Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Discover RSS

OK. I finally discovered RSS. It's patently obvious that it's obviously useful to educator, student and random consumer.

My top 5 discoveries:
* it's built into Firefox (display RSS feeds)
* the acronym means "Really Simple Syndication" or one of a bunch of other similar things
* the feed is driven by XML
* it works with blogger.com
* it's the BEST way to get your news

I discovered that not only does Firefox on my Mac read RSS feeds, but so does a WIDGET for an amazing desktop tool called Konfabulator, or a dandy reader called NewsFire.

Right now, I've got a feed from:
* BBC
* MacNN
* Apple HotNews
* CNN
* Wired magazine
* and this blog!

Adding the feed to my WIDGET was as easy as copying and pasting a URL.

For more info.. Check out this site.

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Crystal Ball

What's next in tech trends? Will wireless access mean no need for wires in homes and schools? What happens to training and staff development?

Check out "We're Getting Wired, We're Going Mobile. What's Next? Fresh Ideas for Educational Technology Planning
ISBN: 1-56484-182.0
"Technology planning is tough," states author Bard Williams, Ed.D. "Building a good tech plan can have a huge positive impact on how technology is used in the educational environment. But we must make informed choices.” ISTE's new book We're Getting Wired, We're Going Mobile, What's Next? provides K–12 and higher ed decision makers with a measured and inspiring guide for exploring and evaluating new directions in educational technology.

More info here.