NetLibrary

hmmm...my searches on NetLibrary turned up less than stellar results. I did two searches one for dun, dun, dun, pregnancy and one for grammar. The pregnancy search turned up results for just about every topic you can think of with the word pregnant in it anywhere in the description. Not exactly helpful when you are looking for books specifically on pregnancy. The grammar results were a little better, although I had English as the language setting and got the majority of books as Spanish grammar. I don't see this particular tool as being overly helpful for future use with the ALC. The searches produce wide results that may be difficult for students to narrow down. NetLibrary is a good idea in theory, but until you can download a book for more than the seven days and can apply it to something other than an MP3 player, it leaves the user still wanting more.

And for this...I shall be forever greatful

That sounds like a quote, right? maybe it is...maybe it isn't. Well, now it's my quote because I feel so fortunate to have learned all this cool and useful information. The different sites I've been to, applications I've learned about, and thinking about old sites in new ways are just a few of the benefits from the Library 2.0 project. I've really enjoyed becoming more comfortable with blogging-something I've done for a couple of years, but am now finding out about so many great widgets! Bloglines and Netvibes have revolutionized checking in on friend's blogs, plus all the other places I go online. No more wasting time going to places that haven't been updated. Just check your bloglines and you have all the info you need with one stop. Kind of like Walmart...one stop shopping! From an educational perspective, online applications are the way curriculums are being set up in today's classrooms and are the way we need to be gearing our program at the ALC. Teachers and educators are using YouTube and Podcasting to deliver lectures to online students, for homework, or to leave with a sub in his or her absence, and I see us doing the same. Why should a student not be able to work on upgrading from home or from a site that provides internet access even if the ALC is not open? With these tools we will be able to broadcast help on an endless amount of subjects that can be accessed from anywhere at anytime. The Wiki itself is a tool that will be useful for setting up similar to a textbook with steps for writing a paper or working on math. Students can go to our wiki and work through their levels on their own time. Search engines like Technorati and Del.icio.us are places where other educators have already researched and compiled useful documents and sites. These are the two search related sites I liked best and will continue to use. The main thing I've found with learning all this new info. is that there is so much still to learn. I'm really glad that I've had the opportunity to learn what I have and to actually get something in return for it. I feel like it should have been a class I paid for...don't quote me on that one...

Let's Rollyo back to week 5

Select Search Engine...A Blog's Work is Never DoneSearch The Web

Powered by Rollyo

I searched on Rollyo for a subject that I'm quite fond of these days...pregnancy. Go figure! I found some interesting sites that I haven't seen before and one that I particularly like is ivillage. Parenting and Pregnancy is just one of the many tabs you can select from this site which offers much more than just those two subjects: basically any topic you want you can find on ivillage. Rollyo was easy to use and lets you choose from searching on the web or searching your own blog/your own search roll once you get one established. Draw back: I think that Rollyo might be to wide open to introduce to students at first. I see del.icio.us as being more helpful and less confusing or intimidating for new internet users or people who are inexperienced with searching the web for specific info rather than just "surfing" to surf. Del.icio.us allows you to point the student in the direction of information that has already been searched through and cataloged as being valuable or usable by someone. Rollyo was easy to use, but I still find Del.icio.us to be my fav for educational resources.

Grammar Girl

Podcasting, another possibly revolutionary tool for the world of education thanks to web 2.0. I found this site by going doing a search here under education. I uncovered a little gem in the podcasting world. Grammar Girl is a girl after my own heart. She answers questions and gives talks on all things grammatical, or in her own words: Grammar Girl provides short, friendly tips to improve your writing. Covering the grammar rules and word choice guidelines that can confound even the best writers, Grammar Girl makes complex grammar questions simple with memory tricks to help you recall and apply those troublesome grammar rules. Whether English is your first language or second language, Grammar Girl’s punctuation, style, and business tips will make you a better and more successful writer. Mignon Fogarty is the creator and host of Grammar Girl. Grammar Girl is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast.. From CAPITALIZATION to sentence structure and dangling modifiers, Grammar Girl is a great resource to have for teaching writing. You can easily point student's in her direction and have them search for a podcast on any given topic. Podcasting will also be helpful when we the educators post our own podcasts so that we are not giving the same lessons over and over. Simply play the podcast and Wallah! all things are new again, saving you time, energy, and allowing you to be broadcast to any ALC site where your topic is needed.

Youtube

I can all to easily identify with this clip! Bostons have an uncanny sense of their own "sins" when committed. And they are so good at making themselves look so absolutley pitiful that you have no choice but to smile and forgive. I thought i would share this clip because I have come home to wreckage close to this scale...not fun, but kind of funny...much later. Youtube, otherwise known as the black hole of the internet. I can NOT go on Youtube without spending at least an hour meandering through seemingly endless and usually meaningless clips. One way that I see this particular web 2.0 application as being helpful at the ALC is to have our students video themselves and each other working out math problems, posting to their blogs, brainstorming an essay, etc. Not only would it be accessible to our students, but it just might help someone else, too. Which is one of the great outcomes of all the technology developed over the last five to ten years: information sharing.

Netvibes

How long do you spend before work each morning checking your email, the weather forecast, your blog, your oh so important facebook, news updates, other people's blogs, etc. etc. Probably more time than is necessary thanks to the handy and user friendly Netvibes. Now all the places you love and cherish are grouped on one simple home page. I found Netvibes extremely user friendly. It's easy to add applications such as gmail and facebook, although adding my Flickr pictures has not worked out yet, Dale, if you're reading this, HELP! :) I see Netvibes as being really helpful for our students once we get our new program of online use up and running. It makes it so simple to load your accounts once and then be able to simply click on a tab and access those different pages all from the same home page without entering a username and password for each account every time. Way to go, Netvibes, we'll be great friends in the future!