RSS+and+Aggregation+Tools

How does RSS work?

 *  Website authors maintain a list of notifications on their website. This list of notifications is called an "**RSS Feed**". People who are interested in finding out the latest headlines or changes can check this list. Special computer programs called "**RSS aggregators**" have been developed that automatically access the RSS feeds of websites you care about on your behalf and organize the results for you.
 *  Producing an RSS feed is very simple and hundreds of thousands of websites now provide this feature.
 * RSS and Atom feeds are the structures that organize content which is being updated on a regular basis in order for others to retrieve it. This content could be articles, blog posts, photos, PDF documents, PowerPoint Presentations, audio files, video files, or other applications.

This video explains it further!

RSS in Plain English - by the Common Craft Show
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Uses of RSS in the Education

 * Keep abreast of current events in news, education, politics and professional organizations.
 * Receive updates to your favorite blogs.
 * Subscribe to and network with educational bloggers in your field of study.
 * Share your feeds with other educators. View their feeds.
 * Make announcements to students after class.
 * Track student blogs and wikis.
 * Subscribe to podcasts.
 * Students can track each other's blogs.
 * Students can share their feeds with each other, creating a collaborative research environment.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Students can become more globally aware by subscribing to news and current affairs sites.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: center;">Aggregation Tools
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">What is an Aggregator?
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Aggregators reduce the time and effort needed to regularly check websites for updates, creating a unique information space of "personal newspaper."
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Once subscribed to a feed, an aggregator is able to check for new content at user-determined intervals and retrieve the update

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Google Reader in Plain English - from The Common Craft Show!
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