IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Get Involved On Campus with WSU Connect Mobile App

When I walked through the Winona State University campus for my first time four years ago, I remember the excitement of a new environment, with new people. During my orientation, I learned that there was going to be a lot of opportunity for involvement on campus throughout the school year, and I knew that getting involved at the university was going to be important for me to make the most out of my time here. By the way freshmen: the WSU-lanyard-around-the-neck look might seem cool and convenient, but in reality, it’s the single largest indicator that you are a first-year student at WSU. As you can see below, I was also guilty of this mistake four years ago.

Anyways, I remember getting involved felt a little overwhelming. I mean, I had enough of a hard time figuring out where all of my classes were, let alone being on top of the WSU Football game schedule. That’s why I’m excited, this fall, WSU has introduced an all-in-one app for students called “WSU Connect”, powered by Involvio.

 

Although the primary purpose for the app is to follow student clubs and organizations, and to stay up to date on everything happening around campus; there are a lot of other cool features within the app. Here’s my basic tutorial for navigating around the app, and sharing what I think will be the most useful aspects of it.

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The Home Page:

1.) Events

The Events Tab allows you to look at university-wide events going on throughout campus, as well as events related to specific clubs or organizations that you may choose to follow. You can filter between upcoming, recommended and past events (1) and you can even announce that you will be attending any event (2). Great way to quickly see everything that is happening on campus and discover new events.

  

2.) Advice and Recommendations

The Advice and Recommendations Tab is pretty self-explanatory. You can share advice and/or recommendations for anything around the WSU community. This could be anything from favorite places to eat, good study spots, or recommended classes or professors.

3.) Buy and Sell

The Buy and Sell Tab is essentially a trading hub within the WSU community. It is similar to the Facebook Marketplace, but more focused on the buying and selling of academic materials, such as textbooks or supplies and technology you might need for courses . You can like posts (1), as well as create posts of your own (2) and add images to your posts (3).

 

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Groups:

After the Homepage, the Groups Tab is listed on the bottom of the app. This tab allows students to find groups or clubs and organizations on campus that they are interested in. You can filter between All Groups, Friends, Popular and My Groups (1) or search for a specific group (2). You can also join a group, which lets you follow their event schedule throughout the year and participate in that group’s discussions. You can also use the About tab to learn about the organization and access their contact information.

 

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Other Resources:

The Other Resources Tab allows students to access many helpful tools for navigating their way around campus and Winona State resources such as the WSU Bookstore, D2L, and WSU Email (Webmail). You can even subscribe to WSU calendars, like Warrior Athletics, and get the entire schedule. Tapping on one of these resources will link you to that webpage.

These are the aspects of the app that I believe will be used the most, but I’m sure there is still a lot of ways to use the app that we’ll all discover together.

The app is brand new, so it’s up to us as the students to start using it to its full potential. I can’t wait to see what we can do. Feel free to leave me comments below on what your favorite feature is with WSU Connect!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sam Wareham is a fifth-year student at WSU studying Public Relations, with a minor in Individualized Studies. Sam is also the vice president of the WSU Soccer Club. Sam is one of the Social Media Coordinators for WSU’s Technology Social Media Program, eWazoo. Sam has been writing for eWazoo since 2017.

 

KNOW THE DIFFERENCE: D2L BrightSpace vs. WSU eServices

When immersing yourself into your academic WSU career, there are lots of tasks and items to keep track of.  It is important to know things like how to find your classes, make sure your tuition is taken care of, and keep up with your assignments and grades within each of your courses, as well as other tasks.

Winona State University uses two major technological resources to help you stay on top of all these things. They are called Desire2Learn BrightSpace (or as every single person on campus refers to it, D2L) and Winona State eServices. Both of these tools are vital to your success at WSU, so let’s take a look at the difference between these two resources, so that you know exactly where to look for all of your academic needs.

From the Winona State homepage

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D2L Brightspace:

D2L is going to be your best friend when it comes to your individual courses. This will be your primary resource for accessing your class syllabus, knowing when assignments are due, checking your grades and more.

Materials:

In D2L, all courses are laid out the same way. There are multiple tabs at the top of the page which will direct you to your specific need. Let’s start by looking at the “Materials” tab. In my experience, 99% of professors have used the “Content” section under “Materials” to provide students with the most important class material, such as the class syllabus, PowerPoint slides with class notes, as well as all class assignments and rubrics.

Communication:

A pretty common trend in WSU courses is for professors to use Discussion Boards. These are assignments in the form of group discussions where students can post answers to a given question, as well as viewing and replying to other students’ comments. These boards are found under the “Communication” tab, in “Discussions”.

