Now that we have had a whirlwind tour of Wikis, RSS, Twitter & Social Bookmarking, Please post your response to chapters 4,, 5, & 6 below as a comment.
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Ann Marie Caplan Chapter 4, 5, 6 responses May 11, 2012
ReplyDeleteMy initial response to chapters 4,5, and 6 is how much there is online that I need to learn. Since starting this program and using the Wikis in Ed Psych, my eyes have been opened to all the information that is available as well as innovative ways to organize the information. I have not encountered RSS, twitter or Delicious.com and to be honest, the prospect of venturing off into these territories is a bit frightening. With so little time in my day, I worry about the amount of time it will take for me to become proficient at its use, and the amount of information I will be inundated with once I start using it. But, I am prepared to have an open mind and look at things through an educational perspective.
While reading about Twitter and RSS, I am reminded about the reasons why I delayed getting Facebook a couple years ago. Prior to that point, MySpace was quite popular, and I really didn’t understand the value of sitting at the computer for hours on end reading about other people’s lives. I only joined Facebook after attending a High School reunion and finding out that many of my classmates were on it and had pictures of their kids and families. I joined out of desire to reconnect with past friends and share stories about “life after high school”. Since then, I have enjoyed reconnecting, networking, and enjoying this form of social media. I can see how RSS and Delicious would provide ample resources at my fingertips without spending hours doing Internet searches through information that may or may not be useful. By having the application work for me, I will actually be saving time. I look forward to learning ways that these tools can be effectively.
What I notice being in the schools is that these resources or not widely used at this time. Just this school year at my school, we started using Google Docs and all students in the school have their own account. The one challenge I do see is the problem of online availability. Not all students have access to the Internet at home on which to explore and become proficient with the applications. In addition, not all schools have the resources available to give each student computer access whenever they need it. A couple teachers and I were just talking about Google docs today during lunch, and they agreed how great it was for students to be able to post their work so teachers could provide feedback within the document. The downfall, however, is students in our school do not always have access to the computer lab and there is limited access within the classroom. My instinct tells me that if the technology is regularly used within the classroom, students will probably become proficient faster than the adults.
With all that said, I am excited to learn all there is to know about RSS, bookmarking, social networking, blogging, Wikis, etc. I intend to bring as much as I can into my classroom and expose my students to what the Internet has to offer, as it really is the focus of our future world.
True, access is always an issue and we do have to be sensitive to that. After visiting the Canby School District to hear more about their technology integration teacher projects, I was surprised to learn that a large number [it might even be the majority?] of the student families do not have access to computers or the internet at home. This made me feel even more strongly that kids need access to theses types of resources in the schools. On another note, your post also makes me think of our upcoming topic on Mobile Teaching & Learning. There is no doubt that mobile devices: phones, smartphones, iPods, iPads, etc. are on the rise. As we will discuss later, some even argue that mobile the future.
ReplyDeleteIt is really surprising to know about the families that do not have access to a computer, especially migrant families. However, most of this families have access to or own a smartphone. We need to think of alternative ways to use technology that could benefit our students/families. Mobile devices could actually be an effective answer for academic improvement.
DeleteCh 4, 5, 6 response – Luis Cisneros
ReplyDeleteI can remember during high school, when we had to do a report or a project, we had to go to the library during our class period and spend most of the time in there reading and taking notes. If we didn’t get enough information we checked out books to help us finish our work. Now here is where the fun begins, if we really wanted to get the most information we had to check out numerous books. It wasn’t 2 or 3 it was more like 5, 6 or even 7 books. Then, to go through the chapter of the book was also a task that took time. This act is a thing of the past. Students no longer need to depend long periods of time on text books to get information. They don’t need to spend hours in a library flipping through books and highlighting chapter. And no more taking so many books home. The internet and its tools have reduced this act to, just clicking a button.
With the web growing more and more every year the steady flow of information also grows with it. From chapter 4 through 6 I got a glimpsed of how this information monster can be controlled to benefit teachers and students alike. From wikis to the social web, these are a few weapons that are used to control and demand good information from the World Wide Web. Reading the chapter I found Wikis interesting and also the use of social media as ways to get new information. I like that student and teacher alike can go into a wiki page and be ok with information that is being produced there. This is a location that is getting more recognition in terms of reliable information, but we need to understand that this should not be our main focus as a resource. I see Wikis as a way to get more paths or connections to what one is looking for. Same goes for social media. I like that there are groups with specific interest as your own and those groups could also be a great contact or information hub. Like the old saying goes, “Two heads are better than one”, the bigger the social group the more information that could be shared.
