Friday, September 26, 2008

eLearning Web 2.0 Tools

e-Learning Reloaded: Top 50 Web 2.0 Tools for Info Junkies, Researchers & Students

Published on Monday 18th of February, 2008

By Jessica Hupp

There's a reason why the Web is called the information superhighway-it's full of seemingly limitless resources for learning and research. And with the advent of Web 2.0, harnessing this information has never been easier. These are some of the best tools for organizing, citing, searching, and more online.

Organization

With all of the information available online, it's hard to keep track, but these tools will help you stay together.

  1. RSS: For ongoing publications, you can subscribe to syndicated feeds and get updates every time there's new information.
  2. Backpack: Backpack does what it sounds like it does-it keeps all of your stuff like notes, lists, ideas, calendar, and more all in one handy place.
  3. Remember the Milk: Create a checklist for your project, stay on top of assignments, and more with this handy to-do app.
  4. Google Docs and Spreadsheets: Keep all of your documents online, and even collaborate with peers using this tool from Google.
  5. Google Notebook: Add clips, organize your notes, and even access your notes from your mobile phone with Google Notebook.
  6. openonmy: Store files up to 1GB so that you can research and save information from anywhere with an Internet connection.
  7. ThinkFold: Create outlines that can be shared and collaborated in realtime using ThinkFold.
  8. Bubbl.us: Use this mind mapping tool to get your thoughts in order.
  9. Flowchart: Create charts to organize your thoughts or notes with this neat tool.
  10. Connotea: Designed for researchers, clinicians and scientists, this reference management tool is great for organizing and sharing references.
  11. Google Calendar: Stay on top of assignment deadlines and more with this calendar. You can even add publicly-available calendars, like school schedules and more.
  12. Zotero: Use this handy extension to collect, manage, and cite your research sources right from your browser.
  13. Netvibes: Use Netvibes as your go-to page for collecting RSS feeds, and for jumping off points for research.
  14. Notecentric: Using Notecentric, you can not only organize your notes online, but also share them with your classmates.

Bookmarks & Citation

Stay on top of references and generate bibliographies using these neat tools.

  1. Yahoo! Bookmarks: Yahoo's bookmark tool makes it easy to organize with folders, utilize the drag and drop functionality, and more.
  2. Diigo: Diigo makes it easy to highlight, clip, and sticky-note right on a web page.
  3. Notefish: Put all of your web research in one simple page with Notefish.
  4. Qipit: Take a photo of notes and documents, and this service will turn it into a readable, taggable document.
  5. BibMe: Enter books, websites, journals, and other sources into this tool, and it will automatically create a bibliography for you. They'll even let you choose between different formats.
  6. Clipmarks: Clip out important pieces of the web using this neat app.
  7. Del.icio.us: Use del.icio.us to organize your bookmarks online, and access them easily with tags.
  8. Google Bookmarks: With Google Bookmarks, you can keep track of sites and add your own searchable notes to them.
  9. Wizlite: Highlight the Internet like it's paper, then share it with your classmates or colleagues.
  10. MyStickies: This awesome sticky note app allows you to put post-its on your desktop, or perhaps most importantly for researchers, on specific web pages.

Communication

Get connected with experts, classmates, and colleagues using these tools.

  1. ConceptShare: If you're working on a group project, this tool is great for collaboration. Because it's web based, this tool is particularly ideal for long-distance group members.
  2. LinkedIn: This professional networking tool is great for research. You can find experts in specific industries and even ask questions for the community to answer.
  3. SpeakLike: Forget about language barriers, and use this chat application that will translate between two languages simultaneously.
  4. Campusbug: This cool community has loads of useful tools, like flashcards, a bibliography generator, rapid learning, and a question bank.
  5. NoteMesh: Using NoteMesh, you can share your notes with classmates whether they're right next to you in class or on the other side of the world.

Money and Numbers

Whether you're figuring out student loans or deciding how much to charge for your research, these tools can help out.

  1. Instacalc: This calculator will do just about anything you want it to, and you can save links for later reference.
  2. Prosper: Find the money you need to pay for school on this peer-to-peer loan site.
  3. Calcoolate: With this cool calculator, you can do calculations, save your calculating history, and even replace your Windows calculator with the app.
  4. Wesabe: This dashboard has it all, with advice, accounting tools, and more.

