week 6: managing the "e"

Finding the time to keep up with new innovations in e-learning can be very difficult!  Here are some tools and sites that can make this "keeping up" easier, simpler and more under control!  The tools discussed this week are:  Google Reader, .  As before, the notes come from the "23+ Things" site (thanks Steph Schmidt and Michael Coghlan), lecture notes and forum discussions.




Google Reader
http://www.google.com/reader

The perfect site to keep up with your favourite websites and as easy as checking your email!!  (from the Google Reader site)  "Google reader is a web-based aggregator, capable of reading Atom and RSS feeds online or offline."  Wikipedia 




Useful information

• Definition of aggregator (wikipedia):  a website or computer software that aggregates a specific type of information from multiple online services
• RSS = real simple syndication.  It is used to describe the technology used in creating feeds.
• 2 steps involved:
• sign up to reader
• subscribe to favourite sites
• Check out Wikipedia for alternative aggregators/newsreaders, e.g.
• www.bloglines.com
• www.newsreader.com
• My Yahoo!
• Can get RSS feeds to your iPhone - OR could use Twitter instead as source for feeds from websites!!

Interesting/useful resources

• What is RSS?  A Step-by-Step Guide to Google Reader - an easy introduction to setting up your Google Reader account
• Getting Started with Google Reader - a video tutorial on how to sign up for Google Reader and add subscriptions
• Help - the official Google reader help page (including links to the getting started guide and video tutorials)
• Robert Scoble - a video on how this famous blogger reads 620 blogs every day using Google Reader. 
• How to add RSS to Moodle videos
• Adding remote RSS feeds to Moodle 

Important to know!!

• Important to have RSS feed to Moodle course as this makes the site dynamic!!  
• Moodle has RSS feed capability for PodCasts
• Can have a Flickr badge that has been tabbed or titled
• Friendfeed is a site that allows you to get feeds from your "friends'" delicious, flickr, twitter and facebook accounts all in 1 place.

Useful sites to subscribe to

• ABC Radio - EdPod (PodCasts also available)
• Australian Flexible Framework
• Articulate Blog
• Cat's Pyjamas
• EdTech Digest
• Informal Learning Blog - Archives from Jay Cross
• Jane's E-learning Pick of the Day
• Jay Cross's Learnstream:  Insights to reflect of for boosting collaborative brain power
• Socialnomics
• Steph's screenr screencasts
• TED - PodCasts for ideas worth spreading
• The Rapid E-learning Blog
• Think Simple Now - Personal development
• You Are Never Alone
• Zits - Comics
• 21st Century Teaching and Learning

Flex e-News / e-Gems

http://flexenews.flexiblelearning.net.au/

http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/content/e-gems-series-webconferencing-session-details

There are many resources on the Flexible Learning Framework website - including Copyright Kitchen (a resource for those working in vocational education and training that breaks up copyright information into categories built around who you are, where you work and the task at hand).

Flex e-News is an electronic newsletter published by the Australian Flexible Learning Framework.  Subscribe here.  This newsletter gives you:

• links to e-Resources
• links to events based around flexible learning and using technology in education and training
• links to interesting videos
• can get a RSS feed
• feature articles
• tips
• links to state/territory portals
• spotlight articles from external websites/news sites

e-Gems are free online training sessions run by the Framework, using Elluminate.  You can join in synchronously (when they are scheduled) or view the archived sessions that have been recorded.

SA E-learning Newsletter

The SA E-learning Newsletter is an e-learning newsletter available to anyone.