Email, Mailing Lists,

UNIT 16 EMAIL, MAILING LISTS, Discussion Group, RSS

Feed
DISCUSSION GROUPS, RSS FEED
Structure
16.0 Introduction
16.1 Learning Outcomes
16.2 Electronic Mail
16.2.1 Educational Uses of Email
16.2.2 Using Email
16.3 Mailing Lists
16.3.1 Working of Mailing Lists
16.3.2 Mailing Lists for Educational Purposes
16.3.3 Examples of Mailing Lists for Online Education
16.3.4 Recommendations to Set up a Mailing List
16.4 Discussion Groups
16.4.1 Educational Uses of Discussion Groups
16.4.2 Using Discussion Groups
16.5 RSS Feed
16.5.1 RSS in Education
16.5.2 Using RSS
16.6 Let Us Sum Up
16.7 Keywords
16.8 References and Further Readings
16.9 Feedback to Check Your Progress Questions

16.0 INTRODUCTION
The Internet and its World Wide Web (Web or WWW for short) have
normally been static and non-interactive communication technologies.
However, in this block we are going to discuss about interactive delivery
methods on the web. In this unit, you will learn about the features of email,
mailing lists, discussion forum and RSS feeds as interactive tools in teaching
and learning. Interaction between teacher and student and student and
student have been touted as the most important aspects of teaching and
learning, and especially distance education has been criticized due to
absence of or poor interaction features. However, with the introduction of
more and more interactive elements on the web, distance education can
provide high quality interaction of all the three types identified by Moore
(1994): Learner-content, Learner-Learner, and Learner-Teacher. In Unit 15,
you have already studied about the web and how to create pages. You may
like to re-call and review unit 15 before working on this unit.

16.1 LEARNING OUTCOMES

After working through this unit, you are expected to be able to:
• Identify content delivery tools on the web;
• Describe advantages and limitations of different methods and tools;
• Discuss models of teaching and learning using these tools; and
• Use these tools for teaching and learning.

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Interactive Delivery
Methods 16.2 ELECTRONIC MAIL
Electronic mail or in short “email” is one of the most popular and useful
features of the Internet. By definition, it is mail delivered through electronic
means. However, while tracing the development of email communication
Tao and Reinking (1996) identified at lest three definitions of email:
1) It is mail being transmitted electronically. This definition embraces fax
and telex.
2) It is only communication through computers but would include
graphics as well as texts as appropriate email communication.
3) It is only text being transmitted through computers between senders
and receivers.
Today, email is primarily known as communication from one person to
another or many others through the use of computer and networks.

Email addresses have standard three part format: userid@[Link]. The

userid is the name identifying the user; @ [at] sign follow account name; and
the host of the email account (such as Hotmail, Yahoo or any other
webserver), and the domain (such as .in, .org, .com, .net, etc.). Some
important characteristics of email are as follows:
• It is text-based, and requires literacy skills. Language is the major means
by which the email communication is done.
• A mail once typed can be sent to multiple persons/locations without
duplicating efforts.
• It is asynchronous in nature, and can overcome problems posed by
geographical time zones.
• Messages sent and received as email can be stored and organized in a
way that can facilitate easy retrieval.
• It is a cost and time saving technology. It also reduces the use of paper
(environmental friendly).

16.2.1 Educational Use of Email

It is the use of email that makes e-Learning possible. In most e-Learning
programme the basic need is to have an email account. Sometimes, a whole
course is offered through email as well. So, the use of email is enormous in
education. Primarily, email has two main applications in education: in
research and in teaching. Email is used as a research tool, and also as a
carrier of research tools (such as questionnaire and interview schedule).
However, in the instructional settings email is used for communication and
interaction between student and students, and student and teachers. Email
provides the advantage of speed, and information and announcements about
a schedule/reschedule of classes can reach the learners before they travel to
the classroom/study centre. Learners with special needs (hearing impaired)
can interact with the teachers using email, while visually impaired students
can use email with other text-to-speech readers. In a conventional classroom,
a student may feel intimidated to talk and raise questions/doubts, but can
choose to interact though email. Email can be used for delivering of lessons,
and teachers can develop email groups to discuss topics related to the
curriculum (Dorman, 1998). Kramaski (2002) reported that email
conversation was useful in construction and interpretation of graphs using
EXCEL, and it enriched mathematical discourse. Kim (2008) through a
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review of literature identified the following advantages of email use that Email, Mailing Lists,
contributes to academic achievement: Discussion Group, RSS
Feed
• Enabling immediate, frequent support for individual needs; learner-
centred context; individualized instruction; exchange of resources and
information.
• Fostering psychological comport; intimacy; expression of personal ideas;
opinions, and emotions; informal conversations; social content
exchanges; interpersonal contexts.
• Building interpersonal skills, collegiality; awareness of others’ attitude;
insights into others’ perspectives; close relationships.
• Developing thoughtfulness; cognitive task structuring; careful analysis;
critical thinking; reflection; planning.
• Encouraging interest; enthusiasm; motivation; self-esteem; self-
confidence; change in personal values; active participation.
• Permitting authentic but convenient context; gap reduction between
knowledge and practice; real-world anxiety decrease.

