Technology and Tools for Students

Podcasts available on iTunes

2009-01-27T08:20:00.000-08:00

The Technology and Tools for Students podcasts are no long available through streaming media on this blog. You can find the podcasts on the University of Illinois at Springfield iTunes site.

New podcasts will resume in September 2009.

2008-11-19T14:36:00.000-08:00

10:49

Parlez-vous Francais?
Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
Parli Italiano?
Hablas Espanol?

If you said non, nein or no you may want to check out Babbel

http://www.babbel.com/

Tips on how to read the UIS course schedule

2008-10-23T13:37:00.000-07:00

Atomic Learning and Software Purchasing

2008-10-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

10:43

You can find the Information Technology Services site at http://www.uis.edu/its/otherservices/index.html

Along the right hand side, you'll see a number of links including the link to Atomic Learning and eDocs. You'll also see a software link. If you go to that page, you'll find a link to the Software WebStore.

eDocs Document Management System

2008-09-22T14:35:00.000-07:00

10:19

Here are five good reasons you should learn more about eDocs.

• eDocs allows you to access your files anywhere, anytime.
• It allows you to publish websites.
• It allows you to back-up your files on an off-site server.
• It allows you to collaborate with other students as well as with people who aren’t associated with UIS.
• It’s free for UIS students.

Your 1GB of eDocs storage space is waiting to be used. You can log into the system using your Enterprise ID and Password at https://edocs.uis.edu/xythoswfs/webview/xythoslogin.action

It is not a difficult system to use but it is much easier if you take advantage of the online training. http://www.uis.edu/its/otherservices/edocs.html

Look under eDocs Workshop Videos for the Overview and Basic Skills video. This is a recorded version of the training that is offered on campus so it will give you a detailed introduction.

You will hear reference to integrating eDocs with Blackboard. Please realize that this is for faculty and not students. You may save your assignments in eDocs, but you should always submit them as your instructor requires and not simply refer your instructor to eDocs.

You’ll also see a series of How-To videos. These concepts are covered in the overview video. Think of the How-To’s as reminders you can refer to at future points to help you recall how to do something within the eDocs system.

Searching for information online

2008-09-08T12:24:00.000-07:00

9:37

SearchMe allows you to preview the results of your searches with large thumbnails and to create “stacks” to organize and recall your research.

http://www.searchme.com/

SortFix allows you to create Boolean language searches using a visual interface. It also seeks are “power words” to help you fine tune your searches based upon the actual search results.

http://www.sortfix.com/

Cuil is an ambitious search engine which hopes to compete with Google, Yahoo, Ask, and others.

http://www.cuil.com/

ChaCha does not provide mobile searching, but mobile answers. You call a toll-free number and receive a text message answer in a few moments.

http://www.chacha.com/

Blogging, RSS, and Google Reader

2008-08-25T14:45:00.000-07:00

10:19

(Warning: more shameless promotion of our blog community.)

I promise that I'm not going to talk about this every week but I did want to start out with blogging for two reasons. First, I wanted to make sure everyone knew we'd created some video tutorials to help you create a blog. If you've never blogged before, it may seem like something only techno-nerds can understand, but it is remarkably easy. Everyone is welcome to participate at whatever level they wish.

If you do decide to create a blog, send me the URL so that I can include it in our directory. Look for the blog directory link on the main Liberal Studies website. If you would like to participate and feel unsure of how to create and use a blog, contact me. If you want to participate, I'll create a blog for you - you'll be an expert user before you know it.

The second reason to start with blogging is that it feeds into this week's technology - RSS feeds and RSS readers. These two concepts can really help you learn more and experience more in the online world by bringing everything you enjoy into one place. For example, (one last shameless promotion) we currently have 15 students blogging but I'm not visiting their blog every day to see if they've posted something. I've brought all of their blogs together into Google Reader. To get an idea of how this looks, visit the public site of my Reader.

If you'd like to know more about RSS, you can read some good information at http://rss.softwaregarden.com/aboutrss.html

Welcome to the 2008-09 academic year

2008-08-19T17:56:00.000-07:00