After a full week of exploring the wonderful world of RSS feeds. I am amazed at how simple it was to setup and follow all of these different "news" sources. Using Google Reader, I can put my different subscriptions into different folders so I know when I have feeds to read. It is simple enough for anyone to figure out, yet allows the end user to read news from all around the world in one simple location.
Some of the feeds that I have been following from a professional and educational standpoint. Education Week's E-learning Blog is a great blog to follow if you have any interest at all in electronic learning in your own classroom OR in general. There are several articles that I found very interesting on their blog, including the one talking about how the internet could put an end to snow days. You have to register for a free account to get access to this blog, but it is definitely worth the 30 seconds required to register.
From a personal standpoint, and being a big fan of sports... I follow Yahoo Sports NFL RSS feed to get the latest about professional football. Also, being a part time DJ, I follow a couple music sites, Amazon MP3's Top songs is my most popular RSS feed for finding popular music. I am an agriculture teacher, so I have chosen Farm Journal as well as Beef Today to help stay current on the changes in agriculture.
I am almost absolutely hooked to Google Reader now... I have downloaded the Reader app for my Android phone and feel even more connected now than I had before. If I had not been enrolled in this class, I would NOT be aware of the capabilities of an RSS reader/aggregator such as Google Reader.
I enjoyed reading the article found at education week. "Virtual Snow Days" what a cool concept. Thanks for sharing. I now follow Education Week's E-learning blog.
ReplyDeleteI can completely understand how you feel connected with your phone now. I Just got the IPhone 3 (I know a little late) but I don't know how I ever got around without it. I'm always listening to podcasts, looking up live radar, and checking on who the Royals are losing to currently. (I could be bitter, but they haven't been good since I was learning to walk.) I feel like the reader is the next app I'm going to get.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize we could put them into folders ourselves! I will be doing that. I agree with you, it was very easy to set up. And I am also hooked, I check it all the time. I would like to find out how to get it through my phone.
ReplyDeletehere is the HSW feed. http://www.howstuffworks.com/rss-feeds.htm
ReplyDeleteYea!!! It's alway great to read positive experiences like this (negative ones can be ok too though :)) and glad that you're hooked on it! I love using mine and once you're used to using a reader you'll never look back :) It's just more convenient that going to 10 different pages, ya know :)
ReplyDeleteI would agree with anything which could put an end to "snow days"....far too many this year for sure. I don't have a phone with a 3/4G network,(yet). I do have an unlimited data plan which allows me some decent links on my phone. We are looking to upgrade in the fall. (my wife's work has a plan which pays for a large majority of our total plan) I will have my RSS feeds set up to update on my phone. The only downfall is I'll be walking around with my head down a little more often, focused on a screen. I like the idea of setting it up to get all my updates without needing to jump from site to site.
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