Using RSS, Bloglines, and Furl

Okay, we're going to step it up on our blogs this semester. There's a lot of information out there that can be a great asset to our class, but we'll need to find beter ways to use it efficiently. We're not looking to "surf" the web, but rather to use the web to gather information. For our upcoming research paper, we'll use online resources extensively. This will mean much more than just "googling" a topic (although I am a big google fan--google maps are the best.*)

We're going to look at a few online resources that will help you "work smarter, not harder." With RSS, you won't need to spend your time searching in vain. RSS brings the news to you. Bloglines lets you subscribe to your usual websites (and your classmates blogs). We'll look at how to find "feeds" from news media, blogs, google searches and more.


We'll run through some of this in class, and we'll start the Presidency unit with a "baby" online research paper using our blogs, RSS, and bloglines. This will serve as good practice for our upcoming policy projects.

If you get lost, check with a member of your group and consult the website. Some of this will just take a little experimentation as we find what works best.


*Double True