Thursday, June 26, 2008

Thing 8 RSS

This is a really easy way to keep up with things I'm interested in. I won't have to spend time searching websites, or asking my self, "Hey, what was that site called that gave me that information last time?" This is very simple to manage. What confuses me are the huge amounts of sites that I was able to list in Google Reader so quickly. One blog has many links to it. This is a great tool to use for school. Whenever I've done research in the past using the internet, the kids always have a hard time finding information that meets their needs. I can set up a Reader with sites already marked for kids to use and they will be more successful as they research on different topics. It will all be right there and the reading level should be appropriate if I'm picking it first. Our librarian is great about having our students us computers and technology. If I tell her I'm working on a certain unit in a content area, she can pull sites for me to add to the Reader. It's overwhelming to see all the information I have available in this one area. It is addictive. It makes you want to come and read more and find out more about what's going on outside your door.

3 comments:

Ms. P. said...

I totally agree about how addictive and overwhelming the RSS can be when you first start out. I had to go back and narrow mine down a little and then I started getting more of what I was really looking for at the beginning.

That's a great idea about setting up the readers for the kids to help them with their research! I'll be interested to hear how it goes for you when school starts back.

Mrs. Evetts said...

Where were you when I was setting my thing 8 up? It was so hard for me! I did it, but I would have loved to have had you wiht me! Thanks for sharing!

Book Nook Girl said...

Great ideas about using Google reader for setting up research. You will discover some more cool ways to set up good research sites for your students on Thing #13 & 17.