How To Use The 5 Best Free Web Search Tools for Teachers

1. Sweet Search
   About Sweet SearchSweet Search is a search engine that only directs students to websites that have been approved by a group of researchers and librarians. It is best used in a classroom in which you wish to ensure safe research practices or simplify the research process for your students.
   How to Use Sweet SearchSweet Search is incredibly easy to use. Simply click the hyperlink above to visit the site, enter your search term in the text box under the logo, then click the green “Go” button to the right of the screen. You will be directed to a page that displays your search results. Locate the content that sounds most relevant to what you are looking for, click it and get learning!
   
   
2. Google Scholar
   About Google ScholarGoogle Scholar provides a search engine with the simplicity and functionality of Google that only directs you to scholarly articles and sites. It is great for scholarly essays or any class in which you want to take your students’ research skills to the next level.
   How to Use Google ScholarMuch like Google, Google Scholar is very easy to use. Go to the site by clicking the link above. Once you are directed to the Google Scholar homepage, type in your search term in the search box, and then click the blue magnifying glass icon to the right of the box.
   You will now be directed to a page with your search results. Note that you are able to change your search preferences with the menu on the left side of the screen in order to cater to your specific interests. Find the link that seems most relevant to you, click it and enjoy scholarly information at the click of a button!
   
   
3. instaGrok
   About instaGrokinstaGrok is a search engine that not only provides you with information, but organizes that information into an efficient and easy-to-navigate mind map! It works very well for students who want pertinent information in a flash.
   How to Use instaGrokGet started with instaGrok by clicking the link above. Once directed to the instaGrok site, locate the text box at the top of the screen that reads “What would you like to learn about?” Type your search term into this box and click the “Grok” button to the right of it and wait a moment while instaGrok organizes your information.
   You will now be directed to a mind map that instaGrok has created in order to inform you about your topic. The center of the mind map will contain your search topic and a definition. The stems branching off of the center topic will contain different facets of information relevant to your topic. These stems are called subtopics. Once you click on a subtopic, smaller stems will emerge from it. Take note that there are videos, website links, images, facts and concepts associated with each subtopics. View all of these things in order to learn as much as you can about your topic!
   
   
4. Ask.com
   About Ask.comAsk.com is a search engine that allows users to search for topics in the form of a question. Its simple format caters perfectly to inquisitive minds, or students who have a tough time researching with other search engines.
   How to Use Ask.comClick the link above to go to the Ask.com site. Type your question into the search box to the right of the “Ask” logo. After you type in your question, click the blue “Find Answer” button. You will now be directed to a page that contains answers to your question!
   On the right side of the page you can find answers in the form of Q&A’s. These are quick and simple answers to your question. At the top of the page, you can find a list of related topics and search terms relevant to the question you asked. On the left side of the page you can specify your search results to images, news, videos, Q&A, references, apps, shopping, local information, maps, or games. Specify your search results and click the link that provides you with the answer you need!
   
   
5. Infotopia
   About Infotopiainfotopia is a search engine that allows you to specify a category for your search so that you are only provided with relevant results. It’s perfect for assignments that require students to focus on a specific subject area.
   How to Use InfotopiaVisit infotopia by clicking the link above. Find the search box beneath the infotopia logo and enter your search term. After that, click the red search button to the right of the search box. You will now be directed to your search results!
   Note that you have the option to determine which search results you prefer. At the top of the screen you are able to select search results from information portals, art sources, science/technology/math sources, news, biographies, geography/travel sources, social science sources, music sources, images, WorldCat, recreation/sports sources, health and history sources, literature/quotes, primary sources and encyclopedias. Cater your search to your specific area or interest, or simply choose “all results.” Now find the link that provides the most relevant information, click it and increase your knowledge!

 source: http://linkis.com/elearningindustry.com/

15 Tips to Gamify An eLearning Course

Here are 15 tips of game mechanics that you could add to your eLearning course that can help improve learner motivation by satisfying basic psychological needs:

Autonomy

1. Allowing players to make meaningful choices that have consequences
2. Providing players with more than one way to reach their goal
3. Allowing players to customize their environment e.g. choosing a character
4. Encourage players to take risks and be creative in the game

