Journal 7: Mining for Gold (NETS-T 5)

Imagine not having to surf the internet to find information or entertainment that you like. Imagine that information coming to you instead of you having to search for it. Real Simple Syndication (RSS) has made this possible by allowing internet users to subscribe to blogs, podcasts, wikis, social networks, bookmarking sites, television programs, and many other interesting tools found on the internet.

RSS uses an HTML feed known as XML and an aggregator to track each subscribed page. All the information that you subscribe to is brought to you through an internet hosted reader or a client-based aggregator. When using the internet hosted reader, you can reach your feeds from any computer that is internet accessible. The client-based aggregators are integrated in operating systems and can be accessed only from your personal computer. Since RSS is a great tool to utilize in the classroom, the internet hosted reader might be a better choice for teachers.

Teachers can use RSS feeds in many different ways to simplify and organize their workload. Teachers can subscribe to blogs (including student blogs) and social bookmarks or feed content to HTML pages, all of which allows information to be readily accessible to both student and teacher. The ease at which RSS can be used makes is a powerful technological tool for the classroom.

Question 1: How do you currently use RSS and how will you in the future?

I have been using RSS for a while without actually knowing that I was using this type of technology. I have an iGoogle account and a delicious account as well. I would like to definitely use some of Bigenho's ideas about incorporating RSS technology into the classroom. I would definitely like to have my students write in blogs and I would use RSS to subscribe to those blogs as a way of saving time and energy. I would also like to have my students use social bookmarking and use RSS to make their tags accessible to the whole class.

Question 2: How important do you think it is for teachers to know about this type of technology?

I think that it is extremely important for teachers to know about this technology because it is a powerful resource that can make life simpler and more organized. I think that teachers need all the help that they can get in this area because they are already busy enough with planning and scheduling etc. that any extra bit of help goes a long way. RSS is a positive form of technology that can be a very helpful resource for not only teachers, but anyone who uses the internet as a source of information or entertainment.