RSS

All aboard the information highway...

We are living in the time where knowledge is powerful but knowing how to access it and keep up-to-date reigns supreme. Because knowledge is becoming superseded so rapidly it is very difficult to keep up with all the advances, so the most efficient way of doing this is by using RSS. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication but more importantly, what it means is instead of spending hours surfing your favourite websites for newly released information, all you have to do is join Google Reader and they do all the work for you. Anytime a website that you subscribe to updates then you are automatically alerted and are able to view the new information. If you need a more indepth explanation then just view the clip below.

At the beginning of the course I was thinking..."I wonder how they (lecturers) keep up with all the new stuff, there is so much coming out all the time" RSS has now demystified how they can do it without spending hours surfing their favourites. I'm really glad that I know about RSS because now I can feel less pressure to keep up because I can be alerted to new information without consciously seeking it out. This invaluable tool allows me and students to access and gain information as it becomes available. With so much information to keep up with and so little time, RSS is a great time management weapon.

Another great application of RSS is how a learning manager can monitor student blogs with ease. Can you imagine trying to keep up with every child's blog in your class manually? That would be a complete nightmare. However, using RSS you will be alerted each and everytime one of your learners posts an entry on their blog. What is more, the students can use this tool to follow their peer's blogs and before you know it they will be learning collaboratively and engaging in substantive conversations which will result in a deeper understanding of what is being learned (Education Queensland, 2000). Furthermore, students will be able view the work of their peers to gain different perspectives as well as have the opportunity to learn from each other as they ask questions or provide answers and explanations within the online learning community.

However, it is important that the learning manager monitors the students comments carefully as cyberbullying can be very problematic. In these situations prevention is always better than the cure therefore, it is advisable that students are heavily scaffolded in relation to appropriate online behaviour and are aware that bullying of any kind will not be tolerated. Media Awareness Network (2010) suggest that learning managers assist their students to establish a moral code of ethics for working online and encourage their learners to approach them if they are being cyberbullied.

To return to my synopsis click here

References

Media Awareness Network. (2010). Web awareness: Challenging cyberbullying. [eletronic resource] Retrieved from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/special_initiatives/wa_resources/wa_shared/backgrounders/challenge_cyberbullying.cfm

Queensland Education. (2002b). A guide to productive pedagogies: A classroom reflection manual. Retrieved from http://education.qld.gov.au/public_media/reports/curriculum-framework/productive-pedagogies/pdfs/prodped.pdf.