RSS feed overview

Before starting this class I actually had used Google Reader in the past, but had fallen out of using it (probably because I am lazy) and so this gave a me a chance to reignite the flame if you will. Here's an incomplete screen snip:

I'm sorry it's not quite a complete list, but for some reason, (probably that I am not smart enough...yet) blogger will not let me upload a complete screen capture using what I've got. I'll have to fuss with that later.... There are a few more subscriptions that I was not able to grab in the snip. I did update my reader 'Education' bundle on my shared page today though, so you can get a better sense of them from there too. Most of the pages that I subscribed to, update only weekdays, so by Friday the Reader can look a little daunting if I don't keep up, but I like the spread of topic areas that I've been able to come across (including a site about developing active, effective youth leaders). I do find it funny though, that the pages that update the most often are those kept by individuals (doing it for free), whereas the big groups/organizations that could pay someone to do it, or at least have a staff hierarchy that the job could be delegated don't always keep on top of posting regularly. If nothing not for love of the topic you'd think they'd post daily to keep traffic coming to the site.

In terms of using RSS feeds in my own practice, I am still a big fan of having students "do" current events, and I think that introducing them to RSS feeds as a way to complete that assignment and stay an informed individual is great. Especially since I think many teens see TV news as "something their parents do". This could be the hook that gets them involved.

I won't take Your time to describe them all, but I will talk about a few favorites:

NPR Topics: Education. First off: Who doesn't love NPR? They could talk about mushrooms and I would be sitting in the parking lot, 10 minutes late for an appointment, waiting to hear the end of the segment! But what I really like about this feed is it's broad range. It covers everything K-college (like the recent story about money/funding for community colleges) and it's not just about schools. For instance, they've had several articles the last few days about the woman in Ohio who falsified documents to get her children into a better district, and has now been charged with a felony. It is a nice break from the instructional/classroom management/ technology overload that I seem to get everyday, and I feel like it gives me a peek at some of the bigger trends in education. While they do not post everyday, it is just about that and there are often several different articles when they do.

changED: A blog by a teacher of 10 years. Although I have not been following her for too long, most posting are about resources, rather than what is going on in her classroom, though the ones that do, seem to be about actual attempts to fix a problem, rather than gripe about it. But what I really like is that I get a weekly Diigo list through the feed, so I get all the resources she's using about a topic right in my reader inbox.

History Tech: Another blog. He posts daily, mostly about EdTech stuff, but with some social studies mixed in. What I really like about his postings is that they tend to be on the "And this is how you practically apply this widget in your classroom" side rather than "ooo shiny new thing only I can understand". It is also through him that I learned about thisisindexed. A great 'comic'. If you like xckd.com , you will probably like this.


The comment I posted was on TechLearning site, and is pretty much the same as my soapbox moment, in my earlier post, since one lead to the other. School districts who block social networking sites, and other tools so that they can control students, and especially student bullying are only fooling themselves. If teachers are doing their jobs right, there should be much time or motivation for students to be doing things they shouldn't, but beyond that, students who are bullies, or who are looking for trouble online, are going to find ways to be bullies online (and in person) outside of classrooms and schools. All the more reason why we must not lose sight of educating the whole child, that is the heart, hands, and head....not just the head.

GTD and workflow

When reading through the GTD process, I liked the ideas presented and thought they were well thought out, but applying them to my own self was a little different. To be honest, I don't think my life is that 'full' yet. I am not married, have no full-time professional job (yet), and no kids. There are coaching obligations that I have, and now some learning ones, but I have always been able keep track of what I do using this dandy little moleskin planner. The right hand page is the week in calendar format and the left is just ruled paper. I tried to incorporate the planner into the 5 steps:

1) Collect. This is the catch-all so that I don't have to remember, which is the ruled paper side of the week. Anything I need to do, look up, plan, etc. gets jotted on that ruled paper as I think of it, this is The List. I suppose my email Inbox also serves as a collection point, but my paper list carries reminders to "email Karen" so it's really secondary. This step was easy since I already do this.

