Consuming blogs care of RSS

Well.... blogging about blogging?   Has it really come to this?  Well, I guess it can happen.  I mean I have twittered about 'Twitter.'  Here we go...

 

Reflections on the process of learning about blogs & RSS

         So, I don't want to say I'm a blogger from way back, but maybe I could say I've been a blogger since yester-year (AKA - Summer 2008).   I've also been reading blogs for about just as long including blogs dedicated to real estate, education, and pop culture. I even read a blog that is 'written' by a TV character on NBC's "The Office," which is hilarious.


So, what is a blog?  Well, you're reading one right now, but or a further explanation, check out the clip below:






Now, I have to admit that RSS (Real Simple Syndication) is something I was not really familiar with at all before this course, but as you can see by my heart shaped RSS feed icon, I'm feeling the love.. for it that is.  Anything that helps keep me on top of things and organized is great in my books.  I kept seeing the orange icon on many different sites that I visited, so I know that it was important in some way, but didn’t know it’s name or purpose.  Now I’ve managed to put two and two together I’ve now learned the name, and the purpose.   Here's a brief video to further explain:

         Davies and Merchant (2009) explain that “RSS feeds have proved to be a particularly useful feature in keeping track of multiples sites as they update” (p.118).  This can save you from doing your rounds (going from site to site to see what’s new and what’s been updated). 

         The aggregator or ‘feed collector’ that I decided to with was Google Reader.  Once I had it set up, it becomes almost too easy.  I just go to a blog or news source and click the little orange RSS icon, and then I’m pretty much set!

 

       I’ll admit that it’s taken me a while to get out of my ‘making rounds’ habit.  I’m just so used to going to my bookmarks and cylcling through my various bookmarked blogs and news sites.  Richardson (2006) points out a handy tip for 'making the adjustment' that I'm going to try (p.86).  He suggests using sticky notes as a reminder, as well as setting your reader as your home page.  I'm sure this will help in the transition.

         For me personally, I enjoy reading the blogs using my Google Reader, but for reading news, I almost prefer going to the actual site.  I like all of the other features on news websites, such as CBC.com. I go, and read a story, and then I see a promo for an upcoming show, or a link for a video clip.

       I cannot believe how quickly my 'reader' fills up.  In about a 24 hour period, I receive over 200 pieces of content, be they blogs or news articles!   It seems like a lot, but I only read the pieces that catch my interest.  I've definitely found that checking in every day helps to cut down on that overwhelming sensation.  It helps me to keep a handle on my 'running total.'     

Discussion of Blogs & RSS in terms of my own personal learning

         I knew that many of my friends read blogs and a couple of them have written them, but I was curious to find out if they used RSS feeds, and it turns out that not many of them do, which is unfortunate.  I actually just finished explaining what RSS is to a friend and he was not convinced of it’s usefulness. 

         I’m hoping that I continue using this tool and that it helps me to stay up to date with important information, be it news or ‘professional development’ information. RSS feeds can even help me be aware of what books have been released recently through Amazon. 

Discussion of Blogs & RSS in terms of teaching & learning

          

          I think blogs and RSS feeds are increible tools that can be utilized for both students and teachers.  For teachers, it can help us develop professionally and stay current with the 'content' that we teach, along with best practices.  For students, it's not only a way to share information, but also to learn by reading the posts of others.

I think blogs are becomign more an more common in classrooms today.  Teachers and studetns use them in different ways though.  Teaching Today points out the four main uses for blogs in the classroom:

1. Classroom Management: - fosters community of learners, informs students of class requirements and can be used to post homwork or act as a question answer board
2. Collaboration: - Can provide a space where students can work to further develop writing or other skills with an instant audience. 
3. Discussions: - They suggest that 'everyone has the opportunity to discuss topics outside of the classroom which isn't necessarily true if students don't have a computer or access to th internet.  However, it can be a powerful discussion tool because students have time "to react to ideas and reflect on learning."
4. Student Portfolios: -"Blogs present, organize, and protect student work as digital portfolios. As older entries are archived, developing skills and progress may be analyzed more conveniently."
   

          Teaching Today points also out the educational benefit of blogs:

• motivating to students, espcially those who otherwise might not become [active]participants in classrooms
• excellent opportunities for collaboration and discussion
• excellent opportunities for students to read and write
• powerful tools to enable scaffolded learning or mentoring to occur

             In terms of professional development, I think blogs and RSS are powerful tools.   They help us connect with other professionals who are not necessarily in our geographical area: discussing, sharing, and reflecting.  Sure, ten years ago, most of us had email, but how many of us connected with other professionals?

Richardson (2006) believes that RSS is “the one technology that [educators] should start using today, right now, this minute” (p. 75).  He also thinks that we should teach our students to use it. 

For educators, Richardson (2006) reveals how useful it can be to students and educators.  He uses an example of a Political science teacher to illustrate the helpfulness.  If the political science teacher finds 20 to 30 sites with relevant information, he would need to regularly visit these sites to check for updates, which would be very time consuming.  However, by setting up an aggregator and receiving feeds from the site, it’s a one stop shop.  Teachers can stay updated with the latest content that is relevant to them and their students.

Richardson (2006) also points out how easy RSS feeds can make a teacher's life, when grading or checking on on his or her students' blogs.  In your aggregator, you can have all of their content in one place (p. 81).  It's ready to mark, or comment on.

References:

Davies, M., & Merchant, G. (2009). Web 2.0 for schools. New York: Peter Lang.

Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for          classrooms. 2nd Ed. Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Teaching Today.

http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/howtoarticles/blog-basics

O’Connor, Steve.  (2008).

http://openedweb.com/blog/2008/02/02/students-start-using-rss/