Learning 2.0 Assignment 3: RSS

This week we’re focusing on RSS. This post will give you a brief overview of the technology and explain the activities for the week. This assignment is due on Monday, October 6.

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and is a file format for delivering regularly updated information over the Web.

1. Read the articles “It Really Is Really Simple: RSS for Educators” and “News á la Carte,” and watch the RSS in Plain English video.
2. Set up an aggregator account with Bloglines.
3. Subscribe to the feed for this Learning 2.0 @ SCSU blog. Go to http://learning2scsu.blogspot.com/. To subscribe to this blog, look for the section “subscribe to learning 2.0” located on the right side of the blog. Click on the RSS icon and select Bloglines from the list of aggregators/readers.
4. Add at least three other news feeds, blogs, or Web page updates to your account. There are several ways you can locate RSS feeds. You might use only one of these:
• When visiting your favorite Web sites, look for the orange RSS icon. Often a feed icon like this will be displayed somewhere in the navigation of the site.
• Use Bloglines’s search tool. This tools lets you search for news feeds in addition to posts, citations, and the Web. Use the Search for Feeds option to locate RSS feeds you might be interested in.
• Do a blog search in Google. This search limits results only to blog postings.
• Look at the list of RSS feeds available for CNN.
• Do a search in Technorati. Technorati is a popular blog finding tool that lets you search for blogs.

Assignment 3 post prompts (answer these questions in your own blog):

1. What do you like about RSS and newsreaders?
2. Do you think you might be able to use this technology in your school or personal life? If yes, how and if no, why not?
3. Which tool for finding feeds was easiest to use?

Questions?

• Post in the discussion forum in D2L.
• E-mail your professor: Melissa Prescott or Robin Ewing.

Learning 2.0 Assignment 2: What is Web 2.0?

This week we're focusing on learning about Web 2.0. This post will give you a brief overview of the technology and explain the activities for the week. This assignment is due on Monday, September 29.

Read the Wikipedia article on Web 2.0 and the blog posting, If the Shoe Fits…Social Media in Seven Boxes. Watch the Web 2.0 … The Machine is Us/ing Us video.

Answer the following questions in your blog posting for this week:

1. Where are you in your knowledge of Web 2.0 tools?
2. What do we mean when we talk about "Web 2.0?" What defines a "Web 2.0" technology or practice?
3. Does Web 2.0 represent a radical departure from the ways in which we interact with each other and information online?

Questions?

• Post in the discussion forum in D2L
• E-mail your professor: Melissa Prescott or Robin Ewing

Learning 2.0 Assignment 1: Blogs

This week we’re focusing on blogs. This post will give you a brief overview of the technology and explain the activities for the week. This assignment is due on Monday, September 22.

Read the Wikipedia article on blogs and watch the Blogs in Plain English video.

Ready to start blogging? Your first Learning 2.0 assignment is to set up your own blog and add your first post.

Create your blog:

1. Go to Blogger.com. We’re using Blogger but other free blog services include: LiveJournal, WordPress.com, and Vox.
2. Click on the orange arrow that says, “Create Your Blog Now.” Follow the 3 steps.
3. You will need a Google account. Follow the directions to set up a Google account if you do not have one. You can use any e-mail address – you don’t have to have a Gmail address. Your e-mail becomes your Username. Your Display Name is how your posts are signed – you can use your real name, initials, or a nickname.
4. Create a password for your account.
   

Customize your blog:

1. Give your blog a title. Your title is the name that will appear on the banner at the top of your blog and it will be part of the URL.
2. Be sure that you have enabled comments. Your professor will comment on your posts.
• Under the Settings tab, click the Comments link. We recommend the second choice under Who Can Comment? Registered Users.
• Click Save Settings once you are done.
3. Choose a template for your blog.
   

Post on your blog:

1. Write an introductory post reflecting on your experience with creating a blog. Please clearly label this and future blog postings with the assignment number. Each of your posts should provide insights into what you’ve discovered and learned or any questions or thoughts you have on the activities you completed.
2. Post the URL and name of your blog in the Discussion area of D2L.
   

Need help getting your blog created?

• Watch the MINITEX Blog Tutorial
• Look at slides 10-31 of this tutorial
• E-mail your professor: Melissa Prescott or Robin Ewing

Learning 2.0 @ SCSU: Rubric for Weekly Activities

The assignment for each week will involve a post to your blog about the topic for that week. The assignment for each week will be posted on Monday and due the following Monday. These blog postings will be graded according to the following rubric:

A (Outstanding):

The blog posting clearly answers the questions with clear evidence of having read or viewed the background material.

