RSS Feeds

1. RSS Feeds Meagan Knisley

2. What is RSS? • RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary • Written in XML format • It is a subscription that lets you keep up with new information on a website • Currently used mainly for news updates, but future uses are broad (Podcasts, blogs, schools, real estate, job openings, calendars, etc…)

3. How Do I Use RSS? • Download a RSS reader (Omea, NewzCrawler, Feed Demon, or enabled browsers such as Firefox) • Insert URL of feed into reader or click on icon to subscribe • Information will be updated when feed contains new content

4. Educational Uses • Students can subscribe to a site to view updated assignment information, class blogs, school cancellations, grants and scholarships, sports and academic calendars, collaborative projects, etc. • Teachers can view up to date educational legislation, trends, techniques, job openings, and share lesson plans

5. Advantages • Instantaneous • Inexpensive • Private • User is in full control • Compatible with computer and reader • Doesn’t require an email program • Won’t be blocked by spam or email filters

6. Disadvantages • Cannot personalize the feed • No way of knowing how many people are subscribed to the feed • Seems complicated to users who have never tried it • There are no rules so reliability is an issue • Not every site is offering RSS feeds

7. For More Information • RSS Specifications • http://www.rss-specifications.com/ • Top Ten RSS readers for Windows • http://email.about.com/od/rssreaderswin/tp/top_rss_windows.htm • Top Ten RSS readers for Mac • http://email.about.com/od/rssreadersmac/tp/top_rss_mac.htm