Monday, March 26, 2007

Weblogs and RSS..Web Tools for Learning..!

This week I have been reading couple of papers about Bloggings and RSS web tools. I am intersted in how teachers and educators can make good use of both technologies in classrooms.

Even though i am new to both web tools, I will explain in simple language what I know about each tool.

"Weblogs" or "blogs" are simple websites that can be created and edited by anyone who has access to the internet. You dont need to know html codes to create your blog; within couple of minutes your website will be up and running....

The easiest way to start is to create your blog using one the free online services:

http://www.blogger.com
http://www.motime.com
http://www.tblog.com

Some definitions and benefits of blogging ..

"Blogging is the process of reading what is important to you online, engaging a community, and reflecting on online....it is a process or bring life to learning."

" A blog is characterized by its reflection of a personal style, and this style maybe reflected in either the writing or the selection of links passed along to readers"


"through the use of our weblogs we have been able to build a relationship, engage in reflective practice, and have interactive opportunities that develop and broaden our knowledge base."

" through the use of blogs, we were able to archive and publish students work, learn with far flung collaborators, and manage the knowledge that members of the school community create"

RSS..stands for Rich Site Summary or Real Simple Syndication.. it depends who you talk to.

RSS allows you to collect information from many websites using "aggregator" " or news feeder collector" . The RSS checks the websites you subscribe to every hour and send the information to you instead of you visiting each website individually.

To use RSS, u need to subscribe to the website you are interested in receiving information from...

There are alot of aggregators available for free download..

http://www.sharpreader.net
http://www.bloglines.com


I hope you find the information I presented to you useful and easy to read and understand.


I would like to hear from anyone who had used either tool in their classrooms; and how successful were they in using the technology and at what level it is being used..

Ghassan

2 comments:

Philip said...

Hi Ghassem,

Click on my link and you'll come to my blog. There are links to the student's blogs on that page.

Basically, I'm using it as a reading, writing and digital portfolio tool.

Cheers,

Philip.

Asray said...

Hi Ghasan,
Your information is very clear. A starter can easily understand the details of Blogging.
Teachers in our college have directed their students to create their own blogs to hand in their assignments & also created a discussion topic in which they keep posting their views.

Please check this blog about Virginia Tech

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070418.wshootingmedia18/BNStory/International/home

Asra