Information Power

RSS Feeds – Keeping Up to Date With Information on the Web

Mr. Hovel — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 12:35:27 +0000

There is a lot of information on the web. Organizing and keeping up to date with this information can be hard to do. RSS feeds help with these problems. Here are a few of videos that explain what RSS feeds are and how to organize them. Before you watch the videos there are a couple of things you need to know. Many websites can send you links to new information as they post it. These links are called RSS feeds. To get these RSS feeds you need a RSS feed reader. Also, RSS stands for “really simple syndication” — in other words, a really simple way that you can get updates and changes from websites you’d like to follow.

This next video shows how I use Google Reader to organize and keep up to date the information that is important to me.

This video explains what RSS feeds are and how they can help you save time.

This video is specifically about Google Reader. It explains how to subscribe to sites and follow them with Google Reader.

Power up your search!

Fran Mellin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:50:20 +0000

"There's got to be a better way..."

Finding information online can be like mining for gold – it’s hard to know where to look for the good stuff. Here are a few tips to get there quickly.

Use a database – These large collections of magazine articles and reference works aren’t available on Google or other search engines. Check out biographies, current events, Boston Globe articles, and more at the library’s web site.

Take quick video tours of Pike’s CultureGrams and eLibrary databases here.

Search with power – Specific search terms give you better results. Include all important key words and eliminate unwanted terms. Looking for information about where dolphins live? Using the minus sign signals the search engine to ignore web sites about the Miami Dolphins football team.

Voila! More results you can use!

Use a directory – an aggregated set of links that has been reviewed, organized, and annotated, such as Pike’s Teaching Resources.

Wonder Wheels & Timelines

Terry Dash — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:35:35 +0000

Google Wonder Wheel

Do you want to help your students generate ideas for writing or searching? Type a word into Google, and let Wonder Wheel create concept maps that help!
Scroll down to see the movie!

Google Timeline

Want to start your research from a timeline? Use Google Timeline!
Scroll down to see the movie!