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.