Thing 3. Set Up an RSS Account & Add Feeds

Setting up an RSS account and adding feeds was one of those technology skills that I just never got around to using. I've always just bookmarked a favorite blog or placed the link on my desktop and accessed it when I've had a spare minute, usually while eating lunch at my desk. Consequently, I've never become a regular reader of any blog.

The steps for Thing 3 were easy to follow. I chose to use Google Reader and add the feature onto my iGoogle page. I'd set up iGoogle after seeing it demonstrated at our MEMO conference and used it as a suggestion for a student seeking a different idea for a demonstration speech. He got an A and I added one more skill to my technology toolbelt. Having Google Reader appear each time I access Firefox will help me take time to read the blogs appearing there. Now that it is set up, it will be painless to add new blogs as I come across them. I added some of the 23 Things on a Stick blogs from our SMILE region as well as the couple of blogs previously residing on my desktop. I experimented with Bloglines Search tool and did a blog search in Google. I added a blog from the International School Bangkok in Thailand (my daughter has been stationed in Thailand and I was really impressed with this blog.) and did a Google search for "school libraries + blog" and came up with a site listing school library blogs that I'd like to explore another day. If I add too many, I will bury myself alive before I've made it to Thing 4. Besides, I confess: I don't know how to delete blogs yet from Google Reader. That wasn't obvious and I didn't take time to find out. Deleting blogs may prove to be as necessary as learning how to add them.

I like this convenience but worry that it may become as unmanageable as all the emails I glance at and don't delete so I can come back to them when I have more time. Eventually my full account forces me to deal with the overload. I suspect that as I read these blogs I will need to make decisions to keep or delete them in Google Reader. I do like the fact that I have one more avenue for being aware of changes/trends in our field, but I also feel stressed by the fact that this is one more thing on my daily "to do" list.

This would be equally useful for the rest of our school staff to keep abreast of advances in their field. Only by using it themselves will they begin to use it with students. Recently our 9th grade class met 9th graders from another district for a day of skiing at Mt. Kato. The purpose was to promote diversity education between our Hispanic students and the students of the other district. Prior to the trip, both schools had used a blog format to discuss both teen and racial issues. Groups had been set up for the blogs and those groups then spent the day together, getting to know each other in person. It would have been nice to have students set this up in an RSS feed so that they could have responded right away to each other's postings. I see potential for this with teachers using MOODLE as a classroom delivery system, wanting to create an online literary circle, or just looking for a new way to engage learners in a discussion. A library blog might be a fun way to promote new books or allow students to post commentaries on what they're reading.