rss

=RSS Readers, Start Pages and Social Bookmarking=
 * //Students will access, retrieve, manage and evaluate information using digital tools.//**
 * locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize and use information from a variety of sources
 * evaluate and select information sources and technological tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks
 * process data and report results


 * In this block of learning you will**
 * learn about **R**eal **S**imple **S**yndication
 * configure web-based applications so that information in which you are interested comes to you.
 * find, save and organize your information using web-based tools
 * express how you would use these tools with your students

Part I: An introduction to RSS and Personalized Start Pages
In this section on RSS readers and personalized start pages you will read the information provided and examine examples of each. You will then be asked to either create an account with an rss reader OR to create a personalized start page.

**RSS Readers: No more searching: have the latest information about your favourite topics come to you!**
1. View the video which explains RSS readers far better than the printed word! media type="custom" key="73709" 2. View the following examples
 * [|Rob Wall's shared items] from Google Reader
 * [|Rob Wall's blog post] describing Google Reader
 * [|Google Reader Video Tutorial]
 * See Donna's bloglines [|account]

3. Read - this [|post] by Clarence Fisher from Remote Access describes how he uses RSS with his students.

//Optional Reading:// [|7 Things You Should Know About RSS] (pdf)

Start Pages: Your Own Personal Web Page in moments!!
Personalized start pages are a simple yet elegant concept that lets you aggregate all of your important information into a single customized page that appears when you launch your browser. The layout, content, and look and feel of your start page can make it your most useful Web destination.
 * 1) **Read** this great introductory article on Start Pages: [|Set Up Your Personalized Start Page with Netvibes, Pageflakes or Protopage.]
 * 2) **View the following Examples**:
 * 3) Donna's [|Protopage]
 * 4) [|Off the Block] (the page of an elementary lead technology teacher from Lloydminster -- note the Red Sox updates!)
 * 5) Janelle Lemon's (Cut Knife Elementary) Protopage
 * 6) Graham Wegner's PageFlakes [|Page]
 * 7) **Read**: Graham Wegner of [|Teaching Generation Z] provides an excellent [|post] which not only explains the concept of personalized start pages but gives an overview of how they can be used in education.
 * NEW** - July 2, 2007 -- [|Pageflakes] for teachers and students... haven't tried it yet but it looks good. Maybe this is what all students should/could be learning to use to organize their school days instead of a print organizer.

Part II: Creating an rss reader account OR personalizing a start page
Now that you understand the concepts behind RSS you can decide which would best suit your purpose... an RSS reader or a personalized start page and beginning creating.... Remember, if this gets tricky... give me call and I can work it through with you!

[|Jeff Utecht] of the [|Thinking Stick] has a great [|post] on how to choose an aggregator for yourself and your students. He compares Bloglines, Google Reader, PageFlakes and NetVibes.

1. Sign up for for one of the following RSS readers Sign up for a Start Page
 * [|Google Reader]
 * [|Bloglines]
 * OR**
 * [|Netvibes]
 * [|Protopage]
 * [|Pageflakes]

2. Configure your RSS Reader or Start Page
 * 1) Set up your folders and directories in the RSS Reader OR personalize your start page with widgets etc...
 * 2) Add the blogs that you found in your blog search in Block Two to your rss reader or your personal start page
 * 3) Add a news feed (from CBC, BBC, CNN..... note: you can subscribe to sports, arts, etc)

Part III: Social Bookmarking[[image:delicious-logo.png width="79" height="25" link="http://del.icio.us/"]]
Social Bookmarking is a web-based service to share Internet bookmarks. [|(Wikipedia)] When you save a bookmark on a Social Bookmarking site you can access the bookmarks anywhere and at anytime. You are not restricted to the favourites or bookmarks on a specific machine.

You can also share the bookmarks that you have collected by the URL. You can share all your bookmarks or you can share those that have been assigned a specific tag. The Social bookmarking sites are a popular way to store, classify, share and search links through the practice of tagging. A **tag** is a (relevant) keyword or term associated with or assigned to a piece of information (like picture, article, or video clip), thus describing the item and enabling keyword-based classification of information it is applied to. [|(Wikipedia, Tag)]

This short, descriptive and informative video from [|CommonCraft], outlines three important points about Social Bookmarking: how to start, tagging and the social aspect of social bookmarking:
 * Social Bookmarking in Plain English**

media type="youtube" key="x66lV7GOcNU" width="425" height="350"

1. View this useful video introduction to the [|delicious] socialbookmarking tool: media type="youtube" key="A1pOsYjCvE8" width="425" height="350" 2. View Donna's bookmarking site:
 * Donna’s full set of [|delicious bookmarks]
 * Links tagged [|informationliteracy]

You will also notice an rss symbol at the bottom of the bookmarks page. This means that you can subscribe to a particular set of bookmarks. For example on my bloglines account you will notice a link to [|del.icio.us/willrich (3)]. Will Richardson is one of my favourite and most respected edubloggers. I subscribe to his bookmarks so I can see what he bookmarks in the world of educational technology.

3. Create your own delicious bookmarking site
 * This 2 1/2 minute [|screencast] will show you how to get started
 * David Warlick has prepared two [|handouts] which provide step-by-step instructions on how to create and use delicious bookmarks.

Optional Reading [|7 Things you should know about Social Bookmarking] from Educause [|All Together Now: Social bookmarking offers a new way to store and share Web sites] By Donna DesRoches — School Library Journal, 1/1/2007

Part IV: Share what you have learned
Share with your colleagues what you have created...Write a post about rss and or start pages and their application to learning. How would you use rss or start pages for professional development and/or in your classroom.... how could your students use rss or start pages? How would you use Social Bookmarking? How could your students use Social Bookmarking? Remember to start a conversation and keep it going by responding to your colleagues posts.

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