Techie Tuesday: Online Resources

With the billions of websites out there, it is sometimes hard to find the exact ones you would like to integrate into your daily life.  Where can you go to find the perfect websites?  Sorry, but there isn't a quick answer to this.

Know What You Want

You need to first know for what type of site you are looking.  Maybe you are having trouble keeping up with your favorite websites.  You know the drill.  I found the most awesome site on (insert fav topic here), and now I can't find it. You need a bookmarking site!  I personally love Diigo.  It isn't enough to just sign up for a site. You have to also prepare to use it.  How can you do this?  Here are a couple of examples:

• Use the Browser Add-on for your work and home computer.  This makes it super easy to "click and add" a website.
• Use tags.  By tagging the websites, you are able to search by topic.  It's like your own digital filing cabinet.
• Use your smart phone.  Most smart phones have the capability to automatically save websites to your bookmarking site such as Diigo.  An app will even allow you to access your sites on the go!

Search for What Fits You Best

Maybe you are looking for an online site on which to keep notes.  Honestly you have to search and find the one that fits your style.  Here are a few examples:

• Wikispaces
• LiveBinders
• Diigo
• Evernote
• Google
• Jjot 
• Zoho

Talk to Others

Oh, you want something even more "real life"?  How about couponing?   I'm sure you have watched at least part of an Extreme Couponing episode.  I must admit I have been greatly intrigued by the amount of savings.  I've even tried out a few tricks using the Sunday Circular and weekly sales.  There is a big difference in what I am doing and the $1000 savings you see online, which brings up another key component in finding online resources, TALK to others!  Yes, this seems like a simple option, but sometimes it is used last or not at all.  If you are looking for something, there is someone else that is already using it (or looking for the same).  If you can't find someone, turn to a social site such as twitter and ask others!

FYI Another colleague (friend) and myself have truly been interested in couponing.  We have looked around, but not found the huge deals "like TV".  Through talking, we found out that another one of our colleague's, Peggy Lacobee, is having great success with couponing.  She is actually presenting Techie Tuesday for this week on just that! Here are a few resources she shared:

http://thekrazycouponlady.com/
http://www.couponsthingsbydede.com/
http://coupondivas.com/

What resources would you like to find? Do you have a favorite to share?

Techie Tuesday: A- Z Resources

While digging through some old files, I came across an old PowerPoint, ABC Teacher Resource Websites.  Of course it was fun going through the old resources, but it also got me to thinking about all the numerous websites currently available.

I sent out a few tweets, dug through my Diigo files, and the result is a current A - Z of Awesome Resources!  @melching5 also sent an awesome link to numerous resources!

Would you like to add to the links?  Visit my wiki page to continue building this list of resources!

A - Assignaday, Animoto, Alltop, Audacity	H - Hulu, Hotmail, Headerbar	O - Open Source	V - Voicethread
B - Blogger, Blabberize	I - iPhone/Touch Apps	P - Posterous, Podomatic	W - Wikispaces
C - Cozi, Calendar	J - Jing, Jog the Web	Q - Quia	X - Xtranormal
D - Diigo, Delicious, Doink	K - Kerpoof	R - RSS	Y - You Tube, Yaca Paca, Yahoo
E - Edu 2.0, Edublogs, Evernote, Elluminate	L - LessonWriter, Linkedin	S - Slideshare	Z - ZDNet, Zoho,
F - Flickr	M - My Note It, Mixbook, Moonk	T - Twitter, Trailfire, TeacherTube
G - Glogster, GOOGLE	N - Netvibes, Ning	U - UStream