RSS Page Reflection

To begin with, my RSS page has been a wonderful learning experience. I added the following four feeds to my netvibes page: LD online daily news, Reading Today Daily, Edmodo- safe social networking, and School Climate Blog. I later added Eduwonk,twitter, a Scholatic feed, and the School Library Journal feed.

I chose to add LD online daily news because this was one of my areas of concentration in teacher education and also because it continues to be relevant in the classroom. I chose Reading Today because regardless of what subject area you work in reading ability influences education. Even in teaching science, I have had to adjust to different reading abilities and have used students interest in science to improve their reading ability. I then chose to add Edmodo because Edmodo influenced me in becoming interested in exploring technology and education. I also chose Edmodo because it is a safe social networking site I can use in the classroom regardless of what I am teaching. Finally, I chose School Climate Blog. I chose this feed because of the ongoing issues with bullying in our schools. I have strong connections to this because I worked at a school where a student was beaten off the school grounds and after school hours. Even so, the connection between these students initiated during school hours. I would also like to say this was an affluent school so no myths are perpetuated by my comment.

Later, I added Eduwonk because some of my feeds showed less activity and hence limited my new learning and ability to interact online. On November 8th, I added the online feed from scholastic. I added this feed because I subscribe to Instructor magazine. Also, on November 8th, I added twitter. The educational forums I have been visiting on twitter are helping me stay current in my profession. I also added twitter to try to keep my professional development resources all in one place. While our school libraries are evolving because of technology, I added the School Library Journal feed because this has always been a valuable resource to me as a teacher.

So far, I think all of the feeds that are currently on my RSS page are going to continue to be a good resource for professional development. LD online daily news will help keep me current in an endorsement area I am not currently using. For example, on October 27th there were links about special education and Title 1 cuts, parent and teacher cooperation, and an article about an Atlanta school breaking rules to meet standards. The budget cuts and link to parent-teacher article in particular were relevant to me. Not currently working with at-risk, I would not otherwise be aware of the cuts. Also, the parent-teacher link led me to a website I was unaware of called ADDitude Living Well with Attention Deficit. This article about parent-teacher cooperation is relevant to anyone in the teaching profession. This is definitely an article I would have sent or posted for teachers in my school. In fact, I printed it out and filed it as a resource.

On November 3rd, my LD online daily news provided me with news about ADHD drugs and heart risks. While I don't advise parents on medical issues, it is important to me to stay connected to the same information that a parent would find relevant. On the same day, there was also article about a non-profit company called BookShare which incorporates e-book technology using computerized voices. This was of interest to me because of my experience of working for the learning lab in college. In addition to tutoring students during the year, over the breaks I often put books on tape for other students at my college. This was time consuming and challenging to complete this task so that the student could have this audio-text at the same time that other students purchased their textbook! Once again, this information is valuable to anyone teaching. I was excited about this new technology which publishes books at the same time as the non-tech version. Thus, I was excited to see a technology innovation that provided equal access for all students. The article also mentioned that three million dollars is being funded for the program through the Federal Education Department. On the same day, I also learned about Barrington Stoke, a publishing company whose focus is for reluctant and struggling readers. This was also of interest to me as I like to build up a database of high interest books for reluctant readers.

On November 5th, there was an article published by LA times about Dyslexia and Intelligence. I was able to blog about this article. The comment I made was in agreement with another blogger. Essentially, we both stated that the information in the article was not new information. On November 10th, this feed provided me with new research on Dyslexia and IQ. This included the addition of MRI tests which showed less activity in the left hemisphere of the brain. After giving a brief overview of the news available to me through this feed, I think it is a good resource for professional development. The information I was exposed to over the tracking period from this feed included a wide range of topics. In just a few weeks, I read articles about health, book publishers, new e-technology, parent involvement, budget cuts and etc. I like the broad overview this feed provides me as well as the frequent activity of the feed.

Another feed that I've been following is my Edmodo feed. I think this a great feed for professional development because it keeps me connected to other educators from around the world. It is also a safe soical networking tool I can use with students. It further links me to endless resources for my classroom. For example, on October 28th, I learned about a three day global webcast featuring the polar bear migration near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. How awesome! On November 1st, I was linked to details about registering my class for this event. Further, On November 4th, I was informed of new Edmodo features including quiz enhancements and the addition of the Greek language. I was able to blog about these features. My comments praised Edmodo for continuing to broaden our social network by breaking down language barriers. I made an additional request to continue this by adding Asian languages. I also praised the addition of a new quiz feature that allows teachers to have weighted questions on a quiz.

