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·         Are you using RSS feeds in your instruction?  I will be glad to include them in this tutorial as case studies.

·         Other suggestions to improve this tutorial?

 If so, please email me at jeanne.sewell@gcsu.edu.

 

 

Jazzing It Up with MERLOT RSS Feeds!

 

Download a Printable View in Word

A Tutorial on Using MERLOT RSS Feeds in Personalized Home Pages, Email, and Learning Management Systems

 

The purpose of this tutorial is to demonstrate to  MERLOT users how to use RSS (“really simple syndication” or “rich site summary”) news feeds with MERLOT. 

 

RSS is an acronym that stands for “really simple syndication” or “rich site summary.” The RSS feeds allow the user to view the latest updates for newly added and peer reviewed MERLOT learning resources.  While the tutorial training is specific to MERLOT, the concepts are easily generalized for other websites, blogs, news, and podcasts. 

 

Jeanne P.  Sewell

Updated 5/17/09

Email:  jeanne.sewell@gcsu.edu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jazzing It Up with MERLOT RSS Feeds

Learning Objectives

After the completion of this tutorial the participant will be able to:

1. Find a MERLOT RSS feed.

2. Subscribe to the RSS feed using their favorite portal site, such as My Yahoo! or iGoogle; and/or email, such as GMail, Yahoo Mail, or Outlook 2007.

3. Integrate RSS into their favorite LMS (Learning Management System).

Background Information

             

RSS is an acronym for both Real Simple Syndication and Rich Site Summary.  RSS provides us with a way of receiving updates on web information from online web sites.   RSS allows us to receive personalized updates of information, such as news, blogs, and podcasts. 

 

RSS feeds are written in XML (extensible markup language), which is similar to HTML (hypertext markup language).  The XML provides that magic that allows the information to be shared.

Look for the icons  RSS icon  on the lower left-hand corner of the MERLOT home page window or other feed icons (see graphics)Other RSS iconson websites that you visit.  Atom is the alternative open-source form of RSS. You can have RSS feeds of news updates from particular web sites sent to your personalized home webpage, email, or learning management system course site. 

 

Now that you have a general idea about how to identify a RSS feed, let’s take a look at how you can receive MERLOT RSS feeds.

 

 

Tips and Tricks
 

Using a Mac? 
"I found the problem on the Mac.  Since Safari on the Mac automatically opens an RSS feed rather than showing the source, you can't open the page and copy the link to add into iGoogle or Yahoo.   On the RSS channels page, control-click on the RSS feed rather than opening it and choose "copy link" in the menu that appears.  Then paste that into iGoogle or Yahoo to add the RSS feed."
Tracy Standley of McNeese State University

 

Using Desire2Learn? 
"Using RSS in content works beautifully in Desire2Learn almost exactly as you described. In Content, Add new topic, switch editor to html mode and paste the xml.  Save and Voila!"

Thanks for the tips and tricks."

 

Want RSS Feed on Your Personal Web Site?

Use the JavaScript generator (Step 3) to create the code, then copy and paste it to a blank html page using your web page editor.

Yvonne


Yvonne Monterroso

Finding MERLOT RSS Feeds 

View a Flash Simulation

To find a feed go to the MERLOT website at http://www.merlot.org .  When you click on Subscribe Now to the right of the RSS button at the bottom left corner of the window it will take you to a new window with all of the MERLOT communities and the three types of RSS feeds (see graphic below):

·         Recently Added

·         Recently Peer Reviewed

·         Top Rated

Screen shot of MERLOT RSS items

 

For the purpose of this tutorial, I will use the Faculty Development Recently Added RSS button. To subscribe to a feed, click on any of the RSS feed buttons for the top 10 material you want to see.  You can select Recently added, Recently Peer Reviewed or the top rated far a specific discipline. 

If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer, you will get a new window that has three choices for saving the RSS feed (See the example below). 

  • The first choice allows you to add the feed to you iGoogle personalized page.  If your iGoogle page has multiple tabs, be sure to first open the iGoogle page and click on the tab where you want to place the feed.

  • The second choice allows you to view the RSS feed in a Google reader.

  • The third choice to subscribe to the feed and read it in your Favorites Center (if you use Outlook 2007 - it will create a feed in your Outlook folders) .

Internet Explorer

The graphic below depicts the window that appears if you select the 3rd choice, "Subscribe to this feed."

Graphic of "subscribe to this feed"

If you are using Mozilla Firefox you will get a new window that includes a drop-down menu with choices for saving the feed.  Although there are similarities, the choices are slightly different with Firefox.

Firefox

To subscribe to the RSS feeds in MERLOT you will need to decide where you want the feed delivered.    You will finish the subscription process when you determine the delivery method(s).  Fortunately, there are several options. 

1.       The first is to have the feeds delivered to your personalized home page such as MyYahoo! or iGoogle. 

2.       The second is to have the feeds delivered by way of email (this option is not readily available with all email delivery systems yet). 

