The main thing I don't like about RSS feeds is that it can feel like information overload sometimes if the feed that you are following updates too often.
I think anybody using RSS feeds needs to really consider what they want to be getting updated about so that they only get a manageable amount of updates.
From showing students how to set up RSS feeds for research alerts I find that most of them start enthusiastically but when I talk to them later on in the course they have stopped looking at their feed readers. The less places people need to log into and check for information the better. This could be the advantage of something like iGoogle, if you are already using Google mail as your main page.
I know that the Uni Portal already has a number of RSS feeds that students can follow, but this will be much improved once the new service is launched that allows students to add their own RSS feeds to the My Place tab in the portal. Students already log into the portal on a regular basis and there will be no need for another username and password. It will be interesting to see if students follow their RSS feeds for longer once they are in the Portal.
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The information overload problem is a big one. I too have found students give up on RSS due to this. It seems to be due to them setting up too many and then they get swamped. I think there are two things which are important when setting up RSS feeds.
ReplyDelete1) Don't set up too many. Restrict yourself to a few good sources.
2). Give some thought to your reader. Choose one you will go into often easily, such as iGoogle or the University portal. Restricting yourself to one email account and one RSS reader would probably be a good idea, unless you wanted to separate work and leisure.
Good advice - you could also use gmail with its multiple accounts feature so that you can pick up work emails in the same inbox, but clearly separated from personal emails.
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