B (Good):

The blog posting answers the questions with some evidence of having read or viewed the background material.

C (Satisfactory to Limited):

The blog posting mostly answers the questions with some evidence of having read or viewed the background material.

D to F (Poor to Failing):

Missing or late entry which says very little and fails to answer the questions. Little or no evidence of having read or viewed the background material.

Learning 2.0 @ SCSU: Weekly Activities

This is a list of the assignments you will be doing during the next 10 weeks. Complete information on each assignment will be posted on this blog on the Monday of each week (and linked in this post). The assignment will be due the following Monday. Each assignment will include background material for you to read or view and then reflect upon in a blog post. Blog postings will be graded using a rubric.

September 15, 2008, week 1: Blogs

• Set up a blog in Blogger and write your first post.
• Share the URL for your blog in D2L.
• Assignment due September 22.
  

September 22, week 2: What is Web 2.0?

• Learn about Web 2.0.
• Assignment due September 29.
  

September 29, week 3: RSS

• Learn about RSS feeds and set up an account with Bloglines or Google Reader.
• Add some feeds.
• Assignment due October 6.
  

October 6, week 4: Social Bookmarking

• Set up a del.icio.us account. Add a few websites and create your own tags.
• Install the del.icio.us browser button on your browser's toolbar.
• Assignment due October 13.
  

October 13, week 5: Flickr

• Find and upload to your blog one of the pictures the class took at the beginning of the semester.
• Evaluate the tags assigned to the class photos.
• Assignment due October 20.
  

October 20, week 6: Digg, Newsvine, & Reddit

• Explore Digg, Newsvine, & Reddit.
• Find an article to recommend.
• Assignment due October 27.
  

October 27, week 7: Podcasting

• Find and evaluate a podcast.
• Assignment due November 3
  

November 3, week 8: Online Collaboration Tools

• Explore Google Docs and Zoho.
• Assignment due November 10.
  

November 10, week 9: Wikis

• Learn about wikis like Wikipedia and Scholarpedia.
• Assignment due November 17.

November 17, week 10: YouTube

• Read about YouTube and embed a video into a blog post.
• Assignment due November 24
  

About Learning 2.0 @ SCSU

What is Learning 2.0 @ SCSU and why are we doing it?

Learning 2.0 @ SCSU is a hands-on assignment that provides an opportunity for students to explore Web 2.0 tools. Why are we doing this? In your future careers, you may be asked to create content using a Web 2.0 tool. In a recent survey of information professionals, "63% reported that their organizations used at least one of nine social software tools: wikis, blogs, really simple syndication (RSS), social network analysis, online social network, online virtual world, social tagging, social bookmarking and podcasts. Data suggested that of the nine tools, RSS, blogs, and wikis were used the most."* As you do research throughout your college career, you will also encounter information from Web 2.0 tools. Learning 2.0 @SCSU focuses on finding and evaluating information and sharing those findings using Web 2.0 tools.

For ten weeks starting on September 15, students will explore Web 2.0 tools and complete a number of assignments. Each assignment focuses on a particular type of tool and will give students the opportunity to explore the tool. Each assignment will be posted on Monday and due the following Monday.

Learning 2.0 @ SCSU has the following learning outcomes:

• Students will be able to identify Web 2.0 tools.
• Students will be able to evaluate information found in Web 2.0 tools.
• Students will demonstrate their knowledge of Web 2.0 tools in their blogs.
  

Learning 2.0 @ SCSU addresses the following course objectives:

Utilize the research process in the analysis and development of information

• Access information in a variety of formats and with a variety of viewpoints
  

Evaluate information critically and thoughtfully

• Identify both judgmental and nonjudgmental language in print and non-print sources
• Challenge content and question referential base in both written and non-print materials
  

Organize information

Communicate the results of research

Learning 2.0 @ SCSU is an adaptation of Learning 2.0 @ Mac (http://macetg.wordpress.com/about-learning-20-mac/), 23 Things on a Stick (http://23thingsonastick.blogspot.com/), and Learning 2.0 – 23 Things (http://plcmcl2-things.blogspot.com/).

*Reid, M., Gray, C., & Honick, C. (2008). Online social networks, virtual communities, enterpreses, and information professionals. Searcher 16 (6): 28-40. Retrieved June 23, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.