Aug 24
Most people work off of multiple computers: one at work, one at home, maybe a laptop or Blackberry. It never fails that the link you need at one time is saved in the bookmarks of a computer somewhere else. You could Google it again, sure, but who has time for that? Not busy teachers! We [...] [...more]
Most people work off of multiple computers: one at work, one at home, maybe a laptop or Blackberry. It never fails that the link you need at one time is saved in the bookmarks of a computer somewhere else. You could Google it again, sure, but who has time for that? Not busy teachers! We probably work from home more than any other profession, and so this problem of leaving the links we need somewhere else is a frequent one.
Enter social bookmarking. Social bookmarking sites allow you to not only keep all of your bookmarks in one place, but also to easily share them with others. One popular site for this is Delicious. You simply create an account, enter links–with a description if you like–and categorize. This categorization, called tagging, allows you to place a single site in many different virtual folders. So, you can tag that neat site on modernizing Shakespeare with Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet, English 9…whatever you like. Not only do you not have to hunt through different computers to track the idea down. but neither do you have to dig through all of those folders in your bookmarks.
Often you will see the Share This icon on a website:
This button allows you to quickly send a link to the website you are viewing to any number of social media sites, such as Delicious, Facebook, Twitter, or to email the page to a friend, or even to print a easy to read version of the site. Look in the top right corner of the MTWP page to try it out.
These web 2.0 applications can make your time on the internet much more effective, allowing you to spend time using the internet as a resource instead of an obstacle that has to be conquered. And while this article simply focused on how social bookmarking can manke a teacher’s life easier, there are many classroom applications, as well. How could you use them? Post a comment and share your ideas!
Jun 30
Ever wonder what that orange icon you see on many websites means? It signifies that the page has an RSS feed, and if RSS is a web tool you haven’t used yet, you’ll want to start.
Think of RSS as TiVo for websites. It stands for Really Simple Syndication, and when a website is enabled [...] [...more]
Ever wonder what that orange icon you see on many websites means? It signifies that the page has an RSS feed, and if RSS is a web tool you haven’t used yet, you’ll want to start.
Think of RSS as TiVo for websites. It stands for Really Simple Syndication, and when a website is enabled with it, you can subscribe to any updates to the page. This eliminates the frustration of visiting favorite sites only to find nothing new, as well as the frustration of missing important updates because you hadn’t gotten around to checking the site again. When content is updated, it is automatically downloaded to your feed reader, and you can read it at your convenience.
Great, but how do you get started? Most of the readers of this site use Internet Explorer, so we’ll start there. See that row of icons in the top right of your browser window? It should look like this:
See the RSS icon? If a site has an RSS feed, it will be orange. All you have to do is click it, and you will be prompted to subscribe to the feed. Now look to the far left of the browser.
See the yellow star? Click that to access your favorites. You’ll also see a button for feeds. Anything you subscribe to will go there. Whenever there is new content the title will be in bold. You can read the new content straight from the reader, or click through to the live site. No more missed content!
Why not try it out? The RSS icon on this page should be orange. Click it, subscribe to our feed, and never miss important information from MTWP again. There is also an RSS option on the message boards at TC-Connect. This is really helpful when you’ve posted something and want to know when someone has responded. It’s much easier than constantly checking for replies!
Not an Internet Explorer user? Not a problem. In Firefox, just look to the right side of the address bar. Click the RSS icon there and choose “subscribe to RSS”. Place it in your bookmarks, and you’ll get your information there.
That may seem like a lot of information, but it really is easy to set up, and is a very useful tool. Feel free to leave a comment with any questions. And don’t forget to contact us with suggestions for future topics.
