10 Web 2.0 Tools For Collecting Information

Staying organized is something most of us find difficult to do. We are being hit with information left and right, and with all this wonderful technology at our fingertips, why not use it to make life easier? If you have a smartphone, you will love the fact that many programs offer a mobile app!  Please add your favorites and I will update this post when necessary. Next posting for Web 2.0 tools: Concept Maps (Mindmaps)


BagTheWeb- create bags "to collect, publish, and share any content from the Web."

CintaNotes- free personal notes manager; Windows only

Evernote-save urls, grab a screenshot and more; works with smartphones and iPad.

Inslices- collect articles, web sites, videos etc. and share with others

Listhings-sticky notes online

Only2Clicks- organize your sites with various tabs, (like folders) and thumbnails


Scoop.it- create a topic and Scoop.it will proceed to find you links on the Internet which are related to your topic

Spaaze- collect and organize web sites, videos etc. in one location, a giant corkboard.

Springpad- save information on your computer and it will sync with your mobile device (Android or iPhone)

Zotero- "free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources. It lives right where you do your work—in the web browser itself."

38 Online Encyclopedias

Academic Kids Online Encyclopedia

ArtCylopedia- art

The Cambridge History of English & American Literature- from Bartleby.com

Classic Encyclopedia- based on the 11th edition of the Encyclopedia Britanica

The Columbia Encyclopedia - 50,000 entries

Cooking Encyclopedia- covers thousands of ingredients & herbs

The Costume Gallery Encyclopedia

Dinosauria Online

Educypedia- "the educational encyclopedia"; covers scientific and educational material

EmTech Encyclopedias & Glossaries Listing- long list

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia.com - more than 14,000 articles

Encyclopedia of Earth

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

Encyclopedia Mythica-mythology, folklore and religion

Encyclopedia of New Jersey- limited preview of the book from Google Books

Encyclopedia of Psychology

Encyclopedia Smithsonian

Encyclopedia Mythica

Encyclopedia of Television

Encyclopedia Titanica- all about the Titanic

Home Improvement Encyclopedia- Better Homes & Gardens

Infoplease Encyclopedia and Dictionary-more than 57,000 articles

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy- "peer-reviewed academic resource"

Internet Mental Health-online encyclopedia of mental health contains descriptions of illnesses, medications; click on "glossary" for definitions

LookLex Encyclopaedia - covers North Africa & the Middle East

Mashpedia- multi-source encyclopedia

An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors

The Open Music Encyclopedia

Plant Encyclopedia- from Better Homes & Gardens

Prime Mathematics Encyclopedia

The Rudiments of Wisdom Cartoon Encyclopedia

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

TechEncyclopedia -over 20,000 IT terms

Toonopedia- find all your favorite cartoon characters here

Wikipedia -free encyclopedia

Wolfram Mathworld- over 13,000 entries

World Book Encyclopedia

Let's Talk About the Cloud

The other day, I was asked by an administrator to explain in simple terms what cloud computing was. I thought about it for a second, and then said this: Your files are on your desktop computer right now, right? Well, imagine if they were out there (I pointed to the sky) and you could access them wherever you had Internet access. I further explained that using their servers instead of ours would be much more practical and safe, given that a company like Google has their own huge group of tech people and thousands of servers with secure encryption. The cloud would be like a big bubble protecting all our files. Web 2.0 is a big part of cloud computing as it involves online programs which we allow us to collaborate with others. I personally like cloud computing. I use GoogleDocs and I am trying to interest my school district in Google Apps for Education. (After all, it's good enough for Brown University...) I know that people feel very concerned about personal files being out on the web, and I never store anything that sensitive in the cloud.

Here's a short video which explains cloud computing:

Web 2.0 for Newbies

Chances are you are quite overwhelmed with all the technology that has bombarded you this school year.  I consider myself a real tech geek, and even I have had a headache many times because I felt that I just couldn't keep up with how fast Twitter postings, Google Reader postings and web searches arrived on my desktop. With that said, I have narrowed my list down to the 12 basic Web 2.0 tools I feel I can't live without. With so many choices, I kept my list to those apps which are free, easy to learn and use. Basics....just the basics are here. Please add your choices to the comments section at the end of this post.

Open publication - Free publishing - More free apps