RSS+Aggregators

RSS
One of the easiest ways to find information is to make it come to you! RSS Stands for "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Syndication". RSS is a format for easily delivering regularly changing web content to a wide number of people via RSS Aggregators, like Google Reader, Symbaloo, etc.

RSS Aggregators
You can think of an RSS aggregator as a web browser for RSS content. Many sites containing Information that is updated regularly (news, blogs, etc.) set up their content as an **RSS feed** to anyone who wants it. RSS aggregators automatically check a series of RSS feeds for new items on an continual basis, making it is possible to keep track of changes to multiple websites. This saves you **time** as you no longer have to visit each site individually and **insures your privacy** because you do not need to join each site's e-mail newsletters. The aggregator detects the additions and presents them to you in a compact and useful manner.

You only need one RSS aggregator to read all of your RSS feeds. RSS is very useful tool in developing your PLN (Personal Learning Network).

media type="custom" key="29309195" Video courtesy of The Commoncraft Show and BlipTV

What is Needed

 * 1) **RSS Reader:** RSS Reader or News Aggregator software allow you to grab the RSS feeds from various sites and display them for you to read and use.
 * 2) **Subscribe:** Once you have your Feed Reader, it is a matter of finding sites that offer RSS feeds to their content and subscribing to them. Many sites display a small icon with the acronyms RSS, XML, or RDF to let you know a feed is available.

__Example RSS Readers include:__
 * __Feedly__
 * __Digg Reader__
 * Symbaloo (Edu)

Other Uses
RSS can be used for other purposes in addition to notifying you about news headlines and changes to websites,

Some other uses are:
 * Notification of the arrival of new products in a store
 * Listing and notifying you of newsletter issues, including email newsletters
 * Weather and other alerts of changing conditions
 * Notification of additions of new items to a database, or new members to a group