The New York Times Compendium

Compendium is a new tool from The New York Times. According to the website, Compendium allows you to create collections of articles, quotes, images, and videos from The New York Times that you can annotate to tell a story and then share with the world. It is also a place where you can discover stories created by The New York Times readers, editors and reporters. You can only sign in with a Facebook or Twitter account.

DuoLingo

DuoLingo is a free language-learning website that provides language lessons with practice activities that are part of larger units. The languages available include Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Italian. A neat feature of DuoLingo is that after you complete lessons, you can help translate web content into English. DuoLingo scores your translation based on how similar it is to other translations of the same web content. All users can rate the translations which helps DuoLingo choose the “best” translation which is then used to make the web available in more languages.  A DuoLingo iPhone app is also available.

Google Drive Template Gallery

If you are in Google Drive and click on “Create” and then “From template…” you will gain access to the Google Drive Template Gallery.  Hundreds of free templates, of a wide variety, are available to create your document, spreadsheet, presentation or form. Template categories include Students & Teachers, Calendars & Schedules and Resumes & Cover Letters. The Student & Teacher template category includes hundreds of helpful templates for grade reports, student evaluations, syllabi, lesson plans, and more. You can view a full screen preview of the template in a new window by clicking on “Preview” and if  you click on “Use this template” you can create and add a copy of the template to your Docs list.

Vote Usa

With Vote USA, you can get a customized sample election ballot based on where you live. The sample election ballot provides information on all of the candidates running for the elections being held in your area. The information provided includes pictures, bios, YouTube videos, social media links and the candidates’ positions on the issues.  You can view all of the candidates’ positions side-by-side for comparison. All of the information provided is from the candidate or their staff. The website is not associated with a political party and was created by a non-profit organization with the  goal of empowering voters.

 

 

Certified Google Power Searcher

Recently, I completed the free Power Searching with Google online course to improve my search skills and become a Certified Google Power Searcher. The course consists of  six classes covering many search techniques. Each of the six classes consists of sessions that contain a video to watch and an activity to complete. You have to complete the pre-assessment, and pass the mid-assessment and post-assessment to complete the course and earn a certificate. Also, to earn a certificate you have to take the assessments within the time frame decided by Google. Google has offered this course two times so far and plans on offering it again in the future.  I highly recommend taking this course. It is worthwhile for searchers with basic or even advanced skills. I consider myself a searcher with advanced skills and, while I did already know most of the search techniques taught,  I still learned some search techniques to add to my repertoire. Check out Google’s Tips and Tricks site to view some of the search techniques covered in the course.

All TV News Since 2009 Searchable on One Website

Internet Archive has all of the broadcast transcripts and video clips of US National TV networks and stations in San Fransisco and Washington D.C. since 2009 available in its new TV News Search and Borrow database.  New broadcast transcripts and video clips are added 24 hours after they air and broadcast transcripts and video clips prior to 2009 are being added every day. Internet Archive created TV News Search and Borrow to educate people about the issues and candidates in the 2012 U.S. elections.

Poll Everywhere

Poll Everywhere is a free, simple way to poll an audience. It is easy to set up a poll and to respond to a poll. Responses can be submitted via text, Twitter or the web. Poll Everywhere displays the poll results on a web page in real-time so you and your audience can follow along as the responses come in.

Khan Academy

Khan Academy offers a vast selection of  free education resources.  Educational resource topics include math, science, computer science, finance and economics, humanities and test prep. Students can take advantage of the extensive video collection, interactive offerings and assessments available. They are given a custom profile and are able to measure their progress. Teachers can check-in and get a class report for all  students to see how their students are progressing.

Pastelink

Pastelink is a great, easy way to share large files online. It is free to use and you do not need to sign-up or install software to use it. It is user-friendly and allows you to share  files up to 250MB with others. If you sign-up you can  share files up to 2GB. There is no limit to the number of files you can send. To use Pastelink, simply drag and drop the file that you want to share onto the Pastelink website and then Pastelink will create a URL for your file.

AASL – Best Websites for Teaching and Learning

The American Association of School Librarians has unveiled their “Best Websites for Teaching and Learning” list for 2012. All of the websites that have been selected are free to use. The website categories include Media Sharing, Digital Storytelling, Manage & Organize, Social Networking & Collaboration, Content Resources, and Curriculum Collaboration.