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RSS Basics

Anatomy of RSS Reader

Setting up EJC journals in the RSS Reader.

How does RSS work?

Setting up news feeds in the RSS Reader.

Downloading RSS & other kinds of feeds.

Find other RSS readers, software and features.

How do I do this at home/office?

Edith Scarletto

Reference/ Map Librarian

Kent State University

Libraries and Media Services

Anatomy of RSS Reader

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RSS Summary

What is RSS? (What does this stand for?)

Possible definitions:

1-RDF (Resource Description Framework) Site Summary

2-Rich Site Summary

3-Really Simple Syndication

According to Hammersley, it doesn’t have a literal acronym; it is just a description of the software action.

RSS Readers translate XML or RSS code from the web environment into user friendly, aggregated content.

[Example of XML coding:]

-->

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-

  Children's Services: Social Policy, Research, and Practice at the OhioLINK EJC

 

  Journal issues available at the OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center. Access available only to OhioLINK users.

-

 

  OhioLINK EJC

 

 

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  Volume 5, Issue 4 (p. 245-305)

  October 2002, v. 5, no. 4, p. 245-305 Contents: ¶ Jodi A. Quas%%% Bette L. Bottoms%%% Narina Nunez: "Child Maltreatment and Delinquency: Framing Issues of Causation and Consequence." ¶ Byron Egeland%%% Tuppett Yates%%% Karen Appleyard%%% Manfred van Dulmen: "The Long-Term Consequences of Maltreatment in the Early Years: A Developmental Pathway Model to Antisocial Behavior." ¶ Magda Stouthamer-Loeber%%% Evelyn H. Wei%%% D. Lynn Homish%%% Rolf Loeber: "Which Family and Demographic Factors Are Related to Both Maltreatment and Persistent Serious Juvenile Delinquency?." ¶ Patrick H. Tolan%%% Deborah Gorman-Smith%%% David B. Henry: "Linking Family Violence to Delinquency Across Generations?." ¶ Jeffrey J. Haugaard%%% Margaret Feerick: "Interventions for Maltreated Children to Reduce Their Likelihood of Engaging in Juvenile Delinquency." ¶ Thomas Grisso: "Using What We Know About Child Maltreatment and Delinquency."

 

  v05i0004

It is similar to HTML with additional tags to organize and parse the content for the reader to use in its display.

In this case, it is an EJC journal feed for the title Children’s Services: Social Policy, Research and Practice. You can also see the web address under the “link” tag.

Syndication

When you syndicate content, you to choose which pieces of information from the web you want to keep track of. Syndication lets you continually check them without returning to each website.

It also allows you to choose this content relatively anonymously. Since the feed is usually public, the website owner does not know who is syndicating. While a visit to the site or the reader’s update may show up on any counting software associated with the page, your headline update does not notify the site owner of who you are unless you have registered at the site.

Syndication also allows you to act from your desktop, without email, and choose how much information to keep in an ‘archive’ (active in your content reader).

Setting up an EJC Journal for your RSS reader

Practice Exercise 1:

1. Open the RSS Reader program.

2. Click on the "+ Group" button on the top tool bar

3. Name your Group (i.e. like the name of a folder on IE Favorites- to group your pages)

4. Find the "feed" address of the item you would like to syndicate.

For OhioLINK journals the address includes the ISSN number of the journal.

You can look it up in the Electronic Journal Center, or KentLINK by title.

FINDING A TITLE:

EJC:

Choose a subject, or find your favorite title alphabetically.

(If you don’t have a favorite journal and want to try, follow this path:

Journals > By Subject > Social Sciences > Education

Title: European Journal of Education

5. Add the ISSN to the end of the address



OR

6. Click the [pic] button under the picture of the journal in the EJC

7. Double click in the address box of the browser (it should now be highlighted)

8. Copy the web address ( "c"; or Edit, copy)

In the RSS Reader:

9. Click on the "+ Add" button on the top of the tool bar

10. The copied address will appear in the address window of the Add box for a new channel

11. Click "Next" button and keep the name displayed, or rename the journal

12. Click “Next” button to choose which folder the feed should go into

This only works for journals in the EJC. No other full text journals currently have this feature.

For more information from OhioLINK about this service, or help at home:

OhioLINK explanation page



How does RSS work?

