General

These Twitter chats cover anything and everything in education, and represent a great jumping off point for those just getting started in Twitter education chats.

1. #edchatTalk to a variety of educators around the world through #edchat, Tuesdays at noon and 7 p.m. EST.
2. #lrnchatEvery Thursday night from 8:30-10 p.m. EST, you can connect with other educators and discuss learning.
3. #edbkchatOn Wednesdays at 4 p.m. EST, you can discuss educational books and topics in learning and pedagogy.
4. #spnchatFind out about successful practices in education and education reform through #spnchat Tuesdays at 9 p.m..
5. #ptchatWednesdays at 9 p.m. EST, parents and educators around the world can open the lines of communication on #ptchat.
6. #urbanedThis Twitter chat for educators discusses topics relevant to urban education and beyond, every first and third Sunday of the month at 9 p.m. EST.
7. #teachchatConnect with other teachers and find out what they’re doing in their classrooms on #teachchat Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST.
8. #teaching2030Discuss big picture education issues, strategies, and reform through the #teaching2030 chat, every third Thursday at 8:30 p.m..
9. #smeduWednesdays at noon and 9 p.m. EST social media professionals, students, educators, and more can discuss using social media in education in this chat.
10. #ntchatNew teachers can learn more about their profession with ideas, collaboration, and more for getting starting through #ntchat on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST.
11. #educoachWednesdays at 10 p.m. EST, you can find instructional coaching for improving education.
12. #gtchatFridays at noon and 7 p.m. EST, gifted and talented educators, administrators, parents, and students can discuss new developments in developing gifted and talented programs around the world.
13. #spedchatFollow this weekly discussion on issues for students and teachers in special education Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. EST.

Administration and Behavior

Check out these Twitter chats to get connected and discuss topics concerning school administrators.

14. #AcAdvTuesdays from 8-9 p.m. EST, you can talk to academic advisors and other colleagues about advising.
15. #SAChatDiscuss student affairs with other professionals in the industry Thursdays from 12-1 p.m. CST and 6-7 p.m. CST.
16. #isedchatTalk about independent schools Thursdays at 9 p.m. on #isedchat.
17. #CUADAt 2 p.m. on Tuesdays, you can discuss college unions and activities with higher education student affairs professionals and educators.
18. #cpchatConnect with other principals in this always-open chat.

Subject Chats

English teachers, librarians, and other educators in special subjects can check out these chats for great information and resources.

19. #engchatAt 7 p.m. each Monday, you can come together with other English teachers to discuss improving English instruction.
20. #DUedchatChat with educators Down Under in this chat each Thursday 9 p.m. New Zealand time.

General Reference Sites

From traditional dictionaries and encyclopedias to specialized dictionaries to stories to facts, these reference sites will open up a world of information to homeschoolers.

1. Bartleby.com. Find a comprehensive listing of reference books as well as fiction, non-fiction, and poetry on this site.
2. Online Etymology Dictionary. This online dictionary lets you discover the origin of common words.
3. Dictionary.com. Not only can you find definitions with this online dictionary, but you can use other tools as well as that help with grammar and style, word FAQs, and more.
4. Library Spot Grammar/Style. Make sure you are using proper grammar and style with the resources provided here.
5. Multnomah County Library Homework Center. This is an awesome resource with links to information on a variety of topics and to several high-quality reference sites.
6. Internet Public Library. Find reference material on topics such as arts and humanities, law and government, business, education, and science. The online librarians will also help you find anything you need to know.
7. Awesome Stories. This resource allows you to discover original sources from national archives, libraries, universities, museums, and government databases.
8. Fact Monster. Get your facts from the Fact Monster.
9. BJ Pinchbeck’s Homework Helper. Sorted by subject, you will find plenty of reference material here.
10. Federal Resources for Educational Excellence. Use this government database to find information on everything from math to music.
11. HowStuffWorks. This reference resource will help you learn how just about anything works.
12. refdesk.com. Get facts, quotes, news, and more from this online reference desk.

Reading

Whether your children are beginning readers, struggling older readers, or accomplished readers, these reference tools will provide plenty of information to help.

