Create Your Own Educational Island Using RSS Feeds

Browsing the internet can feel like swimming in the ocean. One moment you are basking in the beauty of an inspirational story, or taking in the luxury of a blog post that opens your eyes to a brand new way of thinking. The next, a riptide of discrimination or infuriating ignorance sends you to the mental depths of the ocean for which there can feel like no return. Often I find myself distraught with the world from reading other’s disgusting comments online. It ruins my entire day. You know the kinds of things I’m talking about. 

Before I suggest a solution, let me say something. Ignoring the problems of the world is not a solution. I don’t want to just ignore the injustices of the world and that’s not what I’m suggesting. We must find times to internalize the problems of the world and take action. 

As educators, the internet offers paradise as often as it does hurricanes. There is an ever growing trove of information we can access to better serve our students online. But first we must cut through the noise whenever we need to and not get swept away. Since 2014, my personal solution to this has been RSS feeds.

What is an RSS feed?

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It’s a type of file that is easily read by any type of computer (phone, laptop, tablet)  that updates automatically. When you subscribe to a website’s RSS feed, you will be updated whenever they share new content via an RSS reader. 

Imagine that you could open up a newspaper every morning and have an entire paper tailored to you. You read only the authors you want, or only subjects that interest you most. Now imagine that paper is linked directly to the internet. When you subscribe to a website’s RSS feed, you could be updated every time your favorite authors publish a new blog, when the Met has a new performance video to share, or whenever your favorite poet publishes her newest work. 

A well tailored RSS feed is your own online private island. A place where you can seek what is most important to you without being swept up and distracted by the loudness of the internet. If you have a bad habit checking your phone in the morning, limiting it to only RSS feed content can be a consolation. It centers me and helps me stay focused on my goals for the day (admittedly not checking the phone at all is even more beneficial). 

How do I get started?

RSS was way ahead of its time when it was created and gained popularity in the mid 2000s (RIP Google Reader). I don’t know of anyone else who still uses RSS readers, but we are LONG overdue for a comeback. The noise on the internet is deafening, it’s easier than ever to get completely distracted from finding what is most important to you. Here’s how to get started:

1. Download an RSS reader to your device of choice. (Note: I am not affiliated with any of these links, these are my recommendations based on my experiences)
   • This will depend on your device. Since switching exclusively to iOS last year, I use Feedly. Feedly allows you to subscribe to its own content, RSS, Youtube and more. I personally use it for RSS feeds and nothing else.I also hear great things about Feedbin, if you are more prone to reading across multiple Mac OS devices (ipad to macbook, for example)
   • If you are an Android user, gReader is a beautifully simple reader that is most often recommended.
2. Subscribe to the feeds of your choice
   • This is somewhat app dependent, but for the most part it goes like this:
   • Find the RSS icon shown here on the website of your choice. It can typically be found in the bottom left or top right of any webpage that posts regular content.
   • Click on icon, copy website URL
   • Paste URL in to subscribing section of your RSS Reader of choice
     1. From now on, anything that is updated on their site to RSS goes directly to your feed.
3. Enjoy your own private island
   1. From now on, whenever you block out time to browse creative teaching ideas, or seek knowledge of other professionals in your field, you can do so without ever leaving an app. It’s that simple.

This can take a little time to set up, but once you do, the rest is automatic. Then you simply open up your reader while brewing your morning cup of coffee and enjoy some centering inspiration straight from the source- sans all the other notorious internet junk.

Enjoy the view

Remember how idealistically we used to fawn over the internet? I’m far from the first person to talk about its pitfalls, but this offers a practical solution. One that cuts through all of the mental exhaustion, the easy distractions, and the spiraling feeling of hopelessness that can come from too much wading in the waters of the internet. Building your RSS private island will take a little time and regular cultivating, but when you’re sipping pina colada out of a coconut while reading what inspires you most, you’ll thank me.