RSS+for+Educators

**It Really Is Really Simple: RSS for Educators**, Infinite Thinking Machine
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. This tool allows users to “subscribe” to Internet content created on a particular website. Much like a newspaper subscriber has the local newspaper delivered to his home, RSS feeds “deliver” new content to your computer without you having to go out and find it. This article outlines the basics of an RSS feed and all you need to know to understand how RSS works (as well as how to use it).

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Set Up an RSS feed
Take a moment to create your own RSS aggregator, using one of the tools listed below (this is only a small sample of the total number of aggregators that are available). While all of these tools work in similar ways—they pull RSS content from different places on the Web to you—there are differences in how they look and how users interact with them. Take some time to explore a couple of aggregators and then set up an account with the one you feel most comfortable using.

For help getting started with Reader, watch these video tutorials (provided by Google) or follow these detailed instructions, scrolling down to the section titled “Adding a Subscription in Google Reader.” || You can read more about Bloglines on their website’s FAQ section, or you can watch a brief video that shows you the Bloglines interface and provides support for setting up RSS feeds. || My Yahoo! can display RSS feeds, Yahoo! email, and a variety of custom content. Users can define and customize what they see and how they see it. Basic support for My Yahoo! is provided in the Yahoo! Help section. ||
 * ~ Aggregator ||~ Description ||
 * **Google Reader** || Reader is Google's RSS tool. If you already have a Google account, you can sign into Reader using your Google username and password. People without Google accounts will have to create one before using this tool.
 * **Bloglines** || Bloglines was one of the first RSS aggregators. It is a Web-based service, and users can access their Bloglines account from any computer, regardless of operating system or browser.
 * **FeedDemon ** || FeedDemon is RSS software for computers running Windows. You can watch a brief video tutorial of the program here, or view the FAQ for answers to specific questions. ||
 * **NewsFox** || NewsFox is a free extension for the Firefox Web browser. NewsFox allows for easy subscription to RSS feeds and presents feeds in an easy-to-view three-pane format. More information about the add-on is provided here. ||
 * **My Yahoo!** || My Yahoo! is a comprehensive Web-based tool for Yahoo! users. If you already have a Yahoo! account, you can sign into this service using your username and password. People without Yahoo! accounts will have to create one before using this tool.

**How To: Add Thinkfinity RSS Feed to Gmail **

 * [|Thinkfinity.org] ** provides RSS Feeds for some of the resources on the website. You can receive updates from the site that include the **Today in History Calendar**, **Features**, and **New and Popular Resources**.


 * Directions: **
 * 1) From the gold navigation bar at the top of the page, select **Get Connected > RSS Feed**.
 * 2) Locate the Thinkfinity RSS Feeds on the page.
 * 3) Click on the **Today in History Calendar** link.
 * 4) Copy the URL from the page-- Thinkfinity Today in History Feed  .
 * 5) Sign into a Gmail account.
 * 6) Click the Options button in the upper right corner and select Mail Settings.
 * 7) Select Web Clips—one of the tabs across the top of the page.
 * 8) Locate the box Search by topic or URL on the left side of the page.
 * 9) Paste the Thinkfinity RSS Feed URL and click on Search.
 * 10) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Click the Add button under Search Results.
 * 11) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Repeat the steps to add links for the **Features** and **New and Popular Resources** RSS Feeds from Thinkfinity.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">To remove a clip, click on the Web Clips tab under Settings and click remove next to the clip. To disable clips entirely, uncheck the box next to **Show my web clips above the Inbox** also located on the Web Clips tab under Settings.