Competence

1. Making the rules and goals for players clear and structured
2. Allowing multiple opportunities to complete parts of the game to allow players to build their competence
3. Requiring players to frequently make decisions to keep the game moving forward
4. Measuring player performance in multiple ways
5. Increasing the difficulty as the player progresses through the game
6. Linking progression (the reward) to player competence
7. Providing players with constant and varied feedback and support
8. Allowing players to review or replay earlier parts of the game
9. Recognize player achievement e.g. experience points or badges

Relatedness

1. Providing space/areas for player interaction and discussion e.g. forums
2. Providing opportunities for player collaboration e.g. a group quest or challenge

Popular games use different combinations of game design elements in order to keep people motivated to play. If you substitute ‘player’ with ‘learner’ and ‘game’ with ‘eLearning’, from the above list, you will see how gamification can be incorporated into your eLearning experiences. Once the mechanics are selected (based on the needs of learners), you can then look to incorporate the aesthetic elements of game design in order to create presence and intuitive control/navigation which will support the game mechanics.

Motivation plays an important role during eLearning experiences and our challenge is to create eLearning that our learners want to engage in. As educators, we have an opportunity to assist learners with the internalization of motivation in the way we design and deliver learning experiences. While it’s not always easy, we need to use strategies that help satisfy the competence, autonomy and relatedness needs of our learners if we want to improve their motivation towards the eLearning module or eLearning course they are completing.

References

Deci, E. L. & Ryan, R. M. (2008) Facilitating optimal motivation and psychological well-being across life’s domains. Canadian Psychology. 49 (1), 14-23.

Kapp, K. M. (2012) The Gamification of Learning and Instruction. Pfeiffer/ASTD

Przybylski, A. K., Rigby, C. S. & Ryan, R. M. (2010) A motivational model of video game engagement. Review of General Psychology. 14 (2), 154-166.

source:  http://elearningindustry.com

15 Tips To Improve Learners' Motivation for eLearning Courses

Motivation has been and continues to be a widely studied area across many of life’s domains. Many motivation theories focus on the amount of motivation, with a larger quantity said to result in improved outcomes. However, as educators we should not focus on generating more motivation from our learners but instead focus on creating conditions that facilitate the internalization of motivation from within our learners.

Self-determination theory (SDT), an empirical theory of motivation by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, focuses on the degree in which behavior is self-motivated and self-determined. SDT proposes that all humans require the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs, namely:

• Autonomy (a sense of being in control and freedom),
• Competence (a sense of being able to do something i.e. being competent), 
• Relatedness (a sense of being associated or connected to others).

Research by Ryan, Rigby and Przybylski into the motivation to play video games (regardless of the game type) found that motivation to play is accounted for by how well the game satisfies our psychological needs:

1. Autonomy
   the extent to which the game provides flexibility over movement and strategies, choice over task and goals, and rewards that provide feedback and not control.
   
2. Competence
   the extent to which tasks within the game provide ongoing challenges and opportunities for feedback.
   
3. Relatedness
   the extent to which the game provides interactions between players.

In addition to need satisfaction, their research also found that:

Presence – the extent to which the player feels within the game environment as opposed to being outside the game manipulating the controls, and

Intuitive controls – the extent to which the controls make sense and don’t interfere with feelings of presence, were also important as they allow players to focus on game play and access the need satisfaction provided by the game.

Contexts that satisfy all three basic needs will help support people’s actions, resulting in more sustained motivation over time and positive outcomes. Therefore, if we can use strategies to support competence, autonomy and relatedness needs we can assist learners to internalize their motivation of externally regulated activities. 

Gamification is a technique that aims to replicate the motivational pull of video game play and apply it to eLearning experiences. While gamification has been met with some criticism, it seems that it’s more the application that is the problem rather than the technique itself. In order to successfully gamify an eLearning course we need to satisfy people’s basic psychological needs (as well as presence and having intuitive controls) in the same way that games do. We need to incorporate game mechanics into our eLearning courses. How can we do this?

Worrying

Worrying can be helpful when it spurs you to take action and solve a problem. But if you’re preoccupied with “what ifs” and worst-case scenarios, worry becomes a problem. Unrelenting doubts and fears can be paralyzing. They can sap your emotional energy, send your anxiety levels soaring, and interfere with your daily life. But chronic worrying is a mental habit that can be broken. You can train your brain to stay calm and look at life from a more positive perspective.

