RSS Feeds...the next chapter

Well, I must say, RSS Reader's can be a bit addicting. Over the last week, I spent a lot of time looking for blogs and professional sites that will help me as an educator. I followed four sites closely over the last week and a half - and I must say, it takes quite a bit of work.

Teaching History
One of the professional sites I discovered was Teaching History: National History Education Clearing House. What I loved about the site at first was it had a blog that was updated frequently in addition to a frequently updated site. My first couple of days following, I spent a lot of time getting caught up. I found a lot of great ideas but I didn't know what to do with them. For example, there was an article about Constitution Day. The article had great ideas for connecting technology (blogging) into Constitution Day which can sometimes be a challenging topic to get through.
As I continued to keep track of this site through my Reader, I started thinking about ways to sort and store all the information I am finding. Luckily for me, one of the articles posted last week was about a new tool called Dropbox (http://teachinghistory.org/digital-classroom/tech-for-teachers/25164). Dropbox is similar to Google Docs, however, it lets you save a file on any desktop that can be accessed without internet.

I am happy I stumbled upon this site because it is turning out to be a great lesson plan tool and a great technology tool.

GTD
At a meeting last week, one of my employees mentioned that I would like an article she refereed to as GTD. She was right, I loved it and I added the site to my Reader. I am constantly looking for new ways to make my life my streamline in and out of the classroom. I was even more surprised when this weeks session asked us to read material from Getting Things Done. The website is full of helpful hints and articles to read about GTD. This site is a great tool for educators because it gives you a guide for balancing everything. These tools can be taught to our students as we work to prepare them for their future (organization, accountability, time management, what student doesn't need this?). This site also has Podcasts! What an awesome resource. The Podcast about accountability to a must!

NPR - Education

Another of my discoveries is one that I can't really claim. My teacher suggested we subscribe to this site, and I am crazy about it. I have always listened to NPR on the radio, but never checked out the website, let alone a site just about education. On Sunday, they published a great anti-bullying article. Working to create a bully free environment was one of my passions as a teacher and I loved reading this article. As I continued to follow, I found amazing articles that caught my attention. I recently read an article on the site about what teachers make. It was a great article and it is nice to read things in support for teachers. This site helps me stay current on the world of Education. I also like it because the site has positive articles as well, which can be a challenge to find.

A Year of Reading

Another awesome blog I found for elementary teachers is called A Year of Reading. It is a great resource because the blog is edited by a variety of teachers and it keeps us updated on great literature. As a social studies teacher, I struggle to find books that bring history to life. I find this blog helpful because it highlights great children's books and then shows ways to connect it to different subject areas.

The blog also acts as a great resource for other sites; connecting us to other authors and teachers. For example, one post had short clips with a variety of teachers and authors talking about connecting literature to everything we do. I feel that great literature is a powerful tool in social studies because there is so much more than the textbook.

My thoughts now?

By tracking blogs and sites of interest, I have gained insight into new lessons, projects and ideas that I never even fathomed – and it has only been a matter of days. Through one site, I found resources that will help me tweak a project and I did last year and make it that much better. My RSS Reader will make connecting and learning so much easier than I ever thought possible. I am very excited to continue to use this and learn new ideas.

My mind continues to be in overdrive thinking of all the ways I can use this in school. It would be amazing to see students using their own feeds when conducting research or just learning about the world around them. For example, I have been playing around with a unit about Africa. My vision is to have each student learn about a country and create a blog about it. Students could subscribe to a variety of sources about Africa and have all their information in one place. Eventually, students could subscribe to each others' blog to continue to grow their network. I am also excited about all of the new tools and ideas I have just because of my checking in on my Reader.

Follow my Reader!