What is RSS?

Depending on whom you ask, RSS stands for either "Rich Site Summary" or "Real Simple Syndication." However you prefer to expand it, RSS readers are tools for collecting content from multiple web sources in one convenient place. Instead of visiting all of your favorite blogs and news sites one at a time, RSS allows you to "subscribe" to sources and have the news sent to you. 

Still confused? Watch "RSS in Plain English" below!

A wide variety of RSS reader programs and news aggregators are available, each with different advantages and disadvantages for different situations. Popular browser-based choices include: 

http://bloglines.com/

http://www.newsisfree.com/

http://www.google.com/reader/

For a more comprehensive list, try here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_feed_aggregators

Getting Started with an RSS Reader

As you may have noticed, the sheer number of readers available can be daunting. While it's worth it to explore and find a fit for your purposes, in terms of convenience and simplicity, Google Reader is an excellent starting point for those new to RSS. It's free, intuitive, and you might already be signed up without knowing it--all you need is a Google account to begin. (If you use Gmail or Blogger, you're in the club.)

Let's try it out!

1) Go to www.google.com/reader. Log in using your Gmail details, or sign up for a free account. 

2) Use the "+add a subscription" button in the upper left corner to search for web URLs or specific topics of interest. (Typing a specific URL, like "http://www.cnn.com" will automatically subscribe you to that website's feed. Typing search terms, like "Cake Wrecks" will bring up search results--each hit will have its own little subscription button, so you can pick the one you were looking for.)

3) You can also subscribe from the web as you browse! Look for the orange RSS button on blogs and news sites--clicking it should bring up the option to subscribe using your reader.

4) Get Organized! Choosing items under the "subscriptions" heading (look at the bottom of the left-hand side bar) gives you options for creating folders and moving feeds between them. 

5) Share! Your feed doesn't have to end with you. Underneath each story in your reader, there are options to "star," "like," and "share." Other web users can subscribe to your feed--anything you choose to "share" will end up in their feed readers.

A video introduction to Google Reader, for our visual/auditory learners:

(You may want to turn down your volume.)

RSS in the Classroom

More and more classrooms (even in elementary schools!) are including blogging as part of the curriculum--students keep their own blogs to demonstrate writing skills, comment on current events and literature, and communicate with teachers, parents, and each other. Teachers run blogs to keep track of assignments and make classroom happenings visible to parents and administrators. As classroom blogs become more prolific, and understanding of RSS becomes almost necessary. The two technologies should go hand-in-hand! 

As a teacher, you can use a reader to subscribe to your students' blogs--simplifying grading. Parents can subscribe to student, teacher, and school blogs and websites to keep up-to-date on classroom happenings and homework assignments. Students can subscribe to each other and share interesting articles and information easily. RSS can be used as a tool for instruction, discussion, and community-building. 

In social studies, RSS feeds can serve as a digital paperboy. Students can easily keep track of current events related to topics they are personally interested in--subscribing to feeds can help them sift through the mass amounts of information available online. RSS can help direct research into specific topics, and can be used to help teach good 21st century research skills: critical thinking, analyzing sources, summarizing, comparing and contrasting. Students will spend less time looking for sources, and more time interacting with new information. Students can use the "share" option to identify sources and articles that they deem worthy of investigation.

Web resources for using blogs and RSS to teach and learn:

Blogging in the classroom (Cohort V Innovations2010 Wiki): http://innovations2010unco.pbworks.com/Social+Studies-+Blogs

Using RSS to navigate the "Information Avalanche": http://eduscapes.com/sessions/rss/

RSS: A Quickstart Guide for Educators: http://weblogg-ed.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/RSSFAQ4.pdf

Why RSS is Crucial for the Blogging Classroom: http://blogsforlearning.msu.edu/articles/view.php?id=6

The Uses of RSS in the Classroom: http://vtgrrlscake.blogspot.com/2007/02/presentation-on-uses-of-rss-in.html

RSS and Blogging: Powerful New Web Tools for Educators: http://www.infotoday.com/mmschools/jan04/richardson.shtml

RSS Ideas for Educators: http://www.teachinghacks.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/RSS%20Ideas%20for%20Educators111.pdf

COHORT V's SUPER COOL SHARED STUFF:

Beth Hamilton

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I offer my sincerest apologies to my beloved Cohort V for the endless torrent of e-mails they've been receiving about updates to this page. I am a compulsive saver. Sorry. 

<3 Beth