Web based RSS Readers for Elementary Students

I'd like a web-based rss reader for my elementary students. Web based readers allow access to feeds no matter what computer they are using. Unfortunately, the TOS of all the "free" hosted readers that I have encountered collect personal information; therefore, requiring users to be 13 or older (like Ning).

I'd like to provide a multi-user RSS reader by installing it on the school's linux based shared server space (or my server). I am giving rnews a test run. I will probably try Tiny Tiny RSS, once I learn to run the installation process (not a big deal--just a little different).

Any thoughts or suggestions for server side rss readers that support multiple users, are easy to use, and appealing to end users?

Thanks,

Steve

Tags: rss

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Permalink Reply by Anne Pemberton on January 28, 2008 at 5:44pm

Steve,

Check out http://www.educationalsynthesis.org/books

Anne

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Permalink Reply by Jack Phelps on January 28, 2008 at 5:55pm

Hi Steve--

Are you looking to provide each student with his/her own RSS reader, or to push the same specific RSS feeds/content towards each of your students? We (my company, chitchat) are near to providing teachers with a way to consolidate and pass to their students RSS data on their class pages, but we're not getting into the game of building a full-fledged reader system. Just checking.

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Permalink Reply by Nancy Bosch on January 28, 2008 at 6:14pm

We have a blog site written with Drupal. We have sites fed in through the blog site. Here's a blog post about feeds appropriate for elementary kiddos. I know that doesn't answer your question but might help you find some feeds when you find your reader!!

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Permalink Reply by Steve O'Connor on January 29, 2008 at 5:43pm

Thanks for the replies!

I will provide each student with an account on a web-based RSS reader as an experiment with my fifth grade class. We have been blogging with WordPress MU for a couple weeks. I plan to introduce them to RSS by subscribing to each others' feeds on a server-side reader on our school's third party webhost.

I have rnews installed on my server and have given it some test runs and security checks. It is austere but functional with a very simple interface. I'll put it on the school's server soon and have my students up with their own readers by the end of the week. I will look into other software for next year.

What great ideas! I'll have them add some suggested feeds.

Steve

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Permalink Reply by Nancy Bosch on January 29, 2008 at 5:51pm

Finding feed for young kids is tricky....since you can't screen what comes through you have to be careful or you might have a sensational murder comin' through! Yikes!

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Permalink Reply by Steve O'Connor on January 29, 2008 at 6:02pm

For now they are going to feed from each others' blogs. I'll work in some other content over time. In that I can control the feeds, I have reasonable control over content. Since they are starting with feeds from the blogs that I moderate, there is not too much danger!

I'm acutely aware of the pitfalls.

Steve