Search Tools

Use these tools to find the information you're looking for.

  1. trueknowledge: Get answers to your questions from this search engine built on knowledge.
  2. CiteULike: Find academic papers on this site using their easy search and tags.
  3. ChaCha: Use this human-powered search engine to find what you need. You can even use a live guided search with a real person who will ask you questions to find exactly what you want.
  4. PennTags: Search through this user-created catalog to find articles and other references.
  5. Footnote: Use this tool, and you'll get access to millions of original documents from archives to shoeboxes.
  6. SiteTradr: Find sites that are ranked socially by the education community on SiteTradr.
  7. Wikipedia: Wikipedia is a great repository of information, both as an end point or a place to get started.

Learning

Learn how to do just about anything with these collaborative sites.

  1. Instructables: Find out how to do just about anything, with pictures, on this instruction site.
  2. BookRags: Find guides, lesson plans and more on BookRags.
  3. College-Cram: College-Cram offers "social learning," with resources, study groups, and more.
  4. eHow: In this community, you'll learn how to do everything from sneaking your child into a gifted program to creating a scavenger hunt.
  5. Edublogs: See what instructors are saying and check out blogged classes on Edublogs.
  6. TutorLinker: Get one-on-one guidance with a tutor from this site.
  7. AnswerU: Ask a question, or look up old ones on this student-governed Q&A site.
  8. MIT OpenCourseWare: Some colleges offer free courses, but MIT is the Queen Mother of them all with 1,800 courses to choose from.
  9. SuTree: Get community knowledge with video lessons from all over the web.
  10. wikiHow: In this collaborative writing project, you can get and share knowledge on more than 30,000 articles.

Read more articles from our library

EducationBlogList

 

This list was created by Aseem Badshah. Twitter id: aseemb | email: aseem@livemocha.com

