Free Resources from the Net for EVERY Learner » Wikipedia

Imagine A World Without Wikipedia!

Paul Hamilton — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:59:39 +0000

It is still dark in the coffee shop where I am waiting for my breakfast to be served. As I do many times over the course of most days, I just went to Wikipedia to look something up. I’d forgotten that there would be no Wikipedia today. For me, Wikipedia is by far the most valuable online resource. In fact, recently I put my money where my mouth is and made a financial contribution to show my appreciation. I’m glad to support what I believe to be one of man’s greatest achievements in all of history.

I am not in the US, and I’m not an American citizen, but pending legislation in the US has tremendous potential to harm the Internet as we know it. The Internet has become a powerful positive force for all of us! I am contacting my own government to ask it to convey my protest to the US government.

I won’t go into details of the legislation being considered by the US Congress. Instead, I recommend that you read the information Wikipedia has prepared on SOPA and PIPA. This is the only information available from Wikipedia today.

Search-Cube for Visual Search Results

Paul Hamilton — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 20:53:21 +0000

Long lists of links to websites, even when accompanied by brief descriptions, do not work well for me. I’ve discovered that I am far from alone in this regard, so I’m sharing a search tool that yields engaging visual results.

search-cube offers a straightforward search box for entering search terms. The search results it yields, however, are images of home pages. These home pages are arranged on the six faces of a cube, with 16 sites displayed on each face.

It’s easy to rotate the cube with the arrow keys on the keyboard, or by holding down the shift key and dragging the mouse. Rolling the cursor over an image on the cube brings up a larger image beside the cube, along with a little more information about the linked website.

Here’s what the search term ‘tiger’ yielded. It’s easy to see at glance which sites might be worth visiting. It was quite easy to locate the Wikipedia article, but I was disappointed that I couldn’t find the entry for Simple English Wikipedia.

Navify for Multiple Means of Representation

Paul Hamilton — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:49:22 +0000

Multiple means of engagement and multiple means of representation are essential if there is any chance of connecting with all learners, or of meeting the diverse learning needs in any given classroom. With the rapid proliferation of digital resources, there is less excuse every day for educators who do not encourage learners to use resources and tools that work for them.

It is paramount that teachers recognize and remember that most of their students do not learn in the same ways that they themselves learn. Simply trying harder doesn’t work if you learn differently!

I’m especially pleased when I discover new resources that put multiple means of representation together in one place! Here’s one that gathers text, images, and videos into one place. Of course, you can add an audio version of the text as well, with one of many readily available text-to-speech options.

Navify is a service that combines Wikipedia articles with related videos from Youtube and online images. So, when a topic is entered into the search bar, it brings up the pertinent Wikipedia article along with videos and images on the same subject. With the multiple means of representation offered, there is a far greater chance of engaging a wider range of learners.

The first screen shot below shows the Wikipedia article that opens when ‘tiger’ is typed into the search box. You can see the tabs above the article for Images and Videos. The second screen shot shows what appears when the Images tab is clicked, and the third shows the videos.

It should be noted that it is up to users to select the images and videos that are associated with an article. For all of the search terms I entered, I was offered an extensive collection of images and videos to choose from. Since Navify is a relatively new service, there were relatively few videos associated with any of the topics I searched.

Two other features of Navify are also worth mentioning. The first is that users have the opportunity to comment on topics. Secondly, related topics are suggested with search results.

Simple English Wikipedia (Online Resource)

Paul Hamilton — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:02:54 +0000

You would have to have had your head in the sand for a long time not to at least be aware of Wikipedia, an amazing online reference resource that is used every day by countless learners and teachers around the world. You may not be aware that there is an alternate version of Wikipedia that is more accessible in terms of language and grammar.

“Simple English Wikipedia is for everyone!” This bold declaration is contained in the opening paragraph on the home page. In other words, the Simple English Wikipedia is by design a resource that facilitates universal access and supports a UDL (Universal Design for Learning) approach in the classroom. Writers have been encouraged to “use easy words and shorter sentences”. In my experience, there are learners in classrooms at all levels who benefit from this approach.

Simple English Wikipedia is part of the Wikimedia Foundation. In appearance and layout, Simple English Wikipedia is exactly the same as Wikipedia. Simple English Wikipedia currently contains 36,599 articles. We are all invited, of course, to contribute new articles or to edit existing ones. I see great potential here for teachers who are looking for meaningful and motivating projects.

U Tech Tips Wiki (Online Resource)

Paul Hamilton — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:10:04 +0000

I’m convinced there is no online tool more versatile or more useful for educators and learners than the wiki. The range of possibilities is unlimited. Almost everyone is familiar with Wikipedia, which describes itself as, “The biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the internet.” The success of this enormous collaborative resource speaks for itself.

I believe that learners everywhere should have access to Wikipedia and use it as a learning resource. There are, however, countless situations where relatively small-scale and purpose-specific wikis can be used to great effect. I’m writing today about one example that offers an invaluable resource for educators working at all levels. It also illustrates what a well designed wiki can look like.

U Tech Tips Wiki: A Wiki of Software for Educators by Educators. Jeff Utecht set up this wiki only a couple of weeks ago, and the framework is just starting to be fleshed out with content. This is a wiki that clearly has the potential to become an extensive repository of well organized digital educational resources. Anyone may contribute to the wiki, and it is extremely easy to do so.

Listings are organized according to operating system–Windows, Apple, and Linux. There is a fourth major heading for web-based applications and Firefox Add-ons. Some of the pages under each of the platform headings include: Office Suites; Photo; Video; Screen Capture Software; Educational. Some of these categories may prove to be too big, but one beautiful thing about a wiki is that the structure can be adapted as needed. Click on the image below for a larger view of how the home page is laid out.

Jeff Utecht has recently become an “Educator Ambassador” for Wetpaint Wikis, and this wiki nicely demonstrates the unique features of the Wetpaint Wiki platform. U Tech Tips Wiki is my first serious look at Wetpaint Wikis, and so far I’m favourably impressed. I like the look, the organization, the feature-set, and the ease of editing.

If you use software to support education, I encourage you to consider contributing to U Tech Tips Wiki. As James Hollis reminds us, “Sharing is Caring!”