Blogs and RSS

When I first started looking at all the information on the course website and going into all the different sites I was starting to get a little worried. But as I created my blog and spent some time exploring the site and using the tools it became a little more clear. Blogs are an excellent way of communicating both personal and professional information. I also like the fact that you are able to narrow down information sent to you via the RSS feeder such as google readers. Kearsley and Shneiderman's (1999) engagement theory suggests that in order for students to be meaningfully engaged in learning activities there needs to opportunities for them to experiment during self-directed learning . I found myself when setting up a blog I needed to explore the site and experiment with the tools available. For students I think this would be a very exciting tool to use as while they are building their knowledge they are also seeing the results through what they are creating. Blogs and RSS feeders would also be a fantastic tool for teachers to utilise so that students could participate in learning experiences that occur in a group context. These groups could either be within the class, school, Australia or the world. Blogs allow teachers to design learning experiences where students could participate in collaborative groups with students from the other side of the country. Apart from being educationally beneficial it would allow students to experience other cultures and ways of living.

These types of learning experiences would take time for the teacher to set up but I think it would be a very rewarding and interesting learning journey for students. Teachers would also have the opportunity to develop relationships with other teaching professionals that could last years.


References:

Kearsley, G & Shneiderman, B (1999). Engagement Theroy: A framework for teachnology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved July 29th, 2009, from CQUniversity e-courses, FAHE 11001 Active learning & learning diversity. http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=580