16.2.2 Using Email

While it is almost redundant here to talk of the technology of email, as it is
almost pervasive in higher education institutions. Nevertheless, you need to
have an email account to teach and your students should have email
accounts to take advantage of this technology. Either you can use the free web-
based email services (that provide abundant space these days) or you can have
a client-based email system in your institution that may use mail delivery
software like the Eudora, Outlook, and others. However, it is most important
to consider the pedagogic issues related to use of email in teaching-learning. In
this context, we proffer the following guidelines:
• Analyze the individual and group needs, specially in the context of
cognitive and no-cognitive support.
• Consider the skill level of your target group, and their familiarity with
the use of email. Provide a short hands-on training and/or distribute a
short printed guide for ready reference.
• Indicate email response time from the perspective of both the student
and the teacher in the beginning of the course.
• Plan and develop templates for routine kinds of queries for use during
the teaching process.
• Consider a theoretical foundation for your teaching approach by using
various models available. Once such model that could be effectively
uses is Keller’s ARCS model. Attention enhancing mail can be sent in
the beginning of the course, and when required to stimulate a sense of
inquiry and curiosity in the student. Message that relate the content of
the study to the learners present/future needs can be categorized as
relevance enhancing message. Confidence-enhanced messages are
utilized to convince the learners that after carefully reading and
undertaking the tasks, they would be able to achieve their goals.
Satisfaction related mails provide information on what the students
would get after accepting and using the strategies given to them. So,
while, using mail to provide instructions, you need to consider the
purpose and use appropriate language to that effect.
• It is also important to be precise, without being too lengthy. You may
avoid non-relevant message to the learners. But, you should check
regularly about learner’s progress through mail/phone.
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Interactive Delivery • Reply to students’ mail as quick as possible, but should not be delayed
Methods more than the promised time in the beginning of the course.
• Provide working weblinks in your mail.
• While using email as a discussion forum amongst the students on a
specific topic, summarize the discussion every day/week/month. You
may assign this task to specific student volunteers during the course.
Consider giving weight to their involvement in such discussion in the
final grade/credits.
• Ask students to submit assignments on due date; give sufficient alerts
before the due date. Let them know the consequence of non-submission
of assignments on time.
• Consider personal emails received from students as private, and do not
share these with the group unless otherwise stated by the writer.
• Reply to emails carefully, and not in haste. Do a spell check before
pushing the send button.
• Never promote spam/junk mail or chain mail forwarding amongst
students/teachers.
• Ask students to use appropriate etiquette associated with the email. Use
of capital letter in email is considered to be rude.

Check Your Progress 16.1

Notes: a) Write your answers in the space given below.
b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.

1) Write three characteristics of Email.

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2) Write in 100 words the advantages of email for educational purposes.
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16.3 MAILING LISTS

So long as e-mail remains a major form of communication, mailing lists will
provide a convenient means of message distribution. Mailing lists go by
various names such as discussion lists or e-mail forums, which give a clearer
idea of their nature or purpose. The providers of free mailing lists such as
Google and Yahoo call them groups, which emphasize their role in
maintaining topic-based communities.
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A one of the earliest forms of ICT or communication through the Internet, Email, Mailing Lists,
mailing lists have also proven abidingly useful for educational purposes, Discussion Group, RSS
Feed
including for information sharing and professional development among
educators. Easy interfaces between e-mail and the Web have meant that the
typical mailing list message links to a new entry on the vast WWW that is
relevant to the list topic and expected to be of interest to list subscribers.

Mailing lists offer many flexible options depending on the needs of the user.
Messages can be exchanged through e-mail client programs, through a Web
interface, or most recently from hand-held devices such as mobile phones
that have an Internet connection. The convenience of e-mail in most ways
applies to lists as well, such as automatically forwarding messages. The
ultimate convenience of e-mail or mailing lists lies in the fact that messages
are pushed to the user automatically and effortlessly. Blogs and social
networking sites purportedly superseding mailing lists have suffered from
the drawback that the user must go to the Websites and pull the information
from them. One may visit a Website only to find to find nothing new, which
discourages one from returning to check again. RSS feeds have come along
partly to fill this need of a preview of contents available (More on this later).

On the other hand, the very convenience and immediacy of e-mail tends to
present the mailing list subscriber with information overload, although the
unending problem of spam has seemed to affect mailing lists relatively little.
The subscribers who can post to a list are under the control of a list owner
with nearly absolute gatekeeping powers. Web archives can be set to be
available to subscribers only or on the open Web and searchable. Subscribers
for their part can set their subscription to a daily or other periodic digest of
posts compiled in one message. They can set their subscription to no mail
during busy periods, or just check the Web archives occasionally if they are
available. Subscribers are free to either move from list to list according to
their evolving interests or to stay in communities sustained by mailing lists.

