RSS: A Travel Guide for the Journey

"RSS is a technology that will change your life, if you let it" (Richardson, 2010, p.72).

This humorous clip from Portlandia in which Fred gets trapped in a technology loop, depicts how easy it is to feel information overload in today's technology driven world. With the world at our fingertips, one can easily feel lost in the vastness of the web, and keeping up with all there is to learn can feel like a daunting task. Will Richardson of Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms labels RSS "The New Killer App for Educators"; stating that it is a key tool "...aimed at helping consume all that information in more efficient and relevant ways" (Richardson, 2010, p. 71). RSS is like a travel guide for the journey.

RSS or Really Simple Syndication allows information to come to you instead of you having to go find it. You simply set up a feed reader account such as Google Reader, Netvibes, or Bloglines and are able to view updates from various blogs, sites, or news feeds that you choose to subscribe to in ONE location from which you can select which path follow further. Watch this tutorial about Google Reader by Common Craft to better understand how it all works.

 

The advantages of such a tool?

• you can read more content from more sources in less time
• you can personalize feeds to your own interests
• you can search for specific topics by key word
• you can set up folders to organize what you read by topic
• you can set up a feed for research purposes
• you can star interesting articles to read at a later time
• you can easily share what you like with others
• you can collect student work through a feed

Richardson states that being able "...to consistently collect potentially relevant information for their lives and careers and quickly discern what of the information is most useful..." (Richardson, 2010, p.73) is a key skill students will need in the future to be successful. It is also a key skill educators need to acquire!

Three tips on using RSS:

1. Select wisely who you will follow: "...the best way to find other great teachers and sources of information to subscribe to is to simply read and follow the links in the sources you find interesting and relevant" (Richardson, 2010, 75).

2. "Get into the habit of checking your aggregator on a daily basis..." (Richardson, 2010, p.75).

3. "[S]can what's in there and save the good stuff for more close reading later" (Richardson, 2010, p.77).

I was surprised to discover that I already had a Google Reader Account and that it already contained subscriptions. I weeded through these and added to them, beginning with my small group member's blogs. I am putting into practice Richardson's tips: checking my reader daily, creating folders to organize what I like, and continuing to look for other great sources to follow. RSS is becoming my travel guide in this choose your own technology adventure I am on!

Question: What tips can you offer for using a feed reader?

Works Cited:

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts. and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.