Renaissance Learning UK
What is RSS?
RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication". It is a way to easily distribute a list of headlines, update notices, and content to a wide number of people. It is used by computer programs that organise those headlines and notices for easy reading. Most people are interested in many websites whose content changes on an unpredictable schedule. Repeatedly checking each website to see if there is any new content can be very tedious.RSS is a modern way to be notified of new and changed content. Notifications of changes to multiple websites are handled easily, and the results are presented to you well organised and fast.
How does RSS work?
RSS works by having the website author maintain a list of notifications on their website in a standard way. This list of notifications is called an "RSS Feed". People who are interested in finding out the latest headlines or changes can check this list.Special computer programs called news readers have been developed that automatically access the RSS feeds of websites you care about on your behalf and organise the results for you.
How do I find out if a website has an RSS feed?
It is getting more and more common for websites to have RSS feeds. They usually indicate the existence of the feed on the home page or main news page with a link to "RSS", or by displaying an orange button with the letters "XML" or "RSS". The buttons are often linked directly to the RSS feed file itself.Once you know the URL of an RSS feed, you can provide that address to your news reader and have the programm monitor the feed for you.
How do I get a news reader?
There is a range of different news readers available and new versions are appearing all the time. Different news readers work on different operating systems, so you will need to choose one that will work with your computer.Some browsers, including Firefox, Opera and Safari, automatically check for feeds for you when you visit a website, and display an icon when they find one. This can make subscribing to RSS feeds much easier. For more details on these, please check their websites.
How do I start using RSS feeds?
Once you have chosen a news reader, all you have to do is to decide what content you want it to receive. If you like to receive news and changes on the Renaissance Learning UK website, click on the orange button "RSS" on the front page or on the link below:Renaissance Learning UK RSS feed
This is the RSS feed of the website. You can subscribe to the feed by dragging the URL of the feed into your news reader or by cutting and pasting the same URL into a new feed in your news reader.