I had heard of blogs and have seen the icon for RSS feeds on my Internet Explorer browser, but never had any hands-on experience with either. I follow politics closely and have seen the power of political blogs on elections and public opinion. Blogs have real-time power and can affect people positively and in some cases negatively. It gives people the opportunity to speak their mind and give their opinions. My early impression of my blog is positive. It is a blank canvas I am able to use to add whatever I am feeling at the time. It is a very open forum. As far as a RSS Reader feed, I was pleasantly surprised when I clicked on the icon and was presented with this large amount of information for me to search and use with the most up-to-date information possible at my fingertips. This is something I will explore with other subjects as well.
Edgar Dale’s Cone was based on his belief people learn by actively doing things in contrast to reading it or observing it. The Cone lends itself best to reading text, listening to lecture, and watching still and moving pictures. Both blogs and RSS feeds have text for the viewer to read about a particular subject. Someone may read a blog if one is drawn to the person or their subject matter while the reader may subscribe to a website’s RSS feed because one is interested in the subject matter as defined, described, or explained by the blog author or RSS feeds. The RSS feed may also have links to audio and video selections while a blog writer may include audio and video links on their blog. Audio and video makes the subject matter come alive through the computer screen (http://pharmacy.mc.uky.edu/faculty/resources/files/Step%20Dales%20Cone.pdf.)
After reading Siegel’s article, his example of the electronic version of a book made the biggest impression on me. The writer of the book never intended the book to be read on a screen. I think the author is saying the reader is losing the physical connection of holding an actual paperbook instead of reading the words off the screen. Another example I thought of was the person who prefers to listen to a vinyl album instead of a compact disc. The vinyl record has all the clicks, skips, and imperfections, but a CD sounds crystal clear. The listener is not looking for a perfect reproduction, but wants to connect with the imperfections of the recording. “Scenarios provide today’s learners with the power to become effective thinkers and doers.” This quote from the article is exactly what Dale’s Cone was trying to achieve. A learner is a doer; not a onlooker. The Scenarios software allows the user to write down their thoughts as a blog does while a RSS feed is more imaginative compared to a book because a user is able to search by date, time and author of a particular feed. You can’t do any of it in a regular book. I or my students would be able to interact, search for only the information that is needed and have access to the most- up-to date and relative information. I think Postman would say even if you have access to 100 libraries worth of information it isn’t worth anything if you don’t get anything out of it.
(https://pilot-elearn.wmich.edu/content/enforced/8361-44185.201140/SiegelFallingAsleepWhitepaper.pdf)
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