Personal/Custom Search Engine

As a middle school teacher, there are times when I want my students to do some Internet research. Problem is, as a tech instructor, I know the difficulties students will face in finding information they will be able to understand and validate as factual. I have had several teachers comment that the students know more than they do about technology, therefore they will be able to find the information without any problems. As research has shown, even the brightest middle school students are not proficient with online reading and comprehension.

To help out with this problem, I would like to introduce a tool available via Google. The Custom Search Engine or CSE is a tool that will limit searches to specific sites you have already chosen. Up front there is some setup, but once you have done the research and set up a CSE, students will have access to researched sites for their searches. To use this tool, you will need to have a Google account. It is free.Once you have one, sign in and then visit the Custom Search Engine site.

Once registered and logged into the site,  you should see a page that has the following headings:

• Basic information
• What do you want to search
• Select some sites
• Select an editon

Basic information:  type a name for the search engine and a description.
What do you want to search:  Depending on how you want to use this search engine will dictate which choice here.
Select some sites:  In this box, you will list the sites you have chosen for your CSE. Be sure to read the "Tips on formatting URLs". The searches can be limited to single web pages or entire sites.
Select an edition:  One downside is in order to keep it free, the search results will have ads on them. But this is no different than a regular Google search which has ads on it as well.

When all the information is filled out, check the box at the bottom for Terms of Service and click next.
On the following page you can try out your newly created search engine. Once finished here click the Finish button. The next page will show you a control panel for your search engines. I am not going into details on this page. There is a lot of information here. I would suggest playing around with the site though.

One final feature I will point out though, if you have a webpage, blog or some other Internet site, you will be able to embed code to have your search engine available there instead of creating a link to the Google site itself. On my website, I have an example of what this would look like. Otherwise, you can create a link to the URL so students can easily access your CSE.

If you have any questions or would like some help with this, email me and I will set up a time to meet with you.

Up and Coming Technology: Sixth Sense

It seems to me every day or so I hear comments about the new technology available, how much info there is out there, how scary the Internet is and so forth. Well, if any of these comments have been apart of your conversations lately, take a look at this video. I think it is fascinating and at the same time a part of me wants to be wary of information I choose to put online about myself. Take a look at the video and see what you think.

Ken Robison video: TED Conference

I was up real early this morning and did not want to turn on the TV. I decided instead to turn on the big screen that had some interactivity with it. Well it paid off.  I came across this video of Sir Ken Robinson speaking at a TED conference. He got me to thinking (I know...a rare instance) about what we are doing in our classrooms or lack thereof.

Saving YouTube, Teacher Tube and other website videos.

Don't you know, every time you want to use an online video in your class the Internet slows to a snails pace or the Internet itself is down. No worries, I'm here to help.

The simplest solution is to download the video and have access to it whether the network is up or not. There are many services to help you with this. Some charge and others are free. One great site is keepvid.com. It is pretty simple to use. Just copy the URL (the Internet address) of the web site containing the video and paste it into the URL box at the top of the page at keepvid.com and click the download button to the right. A couple of links will then appear just below. There usually is a couple of choices. You will have to read the details following each link to decide which clip you  want. Choices include a higher and lower quality clips and sometimes a different size option (in pixels).

One note to mention - while this method works on Youtube videos and such it will not work all the time. There are different solutions out there. Other methods can be found by typing in "capture streaming video" in a google search.

As always, if you have questions let me know. TTFN

Text Message Alerts: teachers able to send mass texts to students.

I have heard from several students and a request from a teacher that it would be "cool" if students could receive text messagages about up-coming events in the class like quizzes, tests and assignments. I am here to please...Your wish is my command...I hear and obey.

Enough already. I have a solution for you. Take a look at the following.

Get your own at TextMarks!

By typing in your phone number into the box, you will receive a text explaining how to subscribe to BlueBandit at textmarks.com. This is my textmark so you may not want to subscribe. Go to the site to read more and create your own account. If you need help setting up your account, let me know. You can choose to send out alerts from your phone or website. You can also add it to a web like I did here. Pretty neat stuff.

One final note, you can subscribe to other alters ranging from topics like horoscopes, bible versus, stock quotes... the list just goes on. One could lose their self in a sea of texts although I don't recommend it.

Happy Texting!

Email: Creating contact groups.

I have had several request over the last few months for help in creating a contact or distribution list. This list will save time for those who continually have to send emails to the same group of people regularly. This posting will walk you through the process using Microsoft Outlook. The process is similar for most email programs. If the following does not help you with your particular situation, let me know the specifics of your dilemma and I will see what I can do.

1. Open MS Outlook and in the upper right hand corner, click on "New" just below File in the menu bar. Make sure you are clicking on the down arrow.
   
2. Choose the selection called "Distribution List".
3. In the window that pops open, you have two choices:
1. choose "Add New" at the top that has a picture of a single guy with it and add the email of the person you wish to add.
2. choose "Select Members" right next to "Add New" and in that box click all the members you wish to add (only works to select members already apart of your contact list).
4. Click okay when done with each of the above.
5. In the name box above the list, type in the name you wish to give the group.
6. Click "Save & Close" at the top.

After these steps create new email message. In the "To" box, type the name of the group. Finish you message and click send. That should be it.

Again, other email programs will be similar, just not exact. Happy Emailing.

P.S. (is this valid in a blog)
Send a test message that requests everyone to reply to make sure you have all the email typed in correctly.

Diigo Bookmarking

I was introduce to Diigo during an online class in the Spring of 09. Since then I have used it extensively to bookmark pages and help me with research. Diigo's tools include the ability to post notes, highlight, and to share with others and more. Watch the video and see how you might put it to use. Great Stuff!!!!!