16.3.1 Working of Mailing Lists

A listserv or list-serving program in a server computer automatically
maintains a subscriber list and distribution options set by the list owner and
each subscriber. An e-mail sent to the e-mail address of the list is generally
distributed to each subscriber who opted for individual messages or is
placed in a queue for digest subscribers. Web archives of all messages can be
generated if desired, often with options of viewing posted messages
chronologically, topically, or alphabetically by author.

Besides the owner there can be other list administrators to screen

memberships or messages. A moderated list means first that the owner
selects certain controls over how to subscribe, who can subscribe, and
whether attached files are transmitted or not. For example, subscribers may
have to fill out a Web form first to show legitimate intentions in terms of the
purpose of the list. Moderation most often means controlling what content is
allowed to be distributed, by blocking messages considered irrelevant or
offensive. Moderation criteria should be clarified in the welcome message to
new subscribers along with the mission of the list. Moderation is particularly
important where all messages are archived on the Web and accessible to
search engines. Messages with inappropriate content are best prevented
before distribution, because in most cases the list owner cannot eliminate
individual messages from the Web archives at the server computer level.

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Interactive Delivery To moderate a list also means to mediate among subscribers and active
Methods posters to control the number, length or other aspects of messages, to
mitigate unproductive quarrels by persuasion, or to maintain standards of
conduct. In the case of academic mailing lists, the moderation could extend
to maintaining scholarly rigor and collegiality. E-moderation has become a
topic of importance in books and Websites because of the need for quality of
communication in mailing lists serving a vast number of interests and
disciplines. While the list owner has arbitrary powers and is generally safe
from legal challenges, in order to satisfy list members that the process is fair,
sometimes list owners have negotiated their policies democratically with
subscriber input. However, a list is generally most successful when
moderation is least needed or remains invisible in the background.

Distribution Lists
However, not all mailing lists are set to an each-to-all mode for the purpose
of discussion. A one-way distribution list with a few-to-all setting can still
serve a community with a common interest, but with the focus on
propagating information. Rarely distributed more than once a day, they tend
to be edited and concise to maximize the information that an individual may
wish to receive. Major newspapers such as the New York Times and Financial
Times offer free distribution lists with headlines and links to stories at their
main Websites. Such distribution lists are also called mail magazines, and
indeed the capabilities of e-mail messages through HTML markup, links,
photos and other embedded media approach the appearance of Web pages.
If there is a market for certain specialized information, such as investment
advice that is perceived as economically valuable, people are sometimes
willing to pay for distribution lists.

At the same time, to serve the various needs of a community for both
discussion and straight information, an organization can maintain any
number of discussion lists as well as distribution lists. There are few
technical restraints except that a virtual organization can become scattered as
members belong to different communication channels that do not intersect.
That is why the topics of mailing lists need to strike a balance between being
too general and too specific. Lists may need to serve specialized needs of
individual members while remaining general enough to maintain an active
community. Moreover, people’s interests change along with current events
and technological progress.

16.3.2 Mailing Lists for Educational Purposes

Educational mailing lists can and do run from the class level to the global
level. A teacher, for example, may set up a mailing list with the campus e-
mail addresses of all the students in order to reach students quickly about
assignments, announcements, class changes or cancellations. In a one-way
transmission mode from the teacher, the mailing list format is merely for
convenience, whereas mailing lists lend themselves readily to each-to-all
discussions. With sharing among peers and group self-regulation, the
teacher can observe without intervening. Provided the mailing list is set to
accept attachments, the list members can share multimedia files such as
voice messages or videos.

A university or other educational institution often finds it useful to set up

many mailing lists on the institutional listserv. They can serve as routine
communication channels for departments or other divisions of the institution
such as staff or administrators. Then finally there are the geographically or
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topically based mailing lists that extend beyond institutions, sometimes Email, Mailing Lists,
global in scope or relevance. Academic mailing lists may evolve from Discussion Group, RSS
Feed
generalized topics to more specialized topics over time. However, there are
fields such as distance education where a wide geographical distribution
continues to provide mutual benefits to subscribers.

16.3.3 Examples of Mailing Lists for Online Education

Online education is one of those fields that, while gradually becoming more
specialized in world regions and academic disciplines, can still bring
together a global membership in mailing lists or virtual organizations. There
is a widespread notion that mailing lists go through a life cycle of initial
excitement, intense participation, then irritation at the overload of messages,
leading to bickering, breakup or apathy. But while the psychology of novelty
and other aspects of human nature are involved, the life cycle could easily
become a stereotype like believing that all travelers experience culture shock
because certain stages are relatively common. Some mailing lists related to
online education have been active since the 1990s, while subscribers cannot
generally cope with dozens of messages a day, so the restraint of more
considered messages is a welcome development.

