[LON-CAPA-users] FW: help with RSS feeds

[Stuart Raeburn]

Hi,

> (1) When replying to a discussion forum, there is a checkbox for 'Add to my
> Public Course Blog'.  This is not documented in the course manual. When I
> create a blog when signed into the course role, is the blog automatically
> become my course blog that is independent of a blog created in a different
> course?

If you check the 'Add to my Public Course Blog' checkbox when posting  
a discussion within a course, a blog will be automatically created (if  
one does not already exist) with the name: Course Blog <Course Title>

That blog belongs to you, and can be managed via the RSS Feeds option  
in the drop-down menu displayed when you click on your name at the top  
left of any LON-CAPA page.  The blog (i.e., the HTML version) is  
visible to anyone logged into LON-CAPA; the RSS feed (URL provided)  
can be subscribed to using an RSS Reader.

That blog is independent of blogs you may have previously created in  
other courses.

> (2) I believe that these RSS feeds belong to the individual who created
> them?

Correct.

> (3) If I have multiple courses, will all of my feeds show up on the profile
> page, or only the feeds for the course viewed by the student?

All unhidden feeds which you "own" will show up on your Personal  
Information (About Me) page.  You can hide a feed by clicking the  
"Edit" (HTML) link for a particular blog listed under "Available RSS  
Feeds and Blogs", and then clicking the "Hide this Feed" button at the  
bottom of the page.

> (4) Is the only access to the course RSS feed via the Course Announcements?

No.

Course Coordinators can add feeds which belong to a course using:
Public -> Feeds when the Course Coordinator role is selected in a course.

Note: these feeds can be edited by any Course Coordinator in the  
course, and are "owned" by the course and not by a user.

If you add an Announcement to a course using:
Main Menu -> "Course announcements and my calendar"

and check the "Include in course RSS newsfeed" checkbox, a Course Feed  
titled: "Course Announcements" which belongs to the course will be  
created (if it did not already exist).

Once one or more unhidden feeds exist in a course, students will see a  
"Feeds" item included in the Course's inline menu (i.e., the row which  
starts:
Main Menu Contents Grades).  Following this link will take the student  
to a list of feeds owned by the course (including Course Announcements).

> (5) How do students subscribe to the course RSS feed?

To subscribe to a Course feed they will log-in the LON-CAPA course and  
click the "Feeds" item in the inline menu (second row at top of page).  
  Then they should copy the RSS URL and subscribe to it using their  
preferred RSS reader.

In your case you may wish to use both a blog/rss feed which you own  
and which is associated with your current course (for discussion  
postings) , and also a blog/rss feed "owned" by the course for  
announcements etc., i.e.,

"Course Announcements"  (HTML and subscription URL accessed via "Feeds")
"Course Blog <Course Title> (HTML and subscription URL accessed via  
your profile page).

> (6) Is a 'Blog' different from a 'Feed' or are they just different names for
> the same RSS feed?

In LON-CAPA the content you include in a blog post, optionally  
including an uploaded file, e.g., a Podcast) is available for display  
in both a web page (the HTML view, i.e., a "blog") and also in an RSS  
reader (subscription required to the particular feed, i.e., an RSS  
feed).

However, there are three types of Blog/RSS Feed:

(a) Feeds you own which are not associated with a course
(b) Feeds you own which are associated with a course
(c) Feeds which belong to a course

Individual domains can choose to disable creation of personal,  
non-course feeds -- i.e. type (a) -- based on the user's institutional  
status.

Course Coordinators could prevent students from creating their own  
course-specific blogs, i.e., type (b) by creating a blocking event  
using:

Settings -> Content Settings -> Blocking Communication/Resource Access

by setting an appropriate block period, and checked the "Blogs"  
checkbox in the "Blocked?" column.  However, this would also prevent  
the student from using personal course blogs in other courses, so  
really should only be used for a limited time (e.g., for the duration  
of an online exam).

A previous posting of mine to the lon-capa-users list also discussed  
RSS feeds.

See: http://mail.lon-capa.org/pipermail/lon-capa-users/2012-July/004087.html

Bug 6603 referred to in that posting has been addressed and the  
corresponding changes (the "Feeds" item in a course's inline menu) are  
a part of LON-CAPA 2.11.0 (see: the 2.11.0 release notes:  
http://mail.lon-capa.org/pipermail/lon-capa-announce/2014/000089.html )

Stuart Raeburn
LON-CAPA Academic Consortium


Quoting lira <lira at egr.msu.edu>:

> I need help to understand existing RSS configurations. These are
> undocumented in the course manual.
>
> (1) When replying to a discussion forum, there is a checkbox for 'Add to my
> Public Course Blog'.  This is not documented in the course manual. When I
> create a blog when signed into the course role, is the blog automatically
> become my course blog that is independent of a blog created in a different
> course?
> (2) I believe that these RSS feeds belong to the individual who created
> them?
> (3) If I have multiple courses, will all of my feeds show up on the profile
> page, or only the feeds for the course viewed by the student?
> (4) Is the only access to the course RSS feed via the Course Announcements?
> (5) How do students subscribe to the course RSS feed?
> (6) Is a 'Blog' different from a 'Feed' or are they just different names for
> the same RSS feed?
>
> Thanks!
> Carl Lira
>
>
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