Subscribing to MCDA Leadership Blogs in a RSS Reader

If you don’t know what RSS is or how it can save you time when viewing blogs, watch the short video at the link below for a summary of RSS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0klgLsSxGsU

As the video says, there are two steps to getting RSS to work to your benefit by saving you from visiting each blog you follow.

Step 1:  Create an Account for an RSS reader.

If you do not already use an RSS reader, I would suggest using Google Reader (http://www.google.com/reader/)  to collect your RSS feeds.  If you already have a Google Docs account (a personal account or through your school), then you can sign into Google Reader with the same login ID and password as you would for your Google Docs and Google Drive.




Here is the link to Google’s Getting Started Guide for Google Reader that includes more information about Google Reader if needed.  

http://support.google.com/reader/answer/113517?hl=en


Step 2: Subscribe to the Blog you want to follow (especially the MCDA Leadership Blogs!)

Here’s where the new MCDA site confused me.  I spent several minutes examining the leadership and R&S blogs for an RSS icon or any link that looked remotely like a RSS subscription.  After confirming that none were there, I investigated the help files of our website and found the following links that will allow you to subscribe to our blogs in Google Reader or another RSS reader.

After you have logged into Google Reader, click the red subscribe button on the top left corner of the screen, then copy and paste one of the links below into the box that appears.  Click the add button next to the box and you should see the contents of the blog on the right side of the page.  To subscribe to another blog, repeat the process with the next link.

MCDA Leadership Blog: http://moacda.org/leadershipblog/rss.xml

MCDA R&S Blog: http://moacda.org/rs-chair-blog/rss.xml

You will now be able to view the contents of both blogs in one place and see any new blog entries you have not read.

Beyond the MCDA website:

Once you have your RSS reader set up with the MCDA blogs, you may feel brave enough to subscribe to some other choral or music education blogs to follow them as well.  The advantage of RSS is that it collects the content for you.  You can view many blogs by simply going to your RSS reader.  It will display any blog post you have not read and you can click on the title of the blog entry if you want to visit the original web page.

Other sources for blogs may include college/university choral departments, conductors, composers, and professional ensembles.  If you have a favorite school, conductor, or ensemble, they may have a blog that you can follow in your RSS reader.

Do you regularly follow any blogs that our membership should know about?  

Please share your favorite blog with our membership by adding a comment to this blog entry.

Student Membership Drive

Thanks to ACDA National, here is another great opportunity for MO college students!  Membership for one year is now only $5!  PLEASE share with a student you know so we can bring more people into our organization.  Once they've experienced the rich benefits of membership, they will likely stay a part of this passionate network for a lifetime. 

http://moacda.org/student-membership/

Interesting Find

Hi everyone. For some strange reason, I found myself with a little time available for professional browsing this morning. (How did that happen?) Anyway, I found some good stuff in this blog and wanted to share.

I particularly enjoyed the "If You Can Talk You Can Sing?" post and the "Thoughts for an Educator". Lots of potential there for great discussion!

http://www.musicinall.com/

Enjoy!

Stephanie Fridley, Children/Boychoir R&S Chair

You Might Be a Choir Nerd

If your mental soundtrack for running includes Dodi Li and Ukrainian River Song, you might be a choir nerd. If you’re caught at a red light doing warm-ups instead of air drums, you might be a choir nerd. If you look forward to the upcoming ACDA national conference as if it were a Caribbean cruise, you might be a choir nerd.

I admit it. All of the above applies to me – I am definitely a choir nerd. And I am especially excited about going to Dallas in March and not at all ashamed to own up to it! If you have never attended a national conference, you should check out the information on the ACDA website. Until the 2011 conference in Chicago I had never gone to a national conference. After the first day I was wondering why in the world I had not done it sooner. The literature and programming ideas I brought back from the reading sessions and concerts were reason enough to go. And then there were the sessions – tips and techniques from internationally recognized experts. Finally, there was the sheer fun of hanging out in a great city with thousands of other choir nerds!

At my school, “choir nerd” is a badge of honor. So, if you’re not too busy in March, head on down to Dallas. All the cool kids will be there!

MCDA Children's Choir/Boychoir R&S Chair - Stephanie Fridley

http://acda.org/Editor/assets/2013%20National%20Conference%20Schedule.pdf

http://acda.org/Editor/assets/REG%20and%20INFO.pdf

ACDA Conference Scholarship for Students

ACDA National Office is providing scholarships for free registration to the National Conference in Dallas. Our State will be distributing four scholarships to applicants. Please encourage students you know to apply here before Dec. 15th and to attend the National ACDA Conference in Dallas.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?pli=1&om=true&richtext=false&formkey=dHBoNjZ5WHBmOWJtQ1haZTJET0ZLM1E6MQ#gid=0