1 RSS: What does it mean for the classroom teacher? Martha Bogart & Ruth Block Cooperating School Districts 1460 Craig Rd. St. Louis, MO

2 What does RSS stand for? It depends! Some call it Rich Site Summary Others call it Really Simple Syndication

3 So, what is it? RSS is a text-based format, a type of XML. RSS files are often labeled as XML. RSS version 1.0 is also RDF (Resource Discovery Framework), which is important only because an RSS file may be labeled as RDF. By using XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language), these XML files can be converted to a much more friendly view.

4 What does it look like?

5 What about Atom? Atom is a format quite similar to RSS. It was created by people who felt that RSS could be improved upon. The basic difference is that while Atom is somewhat more complex (for producers of Atom feeds), it is also able to carry more complex information, and it is consistent across the syndication, storage, and editing of information. Almost everything regarding RSS applies equally well to Atom. You can learn more about Atom at the official website, AtomEnabled.org.AtomEnabled.org

6 RSS – Two Parts Feeds – These are the actual content items that are produced by web authors. These could be taken from blogs, journals, news sites, etc. Aggregators – An aggregator is a program or site that collects the feeds for reading. Aggregators can be installed as stand-alone programs, or they can be web-based.

7 Advantages of RSS By using an aggregator, you can read feeds from multiple websites in one location. No SPAM! No Pop-Ups! Most blogs now have feeds, and more journals and news sites are adding them. Organization!!

8 How to find RSS feeds Look for a button like these within a site:

9 How to find RSS feeds Or look for a button like this in your web browser:

10 Web-Based Aggregators BloglinesBloglines – Currently the most popular in this category. Newsgator Newsgator – Allows for delivery of content to Outlook. LitefeedsLitefeeds – good for PDAs & Mobile Phones Google Reader Netvibes Personalized Google Page My Yahoo! Page

11 Stand-alone readers SharpReader SharpReader – for Windows FeedDemon FeedDemon – Also for Windows NetNewsWire NetNewsWire – Good choice for Macs Straw Straw – Great for Linux RSS ToolbarRSS Toolbar – Internet Explorer & Firefox (Windows only)

12 RSS Via

13 The Most Complete List

14 Creating Feeds Most blog sites create the feeds for you Create them in Dreamweaver

15 Creating Feeds FeedForAll Moveable Type Create your own with XML.

16 Educational Uses Find updated government stats. News from the Dept. of Education Keep a class calendar Quote of the Day Updated government announcements

17 Educational Uses Science News Student Learning Journals Keep track of a Wiki Current School Events

18 Educational Uses Research Journals News, Current Events Book, Film, and Art Reviews Sharing Professional Resources Maintaining up to date resource collections Generate the latest assignments

19 People are talking about RSS 35 ways to use RSS 25 New Ways To Use RSS About.comAbout.com has some ideas Businesses Businesses are using it! Microsoft has an RSS blog!RSS blog

20 Set Up Your Own Bloglines Go to: and create an accounthttp:// See handout for instructions on how to subscribe to feeds