Citations Assistance

I came across a new tool that should save TONS of time for anyone writing a research paper. It's called Citelighter. This is a tool that you will need to download to your computer. It nestles itself nicely into your internet explorer/google chrome/firefox tool bar. Unless you click the blue highlighter, you don't even know it's there. The biggest plus for this tool is that when you highlight information from an internet source, online journal article, or any other online course, the tool creates the citation for you in whatever format you need (APA, MLA, Chicago). No more do you need to spend hours gleaning that MLA manual for where that little period goes or which part is capitalized vs italicized. My only word of advice would be to double check the accuracy of the tool by spot checking your citations every now and then. You can easily edit a citation after Citelighter creates it. Oh and it stores everything for you. I haven't found a limit yet. It is also compatible with just about every site I have gone to, with the exception of my university lecture notes from the professor.  I can see this becoming extremely popular with students of all ages!

Ending with a Preposition=BAD right?

I'm sure everyone one of us has ended a sentence with a preposition at some point or another within your lifetime. I try to be very conscious of this whenever I am doing any sort of formal paper; however, it is much more difficult to keep track of whenever I am just casually writing. While there are many arguments for and against ending a sentence with a preposition, I think Grammar Girl has the best resource on the issue:
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/ending-prepositions.aspx

Check it out!

Grammar Support

Have you ever wondered what a teacher is talking about when they say things like: "Your antecedent doesn't match your pronoun. You are using anthropropmorphism. You have major subject/verb agreement errors."? These are common (and not so common) errors that people make in their writing. The solution is the same for all of them: Practice makes perfect. But in this age of teaching grammar through the writing process, the good old-fashioned "drilling" of skills doesn't happen in the classroom. So where can you turn for help when you need it? Well, I have found four sites that make this learning fun through interactive grammar games.

http://www.funenglishgames.com/activities.html

This site is built around the needs of ESL students; however, the games are great for anyone needing help with the basics: nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/grammar/grammar_tutorial.htm
While this site has the appearance of an elementary or middle school level, the skills are universal for all levels of learners. My favorite is the "Parts of Speech Tutorial" because of its interactive style of story-creating/telling.

http://www.english-online.org.uk/games/gamezone2.htm
The Grammar of Doom game is fantastic. As someone who has been teaching grammar for over 14 years, I was even challenged by part of this game.

http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/k_5/grammar/
Finally, this website is based on skills taught in grades 2-5. Some of these are basic; however, if you are faced with what seems complicated, sometimes looking at it through a "basic" lense is beneficial.

Check them out while I'm on the hunt for even more!

Expand your text

Have you ever been told you just don't have enough description in your writing? You are lacking "significant details"? You need more adjectives? There is a site dedicated to showing you how to take a sentence like: I made tea; and turn it in to a full page well-developed paragraph with just the click of your mouse. Check it out!

www.teliscopictext.com

Interactive Literature with Google Earth

This website www.googlelittrips.com has a very innovative way to experience literature. The creators have linked various stories and novels to Google Earth. Essentially, you can read a novel and experience the actual locations where the story is set. There are a a variety of selections that appeal to all ages. There is also the capability to create your own interactive trip with a piece of literature of your choice!

Need punctuation help?

http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/braingames/iknowthat/Paintball/L3.cfm

This website is a game that increases in difficulty and speed as you progress through the levels. If you have trouble with capitalization, commas, end punctuation, or quotation marks, this is a fun way to enhance your skills. Check it out!

APA Writing Help

There are a number of sites dedicated to assisting writers with the elusive 6th edition of APA. As a technical writer (thanks to my dissertation journey), I have found this site to be wonderful: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

The authors do an excellent job of giving visual and explicit written instructions. The response time from the Help Department is usually less than 24 hours. The creators of the site generously share copyright with educators who ask. Best of all: FREE! As another bonus, this site also features information on MLA style.

Another site that can be helpful, mostly because of the blog attached to it is: http://www.apastyle.org/

The only negative to this site is also the blog. Sometimes people just post to complain without really looking for an answer, and that can get annoying.

Both sites should be able to answer any of your APA writing questions.

Welcome!

Welcome to my online learning exchange. This is the new hotspot for anything my brain, the internet, and other educational expertise I find to intrigue, assist, or inspire you, the online learner. Sometimes you may find these resources to be "off the hook" awesome, and sometimes they may be lacking. My commitment is to find as many FREE resources as I can for you, and I'm always on the hunt. My hope is to provide you with everything you need to be successful in the online learning environment.

"In everything remember, in order to achieve anything, first you must believe!"