RSS and Blogs

I already had google reader set up for personal use so I took this opportunity to not only organize what I already had but to also add in the areas of philanthropy, advancement and education by both going to sites I usually frequent and doing a blog search. I was disappointed to learn there wasn't much out there on philanthropy and the only resource the Chronicle of Philanthropy (the advancement equivalent to the chron. of higher ed.) had available was a daily e-newsletter with a round up of various stories on the topic. The applications for Marymount to use rss to communicate with our local neighborhood, alumni, students, parents and even donors are unexplored and I hope our new website will support this function.

Blogs and rss are also a great tool in education not only to impart information but as a resource for ongoing learning. Imagine having a class blog to go to even after your class has ended or your textbook is out of print. As an art history major in college I particularly enjoyed discovering smarthistory.org and would have found it a great resource during my own studies.

This morning when I logged on to google my favorite blog post was Some Students Swear off Facebook for Lent from the Wired Campus on the Chronicle of Higher Education site. We'll have to ask Father Mark and Nassif if they approve.