Résumé Revisit: Rezscore

Summary

While creativity can be a good thing when it comes to the design of a résumé, there are some “rules” that should be followed when it comes to things like length, order, and language. When I originally created my résumé I used books and online templates for guidance. However, I have recently been told my résumé was too long. In anticipation of the coming school year, I set up an appointment with Career Services in order to gain advice on making my résumé shorter (one page instead of two) and more presentable. I was complemented on the impact of my descriptions and was given the following suggestions.

·         “Honors” and “Activities” go near the end

·         List “Honors” and “Skills” one-by-one for easy reading

·         Align dates to the far right for easy reading

·         Dates should be specific if possible (i.e. saying Oct-Dec is better than Fall 2010)

·         Bold degrees earned and put them before educational details (this is what you want to stand out as your most significant accomplishment)

·         There is no need to mention President’s list or Dean’s list if you graduated with        honors (it’s implied)

·         There is no need to create two categories for “Skills” and “Languages”

·         Descriptions are not needed for volunteer positions held

In addition to addressing the above, I also update my résumé to reflect my current status. I changed my email address, my home address, I included my graduate education, and I put the action verbs of my last job in past tense. Last but not least, I updated the “Skills” section with newly learned technologies!

            Additionally, I uploaded the original document to Rezscore. This website, through three easy steps, provides instant feedback on résumé quality. It will show a graded score and commentary regarding what was done well and what would make it better. After uploading my document, checking the “Resume Help” box, and clicking the “Submit” button, I was served this screen.

www.rezscore.com

My résumé was placed in the 87^th percentile and it was suggested that it could be improved by making it more concise and impactful with vivid language. Rezscore also sent me an email (although I did not ask them to or provide them with my address other than including it in my résumé) explaining that I scored 82 out of 100 for brevity, 90 for impact, and 99 for depth.

After revising my résumé, I submitted the revised copy to Rezscore, receiving the same grade and suggestions. However, the breakdown was different: 71 for brevity, 99 for impact, and 99 for depth. While I agree that my résumé is not as brief as it could be, I am happy with the extent to which it represents my accomplishments and do not feel that I could minimize it further without taking out meaningful content.  

What I Learned

After completing this activity, I now have a revamped résumé that I will be confident to send to my dream school. It can be hard to see deficiencies in things that you have personally created but, a professional should have the gumption and sense to consult higher-ups, experts, or colleagues to ensure that what they make available to others is the best possible product. Also, professionals should never be scared to make changes. In this day and age, nothing stays the same for long. Expectations change with the rise of knowledge and innovation. Products such as résumés and lesson plans should continuously be updated and revised.

            In regards to technology, I learned just how easy it can be for the Internet to scan, retrieve, and use your personal information. When I uploaded my résumé documents to Google Docs I was careful to obscure my address and phone number. However, I mistakenly uploaded the unprotected documents to Rezscore. This website and the people involved now have all of my personal information and know more about my history than any of my Facebook “friends.” I thought I was a knowledgeable and safe Internet user, but since this activity, I have learned to be more aware and careful. From now on, I will slow down and think carefully about what it is I use the Internet for.

How I Would Use It

            No professional can get very far in the working world without a well done résumé. Don’t let a poor résumé keep you from making a difference in our schools. If you are working towards professional development, you will always have something new to add. Use Rezscore safely to ensure that your accomplishments stand out and don’t go unnoticed.

Standards Reflection

            In aligning this activity with an ISTE-NETS-T standard, I would have to choose Standard Five. Since high school I have been doing what I can to develop skills that I can contribute to a school community’s effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal. Almost all of these things appear in my résumé. As I gain steam in the educational community I hope for my résumé to also demonstrate my commitment to professional improvement and lifelong learning. These are qualities that Standard Five requires to prove in conjunction with the use of technological tools and resources.

Fixing a Résumé

           A résumé must make a good first impression. You wouldn’t walk into an interview with unkempt hair and a sloppy outfit would you? Likewise, you shouldn’t send out an untidy looking résumé. A résumé should catch an employer’s eye and keep them reading. In order to create a résumé like this, it is necessary that one is familiar with the ins and outs of technology applications used to create résumés. While creating a résumé one may choose to create headers, adjust formatting, change text size and color, create text boxes, create dividers, and more. In this respect, creativity is your best asset and your ability to show creativity also demonstrates your level of digital literacy.

To me, creating the perfect résumé is touchy business. Résumés travel and speak to people about who you are, what you have done, what you are doing, and what your future holds in store for you. In short, when someone sends out a résumé, they are sending out an extension of themselves. Yet, a résumé goes through much critiquing before it is able to snag you that interview you were hoping for at that school where you have always want to work. As a student at SU, my résumé will have been critiqued by career services, professors, peers, and a website before it is seen again by a school principal. Further, nearly everybody has an opinion regarding what makes or breaks a résumé and sometimes it can be difficult to take constructive criticism, especially when it involves something so personal and the need to revise something that is close to a piece of art.