The Distance Education Online Symposium DEOS-L is one example of a

long-standing and active mailing list (the dash L in many mailing list
addresses refers to Listserv, which is a registered trademark of L-Soft
International) with subscription options and archives available for browsing
at <[Link] DEOS-L is moderated
and academically oriented, with a combination of general discussions on
distance education and announcements for conferences and publications.
Based in the U.S., it tends to be weighted toward North American
perspectives because of the composition of subscribers, but it has also
welcomed international threads in keeping with its topic and the reach of
online technologies.

In the genre of free distribution lists, the OLDaily by Stephen Downes offers
unconditional information about developments in online learning.
Subscribers can receive a weekly digest or make comments at the Website
<[Link] With no commitment necessary and little direct
interaction, the community is entirely implicit but nonetheless sustained
through the technologies and sources recommended as they resonate with
subscribers’ needs and interests.

Virtual organizations have relied upon mailing lists to keep members

informed and interacting, so they may employ both discussion lists and
distribution lists. Belonging to at least one of the lists is a minimum
condition of membership in some virtual organizations to distinguish them
from mere lists or Websites. The World Association for Online Education
(WAOE) has been held together since 1998 mostly by mailing lists, moving
between server bases in universities and free Web-based services such as
Google Groups. However, belonging only to the WAOE general member
discussion list has led some observers to believe that the list was the full
extent of the organization. It was out of consideration for general members
that organizational lists were separated from content lists focused on online
education issues. Nevertheless, the discussion lists provide essential
communication channels leading to deeper involvement in the organization
along with opportunities for professional collaboration among the global
membership.
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Interactive Delivery 16.3.4 Recommendations to Set up a Mailing List
Methods
Having reviewed some of the uses of mailing lists, for education and e-
learning in particular, you should not hesitate to set up new lists where the
purposes of discussion, information dissemination, or community-building
may be served. Two widely-used, free, and easily managed Web-based
mailing list services are Google Groups <[Link] and
Yahoo Groups <[Link] Many of you may already have
an account such as Web-based e-mail with one or both of the providers and
may choose whichever seems more convenient. One generally signs up to be
a list owner at one of the above Websites, or at the corresponding site in
one’s own country or preferred language. Then it is a matter of choosing
among the available settings, such as how open the list is in terms of
membership and Web archives, whether to moderate messages before
release, then populating the list by generating direct invitation messages to
e-mail addresses from within the group administration interface, or by
publicly inviting people to visit the home page of the list.

Alternatively, mailing list software with Web archiving capability, some of

which is free and open source software, can be set up on one’s own
institutional server. For more details see the Wikipedia entry on electronic
mailing lists or e-lists: <[Link]
Electronic_mailing_list>.

Even as successive technologies such as social networking or virtual worlds

increasingly attract users to Web-based venues, mailing lists remain useful to
reach people directly and unforgettably through their e-mail in-box. Mailing
lists can complement other technologies where many choices are available,
or serve as an essential communication channel in regions where online
technology is most limited.

Check Your Progress 16.2

Notes: a) Write your answers in the space given below.
b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.

1) What is the difference between mailing list and distribution list?

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2) Give two examples of mailing lists.
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3) Give two situations for which mailing lists can be used.
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 Email, Mailing Lists,
16.4 DISCUSSION GROUPS Discussion Group, RSS
Feed
Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is becoming more commonly
utilized in the delivery of university curricula. There are different ways of
incorporating CMC; one application that is being increasingly utilized is
online discussion forum or group. As an application, the discussion group
provides a limited and structured online environment for the provision,
exchange and/or discussion of information between instructor and students
and/or between students. A defining feature of the asynchronous discussion
forum as an application is that it allows for comments to be posted and
viewed at a time of convenience to the student or instructor, in other words,
there is no need to be connected at a specific same time.

In order for e-educators and those utilizing a blended learning approach to

achieve improved learning outcomes it is imperative that teaching and
learning strategies incorporating online discussion forums are pedagogically
sound. As such, the increase in usage of online discussion forums in higher
education has led to the associated need to increase our understanding of
how to best incorporate such applications into teaching (Stodel, Thompson,
& MacDonald, 2006; Tallent-Runnels, Thomas & Lan et al., 2006).

16.4.1 Educational Uses of Discussion Groups

Within the e-learning environment, it is the discussion forum that commonly
provides the means for considered dialogue between student and instructor
as well as collaborative activities between students, without the requirement
of a face-to-face encounter (Garrison, 1997; Kear & Heap, 2007). Rudimentary
use of discussion forums within the delivery of a subject is as a means to
provide information or direction to students on course content or
administrative matters. Used in this way the forum offers the student right
of reply often for confirmation of understanding and, perhaps more
significantly, presents a lasting record of the information and ensuing
dialogue for other students and instructors involved in the subject. This can
contribute to a sense of a shared learning space and process involving
instructors and students which can, in turn, lead to more open and
productive communication around subject content and procedures.