This list only contains blogs with a Technorati rank greater than 50

Rank

Blog Name

Blog URL

Author

Technorati Authority

Twitter

1

Weblogg-ed

http://weblogg-ed.com/

Will Richardson

925

willrich45

2

Stephen's Web

http://www.downes.ca/

Stephen Downes

792

N/A

3

2 Cents Worth

http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/

David Warlick

725

dwarlick

4

The Fischbowl

http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/

Karl Fisch

653

karlfisch

5

Cool Cat Teacher

http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/

Vicki A Davis

571

coolcatteacher

6

Moving at the Speed of Creativity

http://www.speedofcreativity.org/

Wesley Fryer

508

wfryer

7

edu.blogs.com

http://edu.blogs.com/edublogs/

Ewan McIntosh

334

ewanmcintosh

8

dangerously irrelevant

http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org/

Scott McLeod

316

mcleod

9

Techlearning blog

http://www.techlearning.com/blog/

Multiple

268

N/A

10

eLearning Technology

http://elearningtech.blogspot.com/

Tony Karrer

264

N/A

11

elearnspace

http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/

George Siemens

260

foe2007

12

Half an Hour

http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/

Stephen Downes

246

N/A

13

The Education Wonks

http://educationwonk.blogspot.com/

Multiple

242

N/A

14

Library Bytes

http://librarybytes.com/

Helene Blowers

217

N/A

15

The Thinking Stick

http://www.thethinkingstick.com/

Jeff Utecht

216

jutecht

16

CogDogBlog

http://cogdogblog.com/

Alan Levine

207

cogdog

17

jill/txt

http://jilltxt.net/

Dr Jill Walker Rettberg

207

jillaroo

18

Learning.Now

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/

Andy Carvin

204

acarvin

19

EdTechTalk

http://edtechtalk.com/

Multiple

194

N/A

20

21st Century Collaborative

http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/

Sheryl Nussbaum

192

snbeach

21

Teach42

http://www.teach42.com/

Steve Dembo

191

teach42

22

Hey Jude

https://heyjude.wordpress.com/

Judy OConnell

184

heyjudeonline

23

Blog of Proximal Development

http://www.teachandlearn.ca/blog/

Konrad Glogowski

178

teachandlearn

24

dy/dan

http://blog.mrmeyer.com/

Dan Meyer

176

ddmeyer

25

Around the Corner

http://www.edsupport.cc/mguhlin/

Miguel Guhlin

175

mguhlin

26

The Blue Skunk Blog

http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/

Doug Johnson

175

doug0077

27

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/

Larry Ferlazzo

172

N/A

28

Remote Access

http://remoteaccess.typepad.com/remote_access/

Clarence Fisher

169

glassbeed

29

Ideas and Thoughts

http://ideasandthoughts.org/

Dean Shareski

165

shareski

30

Leader Talk

http://leadertalk.org/

Multiple

162

N/A

31

Steve Hargadon

http://www.stevehargadon.com/

Steve Hargadon

160

stevehargadon

32

Mobile Technology in TAFE

http://aquaculturepda.edublogs.org/

Sue Waters

154

dswaters

33

Think:Lab

http://thinklab.typepad.com/think_lab/

Christian Long

154

BeckettsDad

34

NYC Educator

http://nyceducator.com/

N/A

152

N/A

35

EduBlog Insights

http://anne.teachesme.com/

Anne Davis

147

N/A

36

Practical Theory

http://practicaltheory.org/serendipity/

Chris Lehman

141

N/A

37

Christopher D. Sessums

http://eduspaces.net/csessums/weblog/

Chris D. Sessums

140

N/A

38

Harold Jarche

http://www.jarche.com/

Harold Jarche

135

N/A

39

A Difference

http://adifference.blogspot.com/

Darren Kuropatwa

133

dkuropatwa

40

Librarians Matter

http://librariansmatter.com/blog/

Kathryn Greenhill

133

sirexkat

41

D'Arcy Norman dot net

http://www.darcynorman.net/

D'Arcy Norman

130

dnorman

42

InfoTangle

http://infotangle.blogsome.com/

Ellyssa Kroski

124

ellyssa

43

Schools Matter

http://schoolsmatter.blogspot.com/

Jim Horn

123

N/A

44

NMC Campus Observer

http://sl.nmc.org/

Larry Johnson

122

Larry_Pixel

45

Connectivism Blog

http://www.connectivism.ca/blog/

George Siemens

119

foe2007

46

Doug Belshaw

http://teaching.mrbelshaw.co.uk/

Doug Belshaw

118

dajbelshaw

47

Change Agency

http://www.ed421.com/

Stephanie Sandifer

111

ssandifer

48

Borderland

http://borderland.northernattitude.org/

Doug Noon

109

N/A

49

Learn Online

http://learnonline.wordpress.com/

Leigh Blackall

105

leighblackall

50

Teaching Generation Z

http://gwegner.edublogs.org/

Graham Wegner

104

grahamwegner

51

Abject Learning

http://weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca/brian/

Brian Lamb

101

N/A

52

The Strength of Weak Ties

http://jakespeak.blogspot.com/

David Jakes

100

