Thing # 7A and 7B: Google Reader Revisited

I have really enjoyed visiting my google reader several times over the last week or so. I find that I spend way too much time looking at all the things and realized that time has really flown by. The whole purpose of google reader is for us to skim through the things that interest us and pick and choose what we want to investigate further. I must feel really proud of myself, because all of the sites that I chose to have delivered to my reader were all great sites and again, I spent a lot of time looking through the items.

One of the first sites that caught my eye was the 60 Second Recap which provides book summaries in sixty second video segments. This site provides a sixty second summary of each chapter of each book. Along with the chapter summaries there is a general overview of each book. You can record a simple text response to the recap if you would like. I would think that students would really enjoy watching a short video segment rather than reading a book. The concept of 60 Second Recap could be used as a student project in which they create their own video recaps of the books they read. If students don't have access to a video camera, they could use a service like Animoto or Stupeflix to create their video recaps of the books they've read.


I also enjoyed looking at the pictures on Flickr Most Interesting Photos. This way you look at the photos that have been chosen as most interesting in the last seven days and you don't have to spend time sifting through all the photos. Again, I find myself spending a lot of time on this site as well. The creativity of the photographers just really make me wish that I could take pictures like this. Here is a picture that I especially thought was cute and brought you back to the basics: This photo is untitled and posted by: Meltem Ece Poyraz. Sifting through a lot of the photos posted on this site, I found more than just one photo that caught my eye.

Students don't take the time to watch the news or read the news. I feel that it is important for students to be informed of what is going on in the world. Another particular site that I enjoy and have started asking my students to check out is: CNN Student News for Thursday 5 November where there was an article where students could Examine what some financial trends might mean for the U.S. economy. They need to learn about how important trends can impact not only the U.S. economy, but their own as well.

I look forward to continuing to check my google reader even after this class has been completed. Not only have I found new sites for my students to check out. I have found sites that will assist me in developing ideas for journal topics and creating better lessons for my students to stay engaged and on task when I am teaching.