RSS

Definition
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 * RSS refers to specific syndication standards such as
 * Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91, RSS 1.0)
 * Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)
 * Through a type of HTML tags (XML) they send information to a specific location – namely an aggregator.
 * Also known as feed readers, aggregators pull information from the Web – blogs, podcasts, video blogs, and more.
 * In simple terms, RSS is an easy way for individuals to subscribe and automatically pull posts from those sources.
 * [|Wikipedia] - "RSS is a family of [|web feed] formats used to publish frequently updated digital content, such as [|blogs], news feeds, or [|podcasts]".
 * Will Richardson - "RSS makes it possible for readers to subscribe to the content that is created on a particular weblog so they no longer have to visit the blog itself to get it" (p. 75)

Rationale
Part of the joy of the Read/Write Web (R/WW) is the ability to have information come to you - specifically the information you want to have. Just like subscribing to a magazine, using an RSS aggregator allows you to pull information from all types of online sources. As educators it's important to keep up on what's happening in our field and to get a first hand view of what's changing - RSS is the quick and easy way to do just that.

Implementation
RSS works as an aggregator to scan all online media types and pulls in the new content of those sites that you have subscribed to. If you regularly check your aggregator, you'll find updated material about every hour. Imagine little robots looking at every site you have subscribed to for you ... you don't have to visit sites to find out what the new postings are - it's now in one convenient place ... accessible from any Internet connection. The bottom is that you are personalizing what you want to read. Imagine getting only the parts of your newspaper that you are interested in ... Mine would be the comics and sports and celebrity birthdays.

Instructional/Tutorial Sites
[|Illinois State Ed Tech Integration Plus] [|Setting up a Bloglines account]

Examples & Scenarios
[| Bloglines]* - an online aggregator - **//*our choice//** [| Blogbridge] - a downloadable aggregator - similar to "My favorites", only available on your computer [| PageFlakes] - an online aggregator [| Netvibes] - an online aggregator