djakes

53

Generation YES Blog

http://blog.genyes.com/

Multiple

99

N/A

54

Drape's Takes

http://drapestakes.blogspot.com/

Darren Draper

97

N/A

55

Derek's Blog

http://blog.core-ed.net/derek/

Derek Wenmoth

95

dwenmoth

56

Mobile Learning

http://mlearning.edublogs.org/

Leonard Low

95

N/A

57

Always Learning

http://mscofino.edublogs.org/

Kim Cofino

94

mscofino

58

Crucial Thought

http://www.crucialthought.com/

Christopher Craft

94

N/A

59

A Shrewdness of Apes

http://shrewdnessofapes.blogspot.com/

Anonymous

93

N/A

60

Learning is Messy

http://learningismessy.com/blog/

Brian Crosby

87

bcrosby

61

Never Ending Search Blog

http://joycevalenza.edublogs.org/

Joyce Valenza

87

joycevalenza

62

AssortedStuff

http://www.assortedstuff.com/

Tim Stahmer

86

timstahmer

63

Huff English

http://www.huffenglish.com/

Dana Huff

86

N/A

64

Educational Games Research

http://edugamesblog.wordpress.com/

John Rice

85

N/A

65

Open Thinking & Digital Pedagogy

http://educationaltechnology.ca/couros/

Alec Couros

85

courosa

66

Not So Distant Future

http://futura.edublogs.org/

Carolyn Foote

83

N/A

67

Tuttle SVC

http://www.tuttlesvc.org/

Tom Hoffman

83

krasni_bor

68

The Four Eyed Technologist

http://www.bretagdesigns.com/technologist/

Ryan Bretag

79

ryanbretag

69

BG Blogging

http://mt.middlebury.edu/middblogs/ganley/bgblogging/

Barbara Ganley

78

bgblogging

70

Beyond School

http://beyond-school.org/

Clay Burell

77

cburell

71

Education Policy Blog

http://educationpolicyblog.blogspot.com/

Multiple

77

N/A

72

John Connell

http://www.johnconnell.co.uk/blog/

John Connell

76

JConnell

73

The Open Classroom

http://theopenclassroom.blogspot.com/

Jo McLeay

75

jomcleay

74

The Ed Techie

http://nogoodreason.typepad.co.uk/no_good_reason/

Martin Weller

74

mweller

75

The Travelin' Librarian

http://www.travelinlibrarian.info/

Michael Sauers

74

msauers

76

Bud the Teacher

http://budtheteacher.typepad.com/bud_the_teacher/

Bud Hunt

73

budtheteacher

77

E-Learning Journeys

http://123elearning.blogspot.com/

Julie Lindsay

73

julielindsay

78

Durff's Blog

http://durffsblog.blogspot.com/

Mrs. Durff

70

N/A

79

My Journey in ICT & Blogging

http://rachelboyd.blogspot.com/

Rachel Boyd

70

rachelboyd

80

Teaching Hacks.com

http://www.teachinghacks.com/

Quentin D'Souza

69

qdsouza

81

The Savvy Technologist

http://technosavvy.org/

Tim Wilson

69

timwilson

82

Gardner Writes

http://www.gardnercampbell.net/blog1/

Gardner Campbell

68

GardnerCampbell

83

ijohnpederson

http://www.ijohnpederson.com/

John Pederson

68

ijohnpederson

84

Stager-to-Go

http://www.stager.org/blog/

Gary Stager

68

N/A

85

Betchablog

http://betch.edublogs.org/

Chris Betcher

67

betchaboy

86

Kathy Schrock's Kaffeeklatsch

http://kathyschrock.net/blog/

Kathy Schrock

67

N/A

87

Bridging Differences

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/Bridging-Differences/

Deborah Meier & Diane Ravitch

65

N/A

88

Alan November Weblog

http://nlcommunities.com/communities/alannovember/default.aspx

Alan November

63

N/A

89

e-Clippings (Learning As Art)

http://blogoehlert.typepad.com/eclippings/

Mark Oehlert

62

N/A

90

Teachers Teaching Teachers

http://teachersteachingteachers.org/

Multiple

62

N/A

91

Bionic Teaching

http://bionicteaching.com/

Tom Woodward & Jim Coe

60

N/A

92

Infomancy

http://schoolof.info/infomancy/

Christopher Harris

60

infomancy

93

Teaching in the 408

http://roomd2.blogspot.com/

Unknown

60

N/A

94

AASL Weblog

http://blogs.ala.org/aasl.php

Multiple

59

N/A

95

Dave's Educational Blog

http://www.davecormier.com/edblog/

Dave Cormier

58

N/A

96

Educating Alice

http://medinger.wordpress.com/

Alice

58

N/A

97

Discourse about Discourse

http://yongesonne.edublogs.org/

Ben Wilkoff

57

bhwilkoff

98

Education in Texas

http://educationintexas.blogspot.com/

Unknown

57

N/A

99

Golden Swamp

http://www.goldenswamp.com/

Judy Breck

57

judybreck

100

Do I Dare Disturb the Universe?

http://blog.scottjelias.net/

Scott Elias

56

N/A

101

SEGA Tech

http://segatech.us/

Multiple

56

N/A

102

Karyn's Erratic Learning Journey

http://karynromeis.blogspot.com/

Karyn Romeis

55

karynromeis

103

librariesinteract.info

http://librariesinteract.info/

Multiple

55

N/A

104

Angela A Thomas

http://angelaathomas.com/

Angela Thomas

53

anyaixchel

105

Possibilities Abound

http://possibilitiesabound.blogspot.com/

Lani

52

N/A

106

Musings - Just Learning

http://www.mtl-peters.net/blog/

Sharon Peters

51

speters