Thing #8

I have seen the orange RSS symbol before, but have never known its purpose. I always thought it was a logo or something for the people who write software -- like those mysterious codes that pop up when there is a major computer error. Who'd have thought the little orange box would actually be user friendly?!

My account is with Google Reader. I like how it saves time by displaying updates from a variety of sources all in one place. I also like how it can be displayed on the iGoogle home page. Google was very helpful during the reader set up, because it automatically brought in blogs I was already following and feeds from my iGoogle home page.

At first, it was hard for me to subscribe to new blogs. "Oops! Try later!" messages kept popping up. I finally logged completely out and back in again; then, all of the connections worked . . . no more "Oops!"

This technology will enable me to follow entries made by co-members of my grade level's grant blog. It will also expose me to a constant stream of new teaching ideas through subscriptions with professional blogs. Perhaps best of all, my class pet, Teddy, will benefit from my connection to the Guinea Pig Forum. I have never had a guinea pig before and need all of the guinea pig advice I can get!

Teddy . . . the unexpected beneficiary of Thing #8.

School libraries/teachers/administrators can use these readers to monitor student entries made on school blogs. They can also use them to exchange ideas with other educators.