3.       The third option is to have the feeds delivered to a Learning Management System where you have online course content.  We’ll take a look at each of the three options.

Subscribing to the MERLOT RSS Using a Personalized Home Page
such as MyYahoo! or iGoogle           

If you already have created a personalized home page in Yahoo or Google, go to that web site.  If you haven’t create one now.

View a Flash Simulation

iGoogle

Sign Up.  iGoogle http://www.google.com/ig .  Click on the link Don't have an iGoogle page? Get started.  You will be prompted to provide an email address and password.  Once you are finished you will be directed to your personal iGoogle home page.

If using Internet Explorer, click on one of the first two options (see above).

MyYahoo!

Sign up.  MyYahoo!  http://my.yahoo.com/index.html .  At the top left hand corner of the window, click on New User?  Sign Up.  You will be prompted to provide an email address and password.  Once you are finished you will be directed to your personal MyYahoo! home page.

In MERLOT, open the MERLOT RSS channel for which you want to subscribe.  Copy the URL from the web browser address bar.

Add a RSS Feed. At the top-left side of the MyYahoo! window click on Add Content MyYahoo . 

Then click on Add RSS by URL Add RSS.  

Paste the MERLOT RSS feed URL and then click on the Add button (see graphic below).

Paste Yahoo

You will receive a verification page (see graphic below).

Verification

 You are done!  When you view your MyYahoo! home page you will be able to view all of your MERLOT RSS feeds.

You now know how to receive MERLOT RSS feeds using email.  The final step is to learn how to integrate RSS feeds in your Learning Management System.  It is amazingly easy!

Subscribing to MERLOT RSS Feeds with Learning Management System Course Content

For the purpose of this tutorial, we will use WebCT VISTA.  The process should be very similar for other learning management systems including Blackboard, Angel Learning, Sakai and Moodle.

Just 3 short steps!

Copy the RSS feed URL

·         Click on the RSS feed icon that you want to use in your course

·         Copy  the URL

Generate the JavaScript

·         Open a JavaScript generator web site, for example (other sites noted below), Feed2JS Build JavaScript and Preview  http://itde.vccs.edu/rss2js/build.php

·         Paste the RSS feed URL into the appropriate form spot.  For example:

javascript generator

·         Click the Preview Feed Button to preview the feed.  Then click Generate JavaScript.

Feed preview

·         Highlight and copy the JavaScript code that was generated.

javascript

Add the JavaScript to your course

·         Navigate to the place in your course where students to view the RSS feed

·         Create a new content file.

·         Name the file.

·         Copy and paste the JavaScript from the code generator.

·         Close the file and preview it.

·         You are DONE!!

RSS Feed JavaScript Generators for Learning Management Systems

·          Feed2JS:  Build JavaScript and Preview http://itde.vccs.edu/rss2js/build.php

 

Resources for Adding a URLs to Other Learning Management Systems

·         Adding RSS Feeds to Your Angel 7.x Course http://jmajor.midsolutions.org/?p=174

·         Adding RSS Feed to Moodle http://docs.moodle.org/en/RSS

Learn More about RSS

·         RSS Delivers Communities to Your Door http://channels.netscape.com/forum_center/rss.jsp

·         What is RSS http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,111699-page,1/article.html

·         Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rss

·         MS Outlook Add an RSS http://office.microsoft.com/client/helppreview.aspx?AssetID=HA101595391033&ns=OUTLOOK&lcid=1033

·         Bull, G. (2005). Podcasting and the long tail. Learning and Leading with Technology, 25-26.

·         Corrado, E., & Moulaison, H. (2006). Integrating RSS feeds of new books into the campus course management system. Computers in Libraries, 26(9), 61-62.

·         Richardson, W. (2006). Merrily down the stream:  RSS makes it easy to gather information. School Library Journal, 52(7).

        

  

Case Study in the use of RSS Feeds

Linda Villareal, Humanities Department Operations Manager, Kaplan University - 8/8/07

In our bioethics course we had been using static case studies to bring out the specific ethical reasoning applications during the course.  Both the students and instructors felt that the case studies often seemed contrived and were not relevant to current technology or issues.  To that end, we replaced the static case studies with an RSS feed link to a health news area of the Washington Post.  The students are asked to review the RSS feed and select a current article/case that illustrates the application of the concept of the current unit.  For instance, they may be asked to pick an article that illustrates the application of utilitarian reasoning in the case that is portrayed.  They are to identify the article, provide a summary and an analysis on how ethical reasoning was used.  This is posted to a discussion board where other students will read and respond.

The benefits of this change have been great - First, a case currently in the media cannot be considered irrelevant as easily.  Second, since students have a choice, responses do not become repetitive as several articles/cases will be covered in the discussion area.  The main learning objective is still being met as the students apply the ethical reasoning to the current case.  And we provide a valuable resource for our students (mostly already working health care professionals) to current, trends, information and issues within their profession.