THE USE OF DIGITAL TOOLS IN MY CURRENT WORK
My current job is mainly design / design supervision work. The main design programs I use are AutoCad and Tekla structures, and in addition some structural calculation programs. In larger sites, several people may be working on the same project at the same time, so cooperation must be functional. I also need windows office programs to support planning. In projects, communication with other participants takes place via e-mail, teams application or mobile phone. To an increasing extent, the use of teams has become established as the main means of communication. In my opinion, the advantages of teams are speed and ease. In it, you can invite all the necessary participants and share the screen, present plans to others and, if necessary, give others rights to show (with the cursor) and comment on things in the plan. Sometimes even half of the working day may be spent in teams meetings. Teams has proven to be a good tool in various trainings.
USE OF DIGITAL APPLICATIONS GENERALLY
Today there are many different digital applications. In order to choose applications suitable for working life, the application requires certain features. I personally consider the app’s ease of use to be the most important feature. The user manual should be clear and it would be good to have instructional videos as well. The functionality of the application with different internet connections is also important, the application must not crash. Attached are a few applications whose suitability for daily working life I have examined.
EVERNOTE
This application can be used to create text, images and voice notes. The application can be used to take clips from website links and images. In addition, it has text recognition for images and speech recognition. It can be used on both computer and mobile applications. Notes are automatically synchronized between different devices, if a network connection is available. With the application’s free account, you can create notes, notebooks, use Google Maps, record and take pictures, etc. The free account has a limited memory capacity per month, with a paid Premium account you get more memory capacity. This application could be useful for me at work, above all in meetings during the planning and implementation of projects. I normally write notes in them by hand on paper and often draw freehand sketches. With this program, the matters in question should be recorded directly in digital format and, for example, after meetings, audio recordings could be added to those notes.
OPEN BADGES
Digital competence marks are used as a means of identifying and recognizing competence achieved in different ways. The competence mark consists of an identification picture and the information content attached to it, which shows the name of the mark, the issuer’s information, the competence criteria and the evidence required for the competence description. The recipient of the badge collects the competence badges earned by their skills in their own branded backpack (Mozilla Backpack). The recipient of the mark himself decides on the use and public distribution of the marks. You can link the marks as part of your resume or to a social media site (LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.). This application could be useful in various trainings. For example, in the case of a person starting his working career, this application could be used to monitor his development in his work.
Pinterest is a bulletin board-type social service for sharing links and images. It offers the possibility to create and maintain collections based on a theme, such as an event or a hobby. This could also be a useful application for work use. It could be used in project work, where e.g. the progress of the entire project would be maintained on the notice board. Or just as well, the notice board could be used to maintain the work situation of the entire department and the progress of the work. The board could be an excellent tool for project management, e.g. to adjust appropriate resources for projects.
SNAPCHAT
With the application in question, you can take pictures and videos and add text / icons (stickers) to them, which can be sent to other users of the service. Publications are only visible for a limited time, so the application should be primarily intended for daily use. This app could be worth trying for small project works where a small group could communicate effectively with each other using this app. This application could also be used in online trainings where small groups do group work.
YOU TUBE
This is an internet video service owned by Google where users can add their own videos and watch and comment on other users’ videos. Videos can be in different file formats (WMV, AVI, MOV, MPEG). Quite often I come across a situation in my work where I need help using an application, and then I usually turn to You Tube first to see if there is a suitable instructional video there. And often found. It would be good to make instructional videos about the applications we use at work, which would be added to You Tube. This would be particularly useful for those starting their careers, who could familiarize themselves with the use of various work applications by self-study.
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SIDES OF SOCIAL MEDIA
In my current job, I need information about a product every day, e.g. roof bollard. In the old days, I often went to the library room at work to look for a suitable folder where I could find information about the product in question. Nowadays, I type the word roof bollard into Google and as a result I get the web address of several companies, on whose pages I can see more information about the product in question. This activity is here to stay in working life. In other words, almost all companies are on social media and there is a lot of information about different products. For companies, being visible on social media is of the utmost importance, in this way a large number of people and other companies can be easily reached. Nowadays, it is easy to apply for a job in companies via social media, as many companies already have a job application form on their website. The positive side of social media can be briefly and succinctly considered to be that it reaches a large number of people quickly. Similarly, the negative side of social media is the same thing in reverse. That is, for example, when spreading false or incorrect information on social media, it can cause significant harm to people or companies. In addition, the information in question can be disseminated in the so-called anonymously, in which case the perpetrator may not be found out.
SELF-EVALUATION
I think this assignment had the effect of opening doors for me. Nowadays, my use of social media is focused on certain applications. Now, with time, I was also able to focus on other available applications, which could be of great help in my current work in the future. Therefore, I intend to get to know them even more closely and possibly use at least one in the future. I would be especially interested in the implementation of EVERNOTE.