Thing #5

I am sitting in Fredericksburg Inn wondering why I am struggling with Thing #5 when I could be shopping!!! This was a difficult learning activity for me because I couldn't seem to make things work like they were supposed to work. I do love the idea of RSS, but at first I thought. "Oh, this is just another place to make a bookmark." Of course, the more I read and experimented, the more I realized the benefits of this tool. I think it will be especially useful once some of my teachers start blogging with their parents or students. It will be nice to know when there is an update without constantly searching that out. I have one blog I have been following the last few weeks by an old high school acquaintance who has been diagnosed with cancer. I have been inspired by her positive attitude and by her uplifting words, so I find myself checking for her post each day. I am always a little disappointed when I open it and see it hasn't been updated yet. Google Reader and RSS just solved that problem! I admit that I felt a little like a stalker at first (reading in on someone else's life), but this class has already help me see how a blog opens the doors for communication---sharing, thinking, supporting, laughing, and crying with others around the world.

I could not get the third required feed or the two stretch feeds to do anything I wanted them to do. My "helpers" weren't much help so I am moving on at this point.

I did find a site about children's books that I have subscribed to and am looking forward to learning from that site. Eric Carle just turned 80!!! I can't wait to see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs!!!

http://childrensbooks.about.com

I did try to subscribe to a couple of other sites but it would not work. Maybe they were not sites that have new information posted or maybe I was not doing it correctly, but it worked for me on other occasions. I tried to go to Oprah's Book Club and I tried Mesquite Local Weather.

Oh well....on to Thing #6!!! Yipee!