Influential Blogs #ETCoaches Blog Challenge Week 4

It is Week 4 in the #ETCoaches Blog Challenge – the challenge is almost complete!

Part of the #ETCoaches Blog Challenge.
See my other weekly posts:
What is my Purpose?
Challenges and Successes
Current Tools, Problems, and Solutions
Influential Blogs
What is Next in Blogging?

Influential Blogs

I sort my most influential blogs into two categories. One is “Must Read” in my RSS feed reader, feedly, and the other is “Thought Leaders.”

Some of my favorites to share from those categories include:

Caitlin Tucker, Will Richardson, Cool Cat Teacher, MindShift, Robert Kaplinsky, Hack Education, TED Blog, Dangerously Irrelevant, Dr. Doug Green, stumpteacher, The Nerdy Teacher, The Tempered Radical, Angela Maiers, My Island View, and my favorite The Principal of Change.

spoiler alert: I share an OPML file with all the blogs I follow at the end of this post.

These are the two categories I read first. I often share posts from these categories out via social media. The content is always rewarding!

Blogs Followed

I have followed the blogs of all participants in this #ETCoaches Blog Challenge as they added their names to the Challenge document. When I follow a blog in my RSS reader, Feedly, IF This Than That sends a tweet that I have followed a new blog. I hope to share the blogs I find influential with those who follow me!

When I add blogs to Feedly, I take the time to categorize them right then. I often include blogs in more than one category. For instance, the blogs I add from this challenge found in: blogging, edtech, edchat. But when I want to look at posts for this challenge, I start with the smallest of those categories: blogging. To the right, you can see the posts from the last five days which display under blogging in my Feedly account.

I follow many blogs and often read them in this Feedly format which takes away the fancy platforms and lets me concentrate on the content of the post. I follow over 1,000 blogs (my feedly export is below). But that does not mean they all post daily – or even frequently – and that does not mean I read everything.

RSS Reader

I was an avid Google Reader user. It’s untimely demise was a rough spot in my blog reading. Feedly is the best option for me. Importing my content was easy. I admit, I do not go through my feed daily (I used to with Google Reader), however the interface is easier to navigate.

What really helped me get started in Google Reader was Clive Elsmore sharing his collection of educational blogs. I enjoyed instant curated content, I really did enjoy it! I have felt recently that I need to slim down the collection, but that starter material engaged me right away and helped me form a healthy habit.

I mention that as a way to offer my current followed blogs export file. It is based on what @clivesir shared with me, but it is more customized as well.

Here is my OPML file, with all the blogs I follow. Please feel free to download and upload into Feedly.

Here is how Feedly directs you to import the OPML file.

If you import this file to Feedly be sure to add one more ~ HotLunchTray.com!