1. Introduction
2. Sponsor's Spot: Surfnetkids Web Widgets
3. Weekly Topic: Dog Breeds
4. What You Missed This Week
5. Related Games
6. Quote of the Week
7. Subscription Management
#1. June 25, 2008
Dear Barbara,
Although I haven't documented them yet, I thought this morning I'd point out a few new tagging features over at SharingLinks.com.
First, for those not familiar with the project, here's a quickie overview. SharingLinks.com is a social bookmarking project for
educators and parents and anyone interested in educational use of the Internet. The purpose is to "share" our bookmarks and great
site finds by posting them at the site. In a nutshell, the entire experiment is dependent on "tags" which are keyword phrases that
each user adds to their shared bookmarks. Join our beta test project by using the code "betatest" at: http://www.sharinglinks.com/register/
Okay .. now here's a sneak peek at one of new tag enhancements at SharingLinks: in addition to the boolean "AND" operator, we now also have
a boolean "OR." Or, if you prefer, we have union as well as intersection. Here are some examples.
Then we look in the Related Tags box in the upper-right of the page, and we see tags such as typing, keyboard, games, alphabet, and so on.
Clicking on any the tags, will bring up a list of the the bookmarks so tagged. But notice the + and |. These are our boolean operators "and
and "or" respectively. Noticing that some users use the tag "typing" INSTEAD of "keyboarding" .. we get a more comprehensive listing of bookmarks
by looking at those that are tagged EITHER "keyboarding" or "typing". We get here by clicking on the | symbol next to the tag "typing" http://www.sharinglinks.com/tags/keyboarding|typing
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Whether you are trying to find the right dog breed for your family, or just want to learn more about dogs, you'll surely find these sites both educational and entertaining.
American Kennel Club: Breeds
The American Kennel Club has an excellent collection of breed descriptions, but the reason I included their site was their Kids/Juniors section. Highlights include printable activity sheets (such as Responsible Dog Ownership Crossword, and Which Breed Doesn't Belong?), lesson plans for teachers and homeschoolers, and the 2008 Kids' Corner Drawing Contest. Deadline to submit a drawing of your favorite AKC breed is September 30, 2008.
Animal Planet: Dog Breed Selector
"What level of energy would you like your dog to have? Most people think they want an energetic dog. Think twice before you choose a high-energy breed, however, because a dog in constant motion may be unnerving or annoying to you." Answer ten easy questions to get suggestions about which breeds are a match for your needs. Results include thumbnail photos, and links to breed summaries. My profile yielded eighty-four large dogs, ranked from 98% to 87% compatible.
Dog Luvers: Dog Breeds Selector
Start your pet search by selecting a dog trait that is important to you, such as Watchdog Abilities or Sociability. Then drill down with sub-categories, until your results are displayed in alphabetic order. To explore related dogs, you can follow tags such as groups (Working Dogs or Pastoral Dogs), dog size, or temperament ( loyal, obedient, or friendly). Dog Luvers also organizes their dog breed summaries in an alphabetic, encyclopedia format.
"The only books that influence us are those for which we are ready, and which have gone a little farther down our particular path than we have yet got ourselves." ~~ E.M. Forster (January 1, 1879 - June 7, 1970) English novelist.
Dear Barbara,
