RSS Feed

This is a screen shot of my RSS Feed for CEP 810

When I first started my RSS feeds through Google Reader, I felt overwhelmed and frustrated. I was overwhelmed with the number of feeds that were coming in from each site. However, I soon realized that I needed to organize them by creating files for my different feeds. I created folders for news, technology, pre-algebra, and algebra. Then, I was able to quickly organize my feeds and reduce my anxiety. I was frustrated because I was not able to find good math feeds. I googled about every combination I could. Once in a while, I would run into a blog that was interesting, but overall I was not impressed at first.

Tired of being frustrated, I decided to look more into Project-Based Learning. Immediately I found useful websites that related to what was going on in my classroom at the time. Poptech had a blog about one girl's obsession with Rube Goldburg projects. There was a video that I shared with my class because they were getting frustrated with their projects, and her accounts made them feel much better. Afterwards, I thanked her for sharing her ups and downs with her project, and I let her know she helped other students too.

The very next day, I learned about Math in the Middle. A teacher had posted her class' work on Slope-Intercept Form. I was very interested and asked if she might be able to send me her lesson plans. Within twenty-four hours, I had all her ideas. I made a few adjustments and was presenting the project within two days. My students will finish their projects by next week, and I plan on sending her a thank-you note. It was a good feeling to know that my kids would be working on a great project, and I didn't have to re-create that wheel because of this connection.

With restored hope, I started looking more into the feeds I had already created. I quickly realized that I had some feeds that I either did not care for or did not have the time to spend on them. After reading a few summaries, I quickly decided which ones were not for me and unsubscribed myself from them. I am currently down to only two feeds for my pre-algebra class. However, I found those two to be very helpful in my endeavors to find relevant math material. Each day it seems to be getting easier to maneuver and find resources.

My news feeds have been the most beneficially to me personally. I cannot remember the last time I watched the news. CNN updated once to twice and hour, so it was very easy for me to scroll through and find the feeds that interested me. “Trump Not Running” seemed to catch my eye (we won't talk politics), so I decided to actually dig a little deeper and read on. BBC updates their news every one to twenty minutes, so I have had a hard time keeping up. I have leaned more towards NPR. There, I can listen to the updates in about 5 minutes. After that, I decide if I want to learn more and dig deeper into my news feeds. It has also been beneficial to keep updated on new technology. I am currently following information on the new Chromebook by Google. It will be interesting to see where they go.

It is important to realize that our students are living in a world rich with news, social media, and technology. If we are going to teach 21st century learners, we/I need to meet them where they are comfortable-online. I believe that, like myself, RSS Feeds will connect students to the world around them. I would like to implement RSS Feeds into my classroom next year, so my students can specifically find online resources for their core subjects. I imagine my students could create folders by core standards and build upon these throughout the years. They could also use these anytime they need to study. I could see this being very beneficial to my Algebra students since they have to take the EAC (End of course assessment). I assume students' learning to use RSS Feeds will be much smoother than mine, so I will encourage them to find resources for their other classes as well.