I just finished stage one in a grand experiment. I set up Bloglines accounts for every teacher in our district. Prior to handing them over I preloaded them with feeds in four categories: News, Education News, Technology Integration, and Content Area Feeds. I have been using Bloglines since this summer and have found it to be an absolute essential part of my day. Using Bloglines, or any other RSS aggregator, I have found my capacity to process large quantities of information has greatly increased. I have also found it to be an essential component in establishing an online learning community between other bloggers both in the education realm and out. I believe this tool will save teachers time, keep them informed on latest trends, and give many of them the same opportunity to connect with other educators to share ideas and form collaborations. I also see this tool becoming essential down the line. As more and more of our teachers take to blogs, wikis, and other web 2.0 media for student projects and assignments a tool like this will allow teachers to easily monitor, manage, and assess student work.
I am wondering if there are any other school districts out there that have tried a simmilar initiative with their teaching staff. Listed below are some of the feeds I included on these pages. Of course, I am always looking for suggestions that could be added to this list.
RSS Feeds by Topic and Content Area:
News:
CNN
Star Tribune
Pioneer Press
KTTC(local news)
The Republican Eagle (local news)
Postbulletin (local sports)
Pawprints (School Newspaper)
Education News:
Education Week News and Information
Teacher Magazine News and Information
Edweek
This Week in Education
Education Technology:
2cents (David Warlick's blog)
Dangerously Irrelevant (Scott McLeod's blog)
Techno Constructivist (my blog)
Moving at the Speed of Creativity (Wesley Fryer's blog)
One Trick Pony (Bernie Dodge's blog)
Weblogg-Ed (Will Richardson's blog)
Cool Cat Teacher (Vicki A. Davis' blog)
THE FISCHBOWL (Karl Fisch's blog)
Remote Access (Clarence Fisher's blog)
Education with Technology (Harry G. Tuttle's blog)
The Infinite Thinking Machine
Crucial Thought (Christopher Craft's blog)
Alan November Weblog
Kathy Schrock's blog
Marc Prensky's blog
Resource Shelf
Blogging Pedagogy: Computer Writing and Research Lab University of Texas at Austin
H I T - Hokanson’s Instructional Technology
SMARTboard feeds:
SMARTboard chat
SMARTboard Lessons Podcast
Teachers Love SMARTboards
Technology (not necessarily education):
Slashdot
Gizmodo
Science Feeds:
Wiley Interscience
National Center for Science Education
Steven Spangler
Music Feeds:
MENC
The International Journal of Music Education
Music Education News
Research Studies in Music Education recent issues
Music and Education blog
Music Education Magic (free sheet music)
Music, Technology and Education: Mustech.net
Admin Feeds:
Principal's Policy Blog
English:
The Open Classroom: Using technology, transparency, and discussion to transform education (Tom McHale's blog)
Ask the English Teacher (Crawford Kilian's blog)
WatsonCommon (Christopher Watson's blog)
The Open Classroom (Jo McLeay's blog)
Gardner Writes (Gardner Campbell's blog)
Social Studies:
World History Blog
IB Geography
Google Earth Blog
My Wonderful World Blog
socialstudies.org: Professional Development
Random Observations for Students of Economics(Greg Mankiw's Blog)
Econlog
Art:
The Art History Newsletter
smARThistory
Art Teacher's Guide to the Internet
Art 304
Art Ed + Web 2.0 + Technology Blog
Eye Level (Smithsonian)
Off Center (Walker Art Museum)
Art Teacher Forum
Art News Blog
ArTechTivity
PhotoshopBlog.net
The Photoshop Roadmap Blog
Math:
Mathematics Weblog
Math-Blog
Mister Teacher
Math Playground - Teaching in a Tech Savy World
Mathematics Education Blog
PE
Peaceful Playgrounds
Get Your Blog in Shape
Fizzikal: PE Sport and Physical Activity in Scotland
The Assistive Technology Blog
European Physical Education Review current issue
NAKPEHE.org
Spec. Ed.
Special Education Law Blog
SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER in WASHINGTON DC
Elementary:
marlyn's blog
EPGAGA
4 comments:
I was glad to find out your district was pretty small - that sounded pretty overwhelming for a large district!
While I think this is a good idea, my initial thought is that that is way too many feeds to give someone just starting out. I understand that they won't need to read the content area feeds that aren't in their content area, but I still think it would be overwhelming for most folks.
Despite that, here are three to add:
Admin - LeaderTalk
Math - Dy/Dan (Dan Meyer) and A Difference (Darren Kuropatwa)
Good luck.
I should have been more descriptive in my post. This list was a list of feeds that were included in some of our Bloglines accounts. At most a teacher had 38 feeds.
Carl:
Thanks for including Peaceful Playgrounds in your RSS Feeds for teachers post. We post M-F on the topics of childhood obesity, physical education, physical activity, children's health, schooling, playgrounds and liability.
Your teachers are lucky to have you!
This sounds like a great idea. I'd like to try it. I'd only be doing it for 23 teachers, pre-service, but I think it would be good for them to have these resources.
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