What is on your bookmarks bar?

Some recent discussions at work have revolved around the question, "What are the five or six essential web 2.0 tools that you would find in the top drawer of you Internet toolbox?" Another way of describing this would be to ask, "What are the essential links that you keep prominently on your bookmarks, or favorites, bar?" Or, best yet, what are those sites that need to be within a single click of you at all times?

Here are the sites that populate my bookmarks bar in my Chrome browser - see if some of them are the same as yours.

Outlook Web Access - work email is becoming less prominent, but I hate searching for the OWA link to sign in to my work email. I should save myself the one-click and sync Outlook to Gmail. But like, many of you, I prefer to keep my work email and personal email in separate bedrooms.

Google - A big-time, no-brainer here - my iGoogle dashboard (including Gmail) is getting steadily replaced by my new workhorse - Google+. That said, Google is consistently my Internet launch pad when I open Chrome. Those web tools that I access most frequently all pop from my Google+ site. (Google Docs, YouTube, Gmail, Search, Images, Calendar, Maps, Sites, the list goes on, and on)

Google Play - Play recently replaced my link to the Chrome Web Store. Google Market would have been a better name, but like iTunes, it sure is nice to do all of my media shopping in one place.

Twitter - When I need to know what's happening, or I need to share something quickly, there is no better "quick-hit" knowledge base than Twitter. Along with Google+, Twitter is my primary instrument in developing my PLN (professional learning network).

CourseSites - Created by the folks at Blackboard, CourseSites is a free, and powerful Learning Management System (LMS). I currently developing a couple of on-line classes, and this is the best product that I have tried in the LMS arena.

the Archer's Bow - This is my personal web site. It's mine and I want to keep it close at hand. You understand, I'm sure.

This is how I manage my one-click life. What am I missing? What is included in your bookmarks bar that should be included in mine? Oh yes, did I happen to mention that Chrome allows my bookmarks bar to follow me wherever I go - that's cool! Thanks for comparing and sharing.

Comments

What Teachers Can Learn From Effective Coaches

In my educational world teaching and coaching involve the same processes. The people that impacted my own learning most significantly were coaches. Could it be that great coaches were ahead of their time with respects to instructional best practices? Let's take a look at ten coaching practices that thankfully have found their way into the classroom. http://www.coachwooden.com/files/PyramidThinkingSuccess.jpg Standards-based Grading - coaches aren't concerned with arbitrary measures of success such as letter grades. Great coaches identify a requisite set of skills that are necessary for advancement and success. Promotion and achievement are based upon clearly identified levels of skill mastery. Authentic assessment - coaches are looking for their athletes to demonstrate their skill mastery under game-like situations. The best coaches incorporate game simulations and competitive, game-like drills into their practices. Winning coaches will use the contests as assess...

Self-Directed vs. Self-Determined Learning; What's the Difference?

"We need to move beyond the idea that an education is something that is provided for us, and toward the idea that an education is something that we create for ourselves." - Stephen Downes In this age of abundance of information, shifting classroom pedagogy isn't nearly enough to make learning in school more relevant and authentic for the learner. Self-directed learning ( andragogy ), and self-determined learning ( heutagogy ) are the ideals necessary in making students " future ready " to live and learn in a web-connected world. While original research applied these concepts to mature learners, it has become apparent that even young children have an abundant capacity for recognizing and directing their learning. Anyone who has observed toddlers learning how to walk and talk understand the motivation and skill development that quickly develops during these processes. Considered by some to be on a learning continuum, self-directed learning, and self-determined ...

Board Games in the School Library: 3 Reasons Why It's a Winning Play

"Play is the highest form of research." - Albert Einstein “Play is the work of the child.” – Maria Montessori In our recently remodeled school media center, we have a space dedicated to active engagement in fun learning activities. Part maker space, part literacy lounge, board games are being incorporated to promote a culture of joyful learning. Whether it's a game of Rummy , Yahtzee , or Scrabble , family game night serves as a communication elixir and solidifies our domestic climate of togetherness. Shouldn't similar opportunities for interaction, challenge, and fun exist somewhere in our schools? Broken families, cultural fragmentation, and poverty are impacting opportunities for children to play. As we unpacked and tagged our new media center games, I was more disappointed than shocked by the number of students who had never played Monopoly , Boggle , or Sorry . One skeptical teacher commented, "Oh great, now we're letting students pl...

Nocking the Arrow

Search This Blog