Finding quality information online
The internet is a treasure trove of the good, the bad and the ugly and the great thing about this is that it’s all just waiting to be explored! The positive news is that there is a lot of good stuff out there but it’s about looking in the right places for the right information.
Submitted
9/16/2009
By
actnow
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782
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Updated
12/2/2009
Photographer : Swiv
We have compiled a list of websites that will help you find some of the most suitable information and tools for your needs. Use the websites and tools below to make it easier to keep up with technology and to stay in the know with the young people who are using it.
Search engines such as Google, Yahoo or Bing can be helpful if you are looking for broad information, but unfortunately a lot of the time they are not specific enough and leave you with unanswered questions. So how can you find information and online applications that are going to make your life a whole lot easier and simpler? Check out the lists below to get you started.
What did you say now?
Whether it’s a new plugin for your computer or the latest internet jargon sometimes we hear things that leave us sitting at our computer and wondering where to next. Check out these sites to quickly find good and reliable information for your needs.
- Wikipedia is an amazing resource that will keep you reading for hours. It has millions of articles contributed from people all over the internet across all kinds of subjects.
- TechEncylopedia is a great encyclopedia that gives you good and concise definitions for all those tech terms that can sometimes leave us wondering where to next.
- Reference has an easy to use online dictionary and thesaurus if your physical copies are not in reachable distance.
- Encarta provides a wealth of detailed information on its online encyclopedia.
How-to guides:
How do you upload a Youtube video or know which Ipod to choose? When you start playing around with technology sometimes you just need a quick guide to help you choose the right technology and how to use it in the right way – particularly if you want to keep up with what young people are using today!!
- Howstuffworks.com have done the research for you, it provides you with explanations on hundreds of topics using clear language and tons of illustrations.
- WikiHow has lots of articles on how to do almost anything contributed from people all over the world.
- EHow gives you how-to instructions and explanations on how to do things from professionals all around the world.
Academic and expert websites:
Finding good articles that are written by experts that are relevant to the work that you do can be hard to find. Check out some of these websites that have articles and videos from experts in their fields that will give you some good ideas about how to use technology in new and appealing ways to engage young people:
- About.com is for when you have a burning question and need it answered. It has good articles that have been researched to give you good information on the topics you are interested in.
- Google Scholar is a specific search engine where you can find various academic literature. Search by publisher, books, abstracts and article content for the most relevant research for you and the young people you work with.
- TED talks are inspiring talks from the experts of various fields. The emphasis is on Technology, Entertainment and Design – check it out for new and inspiring ideas that you can start to use to engage with young people today.
Tools for your organisation and work:
There are also lots of free online tools that can make it easier for you to work collaboratively on projects within your orgnisation and with your young people. Check out some of them below and see what you might be able to incorporate into your projects:
- Google Calendar provides you with an easy and accessible online calendar that can keep you up-to-date with all of your appointments on the run and that you can use to share with others to let them know where you are.
- Flickr – creative commons is a photo sharing website that gives you access to thousands of photos to use for your work and to showcase young peoples’ work.
- Google Docs is a place where you can work on documents online and share them with others easily - without needing any software installed on your computer.
- Google Maps provides you with comprehensive maps that can be used to guide the young people to where your organisation is located.
- Google Reader is an RSS reader which allows all the information you regularly read online to be located in the one place – this means you don’t have to go to hundreds of websites to check out the news you frequently look at.
