Module 8

I have been pleased by how easy Google Reader has been to set up and manage! I liked the way that the Web 2.0 blogs that I am following automatically became added to the list and this acted as an easy way for me to quickly access and read other peoples comments. I also subscribed to a few of my favourite sites very easily. I have been getting weekly email updates from some of these sites but can see the benefit of an RSS feed which I can check myself at any time. I like the way that the updates are very current, this is particularly good for news sites. In terms of an educational context the share feature is good for sharing whole or just part of websites which may be of interest or use to students or fellow colleagues. In teaching media (a subject which changes daily) I will consider getting my students to subscribe to the RSS feeds of particular sites and then start each lesson with 5 or 10 minutes of checking the feeds. I could then call upon each student to tell the rest of the class or a partner of something noteworthy that they found out. This would teach the value of accessing the most up to date information and also keep them abreast of any new developments. Lastly, in signing up to the Google Reader help channel it forced me to finally open my own You Tube account, something as a media teacher I should have done ages ago!