Using news feeds in Glow to support learning and teaching
Overview
Web sites constantly publish information that is interesting and relevant for pupils and staff. Finding the time to review the different sources of information for updates is difficult. A news, or web, feed is a service provided by web sites that lets you check updates to web site content without the need for you to visit the actual site. We can publish these news feeds in our Glow Groups.
In this cookbook we will look at how teachers are using news feeds in their Glow Groups and hear the views of Bruce McMaster, teacher of Biology at Broughton High School in Edinburgh, on their use in the teaching of Biology. We will also see how to set up a news feed in a Glow Group.
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Context
Teachers who use technology in their practice have long recognised the benefit to their pupils in having access to a list of useful web links. The Web Links web part in Glow allows staff to easily set up such lists. This method of collecting lists of links is best suited to the situation where the content you want pupils to view is static, not changing. Many web sites, however, provide dynamic, constantly updating services. Regularly checking these sites to find out what is new or relevant can be a time consuming task for both pupils and staff.
The development of news or web feeds (sometimes referred to as RSS feeds*) allows us to view the updates to these changing sources from a single place and that place for us is a web part in a Glow Group.
(* Depending on who you talk to, RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication)
Teachers across Scotland are imaginatively integrating the use of news feeds with other Glow functionality to provide a rich learning environment for their pupils.
Bruce McMaster is a teacher of Biology at Broughton High School in Edinburgh. Through the appropriate use of technology in class, Bruce has aimed to enrich the experience of his pupils during their time in the Biology Department. With the introduction of Glow to Broughton, Bruce was keen to investigate how best to use the tools and functionality to further enrich the learning experiences of his pupils.
In this cookbook he provides us with an insight into how he makes use of news feeds in Glow.
In this cookbook, we will:
- See examples of how teachers are using news feeds in Glow
- Hear Bruce outline how he uses news feeds in Glow to support the learning and teaching of Biology.
- Find out how to set up a news feed in Glow
Ingredients
To publish a news feed in Glow, we need:
- A Glow Group
- An XML web part to display the news feed
Recipe
In the videos below, we will see how teachers are using news feeds in Glow and how to set up news feeds:
|
Video Clip |
Length |
| Using news feeds in Glow
|
2:24 |
| Creating a news feed in Glow
|
3:54 |
Impact
It is the creative use of news feeds in Glow that adds value and impact to learning and teaching. The examples highlighted in this cookbook are providing pupils with stimulus for project ideas, constantly updating sources of real world information for topical discussion and the opportunity to read relevant news articles in a foreign language. By combining news feeds with other Glow functionality, e.g. publishing learning intentions in the News Web part and using Discussion Boards to expand on ideas, thoughts and opinions, teachers are developing engaging and relevant learning environments for their pupils.
Well planned use of Glow will help pupils achieve many of the Curriculum for Excellence learning experiences and outcomes. The examples highlighted in this cookbook can be linked specifically to:
Reading to appreciate other cultures: MLAN 2-09a through to MLAN 4-09a
Understanding, analysing and evaluating: LIT 1-08a and LIT 2-08a
The web site used to generate the JavaScript programming code needed to see the news feed: http://feed2js.org/index.php?s=about
Follow the link below to hear how Bruce uses Glow to support the teaching of Advanced Higher Biology:
|
Cookbook |
| Using Glow to support Advanced Higher Biology |