Assessments:

The “Assessments” tab has a lot to offer for students. During my time at WSU, the three most important sections in this tab have been “Assignments” (1), “Grades” (2), and “Quizzes” (3). In “Assignments”, you’re able to keep track of all class assignments, making sure you’ve completed them all. In “Grades”, you can view the scores you have received on all assignments. Lastly, “Quizzes” is where you will access all of your quizzes and exams that professors decide to administrate through D2L (lots of professors do all of their quizzes/exams through D2L!)

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WSU eServices:

Winona State eServices is your one-stop-shop for all academic resources outside of your classes. This is where you will search/register for classes, manage your financial aid package, pay tuition, apply for on-campus housing and more. There is a lot you can do on eServices, but I want to go over the most important aspects of the tool.

 

Courses and Registration:

“Courses and Registration” is the section on eServices where you will search for classes when deciding which ones you want to take each semester. It is also where you can review your chosen classes, and look at when you will be eligible to submit your choices (“Registration Window”). You will be using this section every semester, so it’s important to remember how to access it.

Grades and Transcripts:

The “Grades and Transcripts” section of eServices is important because this is where you are able to view your official course grades at the end of every semester. From here, you can also view your Academic Record, which shows your grades from every semester you have previously completed at WSU, as well as looking at your Interactive Degree Audit Report, which is a progress report showing exactly how many credits you have taken, and how many more you need towards your chosen major(s)/minor(s) in order to graduate. You can also view all of the classes that count towards your General Education classes (Goals 1-10) and your major(s)/minor(s) in this section.

FRESHMAN TIP: Everyone and their mother calls this your DARs, so don’t be surprised if you never hear the phrase “Interactive Degree Audit Report” ever again.

Hopefully this helped you understand the difference between D2L Brightspace and eServices. When in doubt, you can always contact Tech support (507.457.5240 or AskTech@winona.edu) for additional help with either one of these tools.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sam Wareham is a fifth-year student at WSU studying Public Relations, with a minor in Individualized Studies. Sam is also the vice president of the WSU Soccer Club. Sam is one of the Social Media Coordinators for WSU’s Technology Social Media Program, eWazoo. Sam has been writing for eWazoo since 2017.

 

 

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Tech Tools for Career Prep

Starting at a young age we are asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“A ballerina,” I used to say. Although my answer has changed, people are still asking me this question. As a graduating college student, my professors have helped prepare me to find a summer job, internship and start my professional career. What I have learned from starting this process is that preparation is key. Here are some helpful tools and how I used technology to assist with the job hunting process.

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NETWORK

Tool 1: LinkedIn

How many times have you heard the phrase, “it’s all about who you know”? I’m sorry to say it, but that couldn’t be more true. Don’t get me wrong, you also need skills, but I have found networking to be extremely beneficial. You’re probably thinking, “I don’t know anyone who could help me land a job or an internship.” I was thinking the same thing until I started using LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is the best tool that allowed me to network. The search filter capabilities on LinkedIn are worth playing around with. After graduation, I’m moving back to Oakland, California where my parents have been living for the past three years. How does a Minnesota girl get a PR job out in the big city while attending school in Minnesota?

Meet the “Jobs” tab located in the bar at the top of your LinkedIn page. After clicking the “Jobs” icon, you will see two white search bars. The bar on the right searches locations. I knew if I wanted a job out there, this meant I needed to start meeting professionals in that area.

Before this past winter break I typed “San Francisco Bay Area” in the location search bar. That created a list of jobs openings specific to the Bay Area. Next, I followed these steps to help filter out the best potential job connections.

1. Click on the “People” tab to find potential professional connections.
2. Check your location to filter the area you want to make connections in.
3. Check the 1st, 2nd and 3rd boxes under the “Connections” section. This will filter and display people that have connections with people you know.
4. Next, check or enter companies under the “Current companies” section.

 

 

Another one of my favorite filters is the “Schools” tab. I clicked “+ Add” and typed in “Winona State University.” That created a list of all the Winona State Alumni that are now located in the Bay Area. I looked for Alumni at companies I was interested in and sent them a personalized message through LinkedIn. I’ve found that alumni love to give back and share their experiences.

 

 

 

Pick companies you want to work for or find out more about. You now have a list of people to reach out to. Informational interviews over coffee are a great way to get to know a professional in your field of interest. But don’t forget, informational interviews typically mean someone is taking time out of their day to speak with you. Here’s an example of what I did.