On November 8th, I was able to register for a webinar on the 16th about using Edmodo to connect with peers and students. The focus is also going to be about managing what technology you have in your classroom and will be relevant to any teacher even if they have only one computer. On November 11th, Edmodo made provided links to connect your students' learning to Veterans Day in the areas of history and language arts. On the same day, Edmodo announced that they had received a technology and learning of excellence award.I found the information on this feed to encompass site features, curriculum expansion opportunities for students, and ongoing professional development for teachers. I like the level of activity on this feed and plan on keeping it.

A third feed that I added and have been following is Reading Today Daily. I think this is a good feed to follow for professional development since reading impacts all education. I also chose this particular reading feed because it is connected to the International Reading Association. In other words, being connected to I.R.A. is like being connected to I.S.T.E. On October 27th, I read an article about celebrating and supporting teachers as a key to solving worldwide illiteracy. In addition, there was an article about students using a web 2.0 tool called Voice Thread. This was a good introduction about incorporating this web 2.0 tool into the classroom. On October 28th, there was a featured blog about creating lifelong learners. On this day I attempted to comment on the article by linking to discuss on Engage. However, I found that I needed to sign up with the I.R.A. and chose not to at this time.

On November 4th, I read about the Nation's Report Card: Reading 2011. What I learned from this article is that there has been some improvement but not across the board. I also learned that scores were higher for White, Black, and Hispanic students in 2011 than in 2009. Further, changes were not significant for other ethnic groups. Reading Today Online also made me aware of an award that is given by I.R.A. to teachers who are innovative in connecting reading and technology. During the tracking period of this feed, I learned about a broad range of topics. These topics ranged from new technology tools and awards to updates on national reading scores as well as blogs about engaging learners.
At this time, I plan on keeping this feed.

Yet another feed I followed was a school climate blog. I feel this is a good feed to follow for professional development because bullying is an ongoing issue in our schools. Also, as teachers we work with people not machines. We cannot help our students learn without addressing their barriers to learning. One thing that I liked about establishing my RSS page was that I could view past posts which took place prior to my connection to this feed. In this case, I was able to read about a post written in September. This post was interesting to me because I did not realize one out of ten students drop out of school because of bullying. On November 3rd, this feed posted an article about BullyBust! and an addition to this program called Upstander Alliance. This information is useful to everyone in the teaching community. In ending, I did attempt to blog on this site but it would not submit my post because I was not viewing words above the box. Over the tracking period, I found this feed to show less activity. However, I feel the topic is an important one. I plan on keeping this feed and potentially using it as a resource to start a special interest committee at my school.

The "On Our Minds Scholastic..." feed continues to show regular activity. This was a feed I added on November 8th. So far, I have seen a broad range of topics just like I do in my Instructor magazine. There have been posts on books for boys, open discussions about school uniforms and whether students and teachers should be friends on Facebook. Since some of my feeds have more focused topics, I like that this feed encompasses a wide range of topics. At this time, I plan on keeping this feed.

Finally, I also followed the feeds we were asked to add to our RSS page. On October 28th, I read an interesting article from my NCTE feed. I read about a teacher who had previously thought of teaching as a way to connect students to work realized that the purpose of education is to understand our own life circumstances and too live more fully. This was very moving to me since I have always lived to learn not learned to be able to live and many people in my life path have not understood this about me. While I believe in teaching rigor and discipline, our lives are meaningless with out a passion for learning. Last year, I visited a huge aquarium and when I walked out of that place I was on a natural "high." On a daily basis, I notice many people around me who seem so lifeless. I don't teach "passion" but I believe it is infectious and something I have been successful in passing on to my students. This article reinforced for me to stay the course that has always worked for me as a teacher regardless of student age, student background or subject matter.

