I had used RSS my senior year of high school for my Contemporary Global Issues Class. It might have been my case of senioritis, but I didn't really understand fully how an RSS worked. Flash forward to college and doing a research project meant either looking around aimlessly on the Internet or hunting around the campus library. The RSS feed is a great tool in aiding those in the research process as well as people who just want information about topics that interest them. In almost all of my classes, we keep hearing about individualized instruction and how we need to start tailoring the curriculum to meet each child's needs. Incorporating RSS into the classroom could do just that. Students could not only have a bit of free rein on what topics they want to learn about, but they would also learn how to become better researchers. I feel that an underlying theme throughout reading this book is to ultimately give our students more independence with their own education. I don't think incorporating this type of technology would in any way make a teacher become a facilitator. We are merely showing students the tools that might enhance their thinking.
As a result of my thinking in regards to RSS, it would be neat to do a research project in which the students would use the "general" methods of finding their information. I would then introduce RSS and allow them to work with that. After they've had time to work with each different mode of investigating, I would allow them to choose which one they wanted to continue on using. I believe one of the most effective ways for students to make the best decision for themselves academically is by allowing them to try different things. Maybe they would like the old school way of looking things up and that has a place in research as well, but they would also be able to see the world of information and resources they have available right at their fingertips.
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