13. Project Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg offers one of the largest collections of free books on the Internet.
14. DailyLit. DailyLit sends you small bits of the book you select to your email inbox each daily–for free.
15. Open Book Project. Get free text books and other educational material here.
16. Google Books. This powerful reference tool allows students to find information about books, read excerpts or full text, use interactive maps based on the content, and more.
17. The Reading Genie. Find a listing of lessons and other materials to help strengthen reading skills with The Reading Genie.
18. Reading Rockets. This site offers reading strategies, guides, and more for both beginning readers and older readers who need some reinforcement.
19. Thinkfinity Online Courses. These free online courses are designed for both students and those teaching to reinforce literacy.
20. All Info About Reading. Offering lessons, free worksheets, ideas, and more, this site provides tons of reading help.
21. Audio Stories 4 Kids. While this site offers tons of audio books for kids, it also offers some free text versions too.
22. Children’s Storybooks Online. This site offers full-color story books for young readers to books for young adults.
23. Open Library. Find information on just about any book ever published, including full text for over 200,000.

Writing and Research

These awesome reference tools will have homeschool students learning to improve their research and writing skills.

24. Purdue Online Writing Lab. This is the go-to spot for writing reference material.
25. Teaching Organization in Writing. Get a simple overview of how to write a well-organized paper here.
26. orangoo. Paste your writing into this tool to check for spelling errors.
27. EasyBib. If you need help creating a bibliography in the MLA style, this tool will help.
28. Ottobib. Similar to EasyBib, this tool creates a bibliography in most of the major styles based on the ISBN from any book.
29. A+ Research and Writing. This site steps high school and college students through the process of creating quality research paper.
30. University of California Berkeley Library General Guides. Find plenty of helpful research information here.
31. A Research Guide for Students. Use this tool to learn how to do research, how to correctly write your research paper, and even get links to additional reference materials.
32. Info Zone Research Skills. Move through the six steps of creating a research paper given here.
33. Research and Documentation Online. Find out how to evaluate the quality of information you find during your research, learn how to cite online material, and discover places to find reliable information on the Internet.
34. Research, Reports and Presentation Support. This site offers everything from the mechanics of writing a paper to how to research controversial topics.

Math

From basic math all the way up to college level, these math reference tools will help students of any age learn.

35. Ask Dr. Math. This impressive resource is a must for anyone studying math.
36. AplusMath. Students working on simple math skills through basic algebra can find worksheets, flash cards, interactive math games, and more.
37. The Math Forum at Drexel. Find plenty of tips, problems, and puzzles to help strengthen your math skills at this site.
38. Math Playground. This site offers lots of fun activities such as logic problems, word problems, and games geared specifically for elementary through middle school.
39. curiousmath. Students can learn lots of great time-saving math tricks here.
40. Algebra.help. Get algebra help with these lessons, calculators, and worksheets.
41. Math.com. If you are looking for help with algebra and geometry, this is the place.
42. Roman Numeral Converter. This tool helps students learn about proper roman numeral usage.
43. Algebra Homework Help. Find algebra and geometry topics, get a free tutor, and more on this math site.
44. The Abacus. This is a great resource to learn how to use the abacus as well as learn about its history, practice calculations, and more.
45. Martindale’s Calculators On-line Center. Find virtually any type of calculator you may need right here.
46. Mathematics Articles. Read these articles to gain a better understanding of everything from algebra to statistics.
47. The Most Common Errors in Undergraduate Mathematics. Learn from this professor what some of the most common errors in math are.
48. Free Math Help. Whether you are learning algebra, calculus, trig, geometry, or statistics, you can get help here.
49. dansmath. With new lessons frequently added, you will certainly find resources for algebra, calculus, and other math topics.
50. Virtual Math Lab. Visit the virtual math lab at West Texas A&M to find help in algebra, GRE math, and other standardized math tests.
51. Graphing Calculator. Don’t invest in an expensive graphing calculator when you can use this one online.
52. Universal Currency Converter. Use this reference tool to learn about currencies and their exchange rates around the world.

Science

From chemistry to biology to anatomy, homeschool students will find plenty of information here.

