Week 3

Another week has come and gone, and yet another thing I have learned that I was very much unaware of! This week we explored what exactly Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed readers are. I can honestly say that I had never before heard of this. Hard to believe, I know! I imagine this is because I was not aware so I was not picking up on it when others talked about it or even when I would see that lovely little orange symbol. The whole idea is that you can subscribe to websites or blogs, so every time there is something new posted you are made aware on your personal feed reader, such as Feedly.

This is such a great idea! I can’t believe I never knew about it before! There are many, many websites I visit on a regular basis or have book marked to see if the information is updated. NO MORE VISITING BOOKMARKED SITES! :D

I have organized my feeder so I have the mandatory blogs for this course grouped together, and then I have some that are for fun and then just interest. I found the feeder fairly intuitive to navigate and change. Although I do think this is because I have grown up using the Internet and it’s applications. While looking around, I came across the blog ‘E-Learning Queen,’ she has been blogging for many years- which I also didn’t know was that popular all the way back in 2004! There were a few blogs in particular that caught my eye right from the start. The one is ‘Free Imagine Editing Programs: A Review.” She goes through a bunch of different tools that can be used. As I love pictures myself, I plan on reviewing these tools in the near future! I look forward to seeing what she comes up with in the not too distant future!

Not only is a RSS feed reader just seem to make life a whole lot easier, it is helping me to increase my digital citizenship! Feedly is helping to increase my digital literacy by learning about helpful new technology J. This type of technology is very useful if you are doing research, or just for personal enjoyment.

After learning all about RSS feed readers, there is really only one category of tool I can imagine them being in, in mine, or any Personal Learning Environment (PLE). I would categorize this as a search tool. But it is strange when I compare it to my other search tools. With them I have to go out and find information over and over again. With a RSS feed reader I have to do the research to find what I consider a quality source once, and then the information comes to me! I guess in a way it is a ‘reverse search’ tool. I am not sure if such a title deserves it’s own section? I would think not just because I would only need the one tool similar to Feedly to do this. It shall go under ‘Search’ in my PLE diagram! J

TTFN