Saturday, December 13, 2008

Google Reader

One of the great things about blogs is that it allows for two-way communication. Sometimes, the writer learns from the reader. Such is the case today.

A week ago, I composed this post on using Bloglines to keep up with the various blogs that are of interest. Dave Sherman commented that he uses Google Reader. He mentioned that it works well with iGoogle, and I swear by my iGoogle page. For more on how to set up an iGoogle page, click here. Dave really got my attention when he used one of my favorite words: "easier."

So, tonight I gave it a whirl. Installing Google Reader was as easy as going to my iGoogle page and clicking "Add Stuff." Google Reader is simply another gadget. Below is a short YouTube video which explains Google Reader.



I was even able to import my feeds that I had already established in Bloglines. So far, I like what I see. For those who have an iGoogle page, adding Google Reader and subscribing to your favorite blogs may just be the way to go. Thanks, Dave!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are welcome, Frank. Have you used Google Notebook or Google Documents? I love these apps, too. I just posted about them on my blog.
http://blog109.org/communities/dsherman/default.aspx

Dr. Frank Buck said...

Dave,
I have not used Google Notebook, but I love Google Docs. At the beginning of last school year, we junked our pencil/paper system for maintenance requests in favor of one spreadsheet on GoogleDocs. Each principal has permission to enter items into the spreadsheet. The Maintenance Department completes other columns (date the job is assigned, who it is assigned to, the date completed, and comments.

Any teacher can view (but not change) the spreadsheet by clicking on a link on our teacher blog (http://TeachTalladega.blogspot.com).

I am working on an improvement to that that will allow principals to complete a form that will feed into the GoogleDocs spreadsheet. The next project after that is a form that will allow students to take tests on computer (using a GoogleDocs form) and have the answers not only be fed into the spreadsheet, but also have the spreadsheet grade them.

I will log my progress on all of this on the blog, hopefully later this week.

Thanks,
Frank