Friday, February 27, 2009

Photographs store & share

I spent some time today searching for a website that would allow me and my students to upload and store photographs and share them. One that seems really easy to use is FotoTime.

This site will allow users to store and organise photographs into folders and then to share individual photos or photo collections. You can add captions to photos and tag them to loactions on a map. Photographs can be shared by emailing a link, copying html code which the site can generate and embedding it in a website or blog or by using the site generated URL. All this and more for free.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Creative Software

Creative Docs .NET offer a powerful design tool which can be freely downloaded from the internet. This software can enable users to quickly create a range of documants including manuals, posters, illustrations, schemas, plans and diagrams.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Survey Monkey

If you wish to conduct surveys (either for student feedback or as part of classes) SurveyMonkey is a really good survey site. You can design your own survey, selecting from a range of question types, and make it available online for people to complete by emailng a link or adding a link to your website. It will then summarise your results and enable you to analyse them in a number of ways.

This site offers a free basic service but you can upgrade for additional features.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Advice for students about Food and Survival

A group of university students reflecting on their first-year experience came up with the idea of writing a cookery book for students. In addition to their book, the students have launched a website offering recipies, tips, videos, downloads and advice for students.

This may be of use or interest for students (or even those of us who are not students!)

Monday, February 23, 2009

Online File Storage

If you are like me, you are likely to find yourself working from more than one computer location and so accessing files at these different locations requires the use of a disk or memory stick. However, it is possible to store your files online so these can be accessed from anywhere with internet access. Kevin Purdy offers a good list of possible online storage sites with a feature comparison chart on the Lifehacker site.

Friday, February 20, 2009

British History

British History Online offers a digital library of printed primary and secondary sources for the British medieval and modern history.

It has been created by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust, and aims to support academic and personal users around the world in their learning, teaching and research.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Free Teaching Resources - MIT

MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) publish many MIT courses' resources online. These free lecture notes, exams, and videos are accessible from the site without the need to register.

There is a very wide choice of course subjects covering:

* Aeronautics and Astronautics
* Anthropology
* Architecture
* Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation
* Biological Engineering
* Biology
* Brain and Cognitive Sciences
* Chemical Engineering
* Chemistry
* Civil and Environmental Engineering
* Comparative Media Studies
* Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
* Economics
* Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
* Engineering Systems Division
* Experimental Study Group
* Foreign Languages and Literatures
* Health Sciences and Technology
* History
* Linguistics and Philosophy
* Literature
* Materials Science and Engineering
* Mathematics
* Mechanical Engineering
* Media Arts and Sciences
* Music and Theater Arts
* Nuclear Science and Engineering
* Physics
* Political Science
* Science, Technology, and Society
* Sloan School of Management
* Special Programs
* Urban Studies and Planning
* Women's and Gender Studies
* Writing and Humanistic Studies


Definitely worth looking if your subject area is within this list.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Plimoth Plantation Website

The Plimoth Plantation website supports and promotes their museum. Their intention is to provide a bicultural museum providing "personal encounters with history built on thorough research about the Wampanoag People and the Colonial English community in the 1600s". The site also provides links to interesting historical resources for education including videos, blogs and articles.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Screen Video

CamStudio software can be downloaded free and will enable you to create a video of activity on your computer screen with audio. I have used this to demonstrate how software can be used to analyse data to support some of my teaching but there are many uses for this screen capture software.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Mind Maps - Mindomo

A couple of months ago I mentioned the bubbl.us mind mapping website. Today I offer an alternative site. Mindomo website will enable users to create and share mindmaps online without downloading any software to a PC (although there is now a desktop version you can download if you wish). The basic account is free and lets you add symbols/icons to your mind map as well as notes and hyperlinks to websites and you can save 7 private mindmaps free (more than this and they must be publically available). The website has shared mindmaps from other users, a blog and a forum for help and advice.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Nobel Prizes & Educational Games

Games can be a really useful tool in education and so today's post is a link to games based on Nobel Prize winning research. The games on the site relate to physics, chemistry, physiology, medicine, literature, peace and economics. You can find these on the official web site of the Nobel Foundation.

In addition to educational games, the nobelprize.org/ website has information for every Nobel Prize since 1901, with biographies, lectures, interviews, photos, articles, video clips and press releases.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Online chart creation

The Lovely Charts website enables you to create a range of professional charts online (site maps, flow diagrams, organisational charts or network diagrams) which can be saved (exported) as .jpg or .png files. This is very easy to use and flexible. This site has symbols and images that can be used in creating the charts and is free to use but, it is also possible to pay for a few additional features.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Mapwing Virtual Tours

Mapwing website will enable you to create your own virtual tour from your digital photographs. You can link photographs to points on a map for viewers, friends and family to explore or you can browse tours already created. You need to sign up to create your tour but it is free for basic tours with up to 20 points of interest, an interactive map and a comments area. Alternatively you can pay for professional tours that are advertising free.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Blabberize - talking pictures

This post is really a bit of fun but can be used to liven up a website or blog. Blabberize websie will let you upload a picture and make it talk - you can identify the mouth and add sound so the mouth on the picture will move with the sound you record.

This is an example by Techlady: the baby has a message for you...

Monday, February 9, 2009

Personalised home page

Have you ever thought it would be helpful to have everything you are interested available whem you first switch your computer on? A persoanlised home page might be the answer. There are a number of different tools that will enable you to set up your own opening screen or home page.


Netvibes
is one such site - a free and impressive site that will allow you to create your own startup page with links to anything you want on the internet. This site can be customised to suit your preferences and offers the opportunity to share some modules too.

An alternative, but equally impressive, startup page is provided by Pageflakes. This site also offers similar personalisation and soical features.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Free Video Lectures (Academic Earth)

Academic Earth is "an organization founded with the goal of giving everyone on earth access to a world class education".

Their website (currently in Beta version) provides a wide range of lectures given by some of the top scholars in USA. You can select what you watch by University, Instructor or Subject.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

British History

History.UK is dedicated to providing information about British history. Among the information provided are an online directory of people, organisations and places associated with UK history. The website includes specialist information and fun history basics and has something to offer all ages.

This site provides 30,000 directory listings of British history related venues, organisations and experts in the UK. Regular editorial features, historic recipes, DIY history, competitions, a timeline of British history from 10,000 BC, news updates, a selection of helpful weblinks and a free monthly newsletter.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Careers Database

Whether you are advising someone about possible career or ooking for a change yourself, it is worth looking at the Jobs4U careers database. The site gives background to a vast number of jobs including what the job involves, hours, environment, salary, benefits and advice on opportunities and training. Alternatively you can enter your interests, subjects, qualitfiation level and prefered working hours and see a series of suggestions you could consider.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Dissertations & Research Projects

The Companion for Undergraduate Dissertations website has a wealth of useful information and resources for academic staff and students who are undertaking a dissertation.

It offers sections on:
* What is a Dissertation?
* Getting Started
* Help with Finding Literature and Research
* Formulating the Research Question
* Finding Appropriate Methodologies
* Responsibility in the research process
* Research Ethics
* Supervision of the Dissertation
* Writing the Dissertation
* Developing your Academic Style of Writing
* Plagiarism

Monday, February 2, 2009

Online Encyclopedia

Encyclopedia.com provides access to 49 encyclopedias (including Oxford University Press and Britannica) and 73 dictionaries and thesauruses. It offers acccess to articles from more than 3,500 credible reference works and publications, including newspapers, journals, and magazines.

Whether teaching staff, business people or students need access to information, this is a good place to look.