One of the ways that I stay up to date with the latest in ed tech is subscribing to numerous ed tech blogs. I used to use Google Reader to manage all of my RSS feeds. However, since the death of Google Reader, I switched over to Feedly. I like this option with its simplistic user interface as well as the variety of options for saving and sharing content. When I was reading one of my RSS feeds, I came across an article about Spritz. This company has some great technology that is supposed to help with the number of words you can read in a minute as well as improve your comprehension. Being a former 1st grade teacher, I had to check this out. Using their technology, they eliminate the need to track words from left to right. They provide you one word at a time with a single letter in red to focus your eyes. You can choose the rate at which you would like the words to appear. To use Spritz with your RSS feeds, you need to create a free account on The Old Reader. When you have completed this step, you can choose to import your current RSS feeds. Since I used Feedly, I was able to click "organize" and then scroll to the bottom where it gave me the option to "save as OPML." After I had exported all my subscriptions into the OPML format, I returned to my The Old Reader account and selected import. I then located my OPML file and presto! After giving a few minutes for all the subscriptions to update, I was able to go into The Old Reader settings and locate the option to enable Spritz. After enabling Spritz for speedy reading, I returned to my subscriptions and a "Spritz" button appeared at the top of each post in my feeds. By clicking on the "Spritz" button, my article was then presented to me using Spritz's technology. I haven't used this a ton yet but am looking forward to seeing how this works when reading through a plethora of RSS feeds. This will be interesting to see how this technology could be applied to the classroom setting. Share This:
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Andrew FenstermakerInstructional Technology Coordinator | Innovation Coach | Google Certified Innovator | Presenter | Blogger | Adjunct @UiowaEducation | Owner @kids_f_i_r_s_t |