Google. We all use it everyday (at least I know I do). But there's much more to Google than the basic search box most people use. Below is a slideshow highlighting some Google tips and tricks that most people don't know about. Also below are two videos explaining how Google search work, and how it has evolved since it was first created. Google Search Tips and Tricks
How does Google work:
How has Google search evolved?
For more examples of some of these search techniques, as well as other tips and tricks, check out these articles:
The tagline for Evernote is "Remember Everything"--and they mean it. Evernote is a cloud-based application used to take and store notes. You can access your notes anywhere you can get online--on a computer, your iPad, or your smartphone.
Some of the features of Evernote:
Sort notes into different notebooks
Notes sync between devices--if I update something in Evernote on my phone, it will show up the next time I log in on my computer.
Tagging notes makes everything easily searchable
Take audio notes and picture notes on any device with a microphone/camera
Create checklists for organizing long-term projects
A wiki is a collaboratively edited website. Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, is probably the largest and most well-known example of a wiki, but the wiki platform can be used for many other things.
Watch this Wikis in Plain English video from Common Craft (you'll need to click through to YouTube
) to get an idea of what wikis are and what they can do.
What do wikis let you do?
Anyone can edit content--you can have an open wiki, or restrict the wiki to be edited only by those you invite (you can even set page-level editing permissions)
You can easily track who's making changes, and what they're changing
If you accidentally change or delete something, you can easily revert back to an older version of the page.
You don't need to know HTML or any other coding language in order to apply styles and formatting
It's a great way for students to gather and share resources on a project or unit
Wikispaces provides ad-free wikis for educational use
Here are some examples of wikis being used in educational settings:
I've created a wiki for you to play with; for ease of use, I've set it up so that anyone (with or without a wikispaces account) can edit it. There are a few quick tutorials for editing here: Editing Wikispaces
Wikispaces changed their layout shortly after I made those videos, but hopefully they'll still be useful.
To complete Thing 5:
Watch the video about wikis
Visit the examples of wikis being used in classrooms to get some ideas
Go to the 14 Things to Tame wiki and follow the directions there to edit the wiki
Copy and paste the comment you leave there into a new blog post.
Online bookmarking helps you organize all of your favorite and most useful sites--and access them no matter where you are.
The del.icio.us site/service has changed quite a bit since that video was made. I'm going to recommend using Diigo instead--it has all of the same features as del.icio.us, and works the same way.
To get started, go to Diigo.com and set up an account. Add and tag several of your favorite websites
You can add bookmark on any computer by logging in to Diigo.com and clicking Add. On your own computer, you can install either the Diigolet tool or by installing the Diigo toolbar in your browser; both of these are located under Tools, and with either of them you'll be able to bookmark sites.
You can check out my Diigo page at formanlibrary. I have over 1800 websites that I've saved using over 800 different tags; feel free to search for sites you might also find interesting.
Once you've joined Diigo and added a few of your favorite bookmarks, explore the social aspects of Diigo. Click on My Groups. On the right there will be recommended groups, and the option to browse other popular groups. You can search for groups that interest you, and find what other people have been bookmarking. If you'd like to follow a group and get updates, you can subscribe using RSS. You can also choose to be alerted via e-mail when new links are added to the group.
I set up a group for Forman, which you can find here: Forman's Diigo group. Join the group and add resources that you think will interest other teachers.
Want to use Diigo on your iPad? Check out the Diigo browser for iPad. The built-in toolbar allows you to save bookmarks directly to your Diigo account.
On your blog, write a post about your experience using Diigo. Is this something you would use? How could it be useful to you? How could it be helpful in a school setting?
In order to complete Thing 4 you need to:
Start a Diigo account and add websites.
Explore groups and join the Forman Diigo group
Write a post reflecting on your experience using Diio
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It allows you to check for updates on blogs, online newspapers, and other regularly updated sites by visiting one page, rather than visiting ALL the different sites. The orange RSS icon that appears on many websites lets you know that you can subscribe to the site's updates.
Common Craft does a great "Plain English" explanation of what RSS is:
(You may need to click through to YouTube to watch this video)
Many of you probably already have websites that you check regularly-and hopefully you're planning on following this blog and your colleagues' blogs as well! The best way to do this is to use a RSS feed reader like Google Reader; here's another Common Craft video about GoogleReader (please note that the video is a few years old, and layout/some features have changed):
Your task for this week is to sign up for either Google Reader or another news reader, add your colleagues' blogs (you can find them listed in My Blog List to the right), and at least three other blogs, or online newspapers. Chances are, some of the websites you regularly visit already have RSS feeds! In your blog, write about your experience using Google Reader, if you think you would use it, and how you could use it professionally.
Not sure what to add to your Google Reader account? Here are some news sites that have RSS feeds available:
And here are some of my favorite blogs (i.e. these are where I get many of the ideas and resources I share with you), and links to places to find other great blogs:
Thanks to all who are joining in (and even those who are watching from the sidelines for now)!
I'm thrilled that several of you have gotten started already. I'll update this list as more blog links are submitted--in the meantime, check out what your colleagues have created, comment on their blogs (or feel free to comment on the video I posted), and enjoy!
