RSS in Education

This assignment was quite interesting in that I only learned XML last semester. The problem with the course was that it presented very few specific examples of how to use XML. In fact, this was the first genuine application in which I used the language.

I can see where RSS feeds would be quite useful to the teaching community. When I attended school, we were required to keep and submit journals to the teacher. I vividly recall scrambling wildly the night before to simulate entries throughout the week. RSS feeds would allow teachers to view student work as it was posted rather than waiting to the end of the week for a week’s worth of entries.

Undoubtedly, as more people become aware of the existence of RSS technology, its uses will increase. Additionally, with the advances in handheld technology, people will essentially be able to download their customized newspapers each day based on the content that interests them. This, however, presents a dual edged sword. It will allow people to target their own news delivery, but may also prevent them from being exposed to other, late breaking issues.

Elements of Educational Technology

Thoughts on Learning

There were two things that struck me while completing this assignment. The first was bravery of my classmates for undertaking this endeavor. The second was the enormity of the challenges that await them.

Most of my classmates are educators. They teach at various levels in the education system and are held accountable for the performance of their students on standardized tests. As I mentioned in my piece, these standards have been fairly well defined within the realm of a task oriented space. When learning moves to a problem solving space, the standards will change, and like all change the process will be challenging and the outcomes unknown. To be held accountable for a series of unknown outcomes speaks volumes for their love of their profession and of their students. Teaching is about to become far more difficult and less measurable. I admire their bravery for getting ahead of the curve by enrolling in this program.

The challenges that await them are twofold. First, they will need to adopt their methods to meet these new standards while at the same time teaching a generation raised on You Tube videos. The era of the 50 minute teaching unit has passed. It has been replaced by short bursts of learning with continuous review to reinforce the previous lessons. As the paper mentions, new methods of teaching will be more concerned with problem solving using all the tools that are available to modern students. Problem solving is much more difficult to present than simple facts.

The second challenge will be the ability to use the tools themselves. A number of education systems are modernizing their classrooms. Teachers will be required to not only learn new methods of presentation but also new presentation tools. A smart board is an outstanding tool, but it takes real knowledge to use it as more than a multi-colored blackboard. A few years ago, a Power Point presentation would elicit the oohs and ahs of the entire class. Now, these presentations are commonplace and students are looking for interactivity and animation. Creating such presentations require detailed knowledge of complex, ever changing programs. Simply put, teachers will be required to learn at a frantic pace just to keep up with emerging technology. The technological revolution has forced educators into a role of lifelong learning.

All of this serves to underscore the importance of programs such as the Educational Technology Master’s degree. These programs advance the technological education of the educators which in turn improves the quality of education for future students.

Video Introduction

And over there is the entrance to the pub...

Welcome

And so it begins.

Two years ago, I never would have dreamed of having a Bachelor’s Degree let alone being enrolled in a Master’s Degree program. I’m not an education oriented person. In fact, I’ve often said, “If I want to learn something, I’ll teach myself.” My collegiate track record, up until two years ago, served as proof positive that university scholarship is wasted on the young. In fact, prior to restarting my IT Degree, my college transcripts should have read, “Skipped all classes, aced the Final Exam, failed class because he didn’t show up.” Frankly, I’m fine with that. At 22 years of age, I thought all college professors were pedantic wieners. Now at 51, the jury’s still out.

Given my ambivalence to formal education, the obvious question is why pursue a Master’s Degree at all? The simple answer is that I’ve fallen in love. The advent of Distance Learning has given me new faith. At long last there is a forum for students like me, people who love to learn, but can’t be bothered turning up for a two hour lecture. Having discovered the canvas, I now want to paint. I want to design, develop and implement on line courses. 

I also want to teach. I find myself as a bit of an anomaly in this program. I’m surrounded by educators, people with teaching degrees. I don’t have a teaching certificate, nor do I have an education degree. Instead of being a teacher who wants to learn tech, I’m a tech guy who wants to teach. My thoughts are that this makes for an interesting synergy in my classes. Because of my background and my degree, I can bring the tools to the table, but from the table, I can take away the educator’s knowledge of how to use them.

It’s going to be an interesting two years. I’m looking forward to learning the ropes and developing my skills as an educator. I’m also dying to implement some of the new tools available to educators such as X3D to develop interactive 3D activities. In the 20 years since I became involved with computers, technology has progressed so far. Today’s students are less apt to sit down at a desktop and more likely to search for information on their phones. This advancement presents both opportunities and challenges. Because information is so readily available, educators are no longer the gatekeepers to information. Instead, we have an obligation to engage the next generation as to convince them that all the knowledge in the world is worth pursuing.