Generating an RSS Feed at Podcast.umd.edu

Media files can be stored on the podcast.umd.edu server and can be subscribed to by RSS feed from other web-based resources such as iTunesU. Generating the feed and integrating it into the resource from which it will be accessed is a several step process, as provided below.

Create the RSS Feed

These steps assume that you have requested a space on podcast.umd.edu and have been provided with the URL to access it using the WebDAV client of your choice.

1. Connect to the folder that contains your media file(s) on podcast.umd.edu using WebDav.
   
   
   
   WebDAV via Connect to Server on Macintosh
   
   
   
   WebDAV via WebDrive on Windows
2. Drag and drop your media files (.mp3, .mp4) to the folder.
3. In a Web browser, go to the podcast Feed Generator form (note, you will be prompted for your Directory ID and password):
   
   https://learningonline.umd.edu/podcast-feed-generator/feedGenerator.jsf [1]
4. Fill out the fields on the Feed Generator form.
   
   1. Provide the name of your podcasting folder on podcast.umd.edu.
   2. Provide a description for the feed (what are the files in this folder going to support, e.g., a class, organization, specific topic).
   3. Provide a Title (this is required) that will represent the name of the “track” in an iTunesU Academic album.
   4. Type the name of the file exactly (matching all case and punctuation fluctuations).
   5. Providing keywords is optional, but if you are adding this file/track to a content-rich space on iTunesU, which has a search capability, keywords will enhance the effectiveness of searches.
   6. Providing Author and Comments content is options, but will be represented in association with the track in iTunes, if you provide it.

   
   
   

5. Should you have more that one media file to associate with this feed, click on the + (plus) icon at the bottom of the Feed Generator form and complete additional forms with the required and optional data.
   
   




6. Click on the Generate Feed button. This action will generate two things that are critical for setting up the RSS feed. First, the Feed Generator tool creates an XML file that contains all of the code needed to make the feed work. You will need to download this file to your desktop.
   
   
   
   

   A URL is also generated. This is the URL you will use to link your podcast aggregator, in our case, iTunesU, to your media files and the xml files. You should copy this URL and store it in a place where you can get to it again when you are ready to establish the link in iTunesU.

7. Return to the WebDAV window that displays your media folder on podcast.umd.edu.
   
   1. Drag and drop the XML file that you downloaded in the previous step into your media folder.

Integrating the RSS Feed in iTunesU

These steps assume that you have a course or organization space on iTunesU.

1. Go to your iTunesU Academic space (learningonline.umd.edu/media/itunesu).
2. Create or edit a tab and establish its “Type” properties.
   
   
   
   
   1. Select Feed from the Type menu.
   2. Paste the URL you copied in Step 6 above into the Feed URL field.
   3. You do not need to make any changes to the default settings for Security and Signature.
   4. You can ignore the "check for updates" frequency option. If you change or upload a new file to podcast.umd.edu, you will need to create a new xml file via the podcast feed generator.
   5. Provide your e-mail address in the Feed owner email field.
   6. Click the Apply button.