RSS+Feeds+and+Google+Reader

=RSS Feeds and Google Reader= Professional Development -- How do we do professional development? advanced degrees, investigation, mentorship/learning from others -- Are professional development classes successful? Only if used, shared, talked about; otherwise, as Richard Elmore (2002) says, it is "hostile" -- Changing times and tools Professional development can be accomplished thru collaborative learning by teachersand blogs used for collaboration -- How do we keep up? 20 minutes a day of browsing thru information by blogging educators!

** From Google Reader Labs: **
 * __ Educational benefits / classroom applications: __**
 * Keep up with current events in the news, education, politics and professional organizations. **
 * Powerful research tool. **
 * Receive updates of your favorite blogs **
 * Network with educational bloggers in your field of study **
 * Share your feeds with colleagues. **
 * Track student blogs and wikis. **
 * Subscribe to Podcasts **
 * Students can track each other’s blogs **
 * Students can track global events by subscribing to news and current affairs site **
 * Provides connections to the outside world within our classrooms.

Concerns and solutions: ** Some blogs contain indecent or inappropriate content. Teachers should discuss with their students the school’s Acceptable Use Policy, as well as issues of cyberethics and responsibility. Teachers can also locate some useful blogs themselves to share with their students. Not all information on the internet is reliable or even true. Teaching students skills in critical literacy will help them distinguish the trash from the treasures.

**Really Simple Syndication** - RSS RSS in Plain English: http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=086faafd8c122981cc82 **How to Begin**: Sign up for Google Reader Getting Started with Google Reader: http://www.google.com/support/reader/bin/answer.py?answer=113517

·  ** Edublogs Home Page: Popular Tags and Categories ** - http://edublogs.org/ Check out the "Tag Cloud" at the bottom of the Edublogs homepage. Click any tag (keyword) of interest to be taken to recent posts (from all Edublogs users) marked with that topic. ·  ** Livemocha: Top 100 Technorati-Ranked Edublogs ** - [|http://www.livemocha.com/pages/resources/education-blog-list ·] Check out the winners and nominees in about a dozen categories. Also includes links to winning blogs from 2004, 2005 and 2006. ·  ** TechLearning Blog: Meet the Bloggers ** - http://www.techlearning.com/blog/meetthebloggers.php If you like the postings of any of the contributors to TechLearning, you may want to subscribe to their personal blogs. ·  ** Support Blogging! Links to School Bloggers ** - http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers An un-vetted but rich list of possibilities. Many recognizable names, some hopefully serendipitous finds. ·  ** OEDb: Top 100 Edublogs ** - http://oedb.org/library/features/top-100-education-blogs (This list was compiled by Julia Osteen for "The Power of Web 2.0 Tools: A 21st Century Learning Experience) How to add feeds to Google Reader: **  •    Click on “Subscribe to this feed in Google Reader”   OR     •    Copy the url; go to Google Reader and add subscription by pasting in the url.
 * __ List of Education Blogs: __**
 * EduBlogs Magazine - Who are the Top Edubloggers? ** - http://magazine.edublogs.org/2008/01/28/who-are-the-top-edubloggers/ Pick someone from this list, check out their blog, then check out their blogroll to find other voices.
 * 2007 Edublog Award Winners and Nominees ** - [|http://edublogawards.com]