53. MadSci Network. Find thousands of science questions and answers with this resource that also allows you to ask a scientist if you didn’t find the answer you needed.
54. eNature.com. Learn about nature, get field guides, ask an expert, and more on this site.
55. Chem4Kids. This site provides a ton of information on matter, atoms, elements, reactions, biochemistry, and more.
56. Dynamic Periodic Table. This is the only periodic table you will ever need. It is interactive and provides much more detail that the old paper versions ever could.
57. Exploratorium. Get a wealth of useful science information from this science museum.
58. The Image. Students learning about minerals and gemstones will find tons of information and images.
59. CELLSalive. Learn about cells up close and personally with this visually-appealing site.
60. Who Named It?. This reference site helps students learn about the people who contributed their names to medical phenomena.
61. The Science Page. The Science Page offers a wealth of science resources.
62. Climate Zone. Use this interactive map to find climate data around the world.
63. Online Conversion. Find conversion tools for just about anything here.
64. Visible Body. This online anatomy tool is amazing, but does require a fee for use after the 7-day free trial.
65. TryScience. Students can go on virtual field trips, perform science experiments, and have online science adventures with this fun tool.

History and Government

Use these reference tools to learn about history, current events, and American government.

66. The Biography Maker. Choose the subject of your biography, then let this tool walk you through creating an informative biography.
67. Biography.com. Find information on the subject of your biography with this resource that provides information on everyone from Emily Dickinson to George Washington.
68. History Timelines on the Web. The time lines here document historical events from around the world.
69. History Help. Use this resource to post your questions about history or browse through past questions and answers.
70. The History Place Homework Help. Find resources to help learn about history here.
71. U.S. House of Representatives Floor Summary. This real-time tool keeps students informed of what’s happening on the House Floor as it occurs.
72. Clickable Mummy. This interactive mummy is a wonderful reference tool for learning about the ancient process of mummification.
73. Sparticus Educational. This online encyclopedia holds a vast amount of information on the American Civil War.
74. ANYDAY Today-in-History. Use this reference tool to discover any historical events, important birthdays or holidays, and any religious observances for any specific day of the year.
75. EyeWitness to History. Learn about history from those who were present at the time with the stories and photos available here.
76. Scholastic News Online. Stay on top of current events happening around the world with this reference site that’s organized by grade level.

Geography

Students of any age will be able to explore geography around the world without ever leaving home.

77. Visible Earth. These images come courtesy of NASA and offer a unique view of the Earth.
78. 50States. Learn all about the 50 states with the information available here.
79. IPL Kidspace: Stately Knowledge. Click on any one of the 50 US states here to learn fascinating facts.
80. Maps.com. Find educational map games, free route maps, maps in the news, reference atlas maps, and more.
81. Countries of the World. This site provides a comprehensive listing of information about all the countries around the world.
82. Destination: Himalayas–Where Earth Meets Sky. This resource provides information about and photos of the Himalayas.
83. KidsWebJapan. Explore Japanese culture on this site that covers everything from culture to folk legends to technology.

Search Engines

These search engines are dedicated just for children or with education in mind and are a great way to find what you need to know.

84. Searching for Stuff. Search by topic or select one of several kid-friendly search options here.
85. KidsClick!. Created by librarians and made especially for children, this search engine allows kids to search by keyword or by topic.
86. CyberSleuth Kids. This educational search engine is specifically for K-12 students.
87. Google Scholar. Perform scholarly searches with this specialized Google search engine.
88. Ask Kids. This search engine is designed for children ages 6-12 and all website results are kid-friendly.
89. MetaGlossary.com. Enter a term, phrase, or acronym and get the definition with fast and accurate results.
90. Education Planet. Search educational resources with this search tool or browse by category.
91. Awesome Library for Kids. Browse or search with this reference tool to find articles and information appropriate for students.
92. Lego Educational Search Engine. Find Lego robotics sites that are education-based.
93. Infomine. Find scholarly Internet resources geared to the college-level research here.

Miscellaneous

From virtual field trips to notebooking resources for homeschoolers, these miscellaneous reference tools will help teach about a wide variety of subjects.

94. Produce Oasis. Learn all about fruits, vegetables, and herbs with this easy to use reference tool.
95. Virtual Field Trips. Take a virtual field trip here or create one of your own design.
96. GPS Activities and Lesson Plans. Find out how to use GPS and geocaching to create a dynamic lesson with all the resources here.
97. Free SAT Exam School. If you are studying for the SAT, this resource is one you won’t want to miss with practice tests, study guides, articles, and more.
98. The Encyclopedia of Traditional Celtic Music. Learn all about this music that comes from a rich history.
99. NotebookingPages.com. This resource provides a wealth of homeschooling information, experiences, and tons of notebooking pages.
100. Google Translate. Translate any webpage, word, or phrase in 51 different languages.

Search Tricks

These search tricks can save you time when researching online for your next project or just to find out what time it is across the world, so start using these right away.

