RSS Believer????

My RSS Feed

So if you asked me a couple of weeks ago I would have told you that following RSS feeds is a waste of time.  Why not just go to the websites you find interesting and look specifically for what you need.  Well, I admit it, I was wrong - take note of this I don't admit that often : )

I'm actually having fun checking in everyday to see what new information has popped up.  I've been using both iGoogle  and NetVibes to compare them in order to figure out what works best for me.  A couple of times I've gone to google something of importance only to be distracted by an article or post that has caught my eye - not sure if this is a good thing yet.  That was how I found a blog discussion on how to educate students about engineering and how we can improve STEM education to give students a true understanding of what the field involves.  Its been interesting to see how people from all over address this issue.  I'm interested to see if my department can try some of these tactics this fall.

I've also found several interesting articles on Forensic Science (which I will be teaching for the first time this fall) and DNA and even one on the evolution of potatoes!  I've pulled a couple of journal articles to use with my students for when we discuss authentic sources for writing papers and I've added a couple of new ideas for activities.  NetVibes seems to be easier to share with others and I like the format a bit better than igoogle.  NetVibes made it very easy to add my Twitter feed and Delicious links which makes it more useful than iGoogle.

One Blog that I followed prior to starting any classes at MSU was Bill's Blog - Bill is the director of FIRST and I would have to check his blog daily to see if there was anything new.  After adding his blog to my RSS feed I see if there is a new post on a daily basis without having to check multiple locations.  Nice time saver!

In the past I've been passive when it comes to Blogs. I didn't have a Blog before this summer and when I looked at someone else's Blog, I just read it and moved on. I officially made my first comment to a Blog this summer - I found an interesting opinion on teaching technology and how to encourage students to become engineers. The author wasn't providing a lot of answers, rather she was asking how educators could encourage students, especially female students, to explore engineering. My response centered around the fact that many of our students just don't know what an engineer is or what they do. I suggested several things which may help students to overcome this hurdle. Unfortunately, there hasn't been much other discussion associated with this post, but it did get my creative juices flowing for some of our classes.

For now, my RSS page will probably be used for personal use keeping me up to date on new topics in Science.  I can definitely see sharing it with my department in order to share resources - another good application for Delicious also.   I'd like to see how practical it is to use the RSS feed to help students find research, but that's something that will have to wait until school starts!