My RSS Experience

Following my RSS feeds for the past week has overall been a disappointing experience. I added feeds from all the wrong websites, and except for one website (ISTE), none of the websites I followed had any substantial updates that I  learnt from.

The following feeds were recommended by the course, and I added them:

Technology and Learning (http://www.techlearning.com/) : Just one update in the past one week. This feed too was titled "About Us", and had no real information.

NPR Education http://www.npr.org/rss/) :  I saw about two-three feeds from this site everyday in the past week. Most of the feeds were about some scandalous or conflict-related stories such as Penn State's football coach being fired, or a teacher's strike. I found only one story interesting, an article about how kids learn science today. Overall, quite disappointed by the lack of thinkpieces and feature articles in this feed.

Web-logged (http://www.weblogg-ed.com/): No feeds in the past week! On closer inspection, it seems that this site is not updated anymore. Why are we being asked to follow inactive websites? Nevertheless, some old feeds made for an interesting read. I did not learn much about how education can be used in technology, but his stories (almost all revolving around his family) do keep you absorbed.

Literacy Education Updates (ncteblog.blogspot.com) : Again, no feeds in the past week. And on closer inspection, this blog too has been inactive for over three years. The old feeds mostly deal with political laws pertaining to education, and I did not go through more than one. It is surprising that we were asked to follow this blog.

Here are some of the blogs/sites that I followed on my own:

Penn State Communication Blog (http://psucommblog.blogspot.com/): As a communication student, I thought that this blog would keep me updated with publications emerging from this department. Sadly, the only feeds I got pertained to colloquia that this department was organizing. Following this blog turned out to be a waste of time.

Dr. C. Jack Orr's Teaching and Communication Blog (http://cjackorr.blogspot.com/): This blog had some interesting posts when I subscribed to it.  However there were no feeds from this blog in the past week.

Education World: Technology (http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/): There were no feeds in the past week. All old feeds have inactive links which only redirect you to the main page.

International Society for Technology in Education (http://www.iste.org/connect/iste-connects/blog.aspx): No less than 4 feeds (on four different days) in the past week, and all of them containing excellent stories. There was particularly one story one Kindle Fire that almost made me re-evaluate my notions of education.  Three days the feed featured an excellent article about teachers should be evaluated, which also made for an interesting read. This is definitely one website that I will continue to subscribe to.

Project Implicit (http://projectimplicit.wordpress.com/):  As a PhD student I am currently studying how media can impact moral values, and we measure morality with implicit measures. There were no feeds from this blog in the past week, and on closer inspection, this blog has also been inactive for a long time.

YourMorals.org Blog (http://www.yourmorals.org/blog/) : YourMorals.org is a website that measures the five foundations of morality (as defined by a scholar named Jon Haidt). I subscribed to its blog. There was just one feed from blog in the past week, and that was about to create groups on the main website. The old feeds though, were very interesting.

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Comment I added to a blog

I added a comment to the YourMorals.org blog in response to an argument between the site's owner Jon Haidt, and another scholar Massimo Pigluicci. The comment read thus:

While I can see the point of view that both are making, I am inclined to agree with Haidt more on this one. Pigluicci is used to attacking people who are irrational, and he does not give much consideration to the arguments made by these people (and he shouldn’t!). I think when he encountered Haidt’s statement, he just dealt with it with a broad stroke, without understanding the finer nuances of Haidt’s points.

I think that we should all take time to comment on blog posts we read because:

(i) Comments add to the understanding of the points made in the article/blog posts. The author in the main blog post may not have had the time to expand on his points. Comments help supplement the information given in the blog post.

(ii) Comments help provide differing perspectives on the same issue. It challenges the reader to consider different opinions.

(iii) Comments reassure the author that his blog posts are being read and discussed, and encourage him to keep writing.  

(iv) The very act of submitting a comment makes you read the blog post more carefully, and encourages you to check back the blog to see how others have responded to your opinion.

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What I have learnt from the contents of the news feeds that I have been tracking?

I only learnt from the news feeds of one website (ISTE), but the lesson that I learnt was substantial. It is this: classroom learning need not predominate education. Although I have always considered myself to be open-minded and forward thinking when it comes to education, I think that somwhere in my mind, the "classroom" setting has been inexorably tied to education. I always viewed technology as "supplementing" traditional lecturing. But following the ISTE feeds has made me realize that classrooms can be completely eliminated with the help of technology. We are moving towards a new era, where "schools" may not exist, and all education may take place at home, through technological tools, and these technological tools may in fact do a much better job teaching our kids than current classrooms do.

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What have I learnt about subscribing to RSS feeds?

I have learnt the following lessons pertaining to subscriptions of RSS feeds:

(i) Before subscribing check whether updates are added regularly

I subscribed to several blogs/websites that I will have to unsubscribe to now because they are completely inactive. In the future, I will first ensure that the website is active and regularly updated before I subscribe to it.

(ii) Check for the content of the old feeds. Are they relevant?

When you first subscribe, it is always a good idea to check old feeds.Do they contain substantial matter that I could learn from? Or are they only website updates or other irrelevant matter? If it is the latter, than I would unsubscribe immediately.

(iii) Check RSS feeds at fixed intervals. 

For a busy person like me, I would say twice a week is good time interval for me to check my RSS feeds.

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Describe how you might apply either the content of your RSS Reader page, or the capabilities of RSS Reader pages, in your own setting.

I will use the capabilities of the RSS reader page for the following:

(i) To update my knowledge about my field

As a media-effects researcher, it is vital that I am updated about the latest events and happenings in my field, and RSS can keep me updated about what is going in this field. I only need to locate the right sources (blogs and websites) which will regularly update me with news about my field. Talking to my colleagues about the blogs/websites they subscribe to may be a good idea. 

(ii) Enhance my knowledge of the teaching with technology

Since I have started this course, my belief in education being a dynamic process has only strengthened. I now understand that technology is not only an embellishment or supplement to conventional education, but can actually completely replace conventional education. As teachers, we all need to use our imaginations to create teaching environments with technology. RSS is my window to obtaining knowledge that will help me sculpt my new technology-based teaching environments. RSS feeds should keep providing me new ideas  and perspectives which help me become a better teacher.