aclJohn's Research/Reference Finds

Welcome to what may well become the home of the most popular note-taking helper!

Isn't it annoying when you want to take some notes and you have to...

• open Word/notepad/other 'word processors' before you can start; and/or if already open
• keep clicking backward and forwards as Word/notepad/other 'word processors' don't float above the web page(s)? or
• tile windows so you and do research and take notes at the same time.

Do you and or your learners find that Window’s Word and NotePad are OK...

There are many search engines on the web that focus on accuracy and relevancy even though that sometimes means displaying inappropriate and explicit content.

I'mHalal is a search engine design for the Muslim community that filters out all the ‘explicit’ content when displaying the search results.

This allows users, and they don't have to be Muslim, to use the internet in a clean and safe environment.

I'mHalal is still in relatively early stages it...

• is available in the followin...

Currently in public beta, RefSeek is a web search engine for learners and researchers that I mentioned during 2009.

Since then, RefSeek has been building some excellent lists of resources for practitioners and learners.

They include, among other things...

• 25 educational video sites;
• A directory of writing and grammar resources and
• A list of professional development resources for teachers. 

Find out more by visiting http://www.refseek.com/directory/.

Are you and/or your learners interested in knowing what foreign language websites have to offer?

Then ForiSearch should be checked out.

This simple online foreign image or video search tool lets users enter a search term, in their native language, and then find images and videos from a different selected language.

ForiSearch is very easy to use...

• enter search keywords
• choose whether to look for images or videos
• choose a language to get back search results

Keitor is an interesting site that offers learners a useful way to type and search Google in their native language.

The homepage of Keitor lets learners activate virtual keyboards for different languages around the world. The list currently has 37 different languages from...

• Albanian to Uzbec_latin

Click on a tab and a virtual keyboard of the selected language pops up on the screen. It can be...

• Dragged anywhere on the page
• Used to enter a query...
  
  • Hit search and users get results fr...

Rutgers' animated research tutorial could be a good resource for introducing or refreshing research techniques in a clear and simple way.

Rutgers' Riot is an animated research tutorial.

Rutgers' Riot plays like a five part animated movie. Each part of the movie features characters explaining an aspect of the research process.

The five parts are...

• selecting a topic,
• finding sources,
• choosing keywords,
• identifying citations, and
• evaluating sources.

Note: There are text documents ava...

WordsLike could be useful for learner writers that are in need of some 'new' words to "spice-up" their written work.

WordsLike is a handy website for the times learners need a thesaurus.

• Either browse the word clouds
• or simply enter a word in the search box.

Any word selected by left-clicking it in the word cloud or in the list generated by a search will result in at least one word with a similar meaning. Definitions are provided for every word on WordsLike.

Try it out at http://www...

eBooks, for those that grew up with print media, are an acquired taste; in fact, it is a taste that many may never acquire – old habits die hard.

For those of you who use eBooks (and for those who want to give them a chance and/or are working on getting accustomed with them) this new search portal will be one you should try out.

Inkmesh lets users look up any title they are interested in.

Two buttons are provided besides the input box; they are...

• Find eBooks and
• Find Fee eBooks

Being...

3x3Links is built upon the Google Application Engine and requires users to be signed into their Google account in order to use. But that also means portability. You can access your Speed Dial from any computer and any browser by just logging into your account.
 
Another big advantage 3x3Links offers is the sheer number of “dials” you can create – up to 729! - made possible by use of folders.

Note: - Unlike other Speed Dials, 3x3Links allows you to create folders up to 2 levels deep...

Hilary Thomas, our HE Adviser, brought  C-LINK to the RSC Team's attention.

"C-LINK  is new search tool for for finding related and possibly unknown concepts that lie on a path between two known concepts."

In their own words...

"Knowledge repositories proliferate at an accelerating rate. While these offer excellent support for specific information searches, there is limited support for unstructured browsing or semi-structured information gathering, when a user does not...