INST 5330
30 January 2011
RSS readers or Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary; these amazing sites have many different names according to Dictionary.com. Essentially these readers are a main forum where all types of web-based information is gathered and displayed. An individual can set up an RSS site, whether it be a downloaded program or an online reader. Then the individual can subscribe to news feeds, public or private blogs, or other information sites. When one of these sites posts something new, the information is automatically sent to the subscribers RSS reader. The reader no longer needs to spend countless hours checking each page that they would like to read. They can sit back and let the information come to them.
Working with RSS readers is a new world for me. First, I set up my Google Reader site. I have worked with Google on other accounts to create my classroom website and to create shared documents. I have to say that it was very, very easy to set up and maneuver. I really enjoy working with Google Reader, which I have found is directly linked to Google Blogger. Google Blogger actually has an RSS feed on your personal blog page where you can subscribe to others. Next, I downloaded RSS Owl which was a fairly painless process as far as downloading goes. The program downloaded and installed without a problem. What I didn’t like about RSS Owl is that I couldn’t necessarily search for others on the web. I had to know the exact address of the blog. It is also not a very visually appealing program. It is basically the raw information sorted out into folders. I know that aesthetics is not always necessary, but with 20somethings it counts. I also do not like the fact that I cannot travel to another computer and pick up my RSS Owl information. With Google Reader I can log in and read my blogs subscriptions anywhere that I choose. Based on my own experiences with these RSS Readers I can honestly say that I feel students, teacher, and administration would benefit from this technology on an educational level. Younger students might have a hard time setting up and subscribing to others blogs, but they could do it with help. In my 5th grade classroom, I could make this a unique lesson about blogging. Teachers with limited technological abilities might have a problem setting up a blog and subscribing to the feeds, but after some minimal training they would be off and running. The same goes for administration.
I believe that RSS readers combined with personal blogs would be a great asset to a technology based classroom. Some ways that I, as the teacher, could use RSS readers in the classroom would be to subscribe to educational and educational technology blogs. This would allow me to stay up-to-date with what my technology teaching peers are doing in their classrooms. I could then incorporate the technology ideas that I like into my classroom. I could also subscribe to some student friendly news sites and display interesting news stories for my students to read and respond to in their morning work journals.
Students could use RSS readers and personal blogs inside the classrooms in many ways. One way that I would like to see students use these technologies is to create their own blog where they could post writing assignments, morning work, and personal thoughts. Other students in the class could subscribe to each others blogs through a simple RSS reader. Teachers and administration could monitor the students blogs and comments through their own RSS readers. Teachers and administration could also set up classroom blogs and tell about the important things that are going on in the classroom or important experiences shared. Parents could subscribe and correspond through the blog. Eduscapes.com suggests that students use RSS feeds to watch informational pod casts, get step-by-step directions, subscribe to book reviews, and connect to nationally-ranked newspapers. They state that even though a student may not think to pick up and read a newspaper everyday, they will log on to the Internet and read each day.
Some great educational technology blogs that I have found are Artichoke located at http://artichoke.typepad.com/artichoke/atom.xml. This blog owner is definitely opinionated and isn’t afraid to share. Some of the information presented doesn’t really have to do with technology or education, but more often than not they present some great articles. Another interesting education blog is Cool Cat Teacher Blog which is located at http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default. This blog used humor along with interesting teacher tips to pass along insight and important teaching information. One of Cool Cat’s recent posts is titled, “Hey! I’m Not Messing Up-I’m Learning!”
Over all, I believe that RSS readers are great tools to use on a personal and educational level. I admit that I do not stay up on national news, but with tools like RSS readers at my fingertips, I may just learn to love reading the news!
Resources
Anonymous. (2010). RSS. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/RSS.Lamb, A. and Johnson, L. (2007). Information Avalanche Rescue: Rss Feeds in the classroom. Retrieved from http://eduscapes.com/sessions/rss/.
