Resources for students and teachers
Topic: All subjects
Great resources for all students and teachers from the Internet Archive. The Internet Archive is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public. Resources include texts, moving images, live music and audio.

The Best Web 2.0 Software
Topic: All subjects
Here is a list with links to some exciting Web 2.0 software.
Web 2.0 is a term often applied to a perceived ongoing transition of the World Wide Web from a collection of websites to a full-fledged computing platform serving web applications to end users. Ultimately Web 2.0 services are expected to replace desktop computing applications for many purposes.
"A tidal wave of innovative, high-quality software has been released this year. Here is a list of some of the best Web 2.0 software that I've come across so far."

Learn about Wikis - Create a Wiki
Topic: All subjects
Here is a Wiki to support a Wiki workshop. It uses Wikispaces to create an interactive read/write website.
A wiki is an "open-editing" system where the emphasis is on the authoring and collaboration of documents rather than the simple browsing or viewing of them. The name "wiki" is based on the Hawaiian term "wiki wiki", meaning "quick" or "super-fast". The basic concept of a wiki is that (almost) anyone can edit any page.

Wikipedia Research Browser
Topic: All subjects
This product will assist your Wikipedia research. "Gollum is the name of my newest crime of invention. By reducing the complexity of information, I have created a fast and eyefriendly browser through the free encyclopedia Wikipedia. Originally this invention was built up for my daughter but now I have expanded it to the world for free as an open source project under GPL."

CSS Tutorials and Templates
Topic: Website design
Here is a link to excellent CSS tutorials and templates. Like HTML, CSS is standardized by the W3 consortium. CSS is an open, independent and freely usable standard. As with HTML, a working group exists for CSS who concerns itself with development of the standard. This is being done in accordance with W3C rules.

How to give a great presentation
Topic: All subjects
Employers value students with good communication skills. The advice in this article should help whether you’re presenting the features of a design proposal, giving a small internal presentation to staff or classmates or presenting your portfolio to a potential employer.

Web Design Podcasts for your Ipod
Topic: Website design
The giants of the Web world were at the WebVision 2005 Conference last week to explore the future of design, content creation, technology and business strategy. From podcasting to universal usability, attendees discovered how the Web is interacting with digital devices to change the way we communicate, access information and do business. Download or RSS feed these podcasts to your Ipod or equivalent.

Next Generation Website
Topic: Website design
An example of a next generation website. “This interactive magazine foreshadows the future with its use of hip new story forms and highly video-centric Web tools.” -2005 Batten Advisory Board Judges. This quarterly netcasting magazine integrates ISP broadcasting and print magazine information produced by individual backpack journalists ("solo-jo's") from England, the United States and South Africa.

Blogs Usability Study
Topic: Website design
This usability study reveals that current blog design
standards – at least in terms of navigation, nomenclature and taxonomy – are a barrier to consumer acceptance. In fact, the design of most blogs can incite “net rage” (in the words of one test participant). Catalyst Group Design set out to test just how well, from a design perspective, blogs would perform for a typical end-user. This is an important study for web design students whose workplace role will increasingly involve the design of blog sites.

Searching for resources
Topic: All subjects
Technorati is a real-time search engine that keeps track of what is going on in the blogosphere — the world of weblogs. Technorati displays what's important in the blogosphere. Technorati tracks over thirteen million weblogs, up from 100,000 two years ago. The Pew Internet study estimates that about 11%, or about 50 million, of Internet users are regular blog readers. A new weblog is created every 7.4 seconds, which means there are about 12,000 new blogs a day. Bloggers — people who write weblogs — update their weblogs regularly; there are about 275,000 posts daily, or about 10,800 blog updates an hour.

Welcome back to semester 2 - games
Topic: All subjects
This website is definitely not for access in the classroom. Mark Hurst has made a listing of online games that in his opinion offer a good experience: “good game design with an overall attention to quality”. The links to games are in turn links to other games that are in turn links to other games that are in turn........

Where did the Internet come from?
Topic: All subjects
This is a great article on the history of the Internet starting at the year 1640!!!! Read the article, follow the links and try to predict the future Internet. Here is the summary "A Computer Geek's History of the Internet. Not the complete history but just the cool stuff. The Internet history from the perspective of a computer geek who likes knowing more than what the instructions simply tell us.

Mind Boggling Podcasts
Topic: Podcasting
Here are two articles to help you create podcasts that will amaze your teachers and impress your friends.
First article: Describes the four basic steps to creating a Podcast.* Write it,* Record it,* Publish it, * Promote it. Note the links to the great free software AUDACITY and CCPUBLISHER.
Second article: Guidelines for creating short, organized shows that can help you get started in podcasting and organize your podcasts into manageable, predictable chunks.

Create your own digital audio broadcasts.
Topic: All subjects
Students in the Conceptual Skills and Instructional Design classes have been creating innovative podcasts. If you've ever wanted to speak directly to your audience, here's your chance. While blogs give anyone with something to say a means to publish their views on the Web, podcasting give you a chance to create and post your own radio broadcasts.

Become Famous - Make Money - Create a Blog
Here are two great blogs that will enable you to create a blog that will help you (maybe) to become famous and make heaps of money. At the same time you will gain lots of experience that you can apply to many of your TAFE projects. Designer Blogs is a place to be inspired by others' blogs, learn tips and find resources to improve your blog's design. Problogger helps bloggers make lots of money.

Free MP3 Music for Mulitmedia Projects
Topic: All subjects
Here are two WWW sources of free, royalty free MP3 music suitable for background to your Podcasts and Video Blogs.
1.Rock, dance, jazz, opera,etc.
2.Experimental electro acoustic compositions.

Learning in Virtual Worlds
Topic: All subjects
Inspired by science fiction novels like Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash," which told of a sophisticated online virtual world called the "Metaverse," virtual world developers want to make digital environments as complicated and rich as the real world. Will these worlds be the TAFE classrooms of the future?Experience the wonders of EverQuest II. Play the tutorial and explore the Isle of Refuge up to experience level 6. Discover the legendary action, countless hours of content and beauty of this massive multiplayer virtual world. This easy-to-access 7 day trial requires no credit card or subscription.

Cell Phone Encyclopaedia - Got a Question?
Topic: All subjects
This is a cell phone application that promotes the sharing of knowledge. It allows you to send and receive encyclopedia-type inquiries between specific, pre-defined groups of users, through Text messaging. You can register here on this site and start building quick-reference Cellphedia-type encyclopedia entries, by asking other users and answering other users' questions where-ever cell phone service is available.

Searching for new ways to search
Topic: All subjects
This article from the BBC suggests new methods for searching the Web. Blinkx, Copernic, and Enfish are free software products that lurk in the background while you work on your PC and dynamically suggests links to web pages, locally-held documents and online news by working out what you are really interested in. Great for TAFE students doing research for projects.

How to Learn Easier, Faster and Better
Topic: All subjects
You can ride the crest of the current revolution in brain research and learn easier, faster, better, and more enjoyably! The new scientific understanding of our most vital organ can help you improve everything about your learning -- from choosing your best times and places to learn, to setting grander goals for how much you grow. Based on the work of the world’s leading brain researchers over the past twenty years, here are the top five ways to enhance your learning..