Title: RSS Feeds & Podcasts
Course: Tech Tools for Teachers > Section: Finding Online Resources

Subscribing to updates.

RSS is a method for people to subscribe to online content, such as blogs and newspapers. Once you subscribe to a source, you no longer need to visit that individual web site to check for updates - new content is automatically sent to your RSS Reader.

A podcast is an episodic program (similar to TV shows) delivered via the Internet using RSS. Podcast episodes can be audio files, video files, documents, or any combination of the three. The publisher or broadcaster podcasts the program by posting the episodes to a web server, which a consumer downloads using software, such as iTunes. Consumers can download individual episodes or subscribe to a podcast so that they automatically download new episodes as they become available. See the Podcasts page on the Staff Tech Wiki for recommended educational podcasts.

To subscribe to an RSS feed, click the orange RSS symbol on a website and then select which application you where you would like to receive your subscription. Information on using Goolgle Reader and iTunes is provided below.

Google Reader

Google Reader (included in Orono Google Apps) is one tool that enables users to subscribe to RSS feeds. Watch the video below or see the Google Reader Getting Started Guide for more information.

iTunes

Though podcasts can be subscribed to via Google Reader, if you want the podcasts to sync to your iPod or other Apple device, it it better to use iTunes. See Apple's Podcasts page for instructions on finding and subscribing to podcasts.

Getting started guide

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