Sample Google Calendar

This is a sample Google calendar of upcoming events in a classroom embedded into a blog post

RSS feed lab

Comment added to a blog:  I commented on the blog and told the author that I enjoyed their technology tip.  They mentioned teaching channel, a good place to go to get educational videos.  I also recommended in my comment that she, and the other readers of the blog, check out www.teachertube.com for more educational videos.

I really enjoy using and RSS feed and actually did so before I did this lab.  I enjoy the having everything in one place and not having to search around to 10 different web sites to see if anything has changed.  It is a much needed time saver in this fast paced world.  Across the three days that I observed the RSS feed, I found several different articles covering many different aspects of education.  One day I read mostly about the politics of education (which I don't really enjoy but is something I need to stay informed about regardless).  The other days were more enjoyable reading about teaching tips in the classroom and technology resources.

From tracking these different feeds I have learned about technology tips of things to use in the classroom such as teaching channel.  I have learned (and become a littler nervous reading) about Obama unveiling new student loan rules because so many recently graduated students are defaulting on their loans.  I also read a few articles about cyber-bullying.

Using the RSS feed content can help keep me up-to-date on several issues related to and involving education.  Being a teacher it also good to stay current on the things that will effect your career.  I could also see myself using this in the classroom.  If every student in the class had a blog that they worked with it would be very time consuming going to each one to see what every student wrote.  Using an RSS feed brings all the blogs to me so I can see when students update them.

The difference between traditional web pages and blogs

There are several difference between traditional web pages and blogs.  Almost everyone who surfs the web is used to traditional web pages.  They can be compared to stores what you would shop in.  People go in, they take a look around at what is there then leave.  The experience can be good, bad, or indifferent and there's always the chance (if the web page allows) for the consumer to buy something.  Blogs however are inherently different.  A blog is more like a newspaper stand.  It is in the same place every day but every time you go there you may find something different.  It is constantly changing with things being added to it and new ideas emerging. However one key feature that most blogs have that newspaper stands don't are the ability for people to make comments on blogs.  People can get in there and share their own ideas and comments on a given topic.  It's like reading that news paper you bought and then sending a letter to editor for everyone else to read with your views and opinions.  With the wonders of the internet, unlike with printed paper, this exchange happens instantaneously.