On October 29th, I read an article titled, "Are you a facebook bully?" from my educational technology feed. This was an interesting article wherein the writer talks about otherwise upstanding citizens/relatives she knows bullying people online. My I.S.T.E. feed led me to an article about iPads on November 3rd. I am currently working with an iPad so this appeared to be relevant to me. The article discussed whether it was necessary for a classroom to have thirty iPads. I was able to post a comment to this article. In my comment, I discussed the power of even one iPad in the classroom. Of course, as a teacher I truly feel the more resources available to me the better. Still, I commented on the necessity of managing the one iPad to maximize its potential for all students. I also discussed how this is what I did when I started out teaching with only one computer in the classroom. When I submitted this post, the site informed me that they would review my submission prior to posting. Over the tracking period some of these fields were more active then others. However, I plan on keeping all the required feeds.

In particular, I.S.T.E. is a feed I would have chosen even if it had not been required. I am also appreciative of being guided toward the Technology and Learning feed. On November 10th, I was able to respond to an article on my NPR Education feed. This article was about the GI bill not being enough to support veterans transition back into civilian educational opportunities. While I am not a veteran, I am aware of an online college which gives credit for military experience and focuses on the needs of veterans. For this reason, I responded and stated that I hoped my message would get to the veteran who is trying to go back to school.

My overall experience in tracking changes was a good one. I am a visual learner so to have one RSS page for my professional growth was wonderful! My RSS page allowed me to harness the power of technology that was previously overwhelming to me. My RSS page provided me with a wealth of resources more efficiently and with less cost than subscribing to multiple teaching journals. In the same way, I am able to get the same information and social networking that I would if I attended a conference which would require expensive travel and valuable time away from my students. It also provided me with news both national and global. In just a few weeks, I was tied to information about a British book publisher, polar bear migration in Canada, and national news regarding an increase in reduced lunches.

I will continue to value and manage my RSS page once this project is complete because it is my responsibility as a professional to stay current on issues in my profession. These issues may range from news about medical issues tied to ADHD medications or I.R.A.'s reading technology award. Irregardless of my current position, I also have a professional responsibility to disseminate relevant information to my colleagues. I am not a lone teacher in one classroom. I am part of a professional community. I think it's becoming harder for teachers to not recognize this with the evolution of social networking.

In other words, instead of checking individual sites or weeding through my favorites list, I was able to put everything I wanted in one custom page for professional growth and personal networking. Developing my RSS page was like creating a custom newspaper delivered to me daily through my computer access. I could efficiently look at this page and see if there were any updates on any of the feeds. During the tracking period, I very quickly became aware of which feeds were more active. In the future, I will probably add additional feeds. I will be able to manage my current and additional feeds by creating monthly, weekly, and daily tabs. In this way, I will be be able to put less active but relevant feeds into monthly of weekly tabs to better manage my time.

Most importantly, this will allow me to "grow" my RSS page, increase productivity, and increase my personal network. The power of the technology behind the RSS page will also allow me to discontinue feeds which become stagnant or become no longer relevant to my career. I also plan to look for feeds that can connect me to local and state educational news. At this time, I was able to find a state teacher blog through Teacher Portal. Unfortunately, there was not a feed available to this page. I further plan to add twitter (added November 8th) to my RSS page and eventually become involved with tweet deck. Eventually, I plan to add Diigo or Delicious to my RSS page. It appears that this is possible. In other words, as my career or role in education changes over time my RSS page will change as well.

In ending, I will use the content from my feeds to collaborate with colleagues not just locally but globally. I will also use the content to stay current on issues in education and improve my teaching skills. Likewise, I will use the content to improve my instruction and to connect my students globally through events like the polar bear migration. My feeds will provide me with information that will allow me to expand the walls of the classroom. In this way, I will be able to increase student motivation and engagement. Further, my feeds will keep me informed of issues that are relevant to my parents and students. This information will allow for better communication and understanding. I need to stay informed about the barriers to my student's learning in order to be an effective teacher. Still another capability of the RSS page is that it allows me to first view the topic, then open up to a brief caption, and then finally view the full text. I love this feature! This will allow for an efficient use of my time. In other words, I will have more time for students and actual teaching.

Finally, I will not only be able to use the capabilities of my RSS page to manage my professional life on my public page but also manage my personal life. I think RSS pages are such a wonderful tool that I told my husband I was going to help him create one over the break. In fact, I would put this on "my favorite things list of the year." In other words, if I could set up an RSS page for every professional who has an impact on my life I would. It's free!