Blogger and RSS reader were very simple to use, but labor intensive at the front end. Now I am not complaining, because they are designed to save time in the long run. I like the RSS reader and thought it was perfect in a limited format. I am a history guy by trade, so I find the process of searching through material somewhat fun. Sometimes I find other things of interest while I am searching and find the RSS somewhat limiting in that process. In the format of receiving information in a limited way by design, lets say as an example my classmate’s blogs, I find it great. In mobile form I find it a little more interesting, because it is such a pain to navigate on mobile wireless and it gives you the ease of access to what you want. If one is looking for a simple update of self limited material then I guess I can see the point.
I am not knocking the Cone of Experience, but I will be the devil’s advocate here. This is a standard model, which I think most people instructing already know. Students who lack experience with concepts, items, people, etc. have trouble identifying, spelling, working with, and understanding those things and need to be led through the process. Yes and each child in your classroom may be different as the article points out “the Cone may suggest the most appropriate method for teaching an abstract concept in accordance with the child’s needs and abilities at a particular time.” That being said I suppose it is o.k. to have a road map or directions on how to address each student’s unique needs and abilities. The Cone and or differentiated instruction are simply best practice in the new world of customized education. I think as Dewey who once made the quote of “sorting the wheat from the chaff” as a bad form of educating and promoted learning through experience or doing. So where does a blog or RSS fit into Dale’s Cone of Experience? I am not sure and can’t wait to read others reflections. I mean it looks great in respect to personalized information to specific students (including various media formats) as well as maybe being incorporated into paperless formative assessment. I also see that there are many issues that would need to be addressed.
I found Falling Asleep at Your Keyboard: The Case for Computer Imagination very interesting. First, let me say I am a little biased because like books and find readers like Kindle ridiculous. As the article points out, “e-books don’t have enough advantages over print” and “unfortunately, most Web-based training follows e-books example.” The problem is in my opinion is Web-sites like Skillsoft are not really doing anything different than a person or video can do. The other issue is access at school or at home. Most schools have limited 1 to 1 computing and students may not have access at home. Not all schools allow student access to the web 2.0 tools needed to incorporate the Cone. This and many other reasons are why maybe very few educational technologies answer Postman’s question in the positive. These technologies, while advancements, fail in the educational field to allow ease of access, true customization, and the parent that sense of security and say they want for the children’s online computing.
I am hooked on my RSS on my smart phone too because I have a difficult time doing searches on the small screen format. I do like google reader but have been using twitter a lot more the last couple of months.
ReplyDeleteI try to follow people that have meaningful things to say... I have never been to interested in knowing when a cousin is going to the mall.