RSS and other things of consequence.
So here I am at home today with very little voice and directions from my doctor “not to talk.” If you know me at all, you’ll recognize that as a hardship. So I have been giving some little thought to this last assignment, which for me was the easiest so far. That is because after the IT conference last spring, the first thing I did was set up an RSS feed which I have come to appreciate. Many posts I skim as I can’t give a lot of time to them- others I come back to, and some I actually take careful note of. It is a great way to track information and yet, I know that very few people in my world use it. Why am I surprised? Before last year, I had never heard of an RSS feed, or of many of the other terms that are now becoming somewhat familiar. Yet I realize that in this world of Web 2.0, there is a new term around the corner every day. It would make a great science Fiction question: “What if this world of technology came tumbling down?” Anyway, I won’t write the book!
The new site I am truly coming to appreciate is Delicious!! What a great way to bookmark all of the great sites we enjoy- especially for those of us who are in two schools. Often, I’ll bookmark something at one school but have failed to do so at the other.
I have looked at next week’s assignment in a cursory fashion and once more, am overwhelmed with the sheer volume of information on any given topic. I understand better why students often sit and gaze at a Google screen bemused or simply begin to copy something from the first site they are directed to. Unfortunately, I think the technology is far ahead of our ability to teach students proper searching skills. For myself, although I am working at it, I still feel inadequate and I simply am not able to reach all students. The classroom teacher is trying to keep abreast of curriculum, reporting demands and just the general preparation involved on a daily basis, so cannot be expected to pursue and embrace this learning as well. When was it they said technology would create a shorter workweek and more leisure time? Too much information simply means more time spent in trying to ferret out what is relevant and what is not.
Obviously, I shouldn’t stay home- I talk too little and think too much!!
Have a good weekend- one and all.
Random thoughts | Comments (2)2 Responses to “RSS and other things of consequence.”
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Jane,
I hope you feel better soon!
Your post reminds me of the dizzying pace of technological advances. New social software tools emerge daily and is difficult for me to remain abreast of all the new gadgets! RSS is a big help – sites authored by people whose sole job or interest is new Web 2.0 tools are subscribed too. I also skim these sites to see if their post is of interest or relevance to me. Free, easy to use, and provider of latest updates of chosen sites – subscribing to RSS feeds saves time!
Thanks for your thoughts Jane and I hope you’re feeling better! I too find information overload in this day and age hard to deal with especially when there are so many demands on our time. I also agree with Carlene that the RSS feed can be a time saver but as I said on my own blog I rarely get to it. I’m hoping a start page will help me in this regard but again, right now I don’t have time to do it. Feeling kinda frustrated.