RSS, an acronym for Really Simple Syndication, I also found one site that called it Rich Site Summary. RSS feeds give you information you request sent to your computer so you can read it when and where you want. It also gives you the updates to those articles or feeds. I like having one place to keep all my blogs and news articles that I’ve started following since enrolling in this program last semester. I used to bookmark the blogs and publications that I was following, but this is much better. I can tell the New York Times that I just want articles about technology or education. What I find amazing is the amount of information available out there. Not only professional journal articles but the amount of laymen blogging is astounding. I had no problem at all finding 10 to subscribe to. In fact I’ve found more than 35 in just a few days. I can’t say I read them all every day but they are ones I will definitely keep track of.
When I first set up Google Reader, which was as simple as a couple of clicks I was amazed at what it could do. I liked the organization and how easy it is to organize my subscriptions into folders. I feel much more relaxed when I’m organized. Then I installed Feed Demon, mainly because a classmate suggested it but also because in their description it said how it synced up with Google Reader in a couple of steps. I don’t like doing the same thing twice so this was an attractive feature. Now that I’ve been using both I think I like Feed Demon better. One of the main reasons is the ease I’m having with the RSS subscription button on the page. When I try to subscribe right from the page I want in Google Reader I always come up with a page of code. In Feed Demon, a pop up window appears and I can tell it which folder I want it in and I’m done. I think on my home computer I’ll use Feed Demon and then on a mobile device I’ll use Google Reader. I don’t know why anyone would not use a RSS reader, especially if they are consistent online news consumers. For instance, my mother is retired and has a lot of time read local newspapers from the many towns she is interested in. Every day she uses bookmarks to go to the newspaper’s home page and scans and reads. If she used a RSS reader she could subscribe to the specific sections of the paper she was interested in and have all the information in one place. It saves time and keeps you focused on the things you are looking for. As an elementary school teacher in a past life, I know how precious collaboration time is with other teachers, administrators and parents. We are all here to help students succeed and sharing information is important. I know when I find a great article the first thing I think of is “Who can I share this with?” I recently read an article from my husband’s Wall Street Journal and wanted to cut it out and give it to the principal where my child goes to school. If I was reading that online, I could have shared it with her and many other people who would have enjoyed it with just a couple of clicks. I also think RSS readers help students and educators find the information they are interested in. Like I said before, the amount of information and opinions out there is almost overwhelming and RSS readers send you the information you request. So instead of reading through a whole magazine trying to find the article about Egypt, you can have the article sent to you. I typed in Egypt in the Feed Demon subscribe button and hundreds of options about Egypt came up. I was able to pick from tourism to news to blogs. Students and teachers can share the sites they like with each other with their RSS readers. Teachers could keep a class calendar on her blog and all the updates for homework and any important information will be sent to students and parents RSS readers. I was also thinking it would be another way to inform parents of snow days.
Some of the sites I found that I’ve enjoyed reading are The Bill Gates Notes , which talks a lot about school reform and technology, two things I am passionate about. Mark Wagner Ph. D. also writes a great blog about Educational Technology and Life. Another blog I’m following is by Clint LaLonde, he is an Education Web Specialist in Canada and has a lot of great ideas and I like the way he writes and how he organizes his blog.