A more advanced and increasingly used application of the discussion forum

within education is as an online environment for subject content discussion,
akin to a tutorial. A relatively straightforward approach to this is for the
instructor to set a question or topic with students encouraged or required to
respond to the content related topic and have on-going discussions with
their peers on this topic (Johnson, 2006). This conception of the online
discussion forum manifests in a question and answer format with the
instructor posing the question, students required or invited to provide an
answer and the instructor positioned to confirm, refute or provide the
“right” or model response. Used in this way, the nature of asynchronous
online discussion forums (messages and postings can be viewed when
convenient for participants) offers students the time to reflect on the topic or
discussion and thereby encourages a more in depth, academic and
constructive dialogue (Sandor & Harris, 2008, Garrison, 1997; Johnson 2006).
This is the real advantage of asynchronous discussion forums over more
fancied synchronous applications such as real-time or synchronous audio,
visual or even text only on-line classrooms or more informal and rapid
dialogue applications such as blogs, wikis and chat rooms.

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Interactive Delivery 16.4.2 Using Discussion Groups
Methods
Teaching a course or even components of a course online is distinctly
different from a face-to-face mode of delivery (Kelly, Ponton, & Rovai, 2007).
Applications such as asynchronous online discussion forums permit greater
flexibility for participants who can be studying almost anywhere at anytime
(Dixson et al., 2006; Leh, 2002). From the instructor’s perspective, this
convenience for the student generates an onus upon the instructor to be
regularly, if not near continuously, online to field questions, reply to postings
and generally be an active leader of the dialogue within the discussion
forums. Furthermore, to be absent or off-line for any significant length of
time carries the risk of being viewed by course participants as unresponsive
and uninterested which, in turn, leads to participants’ reduced usage or
withdrawal from online aspects of a course. Not surprisingly, many
instructors perceive online discussion forums to be highly time demanding
with limited reward or recognition for effort (O’Quinn & Corry, 2002;
Rourke & Anderson, 2002; Spector, 2005).

Much of the usage of online discussion forums in higher education is

didactic in nature positioning the instructor in a traditional educational role
as the provider of knowledge (Light & Cox, 2001; Margolis, 2000). While this
usage can have merit, there is a need to implement more innovative
approaches to the medium of discussion forum that are pedagogically
sound, engaging for participants and more time effective for instructors. In
this regard, the distinctive asynchronous platform of the online discussion
forum can be used to promote peer learning (Harris & Sandor, 2007; Kear &
Heap, 2007). Given the widely acknowledged value of student to student
interaction in promoting engagement with content and deepening learning,
initiatives that draw students into online learning processes and encourage
them to take a more central role in their learning are of interest (Boud & Lee,
2005; Kear, 2004).

Figure 16.1 presents a model of asynchronous discussion forums as a

student-centred peer e-learning environment. This framework promotes
greater student involvement and ownership by positioning the student as
central in the learning process. The student is situated as the content expert
and facilitator on a specific topic at the centre of the learning event, shifting
the focus from the instructor to the student. The instructor has been
repositioned as the overseer of dialogue; remaining abreast of the discussion
should support and guidance be needed. The student becomes content
expert by preparing and posting a primer or short essay (approximately 1
000 words) on a specific topic (e.g. Choose a health behaviour change model
and discuss it’s strengths and weaknesses in understanding and addressing a
health issue of your choice) giving the student greater knowledge on the
topic compared to his or her peers. All other members of the forum group
provide academic comment on or build upon the primer that has been
posted. As content expert, the student who posted the primer is also
required to facilitate the discussion (three aspects of facilitation: content,
leadership and processes) surrounding their particular topic thereby
relieving the instructor of this role.

This framework has been developed and evaluated by Harris and Sandor
(2009) over the last six years across a number of postgraduate and
undergraduate courses delivered in both blended and online modes to
combined cohorts of between 25-80 students who generally have limited
experience of online discussion forums. In these courses the framework has
been a central component and provided the basis for the majority of the
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assessment. Discussion forums run weekly with students being assigned to Email, Mailing Lists,
write a primer on a set topic corresponding to course content. Students are Discussion Group, RSS
Feed
then assessed on their primer, the facilitation and their postings in all
discussion forums (70% of total assessment: 30% primer, 30% postings, 10%
facilitation). To compress the discussion and keep the momentum within the
dialogue, forums are only accessible for two weeks. Student feedback on the
approach has been very supportive and highlighted the value of the
approach for engagement with subject content and personal learning.

