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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

What Are You “Feeding” Your Students?

Real Simple Syndication, also known as RSS is a great way for teachers and students to consume published works online. In today’s 21st century, there is a wealth of information online just waiting to be explored by both teachers and students. RSS feeds provide online users with an opportunity to consume and organize information on the Internet in a more efficient and relevant way. One of the greatest aspects about RSS feeds is that the information of the web comes to you. You do not have to search everyday to find relevant topics and interests. Instead, by using RSS you can subscribe to certain websites, blogs, and news sites to receive updates. Students and teachers can set up an RSS feed reader that allows them to collect different RSS feeds that they subscribe to. Google Reader is great because it is free and you only need a Google account to get started.  Once you set up your account, the rest is just a matter of finding the content you want to subscribe to.  I personally have been inspired to give RSS a deeper look because I feel that it can be a great tool for busy professionals. As a prospective teacher, I may not always have time to check a particular site for new information and news. However, with the help of RSS, I can still receive the information I desire without having to constantly search for it in my busy schedule. Students can even use RSS feeds for current event projects, research topics, or even student blogs. Overall, online users can use these feeds to locate information easily, classify and categorize information, as well as maximize their time without dealing with spam issues. The following is a video that outlines this RSS feed process.






    2 comments:

    1. Google Docs is an amazing tool! It is interesting to see that a few people have discussed this in their blogs this time. I think it shows the power of this tool because it is so easy to use and appealing. I hope, as you described, that incorporating RSS feeds into students' reading habits will keep them reading, as well as to help them choose useful resources that will help them to learn. There have been many articles citing that kids today are not reading (and I think they are mostly referring to books), but other researchers argue that kids are reading differently--mostly because much of their reading is done online. Because of this, students need help choosing and critiquing online resources. Engaging them in reading this way may also motivate them to read different types of readings, and to read for different reasons.

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    2. Hi,

      I've been meaning to check out RSS Feeds and finally did so by clicking your Google Reader link. I feel like I'm taking little baby steps each day, but they're adding up! :)

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