RSS Feed Page Reflection

Above is a screenshot of my Google Reader, where I have subscribed to various RSS Feeds.  One of the blogs that I commented on is associated with the ALA - American Library Association.  It’s called ALSC Blog.  This blogger traveled to Boston and found that there were famous monuments for the author who created, Make Way for Duckling by Robert McCloskey.  I chose to comment on this blog post because I found it interesting on a personal level and the information could be valuable to my teaching.  I just did a mini-lesson using this same story and have done numerous lessons on Caldecott winners.  I think my students would find the photo this blogger posted very cool and would enjoy knowing that there are statues of these characters in the city where that author/illustrator lives.  Another posting that I commented on that blog had to do with a book called, Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld.  This blogger had spotted a chalk drawing on a sidewalk in NYC.  Similar to the story, her and her husband saw different animals, which lead into a discussion.  This gave me a great idea for a lesson, which I am now doing with my students, as well as sharing the photo that she took in the city.  Tidbits like these will help me make student learning meaningful.

Here’s a brief log of my recorded experiences (I’ve browsed my reader in between these observations):

1^st log-in experience:  On my first day, when I subscribed to all these feeds, I felt a little overwhelmed.  I felt like I was playing catch-up.  So much reading...so little time!  I read blog after blog to see what each of these subscription articles were generally about or had to offer me.  Even though I was a little overwhelmed, I was excited when I found find practical ideas or articles I could relate to on a professional and personal level.  I was also surprised that I never noticed the RSS Feeder symbol on all these websites that I visited.

2^nd log-in experience:

Over a few days time, I logged on to read more new RSS Feeds.  It wasn’t as overwhelming this time with an abundance of feeds.  There were a couple subscriptions that I wished posted more frequently and others that I wished posted less frequently.  For example, I’m not very interested in current events or political updates and the NPR Topics subscription was filled with those.  On top of it, they had 100 postings within a week’s time; whereas, some of the others that I enjoyed reading, only had one a week.  So, I think I’m learning my RSS Feeder style.

3^rd log-in experience: 
Recently, I have been able to use the RSS Feeder more productively.  Before, I spent too much time deciding what was pertinent to my needs and figuring out how the subscriptions typically ran.  Now I know which feeds I enjoy reading and gain something from.  I know which ones I rather skip or just to skim through.  I’ve also added a new blog since I realized that I really enjoy reading the first the one I subscribed to; however, they don’t post as frequently as the ALSC blog.  I have a more positive feeling about utilizing RSS Feeds than when I first started.

There is a lot of valuable information that I've gained from my subscriptions thus far.  What I like best is that it's regular people with similar careers that are usually the authors of these postings.  So I've read articles about teachers using different technology tools with their classes, putting even young students online, and using iPads with preschool students.  Reading about these practical applications motivates me to try them in my own setting, exposes me to new experiences, and educates me on how to use my current tools differently.   In addition, many of the feeds that I added had a library media background.  Therefore, I've read about technology in my field, children's books, and viewpoints from various media specialists about what's happening to our profession. 

My students may be too young to use RSS Feeds on their own.  We don't normally give them their own accounts and passwords on anything, but I think I could use this tool for professional development.  Just from my experience thus far, I've already found so many people in our profession that had something valuable to share.  I've gained a couple ideas of what Web 2.0 Tools could look like in my classroom, read some entertaining articles, felt reassured that others are experiencing some of the same things I am in my profession, and definitely received great lesson ideas.  Overall, using RSS Feeds is a great tool to encourage collaborating with others nationwide!