Figure 16.1: Online discussion forum as a student centred peer e-learning

environment

With respect to applying the model of asynchronous discussion forums as a

student centred peer e-learning environment there are a few key learning to
be considered:
• Assess forum participation: A significant portion of the subject marks
accorded to forum participation increases the student interest in
participation. All three components - primer, postings and facilitation -
should be separately assessed;

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Interactive Delivery • Participation as a requirement not an option: Students are required to
Methods participate in each weekly forum with marks deducted for any forum
missed by the student;
• Limit the length of time the forum is open (one to two weeks): This
compresses the dialogue and promotes greater and more coherent
interaction between students. If you are running a series of forums
across the semester, this strategy will require students to engage with
subject material on a weekly basis;
• Limit participant numbers in a discussion group: Too few and too many
participants in a forum becomes counterproductive. Ideally between 10
and 25 participants in a group. Many less than 10 participants and there
is not sufficient numbers to sustain a discussion, more than 25 and the
forum becomes too busy with those who are less confident of their
standing in the group fading out of the discussion; and
• Set topics and assign students: The forums must have an established set
topic that is directly linked with the subject being studied - ideally
supported with resources such as a lecture, topic notes, references, and
web links. Students must be assigned to topics (primer and facilitation
role) early in semester.

Check Your Progress 16.3

Notes: a) Write your answers in the space given below.
b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.

1) How does discussion group facilitate constructivist learning

environment?
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2) How can you make effective use of discussion forum in e-learning?
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16.5 RSS FEED

RSS stands for Rich Site Summary or Real Simple Syndication. It is a type of
XML document used to share news headlines and other web pages. Any web
page with an RSS feed enables the user to track updates on that specific page
in an automated manner through a single subscription, and without having
to visit the page from time to time. “Because the data is in XML, and not a
display language like HTML, RSS information can be flowed into a large
number of devices. In addition to being used to create news summary web
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pages, RSS can be fed into stand alone news browsers or headline readrs, Email, Mailing Lists,
PDAs, cell phones, email ticklers and even voice updates” (Downes, 2002). Discussion Group, RSS
Feed
A single RSS file is called a channel. It consists of two major sets of elements:
• Channel properties: the name of the channel, the URL and an image for
the channel; and
• Item properties: separate items listed in the channel with specific title and
link.
Example:
<?xml version=”1.0" encoding=”utf-8"?>
<rss version=”2.0">
<channel>
<title>Website Feed</title>
<description>Website Feed coded manually</description>
<link>[Link]
<item>
<title>Title of the item</title>
<description>Description of the item</description>
<link>Exact link for the item in your domain</link>
</item>
</channel>
</rss>

Where, this is coded as XML version 1, and RSS version 2, with the channel
name Website Feed, and having one item.

The RSS file which is in XML can be created using a plain text editor (such as
Word Pad or Note Pad). However, in practice you may not require to create
an RSS file manually as most blogs, wikis and LMSs provide RSS feed as an
automatic feature.

Typically RSS feeds would be used through a RSS Reader (like Google
Reader or Bloglines) or an Aggregator (such as FeedReader or Yahoo Pipes).
It could be desktop-based or web-based, but you need to subscribe to the
RSS channels from varieties of sources into your Reader/Aggregator to
receive updates without visiting the specific pages. Thus, it is like receiving
only relevant news items from select sources and serve it at one place.

16.5.1 RSS in Education

In today’s fast changing world, it is important to remain up-to-date without
spending much time for relevant information on the web. Pre-identification
and subscription to relevant XML files can save time and efforts of searching.
While using collaborative social software like wikis, it is possible to get
information about group contributions without visiting the wiki. You can
subscribe to student blogs in a course to monitor their progress. One of the
most important aspects of RSS is that while you use it, there is no need to
supply your email, and thereby reduce the chance of spam in your inbox, as
it usually happens with subscription to email newsletters. RSS can be used
for a variety of purpose where it is important to be up-to-date. For instance,
the Athabasca University’s Centre for Distance Education used RSS feed in
[Link] to provide required updates in the Centre’s website (Mason and
Rennie, 2008). Thus, the faculty members while maintained their own blogs,
the programmers in the computer centre maintained the website by
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Interactive Delivery subscribing to the RSS feeds of individual faculty. Thus, the faculty was no
Methods more dependent on the programmers and the programmers also had enough
time to think about new design issues.

16.5.2 Using RSS

You can use RSS readers to remain up-to-date by becoming member of free
services like Google Reader, Bloglines or Netvibes. If you have a Gmail, it is
pretty easy to create a Goolge Reader account. Just go to http://
[Link]/reader and log in with your current Gmail userid and
password. Once you log in, you will find the Google reader interface with
left pan for subscription and the right pan for slowing the news items. In the
left pan, you have link – Add a Subscription (see Figure 16.2). By clicking to
that you will get a small field to type the RSS feed that you want to
subscribe. For this, you need to identify the specific newsfeed. For example,
the newsfeed for the blog – TeachKnowLogist is http://
[Link]/feeds/posts/default. Once the same is typed/
pasted in the field and click “Add”; you are subscribed to the feed, and start
getting the updates as and when the blog gets a new entry!

It is also possible to embed a specific RSS feed into a web page. For this, you
need to convert the RSS feed into Javascript (a simple facility is available at
RSSxpress Lite on UKOLN) and embed in the web page.

