R/D2

This was the very first time for me to set up a Blog and a RSS Reader. I am surprised that the both of them are quite easy to set up for computer beginners. It is well-organized, systematic and user-friendly. The most important thing about them is that I can customize to fit my needs. I have the control to change and decide the way I want my blog to look even though I have no computer programming skills. For the RSS reader, I can control the information I want, something newspapers and TV couldn’t do. It feels great to be able to control what information I want to receive. This completely contradicts with what Postman said about that information has become a form of garbage. (Look at the last paragraph of my previous post.

I would place Blog in Contrived Experience, Still Pictures and Verbal Symbols on Dale’s Cone of Experience. There are a lot of hands-on activities when you use your Blog. For example, you can customize your blog by searching for the information that you need to change the layout and color. This can become a learning experience especially in my situation. Also when you see other people’s Blog, you are able to imagine from other people’s experiences by reading their Blogs. You could add pictures to make your blog attractive and interesting. You can use verbal symbols to write your opinions and comments, and communicate with other people through the Blog.

RSS Reader will be categorized in various levels depending on what type of information you want to update. It could be Motion Pictures because you can get video updates, Still Pictures from images and pictures, and Verbal Symbols such as a news article. You can also share your RSS with your friends or read your friends updates. RSS Readers allow you to access all the information you want on one page. It’s basically like a one-stop shop; I can find everything I need.

According to Siegel, computer imaginative takes advantage of the computer’s strength if it exploits the strength to achieve its goal. I think Blog and RSS Reader could be computer imaginative. Reading the Amazon example in the article gave me an idea. I am currently a teacher for first graders. I want to give them a social networking experience using Blogs and RSS that they cannot replicate from their real experiences. Because my students are first graders, it is too difficult for them to set up and use Blogs and RSS Reader on their own. What I can do is to set up a class Blog for them and teach them how to use it as a communication tool with schools from other district and prefectures in Japan and even around the world. I will ask class to share what they want such as pictures, photos, essays and videos. Class will work in group or individually to create that information. We can use RSS Reader to share a lot of information, receive updates from other blogs and to interact with each other’s Blog. This is a great way for students to progress their social communication skills and widen their point of view by interacting with students outside of their school through this Blog. The advantages of Blog and RSS Readers are difficult to replace with low-tech tools. They allows you to share much more information and faster and easier process and access will be needed. These technology tools have provided an opportunity for my students to experience something that they cannot do in real life.