RSS and Bloglines
I love my iGoogle page! Even more after setting up my Bloglines account. I originally set up an iGoogle page for rss feeds, but quickly outgrew the one page. I now have 10 tabs - Education, News/Features, etc. - that each have 12-15 blog feeds. Each page is customizable for appearance (so much fun) and can be scanned in less than 2 minutes for new post titles that might be interesting. When I click on a post, I've set it up to open in a new window and I go directly to the blog, or to the home page for feeds from BBC World News, New York Times, etc. As I've developed my page in the past year or so, I have been surprised and pleased at how well it's organized a huge amount of information into a streamlined format. There is also a great ease in adding new feeds and moving them to the desired tab. I'm frustrated by the lack of identity the feeds have on Bloglines; they are all assimilated into Bloglines' style and format. Because I can scan the latest 3 post titles from 15 blogs all at the same time in iGoogle, I find Bloglines to be time-consuming and a little dull. No one should have to be intimidated by the considerable information out there; it's always gratifying to learn something new and a thrill to connect with others who have your interests. You just have to find the reader that fits your aethestic.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Two & Three
Two: Blogs!
Blogger has a great ease of use, and the video was a perfect introduction the the basics. So once I set up the basic format in Blogger, I immediately wanted to find ways to customize everything! I get many RSS feeds of art, design, cooking, education and other blogs on my iGoogle page, so I've seen many beautiful blogs out there and know that a summer project will be to learn new ways to customize and design blogs. However, there are so many straight-forward options for blog hosting and design that it truly is a way for all voices to be heard. I tried Wordpress, too, and set up a different blog there to be able to compare the set-up process with that of Blogger. Wordpress was easier initially, and offered more customizable templates, but I've found that its Dashboard is not as simple to navigate when editing appearance.
As for the activity itself, it makes one very mindful of the audience, large or small, that lurks just outside the screen! I'm interested in what will happen as this process goes forward; do bloggers eventually become less self-conscious about every little word? Will I find a new risk-taking freedom in putting my thoughts and ideas out there?!
Three: Classroom blogs
The value of a classroom blog is that it creates exactly what most blogs do in the wider world; the sense of community it gives to a group of people who are connected by a common pursuit. I've used Moodle and our school's website class homepage for class conversations and will definitely set up a blog for the same purpose. I'm concerned, however, with privacy issues for younger children. I know I can keep a blog out of search engines. I was happy to see that I can designate readers in the settings of the blog, so the children would just have to log in before reading and commenting. Still, as teachers we don't want this quickly deteriorating into a large-group IM tool! Clarity of thought and of purpose is important for all participants. Perhaps a blog, in addition to offering communication and community, is a good venue for teaching children how to use the internet without giving away too much of their personal information?
Blogger has a great ease of use, and the video was a perfect introduction the the basics. So once I set up the basic format in Blogger, I immediately wanted to find ways to customize everything! I get many RSS feeds of art, design, cooking, education and other blogs on my iGoogle page, so I've seen many beautiful blogs out there and know that a summer project will be to learn new ways to customize and design blogs. However, there are so many straight-forward options for blog hosting and design that it truly is a way for all voices to be heard. I tried Wordpress, too, and set up a different blog there to be able to compare the set-up process with that of Blogger. Wordpress was easier initially, and offered more customizable templates, but I've found that its Dashboard is not as simple to navigate when editing appearance.
As for the activity itself, it makes one very mindful of the audience, large or small, that lurks just outside the screen! I'm interested in what will happen as this process goes forward; do bloggers eventually become less self-conscious about every little word? Will I find a new risk-taking freedom in putting my thoughts and ideas out there?!
Three: Classroom blogs
The value of a classroom blog is that it creates exactly what most blogs do in the wider world; the sense of community it gives to a group of people who are connected by a common pursuit. I've used Moodle and our school's website class homepage for class conversations and will definitely set up a blog for the same purpose. I'm concerned, however, with privacy issues for younger children. I know I can keep a blog out of search engines. I was happy to see that I can designate readers in the settings of the blog, so the children would just have to log in before reading and commenting. Still, as teachers we don't want this quickly deteriorating into a large-group IM tool! Clarity of thought and of purpose is important for all participants. Perhaps a blog, in addition to offering communication and community, is a good venue for teaching children how to use the internet without giving away too much of their personal information?
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