I’ve written on the blog before about the use of newsfeeds (see ‘Working with RSS Feeds‘). As the internet expands with more sites, and, more importantly, more interesting sites, it becomes increasingly difficult to stay up to date with the latest news and additions on your favourite websites. Newsfeeds allow you to receive syndicated content from around the web, so when a new piece of news or piece of content is added to a site, you can be notified automatically without having to visit each site in turn to check. You may have noticed icons like this - or - popping up on websites; the RSS or feed symbol (or sometimes an ‘XML’ or simple ‘newsfeed’ link) tells you that a feed is available. (For more details see ‘Working with RSS Feeds‘).

FeederReader (www.feederreader.com) is a great piece of software that allows you to receive newsfeeds on a PDA (PocketPC). This is possibly even more useful on a PDA than on a desktop PC, as some websites render improperly on the PocketPC, but a newsfeed is an unstyled piece of content made up of text and images. FeederReader also allows the user to receive files attached to a newsfeed item; notably audio files in the form of podcasts. A free version of FeederReader, limited to monitoring a maximum of eight feeds at a time, is available to download from the website.

In this article, I want to look at:

• How to use FeederReader to receive newsfeeds and podcasts
• Some ideas for use of newsfeeds and podcasts in education

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Having looked at some interface enhancements in the previous article, it’s now time to turn our attention to some pieces of educational software on PocketPC. Again, I have not chosen to focus on software that is being provided and supported directly by the Learning2Go project (e.g. the GoKnow applications and Espresso content).

The market for educational software on PocketPC is still relatively in its infancy; the devices were, after all, originally targeted at business users, and have only more recently begun to appear in classrooms and lecture halls. Nevertheless there are some interesting applications available. All of the applications that I discuss below are freeware or donation ware (where you pay only if you like it and the money goes to charity or to support further development of the software).

For a comprehensive listing of other pieces of educational software, try visiting the PocketPCCity Educational list.

Revising for examinations - Portable NoteCard

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Here’s a sneak preview of the PDA tour we’re developing for our outreach visits to Wightwick Manor later this term . . . .

The text entry box you can see at the bottom of the screen is used to enter unique 4-digit codes placed around rooms in the Manor House. Each code takes the student to contextual information, questions or challenges based upon their current location. 

Wolverhampton Local Authority is currently pioneering the use of handheld computers (PDAs) in local schools as part of the Learning2Go project. The project has recently received national recognition in the BECTA ICT in Practice Awards for 2006. As part of our support for Learning2Go, the City Learning Centre has purchased a set of PDAs. (We are currently developing a project with Whitwick Manor, a local National Trust property, to create a PDA trail; see the blog article "This term at the City Learning Centre" for further details).

This is the first of a series of blog articles looking at the use of Pocket PCs. The Local Authority team has worked closely with a number of educational software companies to supply resources for the students, and ongoing training on the use of these resources is provided for teachers in the schools participating in phase 2 of the project - see the Learning2Go website for further details. I do not intend to cover any of the material that has been incorporated into the Learning2Go training sessions.

Instead, what I hope to contribute are a few extra ideas and resources for the use of PDAs in an educational context:

• A look at freeware applications (both general and educational) on PocketPC
• Using FeederReader to read newsfeeds and download podcasts

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