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

[lira]

As a follow-up about the two types of personal feeds
(a) Feeds you own which are not associated with a course
(b) Feeds you own which are associated with a course

I am not seeing how to tell whether I create (a) or (b) on the msu domain
when I create a blog when signed in as a course coordinator using
Main Menu>My Space>Edit Blogs...
I seem to get the same screen using the dropdown by my name in the upper
left, even if in my author role.

Also, are feed created when logged into a course role always type (b)?


-----Original Message-----
From: lon-capa-users-bounces at mail.lon-capa.org
[mailto:lon-capa-users-bounces at mail.lon-capa.org] On Behalf Of Stuart
Raeburn
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2015 7:45 PM
To: lon-capa-users at mail.lon-capa.org
Subject: Re: [LON-CAPA-users] FW: help with RSS feeds

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
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> LON-CAPA-users mailing list
> LON-CAPA-users at mail.lon-capa.org
> http://mail.lon-capa.org/mailman/listinfo/lon-capa-users

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