What the heck is RSS?
Rich Site Summary (RSS) technology is an XML based format that provides the backbone for the distribution of weblog, podcasting, and other content.
RSS allows users to easily syndicate or publish their content for use by others. And conversely, it provides a way for users to easily subscribe and read content (blogs, podcasts, news, photos) published by other people or organizations.
And these days, most social media applications provide users with an RSS feed to publish their content on the web. This includes most blogging, podcasting, social bookmarking, and photo sharing social networks and communities.
After a user subscribes to a RSS feed, the content (blogs, websites, online community groups) automatically updates and is displayed in a RSS feed reader. There are several free news readers (also called aggregator) available, including Bloglines, My Yahoo!, and Rojo. The new Yahoo! Mail allows you to read RSS feeds right in your Yahoo! mailbox.
How do I use RSS to support instruction?
A key benefit is the users ability to pick and choose (subscribe) to a particular RSS feed and then have the content updated in real time. In this manner, RSS is an important educational media tool to facilitate and support the “always on” learning styles of millennials.
RSS readers allow students to self-publish and share their content feed with members of their learning community. The use of RSS further supports millennial learning styles by allowing the user to select which content is relevant and then have it delivered directly to them for "on demand" viewing at their convenience.
As an assessment tool, RSS feeds provide teachers with several benefits. For example, instructors can subscribe to each students RSS feed and have their homework delivered directly into their aggregator, saving them the time consuming task of entering each student’s URL in order to view their e-portfolio or blog.
A Modest Proposal: RSS @ University of Oklahoma
In her recent blog post, RSS and a Modest Proposal for OU, Laura Gibbs threw out a challenge to the academic community at the University of Oklahoma to fully embrace the use of blogs and RSS technology in the classroom.
While some OU departments are already using RSS technology to distribute and share information, for the most part the academic ecosystem at OU hasn't readily embraced RSS, blogs or other types of social media.
At the core of her her modest proposal, Laura feels that "every college on campus should have a blog with an RSS feed. That way we could all subscribe to news and actually know what is going on here at OU, something more than just football. Personally, I think every tenured faculty member should be required to keep a blog..."
Amen Laura. I couldn't agree more!
So as a new school year begins to unfold, why not follow Laura's example and issue a modest RSS and blogging proposal to your community of practice?
If you haven't already, go ahead and set up a class blog and RSS feed. Then help others in your department or school do the same. It may not seem like much, but it's a start...
RSS Resources
