RSS

Really Simple Syndication

Hello once again,

As each day goes by and i reflect upon the knowledge and new skills that i am learning and developing, i begin to ponder on the opportunities that are opening up to me. The use of ICT's can be introduced into the classroom in order to support and enhance learning in such a wide variety of aspects. Aspects that up until 2 weeks ago i had not ever considered. 

Upon commencement of this course i heard the terms 'RSS feed' and 'RSS aggregator'. I honestly had no idea what either of them meant and assumed it was something that happened at Australia Zoo! I now know that Really Simple Syndication, or 'RSS', is a convenient and efficient way of accessing new content, or a change of content, in your favorite blogs and websites. In laymen's terms, a 'feed' is the content that an author posts onto their website and an 'aggregator' is the program that accesses the feeds you are interested in and automatically organizes them. 

The aggregator that i have chosen for the purpose of this assessment task is Google Reader. Set up of my account was an easy process and Google Reader automatically collated the blogs that i am following. This system removed the tedious task of searching for any new postings that have been made to individual blogs and websites. It allows the author to view all posts from one easy to read location and add new subscriptions as required.

The prospect of incorporating 'blogs' into my future classroom is one that i am excited about and extremely keen to begin. A blog could be used as a weekly reflective tool for each student to post their new knowledge, thoughts and also comments based upon the current unit of work. The learning manager could provide questions that need to be addressed each week, which in turn supplies them with consistent information regarding each students learning journey. Google Reader will provide the learning manager with the enormous benefit of viewing each new post, on each students blog, from one convenient location.

Really Simple Syndication is another step forward in this digital age of 'connectivism'. Siemens (2004) suggests that 'connectivism provides insight into learning skills and tasks needed for learners to flourish in a digital era'. I believe that in order to 'flourish' in this constantly evolving world of technology, tools such as Google Reader are a prerequisite.   

Until next time,

Kerri.

Reference:

Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. Retrieved July 19, 2009, from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.html .