Demonstration of new knowledge
Before beginning this course, I will admit that I was not following any blogs, and definitely didn’t need help organizing all my blog reading. Prompted by this course, I dutifully set up a Google Reader account (as recommended by Will Richardson as the most simple RSS feed). After using my Delicious account religiously for two months now, my first inclination was to sign up to follow numerous blogs. I started with five blogs, then found that I wasn’t particularly engaged in reading what I was receiving. I thought that perhaps what I needed to do was to add more blogs. I wandered (truly) around the internet looking for the sacred orange RSS beacon.
I added blogs quite randomly, clicking eagerly and adding to my GoogleReader subscription list.
It was at that point, sometime early this week, that I became totally confused about the benefits of RSS feeds. I had to remind myself to check a new account (GoogleReader, in addition to University e-mail, home e-mail, work e-mail, and Facebook) and then take time to scan these blog topics and read articles that might interest me. It felt like additional reading, with the potential for one or two blog posts that might come in handy at some point in this course.
By Thursday, after continued research, I realized that I needed to take ownership of this new tool and explore a way that it might meet a need for me or my students. This had been a key learning for me this term – when exploring new tools and applications, it is important to consider how they might serve what I am already doing rather than looking for new ways to incorporate a new tool into new classroom routines.
By Thursday, after continued research, I realized that I needed to take ownership of this new tool and explore a way that it might meet a need for me or my students. This had been a key learning for me this term – when exploring new tools and applications, it is important to consider how they might serve what I am already doing rather than looking for new ways to incorporate a new tool into new classroom routines.
After some reflection about my teaching, I acknowledged that, in moving from teaching grade one for seven years to trying grade six this year, Science is the area in which I lack the most knowledge and teaching resources. I decided to create a Folder in my Google Reader account to follow blogs, news sites, or daily photo updates on our upcoming unit on Sky Science. This would provide timely research for me that I could use with my students on a daily basis (checking GoogleReader to start the day with the ‘Amazing Photos of the Day’ from Space.com) or to supplement my own understanding and lesson ideas. In reading Will Richardson’s book ‘Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms’ this week, I was most struck by his analogy that RSS feeds can act "kind of like doing research 24/7, only the RSS feed does all the work." Someone else doing some of my work for me?! Now, there’s a tool I can use!!
The Discovery Process
As with most of the tools we are exploring on Web 2.0, it seems that the more time one can spend ‘playing,’ the more we can make authentic use of the tool and understand it’s capabilities. In all honesty, it took me a great deal of exploring RSS feeds over the past month in order to realize the potential of RSS as a useful tool. I needed to read many articles and reviews online, spend many hours on my GoogleReader homepage exploring settings, and reviewing sites and blogs that might interest me. Will Richardson offered important reminders that RSS can follow much more than blogs. An online video, What is RSS and how is it useful? RSS IS AWESOME! offers some additional great ideas, and helped me to realize that RSS feeds don’t have to just be academic in nature! Is this where people get insane tidbits of knowledge about Who Was Born on This Day?
Additional Useful Tutorial Videos are found at:
-RSS feed Tutorial at The Thirty Day Challenge site (The site challenges readers to take thirty days to make their first $10 online).
-Google Reader in Plain English from Lee Lefever
As with most of the tools we are exploring on Web 2.0, it seems that the more time one can spend ‘playing,’ the more we can make authentic use of the tool and understand it’s capabilities. In all honesty, it took me a great deal of exploring RSS feeds over the past month in order to realize the potential of RSS as a useful tool. I needed to read many articles and reviews online, spend many hours on my GoogleReader homepage exploring settings, and reviewing sites and blogs that might interest me. Will Richardson offered important reminders that RSS can follow much more than blogs. An online video, What is RSS and how is it useful? RSS IS AWESOME! offers some additional great ideas, and helped me to realize that RSS feeds don’t have to just be academic in nature! Is this where people get insane tidbits of knowledge about Who Was Born on This Day?
Additional Useful Tutorial Videos are found at:
-RSS feed Tutorial at The Thirty Day Challenge site (The site challenges readers to take thirty days to make their first $10 online).
-Google Reader in Plain English from Lee Lefever
By spending time with GoogleReader I have learned a number of things about myself and RSS feeds:
-I really enjoy receiving RSS feeds from site such as CBC, as they offer audio feeds. For example, since the beginning of this course I have been following the blog for the CBC Radio program ‘Spark.’ My feed from the site offers brief articles, and MP3’s of interviews and articles. It’s great to listen to them and to be able to scan my other feeds on GoogleReader at the same time.
-There are some posts that I have only seen because I had my RSS feed running, and I am very glad I have seen these articles. For example, I now follow Kim Cofino’s blog, Always Learning and have read some insightful and affirming blog posts from her thanks to my RSS feed. I am looking forward to sharing one of her articles on Professional Development with my staff
-The Trends tab on the GoogleReader dashboard is a useful tool when organizing and reviewing feed selections. I use the statistics to determine which blogs I am actually reading and which I could keep on my Delicious account and check occasionally rather than getting a feed of every entry.
