Google Realtime Search

Google has a fairly new search engine called Realtime. This tool allows users to search a specific topic, and it brings events back based on order of time from different sources like Twitter, Facebook, and CNBC. Users can edit the settings to view what day and time things were posted. Users can also change the location - either by clicking "nearby" or "everywhere" or typing in a specific location. 

Realtime would be a great source in a classroom especially to see what the general public are thinking about certain events. How interesting would it be for government students to see realtime events on the internet on election day? This puts news into a different perspective, and makes it more personal for the students.

Visuwords: Graphical Dictionary and Thesaurus

Visuwords is a great manner to learn and understand connections between different vocabulary words. This video is a good tutorial to show how easy the site is to use. 

When I learned about this site, I thought of what a great tool this could be for English language learners. This site gives connections to other words in a visual way, instead of using a traditional thesaurus. If a student was having trouble comprehending the definition of a word, he could use this tool to see the connections to other words he might know. The creator of this video actually is an English teacher and blogs about the IELTS - International English Language Teaching System. I think this is proof enough that this tool could be a great option for English learners in the classroom. This site would be a good means for any English teacher to support understanding of new vocabulary. 


The only downside to this site is the often massive amount of feedback for one word. For younger learners it might be a little overwhelming, so I think this would be a better option for middle or upper level students. It definitely is a great way to aid the visual learner. 


Picture provided by flickr user heyjudegallery

Shelfari: Using Technology to Promote Reading

Recently, I have found this great site, Shelfari. On the "About Us" page, it says, "Shelfari introduces readers to our global community of book lovers and encourages them to share their literary inclinations and passions with peers, friends, and total strangers (for now). Our mission is to enhance the experience of reading by connecting readers in meaningful conversations about the published word." 


Shelfari allows users to create a bookshelf, showing titles of books the user has read, plans to read, and is currently reading. Along with the titles, users can rate these books, name their favorites, and write their own facts and descriptions to those books. 
Here's a screenshot of my own bookshelf:

So how can Shelfari be used in education? Well, the day I actually signed up for Shelfari, I also learned about the Sigourney Community School District and their amazing technology plan. When I searched for reading groups, their high school's happened to pop up on the page. I think educators can probably learn a lot from Sigourney - if they're using Shelfari, it must be something to at least give a chance.


As a future ESL teacher, I plan to encourage my students to read, and I hope they learn to truly enjoy it. If putting a form of technology in front of students encourages them and makes learning fun, couldn't the same happen with reading? Shelfari might be a great place to start. Students can add friends from school on the site, see that their peers are reading, and get some good book recommendations from them. This would be a great way just for students to connect with each other in regards to reading. 


Obviously technology isn't going to make every kid enjoy reading, but I think it's a great place to start. 


Technology = Fun for most students. If School = Technology, maybe School will start to = Fun. Reading can be fun too! Students just need to see it in a different light. 


Picture is a screenshot from my own bookshelf.