The Delicious Blog Post!

http://delicious.com/m6greenfield


I know this is what you guys have been waiting for so here it is. A sneak peak into things I like to do. Enjoy!

PB Works! Web 2.0!!

Web 2.0!

Here is the link to my wiki site. Enjoy and feel free to comment on things that I might be able to add. I am new at this and have yet to use one of these before so any comments would be helpful.

Discussion #2

What are your early impressions of using a blog and what was your experience using an RSS Reader this week? Any surprises, pleasant or otherwise?

In order to answer this first question I need to give you some background as to who I am. I have always been a very outdoors kindove guy. I like to chop wood, go mudding in the woods, camp, hike, and shoot guns. I have never had an interest in sharing my day to day activities with other people online. I have also never really cared to read what is happening to others in their lives. So I never thought in a million years that I would be doing what my wife was doing online with blogging and reading other peoples activities. In using the blog I have come to appreciate it a little more in the fact that I can now share with family and friends what is going on at the Greenfield house. So I am a little surprised that I am taking to it so well. I may not be the best at blogging so if you are looking to find an easy read then you have come to the right blog. The blog and RSS reader is a little confusing at first but I would say that they are relatively easy to understand after you work with it for 10 to 15 mins. I have found my experience to be quite pleasant and enjoyable. 

Which part(s) of Dale’s Cone do you think each tool (Blog, RSS) lends itself best to and why?

I think that Blogs and RSS readers lend themselves to the top 3 tiers. I believe this to be because you have to use pictures and your words to help describe what is going on and what you are trying to portray in your writing to the people. So first things first why do recordings, radio, and still pictures fit? These items fit into RSS readers and Blogs because of the nature of what you are doing with Blogs. You can attach photos of things you have done or things that you want to do to start conversations and get people excited about what is going on in your life. Using visual symbols is another great tool to use. There are other people out there that use their Blog to post how to create a project and help people with visual aids and directions on how things should be put together and how it should look as an end product. They might also use it to show something that they have created and the uses that it would fit into. The final part of the cone that I feel fits into Blogs and RSS readers is verbal symbols. I believe this to fit because of the very nature of the Blogs and RSS readers. It is to give everyone a chance to be in the same moment as you. That moment being how you describe and paint the picture for others to read. Since most people have experienced what many words mean like pain, sorrow, happiness, cuts and bruises we can use these descriptive words to show what is going on and the reader will understand and be able to enjoy and take part in what you are trying to portray to them.

Considering Siegel’s concept of “computer imagination”, what do you think would be at least one “imaginative” educational use of each tool (blog, RSS) that takes advantage of each tool’s inherent strengths? That is, what do you think you and/or your students could use these tools for that they might not be able to do with other more simple or low-tech tools? Or, as Postman might ask, what is a problem to which each of these tools is an answer?

I can see how students would benefit from using Blogs to show their interest in the class by helping them build a story throughout the semester. They could be as creative as they want because it is how they feel and how they want to portray their story. How well it is done will show the mastery of being descriptive. It also will show how insightful they are into what is going on around them. It would also give them a way to reflect on the week and what they learned to make sure they understand the concepts that we taught that week. The RSS reader I think might be the best tool to use. Allowing everyone to be able to collaborate I believe is the best tool that you could use in the classroom. It allows for everyone to share their point and help the student find a new alternative to something that may never have jumped out at them before. Students would be able to access these tools after class and keep things alive and in their heads because they would be thinking about it more often than just being in the class for an hour.

Discussion #1

After looking and reading the assigned reading I really enjoyed thinking about how we as a nation and world need to address the need for every student to achieve the most they can instead of the old concept of teach the masses and if they get most of it they are good to go. I agree that children need more one on one with the teacher and that not just one teaching style will work for them. The one problem that I thought of while reading and that Roberto Joseph addressed was that a single teacher cannot keep 30 students learning at different paces.  I think the idea he had or using technology to help facilitate these needs. Using these tools to help them will give them the ability to self-teach and understand at their own pace and also encourage self-growth were they will not be pressured to succeed but want to do it on their own.

Looking at the final reading I liked how people are looking more and more to online learning. Its not just the online learning that is the draw its the ability to do it all the time and keep things fresh in the mind. I personally have liked this more and have succeeded in Westerns online classes and have been able to remember and apply information in my everyday life. The one problem that I see is that the technology that we need to be able to do this is very expensive and some is not very compatible with each other.