TOP 100 TOOLS
Google Reader

Google Reader
is a
free web-based
reader
to aggregate and
read all your news
and blog (RSS) feeds.
Comments from those who selected Google Reader as one of
their Top 10 Tools for Learning Professionals in 2009
-
"I think I've tried just about every feed reader there
is, but I haven't found anything to beat Google Reader. RSS
is simply the best way to keep on top of everything
that's going on."
Barry Sampson
-
"Another way to keep oneself in touch with
the buzz. I probably subscribe to far too many
RSS feeds from blogs and other sources, but
scanning through them in Google reader,
especially on my pda, is another great way to
keep myself up to date."
Helen Whitehead
-
"I tried a lot of RSS-readers but this one is my favourite.
easy to maintain your subscriptions, great sharing options
and fast. This is the tool I used most frequently."
Marcel de
Leeuwe
-
"blogs wouldn't make sense
without it" Bill
Miller
-
"It's like reading 100 newspapers at once. Goes great
with coffee in the morning."
Rich Chetwynd
-
"allows me to pick which pulses I have my finger on"
Ian Usher
-
"for managing RSS
feeds"
Jay Cross
-
"The only way that I am
able to keep up with the things that I want to read.
Outsourcing my subscriptions and read/unread statusses
to Google makes it possible for me to use my laptop, my
cellphone or any random computer and see the same
information. I just wish there was an open source
project that would do the same and could run on my own
server."
Hans de Zwart
-
"RSS seems like magic to me, and I recently switched to
Google Reader because it seems so much more reliable
than other RSS readers out there."
Larry Ferlazzo
-
"Very useful to track all those blogs
where I can learn more about learning and share other
people thoughts and ideas"
Guy Boulet
-
"I was (and still am at
some level) a huge fan of Bloglines, but Google Reader
has captured my heart. I love the way it allows me to
scan and read and share awesome posts! Students can
share their research with me in a split second; this
is the BEST feature!"
Beth
Ritter-Guth
-
"the best feed reader bar none.
Customizable and simple to use as are most Google apps"
Kate Foy
-
"A great RSS reader ... I
prefer web-based readers to a reader on my local
machine. Easy access all over the web"
Andreas
Büsing
-
"While I used to use Bloglines, I find
the Google franchise provides a common look/feel for my
daily work."
Rodd Lucier
-
"Keeping up-to-date is a rapidly
changing field, and knowing what the market is saying
about learning, about technology, and about us is
critical for success. An RSS reader allows me to do that
without having to go to dozens of websites to see if
they've got anything new. Google Reader has been my
reader of choice for a year now. I can use it from any
internet-connected browser. I can organise things just
how I want. I can even share particular items, or whole
groups of items, with other people in many different
ways. I like the way it allows me to choose how I use it
- its flexibility.
"
Mark
Berthelemy
-
"The
ability to have web material pulled into one location
for review has made this my second must-have tool.
I routinely follow a dozen blogs,
another dozen technology feeds, and my delicious
network’s tags through my reader."
Britt
Wattwood
-
"News feed reader"
Daniel O'Shea
-
"is
my RSS reader of choice.
Last month I wrote about how RSS is one of my
primary personal learning tools. Reading RSS feeds
gives me a constant flow of information to absorb and a
route to interact with so many great people in the
blogosphere."
Christy Tucker
-
"Efficient
to have this reader coming up on my google home page to
be checked regularly"
Anne Paterson
-
"RSS actually. I use Google Reader manage my feeds. RSS
has really helped me stay up to date with new articles
of various blogs and sites that I track. I really like
this tool."
Manish Mohan
-
"My
rss reader of choice. Keeps me up to date on my
favorite sites. "
Kora Stoll
-
"It is a nice RSS feed aggregator. I
tried many alternatives, but it has very nice and simple
features that are missed in other tools like a short
summary of what is new in your feeds right on the front
page."
Daniel Lemire
-
"Still
use this great tool. It allows me to read all my key blogs in one format and in one place, and even
offline with the Google Gears browser plug-in."
Charles
Jennings
-
"Effective,
free tool for rss feeds. My
personalised news kiosk."
Stylianos
Mystakidis
-
"the
means for to keep my finger on the pulse without having
to break a sweat!"
Karyn Romeis
-
"Manages my RSS
collection online. Now I can access my RSS
collection from any computer device with Internet
access. However, I still use Omea Reader (offline
RSS reader) if the Internet access is a problem or
slow. They both serve their purposes to make my learning
more efficient."
Zaid Algasoff
-
"It’s my aggregator of choice and has become a personal
learning portal that I dive into most days."
Patrick
Mayfield
-
"To manage my RSS feeds"
Benjamin
Hamilton
-
"Used
every day. Simple, quick and connected to my other
Google tools."