 

 

 

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ORGANIZE

Tool 2: Google Calendar

Google calendar helped me organize my academic and personal life. Throughout the job hunting process there were many things to keep track of. Staying organized was crucial in order to make sure I got everything done. Not to mention using a scheduling tool is a great skill to have in the professional world. My brain is capable of remembering a lot, but I’m only human, my brain will fart at times. Google calendar helped me stay on track by sending email reminders right to my phone. I scheduled personal appointments as well as recruiting and interviewing phone calls, having all of these in the same place held me accountable.

 

For every event created in Google Calendar, I could pick if I wanted a notification sent to my email minutes, hours, days and even weeks before the event.  In general, Google Calendar has been very useful and I will continue to use this tool in my professional and personal life.

 

 

 

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PREPARE

Tool 3: Interview Stream

This next tool is really neat. Interview Stream is the next best thing to a real interview. All Winona State students and alumni have access to Interview Stream on the Career Services website. http://www.winona.edu/career/interviews.asp

After creating an account, the first page displays all the services Interview Stream has. On this page you’ll have access to several resources such as, the elevator pitch guide, the umm/like guide, and a self evaluation form.

To begin interviewing click on “Conduct an Interview.” From there you’ll have two options, “Created for Me” or “Custom Interview.” Choosing an interview already created for you is great for internships, summer jobs or just general interviewing questions. Although from my experience, choosing to customize your questions allows for a more effective and realistic interview practice.

To customize your interview, you can search for industries, subjects or any profession. I searched for “Public Relations” and it provided a list of questions related to this field. After recording your answer you’ll have the option to review your response, retry your response or continue to the next question.

At first, reviewing my responses was awkward. After the initial shock of hearing my voice wore off, reviewing them proved to be helpful to pinpoint areas for improvement.

Before going to Winona State, I was nervous just thinking about the professional world. But with some help from my professors, colleagues and these tools, I feel more comfortable transitioning from the classroom to the professional world.

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About The Author:

Madelynn Emmerich is a Senior majoring in Organizational Communication Studies and minoring in Mass Communications. Madelynn was a Social Media Intern at a non-profit in Oakland, California over the summer. Madelynn will pursue traveling after graduation and let the her location be wherever her job takes her. Madelynn has been writing for eWazoo since 2016.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Lynda.com

How I Stayed Productive Over Break with Lynda.com

For many, winter break can be a time to work, relax, travel or maybe a mixture of all three! With graduation looming and the reality of working in the real world fast approaching, I thought it would be a good idea to stay productive and pick up a new skill or two over this winter break. So I turned to Lynda.com.

A tool I discovered that allows me to grow and strengthen my skills is Lynda.com. Lynda.com is an incredibly easy tool to navigate, full of videos on a wide range of topics. Lynda.com can teach you specific software applications like the Adobe software tools or even professional life skills, such as organization and time management.

Having a Mass Communication minor, not major, has limited my course options in the Mass Comm department. As a young professional aspiring to work in PR, social media or event planning, there are a wide variety of skills and software I should be familiar with. Because of my limited knowledge in certain departments, I wanted to take advantage of what I could learn on my own to qualify as the best candidate for when I apply for jobs.

Notebook in Lynda.com

For my specific career aspirations, I first dove into an introduction to the Adobe software applications Photoshop and InDesign. As a beginner, learning all the features of Adobe tools was overwhelming. What I love about Lynda.com, is there is a way to record and organize fast facts. As you walk through a tutorial, Lynda.com allows you to take notes. The notes you type then automatically save, drop down and display while you continue watching your video.

Challenges in Lynda.com

Another cool feature I came across is challenges. The challenges throughout this course are what helped me learn Adobe Photoshop on my own. So what is a challenge? The challenge feature acts similar to in-class activities or homework. Specifically, for Adobe applications, a challenge will start out like this….

At the beginning of a challenge, you will be given a problem followed by a list of objectives for the particular activity to complete. The challenge will then walk through a few samples of the problem on the Adobe platform. Along with the examples, a certain amount of time will be given to show about how long it should take you to complete the challenge. Because the challenges throughout the Adobe course give you the opportunity to dive into Photoshop hands on, the muscle memory will help you catch on quickly.

Searches in Lynda.com

When I started using Lynda.com, I thought it could only teach skills pertaining to software or applications. However, over break while I was surfing Lynda.com, I found that it also assisted me in becoming what I aspired to be in my career! This was one of my favorite features of Lynda.com. By clicking on one or multiple career titles, Lynda.com brings up thousands of results. Lynda.com has a huge variety, and all videos that pop up will be related to the career of your choice. Also, as graduation approaches, videos such as these will come in handy to help narrow down the direction I hope to take as I begin my career.

