LibraryThing, or on New Friends and Ideas

Hi class,

I just wanted to share some thoughts on how we can expand our view and enrich our projects by getting feedback from like-minded people. I joined the Explode only a week ago (you can see my friends on the sidebar) and I have already struck a few professional contacts. My new friends are teachers who have been using blogs for educational purposes for quite a long time. They are providing me with advice, support, and inspiration.

Today, my new friend Teacher Dude left the following comment about the tools to publish photos: I would also recommend www.slide.com and PhotoStory 3 which can downloaded, free of charge from Microsoft. Both allow you to do amazing things with photos. Also have your students used the Great Gatsby audio book (unabridged) which can be downloaded from TorrentSpy? Thanks, Craig!

Yesterday, when I was browsing the blog of my new friend Claudia, who teaches English in Argentina, I came across an interesting post: THE FCE BLOG by Claudia Ceraso: What shall I read?#links

That is just what we need! The LibraryThing is an easy, library-quality catalog. But most importantly, LibraryThing also connects you with people who read the same things. So, I decided to explore how it works and I got registered. I added to my account the books that you are doing research on. This is how it looks:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?view=Jilimili

Once you become a registered user, you can read different comments on books, get in touch with people who have the same book (see icons on the right), invite them to your blog and start a meaningful conversation. Go for it! I am excited to hear about your success.

Below is a cover view of the books from my catalog which we have been discussing within the framework of our course.

How to Create a Photo Slideshow

Students,

Just to inspire you to become webheads, I have put together a photo slideshow featuring American Nobel Prize Laureates in Literature. Please note that I've provided the links to the web sites from where I've downloaded the pictures. When you use an image created by somebody else, it's a must to cite the image source. We don't want any copyright infringement, do we?

This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog

Some Tools to Jazz Up Your Blog

I think our blogs need some "bells and whistles". It has taken me some time to figure out how to upload your PowerPoint presentations (they do deserve being shared!!!).
I have discovered two free web services that might enable you to post your slideshows and photos on the web. They are www.slideshare.net and www.bubbleshare.com

This is my first attempt at using slideshare.net. I am uploading Olga Kravchenko's slideshow as an example. Feel free to upload your own presentation you made last semester on you blog. Bubbleshare.com is for pictures only.



Also, I have found a blog that offers some really neat templates and widgets. If you are interested in changing the look of your blog, go to http://blogger-templates.blogspot.com/