Kevin Jones
-
"could not live without it"
Will
Richardson
-
"I store all my RSS feeds on Google Reader, it basically
sits there all day updating content live."
Mark Schumann
-
"Let’s me keep track of all of my RSS
subscriptions, is very easy to use, and I can access it
anywhere"
Jason Edwards
-
"Use it everyday to look at my feeds"
Harold Shaw
-
"At
first I didn't think I needed an aggregator. I was
using Safari as my reader, but it was limited to that
computer. Google Reader being integrated into the Google
suite made it my choice for a reader. I can't always
keep up on my RSS and blogs but it is easy to review
them when I have time using this tool. I haven't used
it with students yet, but see the potential of setting
up feeds for customized searches for different topics."
Kevin
Amboe
-
"Allows
me to browse fast through the feeds, search them, mark
those I want to get back to."
Andrea Back
-
"My
daily reading of news, blogs, technology, updates,
geography - it all gets delivered to my Google Reader
account."
Richard
Allaway
-
"is an absolutely
phenomenal aggregator. This is another of my
main source of web 2.0 updates daily. I use
the same search terms for each of the tools
I use, only expanding them as new concepts
and tools appear out of the “blue sky”."
Elaine
Talbert
-
" I use this feed reader for my numerous
blog subscriptions. It is easy to manage, and I like
its design."
Anastasia Prynikova
-
"having
feeds come directly to my reader saves enormous time.
I’m trying to introduce it to staff and students
individually to highlight its potential."
Jenny Luca
-
"All
my rss feeds in one place. The iGoogle widget makes it
easier."
Juan Antonio Ortiz
-
"Another
key tool for personal knowledge management and daily
learning. I hope to start taking more advantage of some
of the sharing functionality soon."
Jeff Cobb
-
"A great RSS
reader ... I prefer
web-based readers to a
reader on my local
machine. Easy access all
over the web"
Andreas
Busing
-
"It's the first page I open every
day. It allows me to easily keep track with current
thinking, and to join in conversations."
Mark
Berthelemy
-
"This is the best RSS reader I've found."
B J Schone
-
Hands down the best web-based RSS aggregator. This is how I
scan my world quickly and stay connected with my
communities of practice all over the world."
Brent
Schlenker
-
"I have long used an RSS reader of one sort or another and my current
reader of choice is the Google Reader. As always,
this selection will last until (a) some better
reader comes along, or (b) I finally get Edu_RSS (my
website software) working just the way I want it.
Until them, I use Google Reader to keep track of 400
or so RSS feeds ranging from school bloggers to ed
tech to new media."
Stephen
Downes
-
"I admit it; I check my Google Reader pretty
obsessively. I know that I simply wouldn't read and
learn as much without it. I star posts to remind
myself to review a post or write about it later. My
shared posts are shown on my blog to point out
interesting reads."
Christy
Tucker
-
"I like the Google
Reader because I can get through a lot of
reading quickly and usefully tag blog posts for
future use."
Janet Clarey
-
"I use Google Reader for
my learning blogs and
Bloglines for my non-learning blog. This way when I
am devoting time to see what topics my peers are
addressing I'm not lured to a non-learning blog"
Dennis Coxe
-
"All the news I
need to know about e-Learning in one place"
Cammy Bean
-
"It is a
nice RSS feed aggregator. I tried many alternatives,
but it has very nice and simple features that are
missed in other tools like a short summary of what
is new in your feeds right on the front page."
Daniel Lemire
-
"A
great tool. It
allows me to read
all the key blogs I
keep up with in one
format and in one
place, and even
offline with the
Google Gears browser
plug-in"
Charles
Jennings
-
"Great
aggregation app"
James Farmer
-
"I live in my feed
reader. I *never* browse the Web. I've switched away
from GR a couple of times but always come back."
Kevin Gamble
-
"I've started with
Bloglines, but later consolidated to Google Reader. I
really like its keyboard control."
Daniel Molnar
-
"The easy way to handle my
blog-subscriptions"
Michael
Prophet
-
"It is a good tool to
manage lots of feeds in an easy way. You can even share
them with others. I used Bloglines before, but I think
Google Reader is better. I also use the feed reader in Elgg to share some of them."
David Delgado
-
"
let’s me digest a ton of info quickly"
Matt Lisle
-
"Manages
my RSS collection online. Since I
discovered this tool I have given up on PC-based RSS
tools. Now I can access my RSS collection on any
computer device. Yummi!"
Zaid Algasoff
-
"a
bit overwhelming at times, but still the hands down best
resource for learning"
Patrick
Higgins
-
"Google Reader, Search, iGoogle &
NoteBook - An integrated set of online tools for
research, documents, notes, and a start page."
Mike Taylor
-
"Through blogs, we humans learn from each other
every day. Google Reader lets me quickly scan my
favorite blogs with keyboard shortcuts."
Gabe Anderson