Journal #2 - Affinity Groups and RSS feeds

The Internet, especially social media, has made communication amongst professionals quite easy. No longer do we have to struggle to find others who we can bounce our ideas off of or exchange advice with when needed.

RSS feeds and Affinity groups have made this task seemingly more stress-free.  

This past week we were tasked with finding and joining an affinity group related to our line of work. When searching for a group specifically dedicated to teaching 4th grade I found myself becoming frustrated. The few that I did find were not very active and seemed to have information that I did not need. Feeling my stress level rising I decided to just turn to twitter, which I already use and love, to find a new 4th grade hashtag to follow. For me, Twitter is a quick way to get lesson/specific subject advice from fellow teachers from all over the world. If I am struggling to teach a certain topic I will send a tweet out and am almost always guaranteed a quick response with helpful tips.

While I did not find anything grade specific, I previously subscribed to a few affinity groups related to teaching. One affinity group I like is Renaissance Royals. It is a group tied to the Renaissance Place software I use in my class daily. They have suggestions on how to use the program in different ways, activities for teachers to complete to earn royal points, and advice from other teachers currently using the program as well. Although I find this group useful when I need help, it is not something that I check daily or even weekly. In short, affinity groups are great when I need them.

Similarly, the Digg feed that I cultivated specifically for 4th grade teaching was more cumbersome than useful. I needed quick subject specific information that I just couldn’t seem to find in any blogs or websites that I subscribed to.

I do however, enjoy using the chrome extension TweetDeck to follow all of my hashtags in one place at one time both for education and personal interests.

In summation I found my subject specific affinity groups and Digg feed to be more of a hindrance than help. I do love using both of these in my personal life, but professionally I will continue using them on an as-needed basis.

Q: Can I see RSS feeds and Affinity groups being used for PD within my district?

A: Yes! I would love to see these types of digital resources being used as PD opportunities within my district. Over the summer the tech department opened up a paid opportunity for teachers and administrators alike to earn a Google Certification. I along with many of my colleagues jumped at this opportunity. It was the first time I saw my fellow teachers excited about PD. This is where I would like to focus my learning as I move through the EMM program.

Q: Why do some users find RSS feeds useful while others don’t?

A: RSS feeds use “standard web feed formats to publish frequently updated information: blog entries, news headlines, audio, video.” For some this simple plain text format is useful and easy to sort through mass amounts of information. That is why so many people love Reddit.com. For others, like me, I need something more visually stimulating.