RSS+Feed

=Lesson 5: Part 2= =Organizing the Flying Monkeys: RSS Feeds=



A computer with internet access. That's it!
 * Equipment Needed for this assignment:**

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication". It is a way to easily distribute a list of headlines, update notices, and sometimes content to a wide number of people. It is used by computer programs that organize those headlines and notices for easy reading. Most people are interested in many websites whose content changes on an unpredictable schedule. Examples of such websites are news sites, community and religious organization information pages, product information pages, medical websites, and weblogs. Repeatedly checking each website to see if there is any new content can be very tedious. Email notification of changes was an early solution to this problem. Unfortunately, when you receive email notifications from multiple websites they are usually disorganized and can get overwhelming, and are often mistaken for spam. RSS is a better way to be notified of new and changed content. Notifications of changes to multiple websites are handled easily, and the results are presented to you well organized and distinct from email. RSS works by having the website author maintain a list of notifications on their website in a standard way. This list of notifications is called an "RSS Feed". People who are interested in finding out the latest headlines or changes can check this list. Special computer programs called "RSS aggregators" have been developed that automatically access the RSS feeds of websites you care about on your behalf and organize the results for you. (RSS feeds and aggregators are also sometimes called "RSS Channels" and "RSS Readers".) Producing an RSS feed is very simple and hundreds of thousands of websites now provide this feature, including major news organizations like the New York Times, the BBC, and Reuters, as well as many weblogs.
 * Step 1: What is an RSS feed?**

This short video explains the usage of RSS feeds in a clear and funny way. media type="youtube" key="0klgLsSxGsU" width="425" height="350"

Other Helpful RSS Videos: [|What is RSS Feed and How Does it Work] [|RSS by Sage Rock]


 * Step 2: Educational Uses**
 * Follow your student weblogs with an RSS aggregator to save time instead of visiting each student's site.
 * Use RRS feeds to gather items based on keywords and topics useful to class work and projects.
 * Students can use an RSS agregator to monitor current events.

1. We will use one of the better known RSS aggregators, [|Bloglines]. 2. Create an account using the "sign up" link. 3. Reply to the confirmation email. 4. When the new window for Bloglines opens you will see a list of items from various interests. 5. Click on a few you have an interest in. 6. After you add the items you will see your main Bloglines page. 7. On the left under additional features you will see categories for additional items you can subscribe to with one click through Bloglines. 8. On the top left under the "Feeds" tab I can click on each item I have subscribed to and the posts I have not read will appear on the right. 9. I can mark these as read or save individual posts by clicking on "save new" to the bottom right of each post. 10. The saved posts will appear in parenthesis to the right of each RSS feed title. 11 Clicking on "Add" under the "feeds" tab allows me to add new feeds from blogs, podcats, websites, et cetera by inputting the address of the item I want to follow. 12. Clicking on the "edit" under the "feeds" tab allows me to group my RSS feeds, delete feeds, and organize them in a way that suits me.
 * Step 2: Set Up Your Own RSS Feed**

[|Bloglines Help]
 * Step 3: RSS Links**

[|RSS: A Quick Start Guide for Educators]