Aggregators

Aggregate in Latin means to herd, so I relate an aggregator to that of a herder, a collector or assembler of things. An RSS aggregator, is a tool that collects and collates all your favourite content for quick and easy assess.

I had often wondered what the RSS symbol (logo) represented on my tool bar(I know, I'm a visual person). I then discovered that RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication which was is an effective tool for collecting your favourite blogs and websites in one place, so you can connect quickly and conviently thus saving time, which we all need. As I have a google account, I find that my google reader automatically updates and collates all my favourite feeds.

This tool has saved me numerous hours searching and can see the application being useful in the classroom as both Learning Managers and students have little time. Students can write, read their peers blogs and collaborate on learning experiences. The students can interact easily on group activities and worthwhile tasks (Kearsley, G.,& Shneiderman, B. 1999). The Learning Manager would be able to follow all the sites and respond to students questions in one convenient place.

Learning Managers and students should embrace Really Simple Syndication as it effective, efficient and a time saving tool.

Stay happy & healthy

References

Kearsley, G.,& Shneiderman, B. Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved July 21, 2009, from,
http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Voki Avatars

Get a Voki now!


Avatars are simply a virtual self. Technology is no longer a simple tool but a collaborative communication tool that crosses many different forms of communication. Students can now connect outside of their school and communities so that the learning relates to the students, through "conectedness to their world"(Productice Pedagogies, 2006) and prepares them for their futures.
Animations which have been personalised both visually and auditory, make the students more comfortable in their cyber-environment so that the students experience a sense of comfort and order (Marzano, 2007). I find that the Voki Avatar communicates on many levels to different learning styles and can be used in a multitude of medias, such as myspace, facebook, mobile phones, blogs and many more.
I highly recommend you follow the link below and create a virtual you now. As Learning Managers of the future it essential that we understand and embrace these new technologies and virtual world as this is the way of collaborating, networking, sharing, and celebrating together.

Google

I cannot believe that up until a month ago I only thought of Google as a search engine for information and images, oh how wrong I was.

Recently I set up a Google account and am constantly using Google reader to share documents. I have discovered how to personalise an avatar (virtual self) and interact with others through text chats or animations. Users can also able to embed their own photos or video intheir virtual rooms. These can then be embedded onto a blog or website, it is also going to be a facebook application.

These would be a great for communication and for collaborating on group work. Students would be engaged with the animations, the videos, links to blogs and websites. Technology can be a place where students could work asynchronous (accessing information by themselves) as well as been able to work and interact with others, synchronous learning, through the use of technology to communicate.

It's easy to understand why the digital generation prefer avatars. They're alot better to look at than most of my teachers and they make complex things seem simple, visually and auditory. It's interesting to note that the style of the avatar with its big eyes and head is drawn in, is from the Japanese drawing style, Manga. Which all the younger generations cartoons are based on. Maybe if this technology was around 20 years ago the avatars might be more like Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse?

This application will take over where Google Lively, WeeWorld, IMVU, Habbo and others left off. With the power of google behind it, the user will automatically be linked by their RSS feeds. Its a lot of fun and the best thing is that it's free.

creative knowledge society

I believe it essential that as a Learning Manager of the future it is essential that we embrace the technology and actively utilise it in all KLAs. From simple blogs (I say that now, ha) where students can report homework and the Learning Manager can track the progress through to podcasts and skype conference calls where groups can collaborate and network. I know 80% of my year 7 class log on to the internet every night, so if we were to use this method I'm sure a lot more homework would be completed. In an age of visual communication it essential that we equip our students with the knowledge and understanding of the technologies and their applications so they are prepared for our 'creative knowledge' society in the future.

communication nightmare

I thought technology was to improve things. This morning I have been communicating with different people and found that nearly everyone of them used a different form of communication.
It started with a text message, then landline calls, some facebook messages, Myspace, MSN, Skype, email, and now a blog. It's overwhelming, coming home each day and checking my messages, it usually takes an hour each evening. It would be an ideal world if everyone used the same communication tool for everything, it would be more efficient and a time saver, something that we would all appreciate. As the world and the technologies become more complex you would think they would be trying to improve things not make them more complicated. My favourite communication tool is skype, as it does everything. I allows me to communicate in different ways to different tools like a mobile, landline, computer. So with all the group work that needs to be done this term, I hope that all our members can agree to go through Skype which will make my life simpler. After all my favourite motto is 'kiss; keep it simple stupid'.

Welcome

Welcome to my digital learning journey. This is my first experience at writing a blog and so far so good. Touch wood. I am really looking forward to exploring the different formats that can be used on the computers and sharing my digital learning journey with you all. There are so many programs out there that can be utilised in so many different ways, the mind boggles. If anyone has helpful hints, they would be greatly appreciated. I will try to respond to everyones comments and look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks