While the Friday News is both interesting and informative, it fails to take into account all the things that a history teacher should be aware of. Many times there is pressure for a teacher to stay at least ten steps ahead of the curve when it comes to current events. This requires an understanding of what is going on, why it is going on, and how to talk about it. It seems a bit backwards for me to get my news from my students despite the enjoyment of them being able to present something new. I may have played dumb several times and had students suggest new topics that I let them carry on about buti would have felt very uncomfortable not having a firm grasp in the material before hand.
The beauty of an RSS feed means that rather than having to surf and search, I can sit in one place and let the news (from a variety of sources) come to me where I can do all may reading and preparation.
I think RSS can help increase the serendipity that some say is lost when we search for information online; I follow a lot of feeds, and I know I end up discovering things I otherwise would have missed.
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