We've added a friendly interface for RSS feeds that lets you easily add them to your resource list.  This is the beginning of a powerful series of changes that will redefine Elgg and turn it into a personal information portal.

Ben Werdmuller has an introduction and a how-to; David Tosh has more information about the direction and ethos. We're excited about future developments, which will make the Resources tab a more central part of your Elgg experience and make the system even more powerful.

Here are the first themes we have made available since switching over to a CSS driven theming approach.

They have been adapted from the excellent themes designed for WordPress by WP Themes.info 

We are also looking to build up a library of Elgg themes that we can release GPL to help out others, until that happens we would like to say thank you to WordPress and WP Themes for making these excellent resources available!

The first theme is called ShadedGrey:

The second one is called GreenTrack:

To select one of these themes go to 'Account Settings' (top right) then select 'Change Theme' - you will find these themes listed. 

You can now automatically add content from feeds into your blog. Ben Werdmuller has some information here; all you need to do is add a feed to your resource list and check the box next to its name.  The next time Elgg reloads the RSS, applicable content will be loaded into your blog.

This is an easy way to, for example, use Wordpress as your main blogging engine but still load your content into Elgg. 

Curverider, set up to provide commercial support and services for Elgg, is pleased to announce a partnership with Aperto eLearning Solutions to provide seamless integration between WebCT's Vista and Campus Edition 6 product lines, and the Open Source Learning Landscape product Elgg.

Aperto eLearning Solutions is the brainchild of Sasan Salari, a co-founder of WebCT, which assists institutions with the integration of Open Source solutions into their eLearning frameworks.

The collaboration between Aperto and Curverider brings together WebCT's formal, institution-based learning and Elgg's informal communities of practice, creating a richer total experience for both teachers and learners.

We are looking forward to this partnership as it is will start to open up the possibliilties of Open Source products (and there is lots of exellent software out there) to those institutions who have deployed commercial systems. Hopefully, creating an enriching environment for learners and teachers.

To read some more please visit Curverider or Aperto eLearning Solutions.