Understanding RSS

RSS (Real Simple Syndication) is a way to bring information from various places on the web to you. Let’s say you have ten blogs you want to read. Without RSS, you have to visit the website of each blog separately; that’s ten sites a day if you are checking daily. With RSS, updates from all ten blogs can be collected into one site. You only have to visit one site rather than ten, so you spend more time reading and less time hunting for information.

One of the important things to remember is that none of these tools will help improve your teaching unless you actually use them. Using RSS feeds and an aggregator is a great way to integrate the resources available through blogs into your daily routine.

Reading

• Chapter 5: RSS: The New Killer App for Educators

Video

• RSS in Plain English

Key Information

• Setting Up The Old Reader
• Subscribing to Feeds with The Old Reader

List of Activities

• Activity 3-A-1: Subscribe to RSS Feeds
• Activity 3-A-2: Blogical Discussion Forum