If you are involved in presenting any kind of information on the web (websites, blogs, etc), then you want to know about add-ins* and mash-ups. Add-ins and mash-ups allow us to integrate live feeds from other sites into our own.
For example, here's a live map showing all the ski conditions around Tahoe. I was able to create the feed for this map at Skibonk.com
Try clicking on any of the links or information in the map--you'll immediately see the power of add-ins.
Some examples:
- Integrate a daily news feed to display on your site: http://www.educatoronline.org/news.htm
- Insert a live map into your website: http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/bdodge/bdodge.html
- Insert a live poll into your blog: http://elearningtech.blogspot.com/2006/02/authoring-in-elearning-20-add-ins-mash.html
Wikipedia has a great definition and resources of mash-ups. What we are doing in reality in using a javascript script tag to call that dynamic feed into our own site. Not familiar with javascripting? No problem! Use the converter at http://www.rss-to-javascript.com/ to create the code for you! Then all you have to do is paste that code into your website or blog. What could be easier?
*the term “add-ins” is also being used to describe modules we an add to an LMS, such as adding course builder tools to BlackboardSome other examples:
- Integrate a daily news feed to display on your site
- Insert a live map into your website
- Insert a live poll into your blog
What we are doing in reality in using a javascript script tag to call that dynamic feed into our own site. Not familiar with javascripting? No problem! Use the converter at http://www.rss-to-javascript.com/ to create the code for you! Then all you have to do is paste that code into your website or blog. What could be easier?
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