Thing #11 Finding Good Feeds

In previewing the various feeds, I have come to the realization that Google Blog Search is a very natural resource to utilize, especially when utilized from a more global perspective. You can easily search for RSS feeds by predetermined categories or simply conduct a user defined search for the items that you are most interested in. I have additionally found that Google Blogs returns a tremendous amount of resources, which is both good and bad. With this in mind, your searches need to be more detailed to reduce the amount of search returns, but I feel that this is the best resource for the classroom as it offers more diversity. Additionally, I really liked Topix from a personal perspective as it focuses on what is occurring in my surrounding areas. This allows me to quickly stay abreast of everything that is occurring by topic, especially those that I have not predetermined as topics I would like to focus on. I did not find much application for this program beyond the confines of my surrounding area.

I was very impressed with the Technorati layout; in fact I felt that their layout was more aesthetically pleasing. The site is easy to navigate and it includes both topic suggestions, along with top rated sites, and a recap of sites that have seen the largest recent decline in usage. Although its layout is similar to Google Blog Search, I felt that it did not offer the degree of versatility offered by Google Blog Search. On the flip side, I was least impressed with Syndic8 and Feedster. Both of these sites lacked the versatility of the programs listed above and they seemed to focus more on a business perspective than an educational one. Both sites offered a user defined search feature, with a few predetermined topics, but the layout was not user friendly and seemed to offer more text than features.

Throughout my search, I tended to seek sites that would provide feeds to my county of residence so that I may keep informed of current events. As I live in a smaller community, Google again offered the most options. Some sites did not even return any suggestions. I did decide to join a site of concerned parents that closely monitor the Cheatham County School System. Since I have a daughter in this school system, I felt that joining the site would be a good idea. The initially blogs seem objective, but it remains to be seen how true to form it will actually be.