The XML describes the content and RSS readers use the XML description to find the headlines, or designated content to your reader. Each time the reader checks for updates from the website, it updates the content in the reader. These headlines are stored in the reader until you erase them, or read them.

RSS can be written into the metadata for any website, according to a few standards. These can be checked by Leigh Dodds’ validator, Meerkat and My UserLand. These validators can help make sure the XML is complete for the RSS feed.

(King, Andrew. Evolution of RSS. . 2/17/04)

How to set up a news feed to your RSS Reader

Practice exercise 2

1. Open the reader by double clicking on the RSS Reader icon from the desktop

2. Open an Internet Explorer window, by clicking on the

Start menu, Classroom programs, Internet Explorer

3. For this example, we will work with the New York Times and Wall Street Journal

Here are the web addresses for each, go to the site you would like to syndicate:

❖

❖ Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page

❖ Click on the link: Add New York Times RSS feeds [pic]

❖ Scroll down the page to choose which parts of the NY Times to syndicate

❖ Click on the feed button

❖ (

Home Page) is the main front page

❖ Click in the web address toolbar (until it is highlighted)

❖ Edit, Copy

❖ Click back to the rss reader

❖ Click [Add] button (the address should appear in the box)

❖ Click [Next]

❖ Change the title of the feed to whatever you want to see

❖ Click [FINISH]

❖

❖ Scroll down to RSS Feeds on the left blue menu bar (Under “My Online Journal”)

❖ Click [RSS Feeds]

❖ Scroll down to view feeds available free or with registration

❖ Click on the orange feed button you would like to syndicate

❖ Edit, Copy

❖ Click back to the rss reader

❖ Click [Add] button (the address should appear in the box)

❖ Click [Next]

❖ Change the title of the feed to whatever you want to see

❖ Click [FINISH]

Now you know what to look for in other feed opportunities- search the site for RSS or XML or look for the orange buttons on your favorite sites. Follow the steps above from-[edit, copy]- when the XML appears on the screen, then add feeds to your reader.

A list of news feeds are available from:



I have feeds, now how do I read more?

How to navigate your rss reader

Open the RSS Reader

Click on the [Get] button

A Pop up window in the lower right hand corner should appear

Feeds are listed on the left

Headlines are located in list form in the top right window

Headlines in blue are new since the last check on the website

Headlines in bold have not been read

Headlines not in bold have been read

Features

Click [Date filter] to change how many headlines you would like to keep active in the reader.

Click on a feed in the left bar

Click the [Clear] button to clear the headlines from that feed

Click [Tools, Options] to change:

How often the feeds should be checked

How long feeds should be stored

Where and how to open your rss reader

Click [Edit]

Mark all as read/ Mark all as unread

Open in browser (Internet Explorer icon), expand the window (screen with red arrow to the top left), forward and back (green arrows)

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Organizing your feeds

Folder organization is similar to “favorites” or “bookmarks” in a web browser.

You can add these folders and group your feeds as you add them, or later on.

I’m at Home, Now What??

How to set up the reader on your personal computer:

1. Point your browser to

2. CHECK the First Time Use instructions- you may need to add this Microsoft file before you load the reader

3. Click the [Download] button for RSS Reader, either .zip or .exe file is fine.

4. Make sure to locate the downloaded file on your c:// drive.

5. Unzip the file and locate the [Setup] icon, or double click the [Setup] icon in the .exe file.

6. After the program has been loaded you are ready to "syndicate" some content.

7. You can select the RSS Reader from My Computer (wherever you saved the files); or is should be listed in your “system tray” in the bottom right corner of your task bar.

• If you have a dial-up connection, RSS will only run when your internet connection is on

• If you have a dedicated service line, (dsl; Roadrunner or SBC, or campus line, etc.), RSS Reader will run throughout the day, while your computer is on.

Options:

• Want to read more about the “techie” side of RSS?

Hammersley, Ben. (2003). Content syndication with RSS. Beijing: O'Reilly.

Available from Kent State in electronic form. Go to “Safari books” from page, search by the title. This book will help you start from the ground up, all you need to know to start your own feed reader. (May be more than you need to know if you just want to use it.)

• Not sure if you want to use this RSS Reader? Here are websites with many listed and links to download:









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Toolbar

Headlines with browser links

Headlines with dates

Feed list

Pop up window of new headlines

These buttons control your view of the content.

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