-I really enjoy receiving RSS feeds from site such as CBC, as they offer audio feeds. For example, since the beginning of this course I have been following the blog for the CBC Radio program ‘Spark.’ My feed from the site offers brief articles, and MP3’s of interviews and articles. It’s great to listen to them and to be able to scan my other feeds on GoogleReader at the same time.
-There are some posts that I have only seen because I had my RSS feed running, and I am very glad I have seen these articles. For example, I now follow Kim Cofino’s blog, Always Learning and have read some insightful and affirming blog posts from her thanks to my RSS feed. I am looking forward to sharing one of her articles on Professional Development with my staff
-The Trends tab on the GoogleReader dashboard is a useful tool when organizing and reviewing feed selections. I use the statistics to determine which blogs I am actually reading and which I could keep on my Delicious account and check occasionally rather than getting a feed of every entry.
Implications for Using RSS feeds as a Teacher
-At this time, I don’t think by grade six students will need their own GoogleReader accounts. We can create a class account to follow sites that are interesting to us.
-On my teacher/personal account, I plan to continue to follow sites, gadgets and blogs that will contribute to my lesson planning and overall understanding of teaching issues and pedagogy. I think it will be a great help as I work on adding to my knowledge of new curriculum in a new grade level
-We can modify some morning routines by following daily updates on particular sites. I am searching for great sites on phases of the moon, or word of the day sites that could be up on our SmartBoard when students arrive each morning.
-I look forward to using the ‘Share’ aspect of the GoogleReader site in order to collaborate and share articles of interest with my colleagues. At this time, some of us are using Delicious to collaborate in this way, but I like the idea of being able to share one particular post or article with colleagues. They don’t have any more time to search than I do.
Thoughts for Further Reflection
-Unfortunately, I don’t yet know many people who have GoogleReader accounts. My instinct is to print articles of interest and put them in people’s mailboxes at work, but I hope that I can find some colleagues who are using an RSS feed program to bypass this archaic step. However, as Kim Cofino mentions in her post entitled "Sustaining Change: The Next Level of PD" we need to permit our colleagues to move at their own pace, and to adopt new technology as they see the need. At this time, GoogleReader may provide me with the resources to keep up on professional reading and to source the articles and ideas that I wish to share with colleagues in other ways (even on paper!).
-Unfortunately, I don’t yet know many people who have GoogleReader accounts. My instinct is to print articles of interest and put them in people’s mailboxes at work, but I hope that I can find some colleagues who are using an RSS feed program to bypass this archaic step. However, as Kim Cofino mentions in her post entitled "Sustaining Change: The Next Level of PD" we need to permit our colleagues to move at their own pace, and to adopt new technology as they see the need. At this time, GoogleReader may provide me with the resources to keep up on professional reading and to source the articles and ideas that I wish to share with colleagues in other ways (even on paper!).
-RSS feeds don’t seem to be catching on as quickly as some other Web 2.0 applications. On his blog, Steve Hudson explores some of the reasons that RSS may not be catching on. One of his suggestions is that it is not as intuitive a tool as other Web 2.0 technologies. A number of other drawbacks of RSS feeds are listed at Hiveminds Magazine for your consideration.
A final consideration is important for me as I continue to explore RSS feeds. I am not sure if RSS feeds will help me to organize my online reading, or if it will make me read more. I am certainly not against more research and knowledge, but I need to me mindful of the balance between time spent seeking out/reading new material and time allocated to incorporating and playing with ideas. I think it will be important to carefully select which sites and blogs I choose to add to my subscriptions.
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4 comments:
Thanks, Jill. I'm glad you have found some uses for RSS in both your personal and professional lives. I was interested in what you said about originally not finding RSS to be that useful...and you're right that you have to figure out what you are using it for to make it truly beneficial to you. I find that most of my 'professional' reading these days now comes from blogs. I don't have access to the print journals I once read (at least not on a regular basis anymore) so I have replaced that kind of reading with reading I do online. In that sense, RSS and Google Reader has saved my life--before I was spending a lot of time each day clicking through to each of my blogs checking to see what might be new. Now, I just read them all through Google Reader (or actually from my iGoogle page). If you haven't discovered iGoogle, you should check it out-it is a great way to organize all your online tools.
Hi Jill,
I LOVED the title of your post. I definitely can see how leaving your RSS alone for too long can result in a "little shop of horrors."
I read on Richardson's blog somewhere that the ideal number of blogs to be following is 25. I am only following 15 - most of those are classmates' blogs, but sometimes even that seems like too many. But I would agree, the key is to find blogs that you enjoy, or can be useful for you, not just sign up for random blogs because they might interest you.
Jes
Loved reading about your process of making RSS work for you! I think we all go through those uncomfortable times before we start to see how a new tool can fit into our lives.
I have to admit the "shared feeds" feature is my absolute favorite part of Google Reader. I don't think I could ever switch to a different RSS reader because I wouldn't want to loose that very valuable filter and exposure to new and different ideas. Give it a little time and you will find more and more people popping up in your shared reader!
I'm so glad you found my post about professional development helpful! Thanks for the mention!
I think the user subscribes to a feed by entering into the reader the feed's URI or by clicking a feed icon in a web browser that initiates the subscription process.
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