Blogs and RSS

I think that everyone is very familiar with the concept of blogging. Blogs are websites that the writer updates, the posts appear in chronological order, with the top being the most recent. Users can comment on blog posts (about.com). My problem is what is an RSS? And how is it different from a podcast? Like podcasts, RSS feeders send the information to the user. The difference is that RSS feeders allow a user to view website updates without visiting the website, saving time checking websites that may not be updated regularly (Software garden). I have been using RSS during this course and I didn't even notice. On the homepage for my blogger account it allowed me to sign in blogs whose posts would display directly to my homepage. Each day I would only have to log into my blogger account to view the blogs I wanted to read. I expected following blogs or websites via RSS to be difficult, but it was so easy that I didn't even know I was using the technology.

The blogs that I chose to follow for entertainment were lol cats, lamebook, flickr blog, the blogs that I followed that relate to the class are ilibrarian, info-mational, and infodoodads. I found following the blogs really enjoyable, even the ones I read for professional development. I found ilibrarian to be especially relevant to the course. They had great blog posts on twitter, social networking, social bookmarking, and a lot of other topics we discussed in this course. Just today there was a post for adding multimedia to your blog. Following the blogs was really easy, especially with my RSS reader, it made it so that I could browse the blogs and if something interesting caught my eye I would read it. This course made me realize that most of the websites I visit on a regular basis for entertainment are blogs.

Schools can use blogs in a lot of different ways. Teachers can use it for themselves for professional development by following blogs they can learn from, to share lesson plans or teaching activities, or like I have been doing with this blog, try to educate people on new technologies or explore issues with teaching. The teacher can incorporate blogs into the classroom by posting information for the class or their parents on the blog, interact with the class on readings, books, or other classroom topics. Teachers can also use blogs as a way to display students art, stories, create a newsletter, or other projects. Blogs can also be used as a way of pointing students to websites that may be helpful for them. Students can create blogs of their own and use it to write and submit class assignments, complete journal entries, showcase work they are proud of, or discuss what was learned in class (Richardson, pg. 38).

As librarians we may have to assist teachers with starting up a blog. The first thing is to make sure that blogs can be accessed via the internet and are not sites that are blocked by a filter. Teachers need to be open to incorporating the technology into their classrooms, if the teacher is not open to the technology then it will not be used to its full potential. Teacher librarians should be available to offer help to teachers who need help with their blogs, and should be proficient with the technology before they suggest that others use it (Gustafson, Chris).

Libraries can use blogs for many of the same uses. Librarians can use blogs to communicate with coworkers and keep them up to date. Blogs can also be used to communicate to users of the library. Through a blog libraries can tell about upcoming events, new books, services and resources, or changes that may be occurring (McIntyre, Alison; Nicolle, Janette). A public library in Time, Norway began blogging about building their new library as a way to get the public interested and gain support (the blog is in Norwegian, but it's kind of cool to look at the picture and plans of their new library). Plans, and press comments were posted on the blog to keep people up to date on the progress of the new building. This also allows people to comment on the building process (Lund, Vidar).

For smaller libraries using a blog instead of a website can be a good way to make sure that content is regularly updated, and it does not require as much knowledge of technology as the maintenance of a website. Not only is it easy to update but it allows users to give feedback to the library and makes the site more interactive. Libraries that use blogging software to create their websites don't have to make it look like a blog, there are many ways to customize the site so that it looks prefessional, especially with the use of wordpress. One library that has used wordpress to create their website is Troy public library. The use of blogging software to create and maintain a library webpage is a good idea for any library, but libraries in rural areas stand to benefit the most. Often small rural libraries do not have the kind of tech support that libraries in urban areas have. Blogs allow small libraries to have a polished up to date website without needing extensive technological knowledge (Farkas, Meredith).

Richardson, Will. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms.

Blogging in the Library. Gustafson, Chris. Library Media Connection, Nov/Dec2008, Vol. 27 Issue 3, p56-57, 2p.

Biblioblogging: blogs for library communication. McIntyre, Alison; Nicolle, Janette. Electronic Library, 2008, Vol. 26 Issue 5, p683-694, 12p.

Planning a new library with the aid of blogging. Lund, Vidar. Scandinavian Public Library Quarterly, 2009, Vol. 42 Issue 2, p24-24, 1p.

Our New Website Is a Blog.Full Text Available By: Farkas, Meredith. American Libraries, Oct2008, Vol. 39 Issue 9, p45-45, 1p.