Monday, January 19, 2009

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Module 10 --reviewing the social software I selected(Bloglines)

A summary of the software and its features:

Bloglines(http://www.bloglines.com/)is a web site with aggregator software operating in the background. Aggregators are software that enable users to subscribe to RSS feeds by linking the software to the URL of the information's XML file. The aggregator will then regularly access the XML file in order to determine if new information has been added, and access and present the information in human readable form.

By subscribing to the "feed" on the content that is created on a particular Weblog you no longer have to visit the blog itself to get it, the content comes to you instead of you going to get it.

Its limitations and good points:

You can access it form anywhere you have an Internet connection and setting up an account is easy.

After establishing your Bloglines account, you can login with your e-mail address and password.
This will take you into the Bloglines aggregator where you can check on the latest arrivals of content from the blog and other information sources you have subscribed to.

You can also set up a blog account by clicking the My Blogs tab near the top of the left panel.

Bloglines automatically includes links to the blog and news feeds that you subscibe to through your aggregator. This way, other people can read what you are reading. This is something to be cautious of, though it can also be extremely powerful as a way to give students access to selected information. If you do not like this feature it can also be switched off.

Bloglines does not allow the upload of images to their servers so you will need to get the file onto a web server in some other way.

ImageShack is a free online service that will host images for you. Upload your file to their servers, and they provide a URL that will link the picture into your weblog. (http://imageshack.us/)

What Bloglines lacks is the ability to dramatically customize your blog page to establish a personal look and feel. To make a more professional blog use Blogger.com.


How it could possibly be used in the distance education environment.

One example is how I used it in this course. I was able to keep track of whenever a new posting was made on any of the Blogs of my fellow classmates.

Under Additional Features --at the bottom left side of the page the instructor could click on Tell A Friend. This allow the instructor to send a list of feeds through an email that the teacher thinks may be of importance to the class.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Moule 9 Assignment 1

To see my Raptivity example go here.


This was a very friendly program. I loved playing with it and wish I could buy it.