Thing #8

Once again I am excited to learn about something that I have been seeing for a long time--RSS. I am beginning to feel "in" as far as technology is concerned. My Google reader included folders with blogs for science, news, technology and "fun stuff". It was very easy to set up and organize into folders.

As far as my classes are concerned, I will use Google reader to help me keep students apprised of current events. I plan to ask a question via my blog about some current research article regarding either a concept that we have already covered or one that I expect AP students to have prior knowledge about. One of the science blogs is from Nature, one of the premier journals in science. Hopefully, the real world of research in science will heighten awareness of the burgeoning knowledge base in biology. This type of assignment could also be issued to freshmen biology students by wording the question differently or referring them to a publication such as Science News that is less in depth.

I am clearly not a librarian, but as one who expects students to use the facility, I anticipate students needing access and assistance in researching answers to questions I ask or scenarios that I give them to analyze. Most of the freshmen that I teach would absolutely need direction as they begin to use blogs. I have observed that students are quite familiar with using
computers on a personal level, but to research specific ideas from sites that are reputable is a different level of usage.