1. Convert units. Whether you want to convert currency, American and metric units, or any other unit, try typing in the known unit and the unknown unit to find your answer (like "how many teaspoons in a tablespoon" or "10 US dollars in Euros").
2. Do a timeline search. Use "view:timeline" followed by whatever you are researching to get a timeline for that topic.
3. Get around blocked sites. If you are having problems getting around a blocked site, just type "cache:website address" with website address being the address of the blocked site to use Google’s cached copy to get where you are going.
4. Use a tilde. Using a tilde (~) with a search term will bring you results with related search terms.
5. Use the image search. Type in your search word, then select Images to use the image search when trying to put a picture to your term.
6. Get a definition. If you want a definition without having to track down an online (or a physical) dictionary, just type "definition:word" to find the definition of the word in your results (i.e.: "definition: serendipity" will track down the definition of the word "serendipity").
7. Search within a specific website. If you know you want to look up Babe Ruth in Wikipedia, type in "site:wikipedia.org Babe Ruth" to go directly to the Wikipedia page about Babe Ruth. It works for any site, not just Wikipedia.
8. Search within a specific kind of site. If you know you only want results from an educational site, try "site:edu" or for a government site, try "site:gov" and your search term to get results only from sites with those web addresses.
9. Search for a specific file type. If you know you want a PDF (or maybe an MP3), just type in "filetype:pdf" and your search term to find results that are only in that file type.
10. Calculate with Google. Type in any normal mathematical expressions to get the answer immediately. For example, "2*4" will get you the answer "8."
11. Time. Enter "what time is it" and any location to find out the local time.
12. Find a term in a URL. This handy trick is especially useful when searching blogs, where dates are frequently used in the URL. If you want to know about a topic for that year only and not any other year, type "inurl:2009" and your keyword to find results with your keyword in URLs with 2009 in them.
13. Use Show Options to refine your search. Click "Show Options" on your search result page to have access to tools that will help you filter and refine your results.
14. Search for a face. If you are looking for a person and not just their name, type "&imgtype=face" after the search results to narrow your results to those with images of faces.

Google Specifically for Education

From Google Scholar that returns only results from scholarly literature to learning more about computer science, these Google items will help you at school.

15. Google Scholar. Use this specialized Google search to get results from scholarly literature such as peer-reviewed papers, theses, and academic publishers.
16. Use Google Earth’s Sky feature. Take a look at the night sky straight from your computer when you use this feature.
17. Open your browser with iGoogle. Set up an iGoogle page and make it your homepage to have ready access to news stories, your Google calendar, blogs you follow in Google Reader, and much more.
18. Stay current with Google News. Like an electronic clearinghouse for news, Google News brings headlines from news sources around the world to help you stay current without much effort.
19. Create a Google Custom Search Engine. On your own or in collaboration with other students, put together an awesome project like one of the examples provided that can be used by many.
20. Collect research notes with Google Notebook. Use this simple note-taking tool to collect your research for a paper or project.
21. Make a study group with Google Groups. Google Groups allows you to communicate and collaborate in groups, so take this option to set up a study group that doesn’t have to meet face-to-face.
22. Google Code University. Visit this Google site to have access to Creative Commons-licensed content to help you learn more about computer science.
23. Study the oceans with Google Earth 5. Google Earth 5 provides information on the ocean floor and surface with data from marine experts, including shipwrecks in 3D.
24. Learn what experts have to say. Explore Knol to find out what experts have to say on a wide range of topics. If you are an expert, write your own Knol, too.

Google Docs

Google Docs is a great replacement for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, so learn how to use this product even more efficiently.

25. Use premade templates. Use these 50 pre-made templates to track spending, keep up with your health, and much more.
26. Collaborate on group projects. Google Docs allows for real-time collaboration, so make easy work for everyone next time you have a group project due.
27. Use keyboard shortcuts. Use this handy list of keyboard shortcuts to save lots of time while using Google Docs.
28. Create online surveys for research projects. Quickly and easily create online surveys for any research project that requires feedback from others. The answers are saved to your Google Docs account.
29. Add video to your presentation. Learn how to seamlessly add video to your Google Docs page to really give your presentation or project a boost.
30. Use the school year calendar template. Have an easy to use school year calendar through Google Docs by following these instructions.
31. Create graphs from spreadsheets. Once you have populated a spreadsheet with data, you can easily create a graph. Google Docs allows for pie, bar, line, and scatter graphs.
32. Create a new document with shortcuts. Learn two ways to open a new Google Docs page with these tricks.
33. Right click to use save-as. Use the right click save-as option to save a Google Docs document on your computer.
34. Send invitations. School shouldn’t be all about work. Find out how to send party invitations using Google Docs.

