RSS Lab and Page Reflection

RSS Page Reflection

I have enjoyed the addition of the RSS page to my web 2.0 experience.  It has greatly increased the amount of current events that I have been introduced to in both my content area and education in general.  Now I can get information that can help me improve my teaching without wasting time blindly searching the internet. 

My RSS reader page consists of articles from Science News and Science Daily, blogs about science, and sites about technology in education.  I have noticed that some of the feeds I have subscribed to put out new articles daily or hourly.  However, some of my other feeds update less often.  In some cases, the feeds update so frequently that I have trouble keeping up with all the new content.  As a result, I have resorted to reading only articles that interest me the most. 

I have been introduced to many interesting tidbits in the science articles I've read.  Most of the content that I've seen so far would not apply directly to the content that I'm teaching.  In one article, from Science Daily, I learned about how memory impairment is affected by sleep deprivation.  In another article, also from Science Daily, I read about how scientists have successfully created an invisibility cloak.  While the science articles have provided some interesting findings, the educational technology feeds have made me think about the way we teach.  On Webblog-ed, Will Richardson asks what the "new normal" will be in education.  I agree with him that education emphasis will (and should) move back in the direction of the learning process, not the knowing process.  

There are many possible ways to utilize RSS pages in the classroom.  I could use them to get articles about education to increase my teaching effectiveness.  I could use them to get science current event articles for the students to read.  Perhaps, better yet, I could have the students create their own RSS pages to subscribe to the science content of their choice.  Whatever method I choose, it is safe to say that I will be using RSS capabilities in some way in my classes.   

RSS Lab

Here is a screenshot to my new RSS page on Google Reader.  I have added some cool science blogs and news sites.  

Here is a comment to a blog I am following called "The Culture of Chemistry."