WORKSHOP: GENKIENGLISH

A chance to try PhotoShark.

Bubbl.us: Simple Effective Idea Organization

Diagrams on paper are cool, but diagrams on the internet are cooler. This is where Bubbl.us comes into play. Bubbl.us is a mind-mapping product aimed towards literally anyone who needs help organizing their thoughts or any untidy information. Powered by Flash, Bubbl.us makes it easy for anyone to quickly start planning and sorting out their ideas through the use of linked text bubbles. Each bubble of information is connected to its preceding parent bubble and color coordinated accordingly for hierarchy sake. Using the mouse wheel or the side tool bar allows for easy zooming in and out of your mind-maps. Also added to the tool bar is workspace positioning and setup styles, however most will find that holding the left mouse button and dragging is a much more convenient way of moving around the work area.

You begin with a parent bubble. Pressing Tab creates another bubble in the same color and level of hierarchy as the bubble you tabbed from. Pressing Enter in a bubble will create a new level of hierarchy with a different colored bubble. Naturally, levels of the bubble tree are connected with lines and are movable around the workspace while remaining connected to each other. Each bubble also has an “Unpin” function. This resets all bubbles that you might have moved back under its appropriate parent. Bubbl.us also has an amusing deletion confirmation for each bubble you wish to omit. Once you press the X in the corner of a bubble a counter will begin counting down from three to zero as the line connecting the bubble to its parent acts as a lit fuse. Once it reaches zero the bubble will blow up in a cloud of fire. Neat.

Saving and loading is simple and fast. The navigation found on the right of the website is neatly made and holds all your current projects. Multiple brainstorming projects can be saved to folders in the side bar and loaded again at any time. Of course you’re also able to rename any of your projects using the side menu. Directly above the side menu is the link to edit your account information if necessary as well. A printing function has also been implemented so that your newly mapped out ideas can be printed out whenever you wish. They have included options for printing to the minimum height and width of your bubble tree, or simply a full screen print. Simply zoom out/in to what you feel is presentable, then print. There’s no hassle.

Have a look at this onlinetool. Mindmapping in web 2.0 style ... Enjoy

Originally from Solution Watch by Matt Wilson

reBlogged by Andreas Buesing on Jan 25, 2007, 4:55AM

LEARNING VOCABULARY ONLINE

Quizlet is a tool for learning vocabulary

Here's how it works:

1. You enter words and their definitions.
2. Quizlet gives you a specialized learning mode, flashcards, randomly-generated tests, and collaboration tools for classmates to help you study those words.
3. You ace your test.

Here are some neat features:

1. Quizlet keeps track of the words you know and only retests you on the ones you don't.
2. You can share your word sets with classmates and get email notification when others make sets for you.
3. You can import words from a file without having to retype them into Quizlet.
4. Quizlet has accent buttons for typing letters in foreign languages.
5. You can discuss sets (and gossip about teachers!) with classmates via instant discussion boxes.

Quizlet is a tool for learning vocabulary

BETTER SAVE THAN SORRY: FLICKR BACKUP

This piece of Open Source software downloads all your original photos from your online account onto your PC / Mac. It even keeps them organised into the sets. So, go ahead! FlickrBackup right away!

QUOTES

Are you looking for quotes? Have a look at
The Quote Garden
where you will find all sort of quotes.

A Harvest of Quotes for Word Lovers, at www.quotegarden.com, is a personal collection of favorite inspirational, funny, thought-provoking, famous, and literary quotations, a free and ever-growing resource for writers, speakers, students, and word lovers - for scrapbooks,
scrapbook journaling, newsletters, speeches, greeting cards, crafts, journals, essays, cool one-liners for blogs, witty email taglines, or a quick quote of the day. Browse, search, enjoy the inspiration!

Federal Resources for Education Excellence

http://free.ed.gov/

The US Government has redesigned the Federal Resources for Education Excellence website with over 1,500 resources for teachers, students and education professionals. Have a look at:
http://free.ed.gov/

ESSENTIAL TOOL FOR YOUR PC: CRAP CLEANER

CCleaner is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history.

CCleaner

FOR YOUR STUDENTS: SPLENDID SPEAKING

Splendid Speaking

Are you preparing for an examination and need to practise for the Speaking paper? Perhaps you need to develop particular speaking skills for work or university such as making introductions, discussing, negotiating, giving a short talk etc. The Splendid Speaking team invite our users to contact us to arrange an interview through Skype. Interviews last about 15-20 minutes. We often try to pair you with another person so that the interviews can cover a wider range of task-types. Please note that interviews are recorded and that some are published as podcasts for others in the Splendid Speaking community to listen to.

Please note that interviews are only carried out with students who are studying at an advanced level.

If you'd like to get involved, choose a time that's free from the schedule at Splendid Speaking to request an interview. All times shown are GMT. There's a form to contact them at the bottom of their page.