What are feeds and how can I use them?

When we first started using the Internet we had to go to sites to get information. Now you can get information to come to you automatically by subscribing to feeds. (In the real world we can subscribe to a newspaper or magazine and it comes to you)

Many web sites have feeds. You will see a symbol on a page. Here are some examples

The symbols may show up on the right hand side of the address line of the browser window.This indicates that the site has a feed. Some of the symbols are specific to a program (iGoogle, Pageflakes, Delicious).

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication

Videos

RSS in Plain English (YouTube)
Pageflakes Video Tutorial (TeacherTube) - for educators
Learn more about RSS from Quentin D'Souza's presentation at the K12 Online Conference

How can you bring information to you automatically?

You need to use an aggregator (feed reader, news reader) You need to sign up to use the service (free)
Some popular ones are

• iGoogle
• Pageflakes
• Netvibes

In all the above, you can create separate tabs for different purposes. Pageflakes offers an educational account.

How can you use this in your classroom?

Bring information in on a topic -
Articles
From Will Richardson: Using Pageflakes as Student Portal