Using RSS Enclosures in Schools
I know when it comes to the more technical stuff that I’m a little slower on the uptake than many. So when Tim Wilson posted on ETI about using RSS enclosures with all sorts of files (not just audio for podcasts) it took me a couple of days to get it.
RSS enclosures would make it really easy for teachers to distribute files to their students. A teacher could post lecture notes, multimedia content, or any other kind of electronic document and let each student’s RSS reader take care of the rest. Similarly, school principals could use RSS to distribute newsletters or other materials to parents who are subscribed to a school’s news feed.
Um, yeah…ok. I get it. Now not only can I post all of my handouts to the class weblog for easy retrieveal, I can add them to the feed so my students can auto download all the class materials to their computers while they’re sleeping peacefully at night. Maybe it’s a worksheet (.doc) for tomorrow’s class. Or the audio recording of a poem read by the author (.mp3) that I want to discuss. Or a series of pictures (.jpgs) that I took after class today. Or the Powerpoint (.ppt) of today’s lesson. Or…
So if, like at Tim’s school, we go with a 1-1 laptop program (which we’re looking at) and we set them up with a RSS reader that can handle enclosures, I can literally push my content to their individual computers. And, technically, they could push it right back to me or to whomever else might be subscribed to their feed. Of course, they could create feeds for each teacher so we all got the right stuff.
Drill this all down a bit and you could see the potential in terms of individualizing content through individualized feeds. James is running down that path too.
Little doubt where my brain will be wandering off to today…
2 Comments
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Maybe– I am not sure how these feeds of content+enclocures gets “individualized” unless they are being produced dynamically based on interests as James described.
Yes, RSS encclosures can now reference any kind of media file addressable as a URL, but I hope we consider the differences between the way people subscribe to ALL audio feeds form a source.
This means if I am a devout Will Richardson fan, I want every single drop of MP3 he publishes ASAP< downloaded w.o question and loaded on my player.
Is that what educational content should do– pushing out everywhere just what Joe/jane teacher encloses in a feed? I would hope that the RSS reader / “eduPodder” tools mature and allows some selectability, filtering on the user end to choose where, when, and what they download.
And what happens to all the media files when they arrive on my computer? Are they dumped in a folder? Is there additional information that organizaes it for me or tells me what it is or do I see a jumble fo files like THURS_ASSIGN3B.DOC?? Do they get tossed into some iTunes like app for arranging/ organizing?
If we are just pushing files out to computers…. well, that is handy, but not terribly exciting. There is some level of reinforcement in the act of selecting / retrieving information as opposed to a teacher dropping a big pile of freshly minted dittos on your desk.
Hey Alan,
I’m thinking they get individualized by using the department RSS feeds in Manila, for instance. So if I want Tucker to get a particular artifact, I just post it in the Tucker department on my blog, which, by the way, might be a separate behind-closed-doors blog from the class site. Since Tucker is subscribed to the feed from his department, he gets it. He might be subscribed to the feed where I post for everyone too.
But I hear what you mean about selectivity. My early thinking on this has me in the how-can-I-distribute-what-I-want-them-to-get mode. I’m thinking it would be nice if they had the stuff without having to go get it…I guess that doesn’t teach them much about responsibility though, does it? ;0) And I’m not saying they can’t subscribe to whatever they want. Maybe on the K-12 level there’s just more of a pull towards what’s needed vs. what’s wanted, which maybe counterintuitive to the opportunities of getting students invested in their own learning.
And aren’t you programming guys the ones to figure out the logistics??? ;0)
Thanks for making me think…