This week we took a look at RSS readers and how you can use them in education as well as how to use photo sharing websites. I have been a fan of RSS feeds for a long time and use them to follow a number of personal websites, but I never thought about using them for class activities. I use RSS to follow webcomics such as xkcd and it helps me not waste time checking the sites for updates when I know that the RSS will let me know when there is a new comic to view. I also like to subscribe to the RSS feeds of fox news, cnn, msnbc and the BBC, since articles of political interest are usually written with completely different slants. By comparing these news tid-bits you can get a pretty accurate picture of what went on.
In education I'd love to use RSS for professional development and for possible homework updates for students. Hopefully we'll look at RSS in depth in the future and its impact on education.
I did not know you could use an RSS feed to follow xkcd. My boyfriend is always sending me cartoons from there. I plan to share with him that he can use RSS to follow that. He also follows Reddit. I wonder if he can follow both at the same time with an RSS.
ReplyDeleteJohn, isn't it funny how sometimes we use technology but don't always think of all it's possibilities? Do your students have email access? What type of homework assignments do you envision using RSS feeds for? I just had a thought. If you have a classroom website, you could have students and parents subscribe to ensure they always have the most current information.
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