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Blog #3: Technology in group work



Brandon Tuttle
Blog #3
October 29, 2012

Modern technology is vital in today’s education. Students are bombarded for their attention from every direction, and education has to compete with all of the other events going on in students’ lives. One of the many challenges students face in classroom is group projects. With the help of Google and other technology companies, applications such as Google Docs have made tasks like getting a group together much more easy. Google Docs can help in three main ways when doing group work. Online collaboration, editing documents on the go or mobile, and having access to others group files make Google Docs the application of choice.

            Getting all the students together to work on a group work project can be a daunting task. With the help of Google Docs, students don’t have to be in the same room to be connected and share ideas. Google has made collaborating online so easy, feels like your group is in the same room. “From a collaboration point of view, it's sort of like breathing pure oxygen... Thanks to the way Google Docs works, collaborators don't necessarily have to announce where they are about to make a change. One of the real-time features is called ‘presence,’ and it tells you where exactly in a shared document the other collaborators have their cursors positioned.” (Information week) Multiple people can view and make changes at the same time. An on-screen chat window for spreadsheets is avaliable, and document revisions that show you exactly who changed what, and when.

            “Group work is my favorite way of learning, I’m always at work or on the go, and before I started using Google Docs it was impossible to participate.” (Larson). Now with the help of smart phones and Google Docs, editing can be done on the go and from any smartphone or tablet. “No longer are Google Docs read-only on mobile devices. Instead, users can edit files and spreadsheets on the go. Therefore, the usability of devices such as the iPad presumably increases.” (Google)

 When working in a group, a very commonly used phrase is “Email me that file.” Google Docs helps take this phrase from every group’s vocabulary. With Google Docs online cloud storage it’s now possible to save all files to the same place. Options are available to choose who gets to see the files and who can edit them. Apple and PC users can now work in unison without having to worry about different file formats; with Google Docs you can easily save, import and export files for easy access from any device.

 Google’s increasing technology with Google Docs makes classroom group projects more productive and possible. Today information and the way students learn is continually changing. Online collaboration, editing documents on the go or mobile, and having access to others group files make Google Docs the application the top application for classroom group work.

Works Cited


"Google Docs Adds Capabilities for Mobile Users | Practical ECommerce." Google Docs Adds Capabilities  
 for Mobile Users | Practical ECommerce. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. 
<http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/2561-Google-Docs-Adds-Capabilities-for-Mobile-
 Users>.

"InformationWeek: The Business Value of Technology." Informationweek. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/first-look-google-docs-gets-
realtime-col/224400349>.

Larson, Erika. "Group Work." Personal Interview. 25 Oct. 2012.

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Blog #2


Brandon Tuttle
October, 2012
Blog #2
M&F 11:30
The Cost of Our Future

          “I have so many business ideas but it’s hard to come up with the cash to do anything about it.” This is a common phrase that you hear from entrepreneurs, mostly ones who are still going through school. Everyone could use more money; it’s tough, especially when one has good intentions. I’m always on the lookout for new investments and smart ways to save money. The sad thing is many options and organizations are available to help young students, but they are hard to find. UIDAN, Utah Individual Development Account Network is one of these programs few people know about. Imagine someone matching what you save 3:1, that’s what this government program is all about. “A savings match is a promise to supplement an IDA Saver’s deposits at a 3:1 rate. For every dollar saved (up to $1500), another 3 dollars is matched towards the purchase of an approved asset.” (UIDAN) With this savings program the most you can contribute is $62.50 a month, or up to $1500; after its match you will have a good $4,500 of free money added to your $1,500 to give you a total of $6,000. Money can be saved for one of many approved assets. I want to focus on three. A small business, your first home and education are vital today, all these once done can and will change your future.

      (Passion + skill) → (problem + marketplace) = opportunity. (Guillebeau) This is how to create a successful business. A great book, The $100 Start-Up, helps the reader realize how inexpensive starting a business can be and how much success and freedom can be created. Paying hundreds of dollars a month to your landlord, never to see that money again isn’t going to help increase one's financial future. Owning a home is a forced savings plan, in most cases it’s a huge investment, however starting out can be expensive. “Typically, lenders require a downpayment of 20 percent.” (360) Most people dream about owning their first home but a 20 percent down payment of thousands of dollars is holding them back.


