Educating the Educator

I am trying not to be negative about this process of discovering blogging. It seems to be like any other discipline-in order to make sense of the simple directions, you must first make sense of the jargon used to explain something. Take RSS feeds. I understand they allow you to subscribe to something and receive a notification when something new has been posted. I can't seem to figure out the entire process of how this all works. I looked at the sites listed by Denvy and still have been unable to understand exactly what it is I need to do.

I am persistent though and so will probably call my 10 year old niece and ask her to explain it all to me! Really, how did I get so far behind on the use of technology? I used to be able to write basic programs and then somewhere along came the internet and I lost interest in this virtual ability to connect with a virtual world. Why would I connect virtually with people when I don't even like to connect face-to-face at a personal level? Looking at technology for professional use is a new adventure for me. I really like what I have been discovering. It will allow me to connect with students - something I am passionate about.

So why will I stick around to figure all this out? Because at some level I realize this can make my life as an educator more effective. I have been looking for a way to create better connections with my classes and this may allow me to do this. It's for the students' who will benefit that I will persist and eventually master RSS feeds - or at least figure out if they would be helpful to my students.

Anybody willing to help me out with RSS feeds? In other words explain it without the jargon?

Still Not There Yet

I have a friend who keeps a family blog. She logs in about once a week, posts pictures, and writes about what is going on in her family. At the end of the year, she sends her entire blog to a site that takes everything and puts it into a nice book. In a sense she is creating a digital record of her family. I think it is great-for her.

As for me-I am still not convinced blogging has a place in my life or career. I am not sure I like the idea that anyone can read what I write for one thing. I suppose I still have not created a purpose for doing this other than as a class assignment. I am glad I am trying it out, but for some reason I am not connecting with this form of communication. I think I would rather create a group email list and send out information via email rather than post it on my blog.

What am I missing here?