Figure 16.2: Example of RSS Reader

Suggestions
• If you write a blog or engage in a collaborative wiki, you can use the RSS
effectively to save your time and that of your students.
• You can encourage students to create their own Google Reader or Yahoo
Pipes account on topics of interest to remain up-to-date.
• You can create news feed on select keywords through different search
engines. For example, a search through Google News on “web 2.0” can
provide a RSS feed such as [Link]
news?pz=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=web+2.0&output=rss that can provide
regular feeds to your RSS reader.
• You can subscribe to social bookmarking sites to know what other users
are marking and tagging. For Example the RSS feed for the user ‘missan’
20 at Delicious is [Link]
 Email, Mailing Lists,
Check Your Progress 16.4 Discussion Group, RSS
Notes: a) Write your answer in the space given below. Feed

b) Compare your answer with the one given at the end of this unit.
What are the advantages of RSS use in education?
.....................................................................................................................
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16.6 LET US SUM UP

In this unit you studied the educational usage of email, mailing list,
discussion forum and RSS feeds on web pages. While we emphasized the
importance of interaction, these technology tools provide easy way to
teachers to create the interactive environment in online settings. We
highlighted the advantages of email such as ease of technology,
psychological comfort, building interpersonal skills, developing critical
thinking and motivating the learners. We also provided a set of guidelines
on how to use email for teaching-learning. Mailing lists as an extension of
email that is group based was also discussed in this unit. While its use was
discussed, two specific examples (such as DEOS-L and WAOE list) were also
given as illustration. Furthering the use of technology for group learning, we
introduced the discussion groups in this unit. We discussed online forums as
an asynchronous tool that encourages dialogue, in-depth communication
and constructivist learning. You also studied a framework for use of
discussion forum in online and blended learning situation. In the next
section, we discussed the use of Really Simple Syndication (RSS) that is
Extensible Markup Language (XML) based to push information/updates to
the learners. We also described the use of Google Reader to remain up-to-
date in an interactive manner.

16.7 KEYWORDS
Email: is short form of electronic mail. It is mail delivered through electronic means.
Mailing lists: is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an
organization to send material to multiple recipients through an electronic system
such as Listserv.
RSS: commonly expanded as Really Simple Syndication is a family of web feed
formats used to publish frequently updated works.
XML: is short from of Extensible Markup Language. It is a set of rules for encoding
documents in machine-readable form.

16.8 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READINGS

Advantages and disadvantages in using email for teaching and learning, Issues of
Teaching and Learning, 5 (3), Available at [Link]
publications/ITL/1999/3/advantages (08/08/2009)
Bloglines: [Link]

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Interactive Delivery Boud, D. & Lee, A. (2005). ‘Peer learning’ as pedagogic discourse for research
Methods education. Studies in Higher Education, 30(5), 501-516.
Dixson, M., Kuhlhorst, M., & Reiff, A. (2006). Creating effective online discussions:
optimal instructor and student roles. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks,
10(1), 3-5.
Dorman, S.M. (1998). Using email to enhance instruction, Journal of School Health, 68
(6), 260-261.
Downes, S. (2002). An Introduction to RSS for Educational Designers, Retrieved on
August 8, 2009 from the Web at [Link]
FeedReader: [Link]
Garrison, D. R. (1997). Computer conferencing: the post-industrial age of distance
education. Open Learning: The Journal of Open and Distance Learning, 12(2), 3-11.
Glotzbach, R., Mohler, J. & Radwan, J. (2007). The Usefulness of RSS in Higher Education.
In R. Carlsen et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology and Teacher
Education International Conference 2007 (pp. 3019-3026). Chesapeake, VA: AACE
Google Reader: [Link]
Harris, N. & Sandor, M. (2007). Developing online discussion forums as student
centred peer e-learning environments. In ICT: Providing choices for learners and
learning. Proceedings ascilite Singapore 2007. [Link]
conferences/singapore07/procs/[Link]
How email works? [Link] (07/08/
2009).
Johnson, G. M. (2006). Synchronous and asynchronous text-based CMC in
educational contexts: a review of recent research. TechTrends, 50(4), 46-53.
Kear, K. (2004). Peer learning using asynchronous discussion systems in distance
education. Open Learning, 19(2), 151-164.
Kear, K. L. & Heap, N. W. (2007). Sorting the wheat from the chaff: investigating
overload in educational discussion systems. Journal of Computer Assisted
Learning, 23(3), 235-247.
Kelly, H. F., Ponton, M. K., & Rovai, A. P. (2007). A comparison of student evaluations
of teaching between online and face-to-face courses. Internet and Higher
Education, 10, 89-101.
Kim, C. (208). Using email to enable e3 (effective, efficient, and engaging) learning,
Distance Education, 29 (2), 187-198.
Kramarski, B. (2002). Enhancing mathematical discourse: The effects of e-mail
conversation in learning graphing, Education Media International, 39 (1), 101-106.
Leh, A. S. C. (2002). Action research on hybrid courses and their online communities
[Electronic version]. Education Media International, 31-38.
Light, G. & Cox, R. (2001). Learning and teaching in higher education. London: Paul
Chapman Publishing.
Margolis, M. (2000). Using the Internet for teaching and research: a political
evaluation. In R. A. Cole (Ed.), Issues in web-based pedagogy. (pp. 9-22).Westport,
CT: Greenwood Press.
Mason, R., & Rennie, F. (2008). E-Learning and Social Networking Handbook: Resources for
Higher Education, New York: Routledge.
Moore, M.G. (1989). Three Types of Interaction, American Journal of Distance Education,
3 (2), 1-6.
O’Quinn, L. & Corry, M. (2002). Factors that deter faculty from participating in
distance education. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 5(4), 1-16.
Richardson, W. (2005). RSS: A Quick Start Guide for Educators, Retrieved on August 8,
2009 from the Web at [Link]
[Link]
Rourke, L. & Anderson, T. (2002). Using peer teams to lead online discussions. Journal
of Interactive Media in Education, 1, 1-21.
RSSxpress Lite: [Link]
Sandor, M. & Harris, N. (2008). Understanding the experience of university students
as facilitators of the learning process within the medium of online discussion
forums. In I. Olney, G. Lefoe, J. Mantei, & J. Herrington (Eds.), Supporting a
Learning Community. Proceedings of the Second Emerging Technologies Conference
2008, Wollongong: University of Wollongong, 173-181.