Why is it so hard to stop worrying?

Constant worrying takes a heavy toll. It keeps you up at night and makes you tense and edgy during the day. You hate feeling like a nervous wreck. So why is it so difficult to stop worrying?

For most chronic worriers, the anxious thoughts are fueled by the beliefs—both negative and positive—they hold about worrying.

On the negative side, you may believe that your constant worrying is harmful, that it’s going to drive you crazy or affect your physical health. Or you may worry that you’re going to lose all control over your worrying—that it will take over and never stop.

On the positive side, you may believe that your worrying helps you avoid bad things, prevents problems, prepares you for the worst, or leads to solutions.

Negative beliefs, or worrying about worrying, add to your anxiety and keep worry going. But positive beliefs about worrying can be just as damaging. It’s tough to break the worry habit if you believe that your worrying protects you. In order to stop worry and anxiety for good, you must give up your belief that worrying serves a positive purpose. Once you realize that worrying is the problem, not the solution, you can regain control of your worried mind.

Why you keep worrying

You have mixed feelings about your worries. On one hand, your worries are bothering you—you can't sleep, and you can't get these pessimistic thoughts out of your head. But there is a way that these worries make sense to you. For example, you think:

§  Maybe I'll find a solution.

§  I don't want to overlook anything.

§  If I keep thinking a little longer, maybe I'll figure it out.

§  I don't want to be surprised.

§  I want to be responsible.

You have a hard time giving up on your worries because, in a sense, your worries have been working for you.

Source: The Worry Cure: Seven Steps to Stop Worry from Stopping You by Robert L. Leahy, Ph.D.

Words cannot describe that!

There is a tribe in Africa where the birth date of a child is counted not from when they were born, nor from when they are conceived but from the day that the child was a thought in its mother’s mind. And when a woman decides that she will have a child, she goes off and sits under a tree, by herself, and she listens until she can hear the song of the child that wants to come. And after she’s heard the song of this child, she comes back to the man who will be the child’s father, and teaches it to him. And then, when they make love to physically conceive the child, some of that time they sing the song of the child, as a way to invite it.

And then, when the mother is pregnant, the mother teaches that child’s song to the midwives and the old women of the village, so that when the child is born, the old women and the people around her sing the child’s song to welcome it. And then, as the child grows up, the other villagers are taught the child’s song. If the child falls, or hurts its knee, someone picks it up and sings its song to it. Or perhaps the child does something wonderful, or goes through the rites of puberty, then as a way of honoring this person, the people of the village sing his or her song.



In the African tribe there is one other occasion upon which the villagers sing to the child. If at any time during his or her life, the person commits a crime or aberrant social act, the individual is called to the center of the village and the people in the community form a circle around them. Then they sing their song to them.



The tribe recognizes that the correction for antisocial behavior is not punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity. When you recognize your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt another.

And it goes this way through their life. In marriage, the songs are sung, together. And finally, when this child is lying in bed, ready to die, all the villagers know his or her song, and they sing—for the last time—the song to that person.

You may not have grown up in an African tribe that sings your song to you at crucial life transitions, but life is always reminding you when you are in tune with yourself and when you are not. When you feel good, what you are doing matches your song, and when you feel awful, it doesn’t. In the end, we shall all recognize our song and sing it well. You may feel a little warbly at the moment, but so have all the great singers. Just keep singing and you’ll find your way home.

source: http://thegodmolecule.tumblr.com

Transform your life in simple steps

And a little something for you, as I am new to this coaching world, I think it's easy and helpful just for the beginning of your transformation. 

Taking responsibility is the first step to freedom. Once you accept total responsibility, you'll be adding excitement to your lifestyle.

Fear is a crippling state that prevents most people from being, and doing the things to create excitement in their lives. Learn how to manage your fear step by step.

You are what you believe, and the secret beliefs you have inside you, will determine just how far you go in life.

Once you determine your beliefs, you will start to discover how you really see yourself. Use this to transform your lifestyle and be, do or have what you want.

Habits control your destiny. They either support you or hold you back. Create rituals that work for you and get rid of old and ‘not exactly yours’ habits. Keep only those that make YOU feel comfortable even if others around you are a little bothered.