2)Process/Organize. Several times a day I go back to the List (not the calendar, the List) and one of those times is always first thing in the morning. Items that are on the list can have several things done to them. A) they get moved to a particular day to get accomplished (with a note if needed) - and crossed off the list B) They get done then- This is where the 2 minute rule came in handy- and crossed off the list C) They get a > symbol on the list with the next step listed. Then, looking at the calendar, I can see what is needed on that day and if it happens to be particularly full I will perform "triage" by placing A's and B's next to each item.

3) Review. I always look at the list and calendar at the end of the day, and on Fridays to see what got accomplished (or not) so that it can be moved to an appropriate slot, which may be back onto the List with it's next step.

It was somewhat frustrating going through this the first time because it forced me to slow down and really think about what I was doing, but in the end it was worth it because sometimes I would just be lazy and let things sit on the List, and the List would grow, rather than processing the list to certain days which would force me to work on the item. I like that this system does not force labels on you and allows you to find which works best as long as you are accomplishing the action (i.e. organizing). I think that if I were teaching full time I would definitely apply a system like this in my classroom where anything that I need to deal with goes into a Collector and I work the steps from their, pushing things into grading, administrative, etc. I really think that they beauty of the system, besides taking things off your mind, is that it allows you to, essentially, see in a glance where the different areas of your life and/or work stand, so that you can prioritize your actions.

Social Networking

Here's the deal: If you look at me and my relationship with social networking, it comes across as more of a noun than a verb. It's a person, place or thing (or actually all three) that is out there for me to use, but I don't do much of it....kind of like 'cleaning' lol. Even before the advent of Facebook etc. I have never been a big 'networker'. I think this may stem from the fact that with online social networking,especially in a professional network, I feel the pressure of an obligation to contribute something, not that I would know what that would be. Another issue, not feeling like I have much to contribute, and no one likes the person who simply re-hashes. I think my reluctance to dig into social networking also comes from the fact that I tend to be a fairly private person (no Twittering here....although I will for the class). Personally, I am a big fan of Facebook (which I check at least once a day if not more) because for me it acts as a aggregator of my friends lives so I can stay updated and prioritize my communications. That makes me sound rather snooty doesn't it? LOL But I really like the idea that I can choose what to "dip into" or ignore without having to explain or justify to anyone my choices. I also enjoy the fact that Facebook allows me to see all sides of a person not just their 'professional' personae. If a friend shares something about politics or rock climbing that I might find it interesting, but would not have known about the person had we only been interacting around the idea of education.

Professionally I really, really like the idea of Edmodo: Like Facebook, but you are able to keep the sense of a "professional" relationship with your students. I do actually use Facebook with the forensics team that I coach, as a group, events etc., and I am those students' friend, but I am not as concerned about this because I keep my profile "clean" anyway (the privacy thing again) so friending my students was not a concern. Any students that I have/had spend a good chunk of time social networking so these seems like a natural tool for them to use...like the author who mentioned that they have been doing things like Webkinz since they were little. I like the fact that, like Google Docs, things don't get lost between home and school. If you post a note at home, you can pull it back up at school, no more "I forgot my homework at home, but it's done I swear".

I would like to end by make a little soapbox comment. Administrators who block social networking SOLELY on the basis of preventing cyberbulling are Silly (to use a nice word). Just because I student isn't on facebook/IMing/whatever at school doesn't meant that they don't at home. Again, it's about teaching students how to use a tool properly and how to interact with others that promotes good community. A student who has a tendency to bully will find a way to do so with or without filter on the internet at school.

First Post Assignment: Web Page v. Blog

  The main difference between a web page and a blog is the way that information flows. With a web page, a single person produces content that can than be accessed by any number of users who can view this information, but not interact with it. A blog, on the other hand allows many people to not only comment, and possibly start a discussion between themselves and the author, but to suggest content and links to other outside information that the followers or author may view and use to further content publications.