Google+Reader

Google Reader Jared Haynes

After doing some research on Google Reader and what it actually does in comparison to blogs/news websites I can tell that there is a lot of potential in implementing this in an educational setting. What Google Reader does is uses RSS feeds to send information to you instead of you finding that information. For example, when I get on my computer to view the various blogs/news/sports/entertainment/etc. websites that I use sometimes it turns out that there is nothing new and I end up wasting valuable time I could be spending elsewhere. Google reader provides a situation where all of that information comes to you by setting up those sites’ RSS feeds into Google Reader. So instead of my logging into all of those sites to see nothing is new, all I have to do is log into Google Reader and it will show me what’s new and mark material that I have already viewed as old news.

What struck me as one of the most valuable benefits for this program is what it can do for teachers’ and their professional development. As we all like to point out, our learning as teachers never ceases to end. This website could easily be one of the biggest tools that we could us, for free, to help us with professional development. What I have found in the research of this site is that with the hundreds and hundreds of educational blogs that are out on the internet right now many teachers have begun using Google Reader to subscribe to all of them so that each time they log on they are presented with page upon page of new educational material that they can use in their classroom. This would also be a good tool for sharing and compiling articles and information for different classes. Students would be able to research different website on similar topics and compile them on their own Google Reader website to share with the class or with the teacher.