Imagine your possibilities, learn to absorb your children’s imagination and not be the ‘adult’ everyone wants you to be. Listen to your children, they are pure and free of ‘everyday problems’ and they see the world with ‘fairy tale’ eyes.

Action is the fuel to making all your goals a reality. Without action, you will endure frustration. DO IT NOW! TAKE ACTION AND…. GO!

by Anna. 

Best Uses of Baking Soda / Χρήσιμη η σόδα Φαγητού

Deodorant underarms

Mix four tablespoons of baking soda with about ten drops of your favorite essential oil and apply to underarms with a brush. To reapply throughout the day, just fill an empty mineral makeup container with it and use a stubby Kabuki brush for a no-mess application on the go.

You can mix baking soda with your favorite shampoo to get a great substance for cleaning your hair from the residue that styling products leave behind. Mix one table spoon of soda and one table spoon of your favorite shampoo and wash your hair with this mix. After rinsing thoroughly, you will notice how your hair will become squeaky clean and more manageable. It’s not an everyday shampoo though. It’s great to wash your hair this way once or twice a month. (You can also wash your hair using just baking soda with water, the result will be similar).

Make your teeth whiter with the use of baking soda. There are two ways to do it. You can simply apply baking soda on your toothbrush and brush your teeth with it as usual, but I prefer a slightly different variation: put your favourite toothpaste on your brush and then, put baking soda on top of it (it will stick to the toothpaste) and brush your teeth with this mix. (Don’t be harsh, brush gently in circular motions for about 2 minutes). This is not for an everyday use. You can brush your teeth this way for 2 or 3 days to make them whiter and then, switch to your usual way of brushing. Also, keep in mind that it’s not advised to use this method, if you have sensitive teeth. 


Αντι ιδρωτικό αποσμητικό
Ανακατέψτε 4 κουταλιές σόδας με 10 περίπου σταγόνες από το αγαπημένο σας αρωματικό λάδι, και βάλτε το στις μασχάλες με ένα πινέλο (σαν αυτό για το ρουζ ή κάτι παρόμοιο). Για να το έχετε κοντά σας και κατα τη διάρκεια της υπόλοιπης μέρας (στο γραφείο, στην τσάντα κλπ) γεμίστε ένα άδειο βαζάκι από make up (αυτά τα καινούρια τα mineral με τις τρυπίτσες) ή αν σας γίνει πιο κρεμώδης η υφή του ένα απλό βαζάκι παλιάς κρέμας προσώπου/ματιών κλπ και χρησιμοποιήστε το όσες φορές νομίζετε ότι είναι απαραίτητο.

Για τα μαλλιά
Ανακατέψετε τη σόδα με το σαμπουάν σας για να έχετε πεντακάθαρα μαλλιά από προϊόντα styling βρωμιές κλπ. Με μια κουταλιά σόδα και μια κουταλία του αγαπημένου σας σαμπουάν, λούστε τα μαλλιά σας. Αφού τα ξεπλύνετε καλά, θα νιώσετε πόσο καθαρά και γυαλιστερά είναι. Φυσικά, δεν είναι σαμπουάν για κάθε μέρα, θα το χρησιμοποιήστε μια φορά, το πολύ δυο φορές το μήνα. (Μπορείτε να τα λούστε και απευθείας με νερό και σόδα αλλά με το σαμπουάν έχει καλύτερο αφρό και είναι πιο εύκολο).

Για τα δόντια
Υπάρχουν δυο τρόποι: ή θα βάλετε σόδα κατευθείαν στην οδοντόβουρτσα και θα τα πλύνετε ως συνήθως, ή θα βάλετε την οδοντόκρεμα και από πάνω τη σόδα για καλύτερη γεύση (κολλάει και καλύτερα στην οδοντόκρεμα και δεν παέι χαμένη). Μαλακό βούρτσισμα για 2-3 μέρες συνεχόμενα για καλύτερο αποτέλεσμα και μετά γυρνάμε πάλι στο κανονικό βούρτσισμα μόνο με την οδοντόκρεμα μας. Επίσης καλό είναι να μη το χρησιμοποιείτε αν έχετε ευαισθησίες στα δόντια και στα ούλα.