CHAPTER 5: RSS: The New Killer App for Educators
Hmmm....what does RSS stand for? Really Super Software? Oh, it stands for Really Simple Syndication! I would have never guessed! When Keri referenced RSS in class, I didn't think I would have a use for it. On the contrary, this chapter has really made RSS sound very appealing to me. I am going to admit that I have not tried it yet. However, in theory it sounds wonderful. Content comes to me instead of me going to it.....sign me up! When I have a little more time (sorry, IEP progress reports needed to be worked on the past week) I plan on setting this up for my own leisurely use at first. I am going to create my own collection of news and features that will be personalized to my interests. And yes, I will be one of those people that get articles on Boxers sent to me! I do potentially see RSS as having tremendous value in my classroom. I teach mainly resource room math, but I also teach an academic support class. RSS seems to me to be the perfect tool for teaching students how to manage, analyze, and sythesize multiple streams of simultaneous information. In order to teach these skills, I first need to get accustomed to this on my own. When subscribing to a site, you need to make sure it is worthwhile. For instance, one should look at the advertisements on the site, whether or not the author's full name is there, credentials, how often the site is updated, and the quality of the writing. Organization of content is important. I should think that a mismanaged or unorganized RSS feed is comparable to a messy desk or backpack in which a student can never find their homework. Folders should be created for various topics. I am rather certain that printed newspapers are going to be obsolete in the near future. Google Gears sounds like a great program/app that enables one to save the text of whatever you are waiting to read. This will enable you to be able to read text offline (in case there is not internet access).
In the 2012-2013 school year, I plan on having my high school student in my academic support class set up their own Google Reader accounts. This will require me to book one of the two computer labs available for the whole school each time they need to access their accounts. However, I do feel that this will be a very valuable resource for them. This past school year, I had a student who was completing a research paper on Alzheimer's Disease. In retrospect, if I was aware of RSS feeds, I could have had my student create an RSS feed that would bring in any news about the disease to her aggregator as soon as it was published. This is like doing research 24 hours a day, but the RSS feed does all the work! Super cool!
I agree that RSS is a great way to help students find information for reports etc. As I watch out my back door I see a squirrel hard at work I bet he/she wishes they had an RSS feed to help to do the "gathering". I do think we need to continue to have students learn old fashion ways as well. I have noticed, for example, that students of this era sometimes lack number sense, not recognizing if an answer even looks reasonable for example. I wonder if this is due to allowing students to rely on calculators. Just a though.
ReplyDeleteI also went "hmmmmm" when I read this chapter. I unfortunately missed last class, so did not get Kerry's instruction which I am very disappointed about. I was confused after reading this chapter, but like the idea of information coming to me rather than me trying to find infomation. I am in a similar situatin as you, in that we have one computer lab for the whole school that makes it difficult to get access. This is an important tool for the students to have, of course, they may already know about it and may be able to teach us a thing or two as usual!
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