Really Simple Syndication (RSS) might not mean much yet to the average internet user--but it soon could revolutionize the medium. Some forward-thinking educators are taking advantage of the burgeoning technology to keep abreast of school-related issues and push important information to stakeholders.

Simply put, RSS allows you to follow information from multiple online sources, such as news web sites or "blogs" (web logs), without having to surf all over the web to find it. RSS takes advantage of Extensible Markup Language (XML)--a code for web content that can be handled easily by a wide range of operating systems and communications devices--to "feed" new content directly to your desktop.

All the technology requires from a user's point of view is an RSS reader, and dozens of versions of the software are available for downloading from the web at no charge. Using an RSS reader, you can set up a nearly unlimited number of channels, or feeds, from various online sources that offer the technology. Whenever one of these sources is updated, the new information is pushed to your computer automatically in the form of a web link that appears in your RSS reader. By clicking on the link, you can access the entire original post or article.

Blogs, which began as the musings of individual pundits and programmers looking to talk shop, have quickly caught on in the education field, giving scholars an opportunity to share their ideas in a dedicated, spam-free stream of information. In the past year, blogs have exploded into the internet mainstream, and dozens of bloggers were credentialed as members of the news media at the recent Democratic National Convention.

The blog boom owes as much to the role of RSS as the attraction of the blogs themselves. The blogs came first, but RSS has taken them to the next level.

Because most blog engines were built to generate XML, they are automatically RSS-enabled, giving users an easy way to keep up with new posts. Blogs are now quickly replacing automated eMail list servers, which had become cluttered with spam, as a way to communicate online.

RSS is a natural fit for educators, who were frequent users of listservs.

"I really like the convenience of not having to go to a specific site" to find information, said Craig Nansen, the technology coordinator for Minot, N.D., Public Schools. "With RSS, I'm getting information I want when I want it, and I don't have to wade through any other junk. I had found that listservs were too cumbersome, and you didn't have easy access to archives."