Thing #11

Now that I have a nice collection of RSS feeds, I'm ready to be much more efficient when I spend time on the internet. I simply plug in the URL of the sites I visit the most (I chose that method since I know those web addresses by heart) into my Google Reader account and off I go.

Google Blog Search was very easy to use and super helpful when looking for blogs specific to Spanish learners and speakers. I also happen to be a Google fan, so this opinion could be a bit biased. It also listed the most viewed blogs and videos which I found interesting. I try to stay up on current events and what all the rage is regarding trends, electronics, and controversies. This was a good way to search current blogs so I could decide if I would follow any of the search results or not.

I was surprised when I searched Topix.net to find that it pulled up the latest news from Clarksville, TN on the first page. It then let me search blogs but I would have to say I could get easily distracted reading local news instead of focusing on what I had set out to do - search for other blogs. Not a bad idea, though, mixing local news with a worldwide search engine.

The RSS feeds that I found useful other than the feeds I had previously decided on were: SpanishPod.com is a convenient way to learn Spanish using both audio podcast lessons and mobile study tools. I plan to explore this site in depth and find ways my students can use the site for additional practice. Woo-hoo - another resource! There are also ChinesePod, FrenchPod, and ItalianPod sites if one is interested in those languages. I also found caughtoffside.com , a sports blog that had great World Cup information. I can make this relevant in class by discussing which of the Spanish speaking countries participated in the World Cup and which teams were successful in the competition. Right now, Mexico is doing wonderfully - go Mexico! I have to do whatever I can to get my high school students' attention and make Spanish fun for them to learn.

I searched CNN news feeds for which I then subscribed and it is now my main news feed other than AOL. Maybe I wasn't very creative in how I searched for more news feeds, but I know which news sources I trust and I linked them to my Google Reader.