The big picture I believe within these chapters is collaboration. We are living in a time where we need to be able to come together collectively to obtain a goal. And with the growth of the internet we have a better chance to communication with people around the world with the same interest. We just can be afraid to get our feet wet, technology should be fun.
Shane Robinson
ReplyDeleteCh. 4
I was surprised to read in chapter four entitled Wikis: easy collaboration for all that Wikipedia was created in 1995. It sure has come a long way since then and even though it is a website people love to hate or at least criticize for numerous reasons people such as myself always seem to find it very handy. As Richardson explains in Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts one of the wonderful attributes of Wikipedia is, “it’s easy to use and versatile.” I enjoyed reading Richardson’s take on the credibility of Wikipedia, “there are vastly more editors who want to get it right that those who want to make it wrong.” I am impressed by Richardson’s bold stance on teaching students to use Wikipedia. Fortunately, he backs this statement with some pretty powerful arguments rooted in reality and common sense as opposed to theory.
Aside from Wikipedia, wiki’s alone seem to a be very credible resource as Richardson states Disney, McDonalds, Sony, and BMW are already on board and to me that speaks volumes. I appreciate Richardson’s take on using wiki’s to teach students to “publish content, develop and use all sorts of collaborative skills… and in essence facilitate students teaching other students through negotiating with others to agree in correctness, meaning and relevance (Richardson, pp 61).” In response to this compelling chapter, I went ahead and created my own wiki using Wikispaces.com. It was really easy and I was able to place it in the sidebar of my PLE. I am currently completing this assignment on my wiki space entitled MRROBINSONS.
Shane Robinson
ReplyDeleteCh. 5 & 6
In chapter five, Richardson states RSS the new killer app for educators is designed to help us consume the avalanche of information being created by weblogs and wikis in a more efficient and relevant way. RSS uses a software called an "aggregator" which checks the feeds I subscribe to every hour or so, then I go to my version of RSS delicious and click on it so the I am checking one site as opposed to thirty (Richardson, 72). I just went to delicious and first on my list was 1606 saved blogs from Special Education Apps.
May 9, 2012
Special Education Apps | Best iPad Apps for Kids | Educational iPad Apps - A4CWS...1606 saves http://a4cwsn.com/
IPADS for Students
Richardson's number one reason to get on board with RSS is that information consumers, "can read more content from more sources in less time." It seems as though RSS will prove to be very useful for me. One of my biggest frustrations with the internet in looking up information is plugging in a topic in a search engine and being inundated with irrelevant information. According to Richardson if I use RSS this frustration will be a thing of the past. I dinked around a bit on Google Reader and I find it very user friendly.
Chapter six entitled The Social Web: Learning Together
Richarson states, "The collaborative construction of knowledge by those willing to contribute is redefining the ways we thiunk about teaching and learning ate every level." After reading the first five chapters of Richardson text I would have to agree. For once I feel like I am catching up with the technology of the 21st century as opposed to continuing to fall behind. It's intersting to read Richardson describe twitter as, "a bit too wild west for most school situations." Page 89 states there are 10 billion pages of information on the web hence I have a better understanding of my afore mentioned frustration with search engines and trying to find relevant and usable information. Page 90 sums up the difference between social bookmarking and RSS, "RSS lets us read and connect with what others write whereas social bookmarking enables us to connect with what others have read." Delicious is all about sharing links in as easy a way as possible according to Richardson.
Richardson boils down chapters four, five, and six in stating, "the idea that we can now use a social networks to tap into the work of others to support our own learning is an important concept to understand (Richardson, pp. 99).
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ReplyDeleteChapter 4, 5, and 6 Response
ReplyDeleteI thought the author’s remarks in the wiki chapter on Wikipedia were very interesting. The number of entries and varying topics Wikipedia offers is remarkable. The other day I came across the letter “Y” having its own Wikipedia page. It is also incredible how fast people share information on a topic such as the Indian Ocean earthquake and how fast the information travels. Even twenty years ago it would have probably taken days if not weeks to get the same information that now takes hours.
