Sefer Surfer

RSS SOS - Info Overload? [Week 4, Thing 8]

I've known about RSS feeds for a while, even subscribed to a couple of blogs, but the only one I read regularly was the one my son wrote while he was abroad at an international ceramics seminar. Once he came home, I stopped checking the feed. It's all I can do to keep up with my email - to say nothing of the few bills, invitations, and notices that still arrive by landmail.

I guess I'm an anachronism. I still prefer reading a print newspaper to reading the news online. At least I no longer clip articles to send to friends. I go to the paper's website, locate the article and email the link.

The best part of this exercise was that I googled around looking for sites that have articles about and reviews of children's books that I like. I anticipate being swamped by RSS-fed posts and simply not checking them. I also anticipate that if I read it, the RSS-fed material will suggest lessons and programs. Maybe I'll start with a nibble and read a review per day.

Love that digital camera! [Week 3, Thing 7]

I love the immediacy of digital photography. I carry my digital camera all the time. As soon as I return home from an outing, I download new photos to my Macbook and send an email message with photos to members of the family. At school I've captured especially sweet moments of students in the library, like 5th graders reading to their kindergarten buddies. Then I email the snapshots to the kids' parents. I've also used digital photography to keep a record of bulletin boards I've created, or to show how we rearranged the library furniture to accommodate the annual bookfair. Having a Flickr account makes it easier to share large numbers of photos that would be an overload if sent as attachments. I will be moving soon, and I think I'll order cards from Flickr to announce my new address.

Getting Started with the Web 2.0 Tutorial [Week 2, Thing 3]

This is indeed my first experience with online learning, and so far, I like it! I am familiar with many of the Web 2.0 topics we'll be practicing, but I've never actually DONE them. I'm excited at the thought of mastering them well enough to use. My greatest challenge will be sitting myself down to do the "Things."