In theory, RSS appears to make life easier for those who use the web on a continuous basis. For those of us however, that are technology challenged, the task on navigating RSS seems daunting. Originally in the first few pages of the chapter, my initial thought was " ok - this isnt so bad......" but as I read on, I had more questions than I had answers to. For example:
Is it possible to receive only certain kinds of information on RSS: Say I put "Canada" in; is it possible to get only factual or human interest stories on the provinces? Or..... will I be subjected to any subject, any news clip, any anything that relates to Canada? (Yes, I understand I pick who submits to my RSS - but is their a way to filter things out)
Is it possible to receive info that is only at a certain age level (Ex: 5-8th grade) so student are not able to pull up information that my be too advanced or inappropriate for their age?
It appears it takes a great deal of time to weed through what you receive. I understand Will Richardson finds this easy, but this is what he does for a living. How does the teacher, mother, taxi driver, maid, grocery shopper, cook, student in her master's class, find the extra hours to devote to this?
Am I making mountain out of molehills, or is this just the fear in me speaking?
Lori, I suggest you subscribe only to teachers whose blogs you like and whom you know will update their blogs with posts you might want to read. For now, only subscribe to about 10 blogs, and on a selective basis. Use the subscribe buttons you find on the blogs instead of the search feature in Google Reader. If you have further questions, ask in class. Others might have the same questions.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I'm confused and a little overwhelmed by the idea. It seems like it will be beneficial, but I'm not quite sure how to navigate it.
ReplyDeleteLori, you have some great questions about RSS feeds, and they were questions that I had never even thought about until you mentioned them! I think it would be really useful if there was a way to select feeds that were appropriate for a specific grade level--that way the program could filter out any inappropriate material. That would be really handy!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. You make some super valid points. I, too, am a bit overwhelmed by all of the information in one spot. In theory, I loved the idea of sort of having a newsfeed with all of my chosen websites most recent information posted in one feed but, now, I find it confusing. I must admit I am still "learning the ropes" but, I wish there was a way to eliminate the unnecessary information by making labels or something.
ReplyDeleteI read Will Richardson's book on RSS and found it helpful. I would like the students to use this tool because they do research projects throughout year, and Wikipedia is usually the only source they use. I used News.Google and clicked on the Advance search button. It does give you options to help you to narrow your search. I first did "kids and history" then narrowed it down to 9 yr. olds and history. I think if you get as specific as possible, using the advance button, the more you will find what it relevant to you.
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