| Conference Registration WebCT Homepage | |
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| Thursday, July 13, 2006: 11:15 AM-12:00 PM | |||
| Michigan A Room (Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers) | |||
| H-10: RSS “Plumbing” in WebCT: Here is How | |||
| Detailed Description: | In some disciplines, instructors are constantly challenged to keep students up-to-date with current news. Maintaining the links to web resources, especially news sites, in WebCT course shells becomes a chore. This session will demonstrate how RSS technology makes it possible to bring dynamic “live” web content into your WebCT courses. See a demonstration that explains the concept of RSS and the ease of pulling “live” content inside WebCT using RSS. | ||
| Presentation Format: | Showcase | ||
| Topic: | Incorporating innovative tools: breakthrough technologies and WebCT | ||
| Target Audience: | Course Designers, Faculty and Other Instructors, E-learning Managers, K-12 Educational Staff | ||
| Appropriate Audience Level: | Beginning or new users of WebCT, Experienced WebCT users | ||
| Abstract Text: | In some disciplines, instructors are constantly challenged to keep students up-to-date with current news. Consider Finance. Financial markets experience changes in prices and fundamentals occurring daily and more often by the minute. The study of financial markets is rendered richer if text book material is integrated with market happenings on a daily if not more frequent basis. RSS or Really Simple Syndication offers a solution. As a web technology that is increasing becoming mainstream, RSS has replaced extant methods of updating content on the web, and is now the “invisible plumbing” that runs the internet. RSS takes the place of a zillion bookmarks, cutting and pasting of news items, printing hard copies for distribution, and rotten links resulting from site updates. RSS is now being used as a way to bring “live” content from the online journals/websites directly into WebCT courses as "headlines" that are updated whenever the publishing site updates its information. Instructors are directing students to relevant articles through simple announcements. This provides both students and instructors online access to current news from multiple sources, many of which are free, some of which require subscriptions, but all of which are continually updated, within the password protected environment of WebCT. This presentation will explain how the inclusion of an online component that integrates RSS technology into WebCT can substantially improve the delivery of course content. Most importantly, this technology allows course pages to stay current without any stagnant links, and saves instructional effort from being wasted on maintenance of links. Having access to the news as well as the discussion facility at the same site encourages student participation and discussion in WebCT. A live demonstration will help the audience understand the concept of RSS and the ease of pulling “live” content inside WebCT using RSS. | ||
| Session Leader: | Madhuri Kumar C.T.Bauer College of Business, University of Houston | ||
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