Richardson then mentions wikis and if they should be allowed in schools as a credible source. I like his comment on page 63 that many teachers consider Wikipedia a good starting point but it should not be a sole resource. This is interesting because many students would not learn research skills or about the vast other number of sources out there (ex. Library of Congress) especially for history, if they could always use Wikipedia. I use Wikipedia all the time for quick references and think it is a great site but I am still unsure about how much I would accept it as research from high school students. If Wikipedia was used in the paper they would need to cite other sources as well. It will be interesting to see what the general consensus is for the future.
One statement I do not agree with on page 67 notes that Richardson basically states wikis will replace textbooks. I do not think this will happen especially at the K-12 setting. He gives some good examples but I just cannot envision it. I think wikis could be a very useful tool for students. For classes that last the duration of the school year an interesting topic would be having students in small groups pick a topic at the start of the year and create a wiki then each week they would have to add one new post. By the end of the year a great source would be created.
In terms of RSS and Social Bookmarking these features offer a different view of sharing and receiving information. RSS is intriguing and displays information comes to us rather than vice versa and how a person can read twice as much in less time. This idea reminds of old stock tape tickers used in the 1920s. It seems information is always coming in and always new. My initial thought is that there would be too much information coming in all the time even though Richardson notes that a person gets used to this. I feel RSS would be more useful as a teacher tool rather than a student tool.
Finally, in regards to social bookmarking, I found this an interesting way to share and receive information by using key words. Sometimes all that it takes to have a great project is getting started with a few key words. It is a unique idea that others can tag and save even pictures of the same website or information, this is archiving 21st century style. Wikis, bookmarking, and RSS all brought something unique and useful to the educational round table. I have not had a lot of personal experience in creating any of these but I am curious to know more especially about wikis.
Chapter 4,5,6 responses.
ReplyDelete"Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what we're doing." This was an amazingly powerful statement to me and really got me thinking about Wikipedia and Wikis in general. I have always relied on Wikipedia to look up almost any topic but never really had a handle on how it was run or how Wikis worked. I thought that it was just run by a company who paid researchers and it was funded by advertisements. The fact that it is a collaboration of literally millions of people who have the power to edit and look for errors still amazes me and is one of the greatest technological success stories. The fact that a professor tested the system with 13 errors and they were corrected in a couple hours was incredible as was the example about the Tsunami that was updated almost in real time as events unfolded. Wikipedia is really a testament to what we as humans can accomplish if we work together.
After coming out of a Biology program where I was told many times to never use Wikipedia or anything Wiki for research, it is refreshing to find out the credibility of Wikipedia and be able to utilize this resource. I agree, however it is good to use other sources for in depth research but Wikipedia is a great base. I can see how Wikis can really be useful in Education but outside of Wikipedia it seems a huge challenge to know if a Wiki site is credible or not. I think a class run Wiki is a great idea to get the kids using technology in a positive manner. You still have the issue if some kids not having access to computers or internet but you could set up lab time and let them do some work at school. Also, using Google Docs has been a positive experience for me so far in this class.
Looking at Chapter 5 I started to become a little overwhelmed. RSS seems like a great application and is meant to bring information to you instead of having to look for it, but I think I need to test this one before I have an opinion. How does it know what information to send and how do you know if you missed something or not? It seems like you would need to constantly be monitoring the feed and I don't know if I want to spend more of my free time with this information overload. But, I am willing to try it and maybe I will be pleasantly surprised. I guess I could start small and add to it as I got more comfortable and it might work out.
Working with the social bookmarking site Delicious I can already tell this is one application that I will be using. This is an organizing genius. I can tell this is a must have for any teacher. I am a little overwhelmed with this technology as well but hopefully I will get used to it and be able to utilize it. I use Facebook a lot and have reaped the benefits of social media so I see the potential of social bookmarking. As far as Twitter, I have always been against it personally as a social tool. I just can't be attached to my smartphone like that. I don't need to know what anyone is doing at that second. My mentor teacher does use Twitter as an educational tool and has 1800 followers! She follows industry professionals across the country as well and gets some awesome information. As with any of these technologies, if they can benefit my career development and help students in any way, I am all for it.
