{Session 3 Overview: STRONGLY RECOMMENDED}

So what IS RSS? One of simplest definitions I’ve read can be found on FeedDemon’s website:

RSS feeds (also known as “web feeds”) enable web sites to tell you when they have new content. Instead of visiting your favorite web sites to find out if they’ve been updated, you simply subscribe to them and let them come to you. And unlike email, it’s completely private - the sites you subscribe to know nothing about you, leaving you in control over the information that comes to you.

These web site feeds allow you to quickly access any new content from websites that you are interested in. In order to take advantage of the magic of RSS, you need a tool called a news aggregator, or aggregator for short. You may have seen buttons such as the ones below on various websites, and not known what they were.

Usually, the appearance of one of these or a similar button is a signal that the site offers a web feed(s) that you can subscribe to. Clicking on one of these buttons will take you to the feed itself.

There are many feed readers out there you can use. For this professional development, we are going to use Netvibes…not because it is necessarily any better than the others. But simply because it was the news aggregator that Atomic Learning uses in its tutorials. Once you sign up for your Netvibes account (see below), don’t only look for icons or buttons like the ones above, but also start looking for sites that have the RSS button below. It will be a one click seamless way to subscribe to feeds directly to your Netvibes account.

{Objectives}

1. Understand how RSS feeds and news aggregators help you to more easily access the web content that interests you
2. Create a Netvibes account
3. Subscribe to at least 2 news or blog feeds on the Internet that interest you

{Assignments}

1. View the Common Craft Video, RSS In Plain English
   (this brief tutorial will help explain what RSS is)
2. View the Atomic Learning Tutorials that will help you create your own online RSS news aggregator using Netvibes:
   1. Web 2.0 Series B: Setting Up Your RSS Feeder
      - Video #32628 through #32632 (5 videos)
   2. Web 2.0 Series D: Feeds & Views
      - Video #32641 through #32644 (4 videos)
   3. Web 2.0 Series F: Communicating With a Group
      - Video #32658 and #32659 (2 videos)
3. Create a Netvibe account and start using it:
   1. Sign up for a personalized start page using Netvibes
   2. Subscribe to this blog’s feed using your Netvibes account
   3. Subscribe to the bulletin board’s feed using your Netvibes account
   4. Subscribe to at least 2 additional RSS feeds using your Netvibes account
   5. Share your RSS feeds with us via the Bulletin Board
4. Answer the questions at the bottom of this page using the bulletin board
5. Respond/reply to at least two posts on the bulletin board

{Questions - to be answered on the bulletin board}

1. Do you think this might be a Web 2.0 you will use in your personal life? Why or why not?
2. Can you think of a way RSS feeds and a news aggregator might help you in your classroom?

{PDLC Credits Upon Completing Session 3}

2 PDLC non-contract hours