 

This post is brought to you in anticipation of the publishing of my revised résumé.

Snipping Tool: Win/Mac OS

Summary

For various reasons I have used my computer’s “Print Screen” option to capture and share images of webpages for colleagues and students. One thing that must be noted about the Print Screen option is that, while pressing a few keys in order to capture, copy, and paste an image to share is a fairly simple task, with Print Screen, you end up capturing an image with superfluous details (the task bar, tool bar, scroll bar, etc.). To share an image without those details, you must find a way to crop the image which can take time and effort.

 

I was not aware until now that another option was available; the Snipping tool allows users to capture a cropped image of their active computer screen. With just seven major options, there is very little that is complicated about this tool. In addition to being able to select only the details you really care about, it also allows you to write a message and highlight text (there is also an eraser tool for undoing changes). My immediate reaction upon discovering this was, “Cool!” But, after practicing with it, I decided it was just okay. I’m not sure when I would really make use of the pen feature as it requires a significant amount of dexterity in order to create reasonably sized marks that resemble anything close to the English language. The computer's mouse is used to draw and works best to create simple exclamation points, question marks, and arrows. This tool would be significantly more useful if it included the ability to create text boxes such as those that can be created with applications like Paint and Word.

 

What I Learned

            Efficiency is key. Previous to discovering how to use the Snipping tool, I would use the Print Screen key, open PowerPoint, paste the image, find the cropping tool, crop the image, and enlarge the image. If the image wasn’t needed in the PowerPoint, I would then copy and paste it elsewhere. I almost can’t believe I have spent so much of my time going through this process. In the future, I will know to use the Snipping tool unless I need perfectly straight arrows or neat text.

            While the Snipping tool may prove to be an efficient tool for grabbing, collecting, and sharing educational materials, Snippers must be aware that copyright rules may apply for snipped images and text. I believe that I still have to learn where some of the fine lines between sharing and copyright infringement lie.



How I Would Use It

            Along with the pen, highlighter, and eraser options, users are able to save, copy, and send (email) their image. These options give the user the ability to either immediately embed an image in a project or to save it independently. The duel capability of this tool, I believe, is what makes it most versatile. For instance, I would use this tool to abbreviate lessons that rely on websites by selecting the most relevant paired images and text that is needed to introduce an idea, supplement students’ knowledge, or evoke curiosity and critical thinking.

             The Internet is full of great learning resources for kids but often there are not enough computers to go around or not enough time to get the class down to the computer lab. Information from these sites can still be utilized by teachers and students when the Snipping tool is used to selectively extract images and text. The snipped images can be used alone, in presentations, or on worksheets. Using the tool in this way can help teachers keep their lessons focused on what is most important, eliminating the temptation for teachers and students to become distracted by links and eliminating the possibility students will become enticed to surf the web.

             For instance, Time for Kids provides free articles and polls online. Stories can be snipped,

highlighted, and presented, or polls can be used for persuasive writing prompts.

Since the formatting, colors, and images remain intact, snips are easy to read and fun to look at. Anything that is irrelevant to the lesson can be blacked out using the pen feature.

What I Did

           While searching the web, I found something I would love to share with my students and include in a lesson. I then found the snipping tool, previously hidden away in the dark recesses of my computer, by searching through my programs in my start menu. After clicking on the tool, I was glad to see that I was served one direction ("drag the cursor over the area you want to capture"), short and simple! I was then able to choose the type of "pen" I wanted to draw with and the color. I made the image relevant to my needs by coloring it in using my mouse and saving it to my computer.

 

Standards Reflection

          This use of this tool meets ISTE-NETS-T’s Standard 1,  “b” and 2, “a.” Stories and articles such as those found on sites like “Time for Kids” are forms of digital literature that reveal real-world issues. They draw attention to these issues and with appropriate scaffolding from teachers, can be used to incite authentic problem solving from students.  In addition, while students may be engaged in learning experiences on individual computers, similar learning experiences can be had if teachers adapt websites’ resources for individual, small group, or whole class learning by providing snippets of the resources through alternate mediums.







Résumé: Google Docs

Creating New Documents: Examples

I began using Google Docs for the first time last year (my senior year of college). Over the past year, I have been led to discover the versatility of this tool. At first, I used this feature with classmates to create papers for group assignments. Recently, I have used Google Docs with friends to organize potlucks and with professors to sign-up for presentation times and topics. Additionally, while working closely with an English for International Students teacher at a private high school, I saw her using Google Docs to monitor students’ work and provide editing suggestions during in-progress assignments. So far, this tool has proven useful to me in school, in my personal life, and in my professional field and I’m sure there are many more ways it could be used that I haven’t even thought of yet!