Response to Chapter 4,5,6…Wikis, RSS, The social WEB
ReplyDelete“…A wiki is a web site where anyone can edit anything anytime they want” (p.55) These were not exactly the words I heard but is the idea that was explained to me by a librarian as she stated that wikis were not a credible source to look for “real” information. That explanation stayed in my mind and impacted, I guess, the way I think about wikis. I have used wikis to read about a specific topic, but every time I did, I had to confirm that specific information somewhere else, a book or a web page; “knowing what sources to trust is becoming a much more labor-intensive exercise” (p. 59). This is a challenge I need to overcome as I grow in my professional journey. I would fool myself if I close my eyes to the several opportunities for teaching and learning that wikis offer to education settings. Language skills (over 200 languages), collaboration and negotiation skills, discussions, editorial controls, among other areas, are the powerful features we can incorporate in our practice as educators.
Richardson also talks about RSS, which is a completely new technological area for me. However, I could see the benefit of it right from the beginning of the chapter 5…”There are also a few tools aimed at helping you consume all that information in more efficient and relevant ways” (p. 71, emphasis is mine). Efficient and relevant were the words that made me want to learn more about RSS. With a very busy schedule, surfing and clicking the web to find the information you need could be frustrating and time consuming. Richardson explains how RSS gives us the possible solutions through the use of feed collectors (aggregators). All you need to do is to find the feed you want to subscribe to and the content with be collected for you; “…in general, you know that everything in your aggregator is something you want to read because you subscribed to it” (p. 72). As a future educator, I need to make use of every resource available to make my practice easier, more productive, relevant, and interesting in order to benefit my students. Once again, I see the potential of RSS in the classrooms (especially developing reading skills), I just need to explore and use it.
The overall idea of Wikipedia was exciting to me- especially since this has been a site that has been considered an unreliable source. Part of me thinks that if thousands are contributing and buffering information it can be that much more reliable than coming from a single scholarly perspective. Richardson sums it up when he states, “everyone together is smarter than anyone alone” (p. 57). I also agree with the idea that the more privilege we give students there is more responsibility that follows. This can be a positive experience as students can take ownership and act responsibly to contribute and collaborate. I truly believe that if we teach our students effectively (safety, how it works, decency) and couple it with high expectations, we can challenge our students to reach their highest potential in terms of accomplishment and learning.
ReplyDeleteThe RSS feeder made me realize that we are on a fast track of continual improvement! Everything seems to be getting easier and more convenient in terms of using technology. I am somewhat frustrated by the fact that I didn’t have this knowledge of RSS before hand as I have wasted countless hours surfing the web only to run into false starts and information that doesn’t match the search. I found the idea of using it to assist students with their research projects in class particularly useful as it can also serve as another form of safety- instead of students surfing the entire web, the information they are looking for can come directly to them instead.
I can admit that the social web is one that I have been slow to warm up to. With limited time to be “connecting” with others online and a preference to stay more private, I have been hesitant. I do however see the benefits of opening connections, exchanging ideas, etc. Moreover, this idea of social web definitely supports my overarching belief in the power of classroom community and group collaboration. I believe that this is the area where I will be most challenged in this course along with my future as an educator. I think that starting a class weblog will inevitably lead me to take greater risks in branching out to explore more of this social networking. I do really love the idea of social bookmarking as it is a place for organization and sharing or in other words, “creating your own community of researchers” (p. 90).
Chapter 4,5,6.
ReplyDeleteRSS: the text states that RSS feeds are the new best application for people in education for a few reasons. First, RSS feeds are a special feed that you can customize and look for only the news you want to see. To start you can pick different blogs, news sources and anything that posts new things for you to read onto the RSS feed and it will gather together the new threads from each source as they are published. This enables teachers to look at and read much more information in a shorter amount of time, and I’m certain by the way we are all feeling, more time is good!!!
I had heard the term RSS feed before last class and reading the text but I had never really dove into the technology and see what it did, now that I have it is making looking for all the information I want to read a job of the past. I can definitely see how this would be an invaluable resource for teachers and SPED teachers in particular. With different teachers trying different techniques and all of them publishing different information about what they do in the classroom, an RSS feed that gathers all that information into one spot will definitely save a lot of time.
Social Bookmarking:
This source for a teacher I find to be very valuable as well, gathering together all the different sites you rely on for information can be very difficult, but with this site, it does all the work for you. I am sure that sharing the websites and blogs that a teacher uses with their peers will continue to improve the level of education us as teacher can provide.
Overall these chapters provided me a guide to looking at some interesting sites that I never knew existed before. It will prove to be a great source throughout grad school and into my teaching career. I believe that teaching is more and more becoming a profession full of technology and knowing how to best use that technology is an invaluable skill.