A little Housekeeping with Google Reader

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. --Hans Hoffman

As the fall semester draws to a close, I decided to review my use of Google Reader and do a long overdue clean-up.

I went through all my subscriptions in my Teacher-Librarian folder and deleted a few feeds that are either inactive or that, when I reviewed the blog and checked my "trends", I found I wasn't ever reading. Next, I renamed the remaining blogs according to author. I have always found it disorienting to read a blog only knowing it's title rather than the author. Here is my newly renovated folder:

Going through and visiting these blogs one by one was a good way to catch up on a few things I've missed and it reminded me of why I'm reading these blogs to begin with! Here, I found a great check list helping kids to conduct research (Diigo bookmark!) and here I found some useful information on a plug-in called Google Cloud Connect which may finally help me overcome the home vs work document disconnect!

Which blogs do you regularly follow for education/library? I'd like to know what I'm missing out on!

References

Jones, L. (2011, November 6). Deconstructing research [web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.shelfconsumed.com/2011/11/deconstructing-research.html

Whisen, G. (2011, July 9). Google cloud connect [web log post]. Retrieved from http://ideaconnect.edublogs.org/2011/07/09/google-cloud-connect/

Using Shortcuts in Google Reader

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --Leonardo da Vinci

Google Reader is an essential tool for decluttering your online workspace. I now have 35 subscriptions in Google Reader, most of which are related to my Masters degree, with a few personal interest blogs thrown in there for good measure.

This post on Gigaom highlights a few ways to get the most out of using Google Reader. I tried out the suggested keyboard shortcuts. These are a few that I like:

Shift+? = a list of shortcuts
j = move to next item
k = move to previous item
space bar = page down
f = full screen mode
v = view original post

Because I am in the habit of saving useful blog posts to Diigo, I haven't been using the star (press s) function. However, I may try it out to highlight posts that need a more careful read.

I also checked out my "Trends" for the first time. Very interesting. Free Technology for Teachers is my "most read" blog, along with the blogs of my classmates. Blue Skunk and Cool Cat Teacher also rate up there. What else is getting my attention? Cute overload. I can't seem to help myself.

References

Foster, D. (2010, September 10). 5 tips for getting the most out of Google reader [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://gigaom.com/collaboration/5-tips-for-getting-the-most-out-of-google-reader/

Web Tool #1: Google Reader & Blogging

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. --Mahatma Gandhi

Will Richardson (2010), an authority on web tools for teachers, states that “if you’re an educator, I think it’s the one technology that you should start using today, right now, this minute” (p. 71). Here's a look at the concept of RSS aggregators in simple terms:

Setting up Google Reader this summer was the first step I took towards building my Personal Learning Network, and I am quickly discovering that it is an efficient and powerful tool. I intend to use Google Reader not only as way to follow my interests, but also as a way to learn about the art of blogging itself.

References

Lefever, L. (2007, April 23). RSS in plain English [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0klgLsSxGsU&feature=player_embedded

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousands Oaks, CA: Corwin.