RSS feeds – Updated to keep you in the know on the latest
news in financial aid.
I am new to the concept of RSS feeds. They are very
interesting and informative tools that allow you to have quick access to the
newest information about topics, in my case it’s Federal Financial Aid. I like
my information to come straight from the source so when I was looking for the
best options in RSS feeds I started with the Federal government website. The
rules and regulations that they dispersed are they are the guidelines we must
uphold here at WIU. Changes to their rules and regulations can mean big changes
for our students and my office. RSS
feeds that I chose are from a website I use on a daily basis within my line of
work. Federal student aids RSS feed can be found at http://financialaidtoolkit.ed.gov/tk/resources.jsp
. The second one was from a website that I frequent to keep up on changes that affect
higher education called the institute for Education Statics and the link to
this RSS feed can be found at https://nces.ed.gov/help/rss.asp
.
In the classroom – What have you learned new today?
During our third Module of this quick paced class I am
currently enrolled in we touched base on many aspects and tools that are
available to us in this every changing dynamic of instruction. A few of my
favorites include how and why you could Twitter in the classroom and depth it
can add to even the hardest to reach learners. Twitter can be a great tool to
help stay in touch outside of the classroom about various new articles and
research and postings about what is going to be due in the near future.
As a previous graphic designer the tool of Flickr how
boundless resources of ideas and photos people allow for use (permission permitted),
an excellent tool for a quick edit and print of personal photos and how to
upload them to your blog or other personal social sites. Flickr is a tool that
almost anyone can gain from at least having knowledge of its existence.
This is only a few of the many tools that I really enjoyed
getting a little bit more out of others included RSS feeds (as I mentioned
above), Delicious, Stumbleupon and podcasting. I would like to encourage other people reading
this to take an hour or two and pick a tool, you might be surprised how much
you can learn and how it could really make your life as an instructor a little
bit easier.
I, too, was blown away by the tools we learned during this module. It really made me reevaluate my position on social media. I think we do our students a disservice when we over-filter web content and ban/block/avoid open social media to minimize distraction. Let's face it, the web is one giant distraction. As I am typing this, I really want to check on the shipping status of some parts I ordered for my new motorcycle and I have three unread Facebook comments, etc., BUT I am focusing on this at the moment. Why do we act like our students can't learn to focus and block distractions out? Yes, it is difficult ( not just for 7th graders with ADHD), but it is certainly not impossible. The tools like Flickr and Delicious can only serve to help narrow a pool of information for our students, making focusing on a task more managable.
ReplyDeleteLike other important life skills not listed on our curricula, self discipline is one intangible we cannot avid if we are to prepare our young students to survive in ever-increasingly prevalent virtual learning environments. All of us in this 516 class are living proof that one can discipline oneself to make sacrifices (taking a summer class) and take deliberate steps to reach a goal (certification or degree.)
Sorry for ranting, but you inspired me! Now I'm off to check on my motorcycle parts. :)
With so many resources covered in this module, I wish we could have had more time to explore the many tools covered and further develop our ideas for use in our professional lives. I also found Flickr to be of great value to me professionally. I was extremely interested in the uses of this tool offered in our readings, especially the activity where the students use a famous poem and develop a visual representation of it with images. This approach to technology integration is such a great way for students to engage with technology while studying literature.
ReplyDeleteI think Chris brings up a very relevant thought in his comment as well. It is our job as public educators to assist our students in learning strategies and tools to help them minimize the distractions that are so often associated with social media/tools. Tools such as Delicious and Stumbleupon allow our students to explore the web with purpose and vision. We know that the internet continues to grow and that content may not always be appropriate, so we must train our students to search effectively and purposefully while attempting to limit outside distractions.
This is a very fast paced class and we did cover a great deal of tools this week. I appreciate all of the in depth reviews we were able to get from our fellow classmates on the various resources available to us via the web. I completely agree with Samantha Bush, in that I wish we could have had more time to explore the many tools we were introduced to this week in further detail. I know my list of tools to explore in my personal time is growing.
ReplyDeleteI was personally having trouble seeing how Flickr could be beneficial to me professionally until I completely read the chapter in our book related to it. I can now appreciate you view as a former graphic designer and agree that it can be beneficial to everyone.
This is a very fast paced class and we did cover a great deal of tools this week. I appreciate all of the in depth reviews we were able to get from our fellow classmates on the various resources available to us via the web. I completely agree with Samantha Bush, in that I wish we could have had more time to explore the many tools we were introduced to this week in further detail. I know my list of tools to explore in my personal time is growing.
ReplyDeleteI was personally having trouble seeing how Flickr could be beneficial to me professionally until I completely read the chapter in our book related to it. I can now appreciate you view as a former graphic designer and agree that it can be beneficial to everyone.
I love your post and comments here. Indeed, these tools are not just important for teachers and students, but organizational leaders must provide vision and direction, and key stakeholders in the organization should create goals and strategies for tool use. Otherwise, it will always be the flavor of the month.
ReplyDelete