RSS Technolgy & Twitter In the Field of Education

Ning is an online platform for people to create their own social networks.  Competitor to Facebook and MySpace, Ning offers each user the ability to create their own social network, specific to their particular topic or need.   Ning was co-founded by Marc Andreessen and Gina Bianchini in October 2005.  Both free and paid options are available.

Social networking is an extremely helpful tool for educators.  Ning offers social networking with the ability to specify the topic.  Whether working on a specific project, teaching a specific topic, or dealing with a specific situation, Ning allows educators a platform to focus on specifics.  Organized social networks, topic or need specific, created with end results in mind.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/guspim/404474608/

A voice thread is a web-based collaborative presentation that allows invited users to leave feedback in several different ways.  A user may comment by computer microphone, telephone, text, audio file (MP3/WAV), and webcam.  Users may also doodle on top of the media as they comment, enabling one to highlight or support their points.

Voice Thread offers networks tailored to each age group in the field of education.  The K-12 network offers k-12 students and educators a powerful and safe environment to learn.  All users on the network are known users, responsible for their content and behavior.  Participation is controlled by the teacher or school.  Access can be limited to a single class or expanded to include several classes from all over the world.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hbemisschurtz/2527106421/

Twitter is a free social networking service that enables users to send and receive messages from other users.  Twitter was created in 2006 and has since become the third most used social network behind Facebook and MySpace.  Current users include President Barack Obama, businessman Donald Trump, and scores of other personalities.

Twitter, like all social networking, can be a great assistance in the field of education.  Twitter can be used to communicate in real time with fellow teachers, not only within one’s school, but anywhere.  Support, advice, collaboration, and peace of mind are all seconds away.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/luc/1824234195/

As an educator this technology has countless benefits.  As previously mentioned, frequent updates are not only efficient, but provide the latest information without actively searching.  Subscriptions are not limited to particular web sites.   Subject matter, key words, tags,  and several other methods of searching can also be subscribed to.  Teachers have the ability to track their students in a paperless manner.  Teachers also have the ability to effectively communicate with parents via RSS technology.

In order to start benefitting from RSS technology one must first set up a RSS reader.  Several popular RSS readers are currently available.  I have chosen Google Reader as my RSS reader.

I have subscribed to the blogs of Alvin Trusty, Antonio Guerra, Joy Mullins, Kelly Shadley, Kelly Shifflet, and Shannon Kelley.

http://epnweb.org/player.php?podshow=http://www.history.org/Media/podcasts/122908/WeHoldTheseTruths.mP3&podcast=Colonial%20Williamsburg%20Podcasts&program=We%20Hold%20These%20Truths

Host Lloyd Dobbins conducts an interview with author Paul Aron concerning his book We Hold These Truths.  Dobbins described Aron’s book as a…”book (that) explores touchstones of American rhetoric.”  Aron stated,

“Words mattered then, I think words matter now…words don’t always equal action, they don’t always translate into action, but they do matter and that is part of what I hope is the message of this book.”

Colonial Williamsburg Patrick Henry by RNRobert

Aron explained that we don’t really know if most famous rhetoric was said, but we do know that something was said.  Aron discussed Patrick Henry’s 1776 quote, “If this be treason make the most of it.”  Aron described that although Henry gave this speech in 1776 his words weren’t recorded until 1817.  In fact Aron continued to discuss a contradictory version that was recorded in 1921.

Thomas Paine 1737-1809 by porteous

Aron discussed Thomas Paine and his approach of speaking to the uneducated public.  Paine described King George III as a “Royal Brute” and a “Crowned Ruffian.”

Aron talked about the rhetoric George Mason used in Declaration of Rights reappears in historical documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.

Aron examined the 1779 naval battle in which John Paul Jones uttered the famous quote “I have not yet began to fight” when a British Captain asked for his surrender.  Aron explained that something was said, but no proof of this exact quote exist.  In fact he discussed the fact that Jones himself gave conflicting quotes over the years.

When deciding on the rhetoric to include in his book, Aron confessed that he not only chose the most influential rhetoric, but rhetoric that had good stories behind them.

*  American co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc.

*  Helped develop the Macintosh, one of the first commercially successful small computers.

*  Apple built early relationship with education, as Macintosh computers developed and began springing up in classrooms across the nation.

2.  Marc Andreessen

*  Co-author of Mosaic, the first widely used web browser.

*  Founder of Netscape Communications Corporation.

*  Revolutionized web surfing by giving internet users easy access to multimedia sources of information.

3.  Bill Gates

*  Founded Microsoft along with Paul Allen.

*  Held positions of CEO and chief software architect at Microsoft.

*  Contributions with Microsoft fueled the personal computer revolution bringing computers into virtually every home.

http://alvintrusty.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/who-is-important-here/

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