But how are teachers supposed to keep up-to-date on all of these fabulous things? There's teaching, marking, planning, meetings, conferences, parents, and students to keep track of on a daily basis. Spare time? Not really. Spare time to browse the web and research the latest developments in education research? Really unlikely.
RSS Icon Image: OpenClipArt.org |
Now open your favourite RSS Feed reader. I personally like Google Reader (I set it as my home page, and always keep it open in a tab on my browser). There is an incredible variety of feed readers out there, for many different platforms. Just do a quick web search for "feed reader" and whatever platform you're interested in (e.g. iPhone "feed reader" or windows 7 desktop "feed reader"), and you'll probably find several options.
Now that you've set up your reader, keep your eyes open for the RSS icon. Each time you find it on a website you like, you can click on it, and subscribe to the website's RSS feed. It's similar to a magazine subscription: when there is new content, it will be delivered to you. You don't need to go looking any more! Have a favourite resource that you're always checking? Click "subscribe" and you'll always be up-to-date on the latest developments.
If you're still not certain, check out this Common Craft video explanation. It's fast, simple, and very well explained (Common Craft does a great job explaining many different things in their simple format).
Enjoy!
Common Craft video used with permission.
P.S. Here's a list of feeds I subscribe to (in no particular order):
- http://www.freetech4teachers.com,
- http://www.wired.com/geekdad/,
- http://blog.kathyschrock.net/,
- http://www.openeducation.net/,
- http://eduscience.wordpress.com, http://sdst.libguides.com,
- http://www.teacherslovesmartboards.com,
- http://www.techlearning.com,
- http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com, and
- http://edte.ch.
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