SSR+Meets+RSS+-+Making+Reading+Time+Relevant

Presenter: Aly Tapp Time: 10:30 - 11:15 Room: Auditorium Contact:

__Description of Presentation__ We know that reading is good for everyone, but we often prescribe exactly what reading must be -- on paper, in a book. Many students resist. Make reading time relevant! Connect your students to the world of blogs via RSS feeds. They pick the content and then tune in to read the latest. Sports, recreation, politics, humor, teenage life -- give them something they WANT to read, and then watch that wonderful interaction between human and text.

What is RSS? media type="custom" key="2966752"

Considerations:
 * Let them search?
 * Gather their interests and search for them?
 * Either way -- Google -- More -- Even More -- Blog Search

Assessment:
 * Traditional
 * Blogging in response

Blogging of session:
 * RSS analogy to shopping for computers:Rather than go to see the latest and greatest, the latest and greatest comes to you at home
 * Steps for RSS:
 * Step 1: Get a reader like Google Reader (others include netvibes, bloglines, pageflakes, and more)
 * Step 2: Sign up for an account with Google
 * Step 3: Go to "more" at the top of Google page and go to "reader"
 * Step 4: Subscribe to blogs, anything with RSS feeds


 * Shared her page with subscribing blogs on the left, and one example Teach 42 (Steve Dembo from the DEN-Discovery Educator Network)
 * For reading, she set up a Google Form for the students to add what they were interested in as topics
 * Used Google Blog search (go to even more at the top of Google) to find related blogs, requires teacher review for appropriate posts
 * May want to do a parent letter notifying them of the use of blogs
 * As coach, Aly goes in once a cycle with the CFF teachers to work with students on SSR via RSS
 * Students are reading what they are interested in, actual SSR
 * She provided the titles for the students via a protected wiki, rather than them searching for their interest on their own
 * Student reflection, teachers can still do traditional journaling, journal in Moodle, or use student blogs (21classes.com)