Set Up an RSS Reader and Add Feeds
So everyone participating in Learning 2.0 - 23 Things for Teachers now has a blog and we told you to read your fellow learners’ blogs. Are you thinking, “What, I have to click on 40+ bookmarks to see if anyone has updated?!? Forget it; waaaay too much time.”But what if you could visit all those blogs and more information sources in just one place and all at the same time? Would that be valuable to you? Well, you can! A lot of smart people out there who like to keep up-to-date and save time have created services to make it easy to follow your favorite blogs and other information sources. It’s called RSS.
RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication.” It is a file format for delivering regularly updated information over the web.
In the information world, RSS has changed the way news, media, and content creators share information, and it is changing the way everyday users are consuming information. Join the revolution by setting up a RSS reader (sometimes called an "aggregator") for yourself. These discovery resources and exercises focus on learning about RSS feeds and what free tools you can use to do this.
Discovery Resources:
Watch this video - RSS in Plain English
It Really Is Really Simple: RSS for Educators
(article)
YouTube video: RSS Explained
Getting Started Using Google Reader
Discovery Exercise:
1. Create a free account with Google Reader..
2. When your account is set up, subscribe to at least 5 different feeds that you will WANT to check every day or so.
TIP: Do not select any predefined information channels during the set up process. If you do, your reader will be pre-populated with a lot of feeds that you may not be interested in.
Some feeds to consider when subscribing:
Do I Dare Disturb the Universe?
4. Create a post in your blog about this exercise that answers these questions:
- What do you like about RSS and newsreaders?
- How do you think you might be able to use this technology in your school or personal life?
- How can teachers use RSS or take advantage of this new technology?
- Optional: If you're up to the challenge, create a public page with Google Reader. Why have a public page? To share your blogs with others!
