 Blog: Chatterbox

Talk the Talk

None of us would be able to learn as much if we did not do that one thing that is so important; communicate! Learning from each other is the best way to learn.  But as crazy as it may seem, we all need some sort of communication to acquire knowledge and grow as a person.  Of course communication is a little give and take; not just take. 

The means of communication have expanded dramatically in the last decade or so.  We once depended on house phones and would answer any single call that came in!  Now, we have caller ID, text messages, email, Skype, Google Hangouts, Google Helpouts, and more.  These different styles to talk have helped keep in touch with family and friends.  It has also helped meet new people and establish an online community.

Next, skype is a good tool to use to video chat with people all over the world, or even beneficial for a learning environment. Now, for Google Hangouts.. This I find more appeasing mainly because you can archive the videos right away, and you would be able to the refer back and gather information.  This is also an effective technique to use in order to collaborate ideas based on a specific subject. You can setup your Google Hangouts to directly sync to your youtube account.  Lastly, Google Helpouts is a very efficient way to learn from experts.  They have all different types of professionals that can give you face to face time in order to learn.  This is definitely an excellent learning tool.

This week in class we had the pleasure of using Google Hangouts twice.  Our first video conversation was with Adam Taylor, a high school science teacher in Tennessee.  Mr. Taylor has created some of his own Twitter chats and had a lot of great advice to share about getting to know people that have the same interests.  His twitter chats have had as many as 1700 tweets involved.  He started with 5 scientists and is now at about 50.  In order to get involved online, you want to look up individuals that have the same professions or career goals.  The idea is to look up specific hashtags related to your field.  Also, check and see how recent their tweets are, if it is an active chat or not.  You also want to check profiles for lists and to find more people.  As Adam Taylor stated, "Twitter is the gateway drug into other social media sites."  This is what gets you started with your digital footprint. 

Our second Google Hangout was with Dr. Caleph Wilson, a scientist at the Abramson Family Research Institute and the Department of Microbiology of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.  He works with T cells, trying to transform them into fighting against cancer tumors and HIV.  Dr. Wilson had a lot of great advice for us that are trying to make not only a name for ourselves in our career, but to do the same online as well.  It is important to have connections on professional networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and even just blogs.  This gives you an opportunity to write about your profession, and to get engaged with certain outreaches.  This gives you a way to get your name out there.  Dr. Wilson has experienced some opportunities through social networking.  He has been asked to write for certain organizations.  It was a pleasure talking with and learning from both Adam Taylor and Dr. Caleph Wilson.