Last March, I conducted several email interviews to prepare my column about Real Simple Syndication (RSS) for the June 2006 issue of University Business: “RSS: The Next Big Thing in University Web Communications.â€
Dr. George P. Tsetsekos, Dean, Drexel University LeBow College of Business, Erik Poole, Associate Director, MBA Online Programs and Matt McKeon, Web Applications Developer answered these questions last March.
1) You use RSS for your communications with your online MBA students. Can you please tell me a bit more about this initiative? When did you start to experiment with RSS? Was it an initiative driven by IT or Communication/Marketing?
Dr. George P. Tsetsekos, Dean, Drexel University LeBow College of Business:
Drexel University has been a pioneer in integrating the use of technology to enhance the educational experience. At LeBow College of Business, we have begun to employ the use of RSS in numerous ways, starting with the delivery of our MBA Anywhere program. Our goal is twofold: to enhance communications with students and to provide a forum for knowledge sharing about the best practices in usage of technology among our faculty members.
Erik Poole, Associate Director, MBA Online Programs:
The Drexel MBA Anywhere started using RSS in fall 2005 to optimize our communications between administrative staff and students. Given that our students are taking classes online, we had been inundated with emails, often times with similar administrative and course-related requests. I consulted with Matt McKeon, the College’s Web Application Developer on the best way to respond to the students’ needs. He suggested using RSS (either text or podcasts) to reach students in a timely fashion while at the same time reducing the number of emails. Our office works with LeBow Tech to record announcements and then deliver them by a podcast format. The students can subscribe to these using an RSS feed or listen to them using a web-based application.
RSS also allowed us to augment the delivery of our courses with portable audio. Currently, we are evaluating the usage podcasts in courses, and adding the functionality on an as needed basis. Students will also be able to subscribe to these using an RSS feed as well.
For faculty, it is proving to be a more effective way to communicate and share best practices. We post articles focusing on new learning technologies or program highlights through the web. These also can be subscribed to via RSS.
The next steps for deployment will be driven by the College’s communications department. For example, all students will soon receive College news and event information, as well as updates to courses, etc.
2) Besides delivering content to your students, do you publish the content of these RSS feeds elsewhere on your school website?
Erik Poole, Associate Director, MBA Online Programs:
The College’s RSS feed for faculty contains relevant articles on distance learning or instructional technology. In addition, I’ve posted notes about newly acquired technology depending on the department.
Matt McKeon, Web Applications Developer:
The College is currently testing an Alumni News Site with RSS support to keep Alumni informed about new events and programs that LeBow is offering. It is in the process of being updated. All the information in our RSS feeds can be found on our website.
3) Do you measure/track your RSS feeds traffic (subscribers, page views)? Can you give us an idea on how RSS is performing compared to other communication channels (website, email, etc.)?
Matt McKeon, Web Developer:
Because our RSS enabled pages have either just been launched or are in testing phase, it is too early to assess its performance compared to web, emails, etc. We still utilize emails, Web posting, etc., however for the MBA Anywhere classes in particular the RSS usage is 100 percent. Our faculty members have the option to subscribe and many have found the information useful. We are also educating students and faculty about the benefits of RSS by hosting forums and demonstrations, promoting in newsletters, as well as working with individuals one-on-one.
For the alumni pages and event the news information, we have not fully enabled those pages to begin tracking the information.
4) In your opinion, what’s the future of RSS-enabled communication in higher education?
Erik Poole, Associate Director, MBA Online Programs:
Right now, I see it as a great supplement or tool to the learning process. It also makes the content more easily accessible and portable for students. They no longer have to be tied down to their PC to check for course or administrative updates.
In the future, I see it as being an essential part of the learning process in course delivery. For instance, at a recent conference, a colleague told me her 10-year-old son was subscribing to RSS on his video game system. This could be an indication future students will not only be accustomed to this type of technology; they will come to expect it.
As more hand held devices become RSS enabled, content becomes more accessible. Finally, I also see this as a great marketing tool. Newsletters, Alumni news, Guest speakers podcasts, etc can all be sent out via RSS. This presents a great way to reach future and current students
Dr. George P. Tsetsekos, Dean:
Timely communication with students is an important part of the College’s mission to make the students’ experience a positive one. RSS supports this goal by allowing the College to disseminate a consistent message to students, no matter their schedule. RSS provides a consistent news source wherever and however our students want to receive it.