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Sherwood, K.D. (n.d.). A Beginner’s guide to effective email. http:// Email, Mailing Lists,
[Link]/advice/[Link] (07/08/2009). Discussion Group, RSS
Smith, C.D., Whiteley, H.E., & Smith, S. (1999). Using email for teaching, Computers Feed
and Education, 33 (1), 15-25.
Spector, J. M. (2005). Time demands in online instruction. Distance Education, 26(1),
5-27.
Stodel, E. J., Thompson, T. L., & MacDonald, C. J. (2006). Learners’ perspectives on
what is missing from online learning: Interpretations through the community of
inquiry framework. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance
Learning, 7(3), 1-24.
Tallent-Runnels, M. K., Thomas, J. A., Lan, W. Y., Cooper, S., Ahern, T. C., Shaw, S. M.,
& Liu, X. (2006). Teaching courses online: a review of the research. Review of
Educational Research, 76(1), 93-135.
Tao, L. & Reinking, D. (1996). What research reveals about email in education, Paper
presented at the Annual meeting of the College Reading Association, October
31- November 3, 1996. (ERIC Document No. ED 408 772).
Why use email in your teaching? Issues of Teaching and Learning, 5 (3), Available at
[Link] (08/08/2009)
Yahoo Pipes: [Link]

16.9 FEEDBACK TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

QUESTIONS
Check Your Progress 16.1
1) Three characteristics of emails are:
i) Email is asynchronous in nature;
ii) Messages sent and received can be stored, organized and retrieved easily;
and
iii) Messages types once can be sent to more than one user/recipient.
2) Email has a number of advantages for use in teaching and learning. It fosters
psychological comfort, intimacy, expression of ideas and informal discussions.
As such it helps in building interpersonal skills, collegiality and develops
higher order thinking skills. Being instantly delivered to the end user, it
motivates the learner and encourages active participation.

Check Your Progress 16.2

1) Mailing list is a group mail system that maintains a subscriber list to distribute
message when one of the members post message to it. By sending email to a
given email address of the group, it relays the same to all the members
automatically. Mailing lists are operated using web-based systems like
Yahoogroups, and GoogelGroups or specialized software like Listserv. Listproc,
etc. Mailing lists maintain threads on the web for record as well. It is a two way
interactive system, whereas, distribution list are only one way, as it sends mails
regularly to the subscribers with no mail reply function as in free magazines
and newspapers.
2) To examples of Mailing List are: DEOS-L, and WAOE List
3) Mailing list can be used to broadcast programme related information and
updates regularly to distance learners. It can also be used to provide
interactions and training to the learners in small chunks and discuss issues of
common interests.

Check Your Progress 16.3

1) Discussion groups can be used as a constructivist learning tool, where the
learner can discuss a topic in an online group (with or without moderation), ask
questions, answer questions asked by others, debate and construct meaning in
context. Discussion groups are dialogic environment to foster constructive
learning.

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Interactive Delivery 2) For effective use of discussion group in e-learning, the following can be
Methods considered:
• Student participation in discussion forum to be assessed
• Participation should be a requirement to complete a course and not an
option
• Each discussion group should be available for one or two weeks
• Involvement of student as moderators and leader to discuss topic
• Topics for discussion given in advance

Check Your Progress 16.4

Using RSS in education helps the learner to save time. Students need not visit the
institutional website for updates, as RSS feed of the page can reach directly the RSS
reader of the learner. RSS can also help learners to remain up-to-date on specific
topics of their interest.

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