Growing up in Kansas, I have always been a big fan of The Wizard Of Oz movie. I can remember watching it even as a little girl. The flying monkeys used to terrify me. However, being a Kansas native, tornadoes do not scare me. I love the thrill of hearing the sirens go off and stepping outside to look for funnel clouds. Of course I respect their power and know when it is time to seek shelter. When my husband and I were first married, we lived in a mobile home in south Wichita. We weathered a tornado or two in the storm shelter provided by the park. Luckily, our little trailer survived each twister event while we lived there.
As tornado season approaches once again in Kansas, (the sirens actually did go off a few weeks ago...you never know in Kansas!), I will look forward to the excitement, and hope for the best for myself, neighbors, family, and friends.
Schoolr
Schoolr is a one-page resource source that could certainly double as a very useful homepage for students and adults alike. Organized on this single page are search fields for:
Google
Wikipedia
Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Acronym Finder
Urban Dictionary
Also, you can convert units of measure, translate text and create citations using Citation Builder. This very convenient packaging of many useful sites could leaving you saying, "There's no place like home(page)."
Showing posts with label search engine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label search engine. Show all posts
March 30, 2009
November 20, 2008
Bringing Them Along
Part of my job is to review websites and web applications for their potential use in the classroom. Historically, I have done this and then shared relevant content with my teachers via an email link with some explanatory notes. Often, I don't have a clue as to whether the teachers use the sites I send them, don't use them for whatever reason, or have a filter set up in Outlook to automatically delete any and all emails that come from me.
This year, I decided to promote the use of Web 2.0 tools by delivering resources through this blog. Now, the funny thing is, I notified the teachers of the existence of this blog by emailing them. However, I still have the same problem...not knowing if anyone is really reading it, or at least looking at the resources I blog about. I added a stat counter and a cluster map, but both of those record every visit that I make to the blog as well. Which means that if you look at my stat counter, divide that number in half and then again by 7, that is probably the actual number of visits by other people besides myself!
I decided to try a new tack. Recently, when I blog about a resource, I send the blog link to the teachers I think might be interested in the resource. Yes, I know I am being redundant, but sometimes you have to to bring people along. The payoff is wonderful when you have someone stop you in the hall and tell you they tried out the site with their students or when you receive emails like this:
That from Lindsey, a 6th grade teacher, whom I had sent the blog post What You End Up With to through email. She was referring to TypeRacer, a keyboarding game that allows for private competition through the generation of a unique url. Thanks to Lindsey, I will continue to blog about websites and resources and hopefully next time I will hear back from at least two teachers!
All My Faves
This cool site is touted as a "top sites" search engine and is arranged in categories by icon. Ideal for visual people who remember a logo but maybe not a site name. You can sort alphabetically or by most popular. There is a tab for Weekly Faves to stay on top of what is "in" at the moment!
This year, I decided to promote the use of Web 2.0 tools by delivering resources through this blog. Now, the funny thing is, I notified the teachers of the existence of this blog by emailing them. However, I still have the same problem...not knowing if anyone is really reading it, or at least looking at the resources I blog about. I added a stat counter and a cluster map, but both of those record every visit that I make to the blog as well. Which means that if you look at my stat counter, divide that number in half and then again by 7, that is probably the actual number of visits by other people besides myself!
I decided to try a new tack. Recently, when I blog about a resource, I send the blog link to the teachers I think might be interested in the resource. Yes, I know I am being redundant, but sometimes you have to to bring people along. The payoff is wonderful when you have someone stop you in the hall and tell you they tried out the site with their students or when you receive emails like this:
Did this yesterday with the kids after we did Typing Pals for a
bit....THEY LOVED IT!! Some were more interested in the chatting, but at
least they were typing!
That from Lindsey, a 6th grade teacher, whom I had sent the blog post What You End Up With to through email. She was referring to TypeRacer, a keyboarding game that allows for private competition through the generation of a unique url. Thanks to Lindsey, I will continue to blog about websites and resources and hopefully next time I will hear back from at least two teachers!
All My Faves
This cool site is touted as a "top sites" search engine and is arranged in categories by icon. Ideal for visual people who remember a logo but maybe not a site name. You can sort alphabetically or by most popular. There is a tab for Weekly Faves to stay on top of what is "in" at the moment!
August 25, 2008
Creature of Habit
I am a creature of habit. I have a favorite dish at each of the restaurants we frequent, and I always order it. I leave all the ingredients on the counter while I am cooking and don't put them away until after I am finished, even though my husband insists it is more efficient to put away as I go, and I still fold my bath towels the way my mother taught me some 30-odd years ago.
When surfing the Web, I have always used Internet Explorer since it was introduced to me after a short time with Netscape. It is truly out of habit. My daughter installed Firefox on my computer this summer and tried her best to get me to use it. She feels it is highly superior with all of its add-ons, themes and plug-ins. It could be. However, as a creature of habit, I find myself continuing to click my IE icon every time I get on the Web. Just because I use IE all the time, I don't LOVE it. My biggest peeve is that it is text-based. I am such a visual person, that I remember pictures much easier than mere words. I would love to see Microsoft change their Favorites from links to thumbnails. With the number of websites I visit each day, and then bookmark, it is sometimes hard to go back and remember a "name" of a site as it is listed in Favorites. One of these days, I might venture out into the world of Firefox to see how it can make my life easier. For now, there's this
SearchMe
SearchMe http://www.searchme.com/ is a visual search engine that displays search results in a rolodex of images. Search sites, video or images. There is a downloadable toolbar to install, if you desire. The beta version is impressive so far!
When surfing the Web, I have always used Internet Explorer since it was introduced to me after a short time with Netscape. It is truly out of habit. My daughter installed Firefox on my computer this summer and tried her best to get me to use it. She feels it is highly superior with all of its add-ons, themes and plug-ins. It could be. However, as a creature of habit, I find myself continuing to click my IE icon every time I get on the Web. Just because I use IE all the time, I don't LOVE it. My biggest peeve is that it is text-based. I am such a visual person, that I remember pictures much easier than mere words. I would love to see Microsoft change their Favorites from links to thumbnails. With the number of websites I visit each day, and then bookmark, it is sometimes hard to go back and remember a "name" of a site as it is listed in Favorites. One of these days, I might venture out into the world of Firefox to see how it can make my life easier. For now, there's this
SearchMe
SearchMe http://www.searchme.com/ is a visual search engine that displays search results in a rolodex of images. Search sites, video or images. There is a downloadable toolbar to install, if you desire. The beta version is impressive so far!
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