Like I mentioned earlier, my break was spent working and playing. I spent time with family back home in California, and also got to explore Portland, Oregon for the first time. During all that travel, Wi-Fi was not always accessible at every location. However, that was not a problem for Lynda.com. On Lynda.com I could download videos offline and watch from any location on my iPad. This feature was incredibly helpful during my travels over break!

Lynda.com is a friendly resource that I definitely will continue to use and I am excited to explore what else it has to offer.

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About The Author:

Madelynn Emmerich is a Senior majoring in Organizational Communication Studies and minoring in Mass Communications. Madelynn was a Social Media Intern at a non-profit in Oakland, California over the summer. Madelynn will pursue traveling after graduation and let the her location be wherever her job takes her. Madelynn has been writing for eWazoo since 2016.

App Review: D2L Binder App

No Wi-Fi? No Problem!

We’ve all been there: remembering an assignment or reading at the last minute with no way to connect to Wi-Fi. I mean I know I’m not the only one that only every once in while (wink, wink)  forgets about assignments. For instance, last year over Thanksgiving break my family and I went to my cabin to celebrate for the long weekend and life was great until the eleventh hour.

Now if you’re anything like me, your mind completely wipes away any school-related thoughts the minute your last class lets out for break. So it wasn’t until Saturday night that I finally took a break from eating leftovers and remembered the paper that was due in my Psych class the following night. Panic set in when I realized I had no Wi-Fi and no access to D2L for the assignment sheet and article. So the next morning I rushed everyone home so I could have Wi-Fi to quickly read, research and write an essay- not my best work ever, and not the happiest family ever.

This year I won’t make that mistake again. Now that I have the D2L Binder app downloaded on my iPad, no Wi-Fi means no problem! All I have to do is, while connected to Wi-Fi, take the minute to download documents right from D2L into the app, which is not nearly as tedious as it sounds. Once the document is in the app I can disconnect from Wi-Fi and still have easy access to D2L documents literally anywhere anytime!

The app lets you organize documents, articles, PowerPoints… anything you can download from D2L. You can organize them by class, project or in any way that is easiest for you. You can highlight, underline, mark up, or simply just read them without the pressure of lugging around a laptop or worrying about Internet access. Although you can’t type directly into documents, you can type into sticky notes and place them right on a document. This is an easy and organized way to make notes on your readings, keep track of your annotations, and avoid worrying about losing them in the shuffle of all your notebooks and papers. Which makes this app ideal for lengthy readings.

With Thanksgiving break coming up, it is likely I will stuff myself with turkey and mashed potatoes before giving a single thought to homework. With that in mind, all I have to do to avoid the panic of last year is before break starts, grab my iPad, download my D2L documents and be on my merry way.

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About the Author:

Anna Hanson is a sophomore majoring in Psychology and looking for a minor that sparks her interest. She is infatuated with people and traveling. After graduation, Anna is seeking a job that allows her to interact with and help people around the world. Anna has been writing for eWazoo since 2016.

App Review: Haiku Deck

This week I will be talking about my new favorite app, Haiku Deck.

I know how it sounds, but it has nothing to do with the ancient Japanese poetry art of Haikus (unless you need to make a presentation about Haikus, then by all means, it’s about Haikus). To be completely honest, I felt like this presentation app kicks Power Point’s butt, and it’s not as confusing and glitchy as Prezi. The presentation I am about to show you took me less than 90 seconds! That’s right. I finished a presentation faster than I brush my teeth, and the best part, it’s FREE! I am going to show you how to use it in 14 super easy steps!

App Toolkit: News App

Get Your News Paperless: no money, no print

Between my two majors (political science and public relations) I have a small
obsession with news. I have also learned there are a variety of apps that help a
person stay on top of the news without having to pick up a newspaper. These four
apps are on all my devices and are used weekly (if not daily).

App Toolkit: Finance

Between rent, tuition, books and all the other bills we pay as students, many of us are open to new ways of organizing our bank accounts and saving a few dollars. This toolkit was designed for just that purpose. These three apps are what I consider the top three money apps on my devices. If you are looking for a little financial organization in your life look no further!

Student Senate: A future app with all things WSU

I sat down with Nicole Zimmerman, the Chair of Senate’s Student Services Committee, to discuss the WSU app that her committee proposed to Senate last semester. Here is what I learned:

App Toolkit: Group Project Mangement

A new semester means new schedules, new classes and new group projects. Looking for a way to put your best foot forward? The following apps are great for supporting group projects! Stay on task, turn in assignments on time and keep connected with your group by using one or all of the apps below!