RSS Aggregators
Using Feedly is making me second guess many of my assumptions about RSS aggregators. Considering how long RSS has been around I’m a little embarrassed to say that I haven’t explored it before. When I first heard about RSS it just sounded a little too complicated. Some sites had feeds available, some did not. There were many readers to choose from, with various strengths and weaknesses. It also seemed easy enough to go online and search for whatever information you wanted or needed.
As the amount of information available and my own interest in exploring various topics increased, an RSS reader should have been a logical step. Yet the buzz was that RSS was dead, no longer needed when you can be connected to so many people and places constantly. After setting up and using Feedly I see that it can assist with both getting information and giving information.
Feedly helps me stay on top of what’s happening on various blogs and sites, eliminating one problem I’ve struggled with lately – bookmarking. When I bookmark something to look into later I tend to forget I ever did so. While Feedly won’t help with getting back to a particular lesson idea, when something new is posted I’ll see it right away. Not only will I get the new information but if it is an area I had visited before I’ll be reminded of it and have a chance to look around again.
In addition to new posts on familiar topics, additional topics of interest will be brought to my attention as well. I like the fact that Feedly can help me find what I didn’t know about yet – besides the ability to search and look over the content for new topics I can look at Feedly’s recommendations of both places and other people’s collections. One of the best features is the 3-line summary. That is usually enough to let me know if I want to read more or not. So in addition to identifying new topics of interest I won’t waste time looking at items not of interest.
The 3-line summary is the feature I think will be most valuable in sharing information with students, or maybe parents. I know that often people do not read completely, thoroughly or carefully. Analytics for sites such as Smore have shown me that 50% of people spend less than 1 minute looking at a flyer or newsletter. Feedly’s ability to provide just a little more information about a topic may help students or parents see what is not of interest and encourage them to click through and read what is. I believe Feedly might be useful for offering ideas and examples of projects for our new makerspace. Maybe it will help explain how to use certain tools and apps as well. If I have examples, project challenges, or guidelines in blog entries than students and parent volunteers can use Feedly to find the information they need quickly and easily. I feel like I still have a lot to learn about RSS readers in general, but it seems like they will prove really helpful in keeping up with information and, once I figure it all out, curating with Evernote.
As the amount of information available and my own interest in exploring various topics increased, an RSS reader should have been a logical step. Yet the buzz was that RSS was dead, no longer needed when you can be connected to so many people and places constantly. After setting up and using Feedly I see that it can assist with both getting information and giving information.
Feedly helps me stay on top of what’s happening on various blogs and sites, eliminating one problem I’ve struggled with lately – bookmarking. When I bookmark something to look into later I tend to forget I ever did so. While Feedly won’t help with getting back to a particular lesson idea, when something new is posted I’ll see it right away. Not only will I get the new information but if it is an area I had visited before I’ll be reminded of it and have a chance to look around again.
In addition to new posts on familiar topics, additional topics of interest will be brought to my attention as well. I like the fact that Feedly can help me find what I didn’t know about yet – besides the ability to search and look over the content for new topics I can look at Feedly’s recommendations of both places and other people’s collections. One of the best features is the 3-line summary. That is usually enough to let me know if I want to read more or not. So in addition to identifying new topics of interest I won’t waste time looking at items not of interest.
The 3-line summary is the feature I think will be most valuable in sharing information with students, or maybe parents. I know that often people do not read completely, thoroughly or carefully. Analytics for sites such as Smore have shown me that 50% of people spend less than 1 minute looking at a flyer or newsletter. Feedly’s ability to provide just a little more information about a topic may help students or parents see what is not of interest and encourage them to click through and read what is. I believe Feedly might be useful for offering ideas and examples of projects for our new makerspace. Maybe it will help explain how to use certain tools and apps as well. If I have examples, project challenges, or guidelines in blog entries than students and parent volunteers can use Feedly to find the information they need quickly and easily. I feel like I still have a lot to learn about RSS readers in general, but it seems like they will prove really helpful in keeping up with information and, once I figure it all out, curating with Evernote.
Critical Thinking
As a K-4 librarian, this week’s topics are of great interest to me. Critical thinking, evaluation and attribution are an important part of my curriculum. Over the years I have spent many hours developing and teaching lessons to my students on these topics. After assessing, reassessing and adjusting my lesson plans I have had to focus on certain aspects as it is not possible in my current environment to cover the material as thoroughly as needed. With these younger students I’ve chosen to focus on two areas: the truth and accuracy of a website (Mrs. Smith’s Kindergarten Panda webpage vs. the National Zoo Panda webpage) and giving credit to others for their work. My survey and slide show, along with an accompanying lesson, addresses the first of these issues. I hope to show students that they cannot believe everything they see and that if something is true they should be able to verify it somewhere else.
The clear and thorough explanation of Creative Commons licensing was so incredibly helpful. The statements about people not using what copyright owners wish to share because they do not understand the licensing is so true! I frequently try to assist and explain various copyright issues to students and colleagues, and these materials gave me a lot of information to share. Two of the many important ideas I’ll take from this unit are that sharing fosters creativity and innovation and that having students go through the process of choosing a creative commons license for their own work will help them understand the importance and levels of copyright.
The clear and thorough explanation of Creative Commons licensing was so incredibly helpful. The statements about people not using what copyright owners wish to share because they do not understand the licensing is so true! I frequently try to assist and explain various copyright issues to students and colleagues, and these materials gave me a lot of information to share. Two of the many important ideas I’ll take from this unit are that sharing fosters creativity and innovation and that having students go through the process of choosing a creative commons license for their own work will help them understand the importance and levels of copyright.