Potential uses for Google Docs

            In the elementary classroom, Google Docs may be used for such things as sign-up sheets (computer use during indoor recess, group projects, etc.). Additionally, teaching productivity may be enhanced in elementary schools using Google Docs when applications are used to collaboratively create and share lesson plans, notes about student performance for team teachers, presentations for shared unit plans and lessons, administrative sign-up sheets (bus duty, kitchen duty, etc.), parent sign-up sheets (parent volunteers, supply list, etc.)

 

How I Uploaded my Résumé

I am most familiar with the ability Google Docs provides to create a word document and work collaboratively on the document with one or more people at the same time. However, just a few weeks ago, I discovered that documents could also be uploaded to Google Docs to allow for collaboration on previously developed documents, spreadsheets, etc. In completing the Google Docs Résumé assignment, I uploaded a PDF for the first time. I originally created my résumé in a Word document. To protect my privacy, I covered my addresses and phone numbers. In addition, to protect the file from being altered, I converted it to a PDF. While uploading the file I was prompted as to whether I wanted to change the file format; I simply made sure to uncheck the boxes in the prompted to keep the original format.

Before publishing the document, I was nervous about making it public. I was relieved to learn that Google provides options regarding who you want to share your document with. I was able to limit the viewing of my résumé to people at SU, allowing them to find and access the document. However, I could have refined the options further to say that I wanted only people at SU with a link to be able to view it. Therefore, while working in my school’s Gmail account, I will be able to limit my viewers to individuals in my network. If you are in the SU network, click here to view my résumé.

Learning Outcome

            To answer the question, “What advantages and disadvantages does cloud computing with Google have over traditional desktop applications?” it was necessary for me to learn what cloud computing is. Through some quick glances at various websites, I have found out that cloud computing enables people to make use of various applications through the use of the internet, without accessing the applications on their personal computers. That is, applications are hosted by cloud computing resources using networks of remote servers. In theory, I would not need to have Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc. installed on my computer in order to make use of these application’s features as Google provides Google Docs were these files can be created, stored, and managed. For instance, cloud computing seems are very practical for businesses and institutions. A school administrator may choose to have teachers and students use a cloud computing resource instead of spending money to furnish each individual computer with a software package.

Question

Question: “What advantages and disadvantages does cloud computing with Google have over traditional desktop applications?”

Advantages: 1) Google applications are free, 2) projects sharing either publicly or with select people without the use of email or flash drives, 3) collaborative and simultaneous creation of projects, and 4) projects are safe in case of computer crash

Disadvantages: 1) projects not accessible without internet access, 2) publishing online is never entirely private, and 3) projects can be altered by colleagues our yourself in undesirable ways (no previous versions available)

Standards Reflection

I believe that this activity and the use of Google Docs as a professional best corresponds with the ISTE-NETS-T Standard three and its components. I believe that Google Docs can most thoroughly be used to enhance a teacher’s professional abilities. I believe that if one used Google Docs in their school community in the ways I suggested above, in regards to teaching productivity, they would be engaging in processes that would meet each of the components of this standard. Cloud computing is an emerging technology. By using a cloud computing resource such as Google Docs, teachers demonstrate an ability to adapt with the times and learn the newest technologies before and alongside their technology savvy students. Working with teachers and parents in the school community through Google docs allows for the sharing of resources and knowledge, a demonstration of collaboration and the ability to communicate ideas. Any teacher who is able to make use of Google Docs and does so proficiently, proves themselves to be engaged in professional advancement in the field of digital technology and able to contribute productivity to a large community and so, successfully meets aspects of standard three.

Introduction

My name is Lorri Deavers and I am a future teacher in SU’s MSEd Individual Focus and Initial Teacher Licensure programs. I graduated from James Madison University in 2011 with a major in Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies and minors in Elementary Education and Spanish. While a technology course for teachers was offered at JMU, students were allowed only one elective. I decided that I could teach myself to create some of the projects that fellow students were lcreating in class—I was homeschooled after all.

So far, I have created a website and blog for my future classroom. I am hopeful to learn how to create and use PortaPortal, Prezi, Webquest and Videos for the classroom. In addition, I am interested in becoming more familiar with SmartBoard technologies and iPads and the role they play in the classroom. More specifically, I am interested in discovering how iPads assist or raise issues for students with disabilities (i.e. students with tactile issues).  

            I am a strong believer that critical thinking and knowledge develops from following your interests and engaging in self-directed, hands-on learning. I believe that many technologies provide us with ever expanding options for engaging ourselves and our students in these types of learning experiences. I am excited to discover, through this online course, new ways of interacting with and learning from the world through online technology.

Blog Post Anatomy

The format for the majority, if not all, of my future posts will appear in the following format and address the following.

 

4 Part Format

 

      1) Summary

      2) Artifact

      3) Link to tool

      4) NETS-T standards reflection

Narratives will Addresses:

• What I did
• What I learned
• How I intend to use it
• How the activity or product relates to the NETS-T standards