SHSU Blogs and Blog Reader Assignment for LSSL 5391

Blogs  and Blog Readers

Digital Tech for School Librarians 

LSSL 5391

RSS(Really Simple Syndication) are XML files that are read by a computer to update information. This information is then fetched by a user’s RSS feed reader and is then converted and updated from websites into an easy to read format. For people that use blog posts, news articles, and much more, an RSS feed reader is a great way to organize it all. Once you have this, everytime a website posts new content, you will be alerted without having to go into another individual website again. These sites are great examples for a library media specialist to include in their technology lessons. Some of the best  RSS feed readers are Feedly, Inoreader,NewsBlur, Feedreader Online, Feeder, and Good News.

I selected Feeder https://feeder.co/reader because it was very simple to navigate. Not just that, but it had a lot of tutorial videos straight from youtube posted on the homepage to help users better navigate the page. For example, how to use keyword filters, how to search stuff, and how to get notifications about important things. All those videos were very helpful. What I really liked also was the different display settings there were to choose from. When searching for feeds the following are some options from the website: Web and RSS, Tech, Marketing, Business, News, Startups, Comics, Gaming, Food, Design, and so much more. 

Another good feed reader that was easy to navigate was Feedly. It was easy to navigate and the use of the AL assistant was a good feature. The only thing was I was trying to use some other features and it wasn’t part of the “free” version. 

 At first I thought Inoreader was going to be difficult to navigate, but I got the hang out of it. A cool feature I liked was the “read later” tab. The tabs on the side of the website are dashboard, read later, library(where you put the ones you liked or starred) and Team. The Team tab is nice since it allows for collaborating if one would be working with others. The feeds tab allows the user to add new articles.

The following are some great articles I found using Feeder:

1. Library of Congress Blogs 

https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/

This blog had so many great connections with the library of congress and TIMELES stories from the Library of Congress.

     2.    The MHMS Daring School Library Blog

https://daringlibrary.edublogs.org/

I had so much fun navigating this blog. I’m thinking its a fun  librarian who created this. It is meant for her school but it has so much great information. It also shows how this blog won an award for best educational use of a virtual world.

        3.     Awful Library Books

               https://awfullibrarybooks.net/

This site shares a collection of library holdings that the librarians that created this page find amusing or questionable for libraries trying to maintain a current collection. Very interesting how the posts come from looking into library catalogs and from submitters from all over the world. 

4. Knowledge Quest Journal of the American Association of School Librarians

    https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/

This site has very informational blog topics on several items like advocacy, leadership, collection development,community/teacher collaboration, makerspaces /learning commons, and many more. I think all these blogs are very school related and beneficial for librarians.

 5. 21st Century Educational Technology And Learning 

     https://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/

This blog is ran by Michael Gorman who has won and who has continued to win many numerous accomplishments. He maintains his award-winning 21centuryedtech Blog and also posts articles at Tech and Learning Magazine and November Learning. He also continues to advocate for teachers and students while concentrating efforts at transforming education and bringing 21st Century Skills to every classroom.

Check out my tumblr 👏: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rgvteach