What is an RSS feed?
Ever wonder what those little , , and buttons are that you see on some web pages?

It means that the website has an RSS feed (which is usually an XML file). RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. RSS is a way for you to subscribe to a certain webpage to be notified when updates occur.

It's like getting a newspaper with only articles that you are interested in.

The website could be this one (Kent Gardens), it could be your favorite blog, your favorite news channel or your favorite sports team. The website must upload an RSS feed though in order for you to subscribe to it. Not all websites have an RSS feed.

Sounds great! How do I start?
In order to receive updates, you will need a news aggregator, which collects new items for you; it checks feeds for updates. You can find a HUGE list of aggregators here. Mlle Boyer likes Bloglines, which allows you to organize your feeds into folders.

In Bloglines, you will sign up (it's free!) and be asked which feeds you would like to subscribe to from a list of popular feeds. You can also search for feeds by keyword.

Then, each time you open or refresh your news aggregator, any new feeds will be shown. For example, Bloglines shows the feeds with new information in bold. All you'll have to do is click on the name of the feed, and see what has been updated. You then have the option to go to the website to see the updates.

How do I get the updates for Kent Gardens?
Click on "Add" to add a website to subcribe to. The URL for Kent Gardens is - http://www.fcps.edu/KentGardensES/kgesrss.xml

Just copy it and paste it into the add a URL field.

Then you are ready to have the internet work for YOU!

Please direct all questions to Mlle Boyer at rrboyer@fcps.edu