 Education is one of the greatest tools to be used to better lives. Education always comes with a price.  “My life has become a daily swim in a tar pit with very little hope of ever getting out.” (Elite) Aside from programs like UIDAN, plenty of ways are available to pay for our education while also staying out of debt.  About.com had many ideas such as Scholarships, Grants, Military, Employment Reimbursment and gave lists of many others. (5 ways)


A small business, your first home and education are vital today, all of these once done can and will change the future. Numerous ways are available to help finance the life changing events. Choose the one that fits best.

Please visit for more information. http://uidan.org/overview.aspx


Works Cited

"5 Ways to Pay for Your College or Medical School without Piling On Debt." About.com Health
Careers. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2012. <http://healthcareers.about.com/od/financinghealthcareers/a/payforcollege.htm>.

Guillebeau, Chris. The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love,     
and Create a New Future. New York: Crown Business, 2012. Print.

"How Much Money Do I Have to Put down to Buy a House? - 360 Degrees of Financial
Literacy." How Much Money Do I Have to Put down to Buy a House? - 360 Degrees of
Financial Literacy. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.360financialliteracy.org/Topics/Home-Ownership/Buying-a-Home/How-much-money-do-I-have-to-put-down-to-buy-a-house>.

UIDAN. Multiply Your Saving Efforts. N.p.: UIDAN, 2012. Print.

"Young Man’s Life Is Completely Ruined By Student Loans | Elite Daily." Elite Daily. N.p., n.d. Web.

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Blog Post #1

Brandon Tuttle
Blog #1
September 30, 2012

There is many ways companies can communicate with their customers and employees. With the change of technology companies are adapting to the different ways to do this. From the time of there being very few ways to communicate with consumers all the way to almost every business having their own website, technology has made more and more things possible. However companies don’t always need the latest technologies to be most effective. Blogging is the newest craze amount business. Blogging can do a lot for a business. Managing communication cheaper and easier, building customer relationships, and helping to expose your business more will do a lot.
Blogger, word press and many other sites offer free blogging platforms that are easy to manage and use. Companies can save a lot of money with the ease of blogs. They will no longer have to pay programmers and website designers a lot of money to create one of their only ways of communication. There are thousands of websites devoted to helping one learn how to use blogs and also offering thousands of free layouts and designs to help your business express itself. Professional SEO solutions, a business blogging website says. “No need to have technical knowledge about HTML or any other complex coding – Most of the things are done by the widgets and plugins available in WordPress blog.”(15)
Daily updates is one of the many ways a business can increase customer relationships. When a customer has a reason to visit your companies information daily it increases the customers desire and bond to a company. “If you have lots of things to share with your readers then you can update your blog on a regular basis with fresh, unique and informative content. Whereas, a website is just one time deal.(15)”  Blogs also give the customers ability to interact with the company and help them share ideas and ask questions more easily. ”It moves customers to a conversion point where enough trust is created for people to take the next step and buy.”(7)
No one likes visiting informative websites daily when there is no new information to be seen. With updating your blog more often it will increase website traffic. “This one is obvious, when you update the blog and keep your reader-base well informed then chances to get better traffic are always on your side.(15) Every company could always use more exposure. Showing consumers what they have to offer is invaluable.
Managing communication cheaper and easier, building customer relationships, and helping to expose your business will do a lot. Is this something your business needs?





Works Cited

"7 Reasons Why Companies Should Blog." Social Media Marketing and Blogging. N.p., n.d. Web.
      29 Sept. 2012.<http://www.jeffbullas.com/2009/07/10/7-reasons-why-companies-should-blog/>.

"15 Reasons Why a Professional Blog Is Better than a Static Website." 15 Reasons Why a   
           Professional Blog Is Better than a Static Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2012. <http://www.seobloggingsolutions.com/15-reasons-why-a-professional-blog-is-better-than-a-static-website/>.

About Me

My name is Brandon, I am 23 yrs old, currently beginning my JR year at USU. I am majoring in Marketing and doing a minor in Personal Financial Management. I am also working as an optician at the Wal-Mart Vision Center.
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