In our first Web 2.0 class, we set up blog sites and RSS feed lists on our new IGoogle Reader account. Although I have used with my classes before, I was still a bit rusty. If you don't use these tools regularly, you forget the little idiosyncrasies of each tool. By reviewing the blog site set-up and uses, I am re-invigorated to start a new blog site with my students as we prepare to read a novel over the next month. The novel blog site will be a great avenue for students to share family connections and personal reading journals as they read either Cold Sassy Tree (Academics) or Their Eyes Were Watching God (Honors). In both novels, the theme of the importance of the extended family provides excellent discussion questions for blogs about students' family ties and traditions. I hope to set up a blog assignment similar to our Web 2.0 class assignment in which students are required to post two new blogs a week and then respond to at least two other blogs on specific topics. I just need to come up with an easier way to manage the grading of all of those student blog posts. Any ideas?
As for the RSS feed subscription list, I am finding it useful to get the updates on my Google reading page. Wow, some sites update a lot (i.e. "Teaching Paperless"). The amount of information out on the web is daunting. I hope that I can keep up, without getting totally distracted. Now, I sound like one of my students.
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Christine,
ReplyDeleteTry the RSSmix site to combine feeds. This way, instead of having 20 students feeds come in separately to your Reader, you could have one feed per class. You'd still have to wade through the entries, but it won't clog up your reader.