Gmail

The super-popular Gmail is full of fun and fast ways to make your life and communications easier.

35. Use the Tasks as a to-do list. Use the Tasks available in Gmail as a way to stay on top of assignments, exams, and project due dates.
36. Use the Archive feature. One of the great features of Gmail is that it allows you to archive emails to get them out of your inbox, then you can use the search feature to find them if you need them again.
37. Highlight mail with labels. Use labels to mark your messages. You can find them easily while in your inbox and do a search for all the messages with that label after you archive them.
38. Never forget to attach a file. By signing up for the Labs, you can select to have the Forgotten Attachment Detector. This feature notices if you have typed something about an attachment in the body, but are sending without actually attaching anything–a great tool to save time and embarrassment.
39. Use keyboard shortcuts. Go to Settings and enable keyboard shortcuts so you can perform common tasks at the touch of just one or two keys.
40. Add multiple attachments. Use the Control (or Cmd on Macs) and Shift keys to select more than one file to attach to your email at one time.
41. Use the https option. Google recommends using this option if you use your Gmail in public places like a dorm or coffee shop to add an extra bit of protection to your Internet activities.
42. Incorporate Google Calendar and Docs on your Gmail page. Have access to recent documents used in Google Docs and get an agenda of upcoming activities you have on Google Calendar with small boxes added to your Gmail page. Go to Labs to select this option.
43. Add a "Waiting for Response" label. If you have emails in your inbox that you are holding until someone gets back to you, creating this label keeps you from forgetting to follow up on it later.
44. Use Canned Responses. If you find yourself writing the same type of email over and over, use the Canned Responses feature in the Labs to create a template that you you can use without having to type out the entire email every time.
45. Consolidate email accounts. If you have a Gmail account, an account through school, and any other account you are juggling separately, combine them all into Gmail to cut down on time spent checking all those accounts.
46. Use AIM in Gmail. If you use AIM to IM friends or partners on projects, add it to the chat feature already in Gmail to have access to both.

Google Calendar

Save yourself some time by keeping track of appointments, assignments, and more with Google Calendar.

47. Sync up with others using iCal or Sunbird. Google lets you sync your calendar with others using Apple iCal or Mozilla Sunbird.
48. Customize reminders. Set reminders in your Google Calendar so that you never forget an appointment again. Choose from email, pop-up, or SMS reminders and even set when the reminder comes.
49. Learn some basic keyboard shortcuts. Change from daily to weekly to monthly view, compose a new event, and more with these simple shortcuts.
50. Use Quick Add. Click on Quick Add and type the day and time and what you are doing to have the calendar create the event with the correct time and date.
51. Use multiple calendars. Create separate calendars for school work, personal information, important due dates, and more to stay ultra-organized.
52. Get a text message with your daily agenda. Keep up with all that you need to do for the day without ever having to log on to your Google Calendar.
53. Set weekly repeats for any day. The drop-down menu only offers M/W/F or T/Th options for repeating events. Go to "Every Week" and customize which days you want the event to repeat.
54. Get upcoming events while away from the computer. Check out #8 in this list to learn how to access your upcoming events via your phone.
55. Add events from Gmail. If you receive an email with event time and date information, you can easily add this event to your calendar by clicking "Add to calendar."
56. Invite others. If you have events on your calendar that you want to invite others to join, just add their email address under Add Guests within the event.

Google Mobile

Whether riding the bus or walking to class, use Google Mobile to stay productive while away from your computer.

57. Sync your calendar. Never be far from your Google Calendar when you sync it to your phone.
58. Check your email. Keep your email right at your fingertips with Gmail for mobile.
59. Access your blog subscriptions. Keep up with your blogs and news feeds that you subscribe to through Reader right on your phone.
60. Use Google Voice to consolidate phone numbers. If you have a phone in your dorm or apartment, a cell phone, and any other phone numbers, consolidate them into one number with Google Voice.
61. Easily find friends. Find out where your friends are and even get a map with directions for how to get there with Google Latitudes.
62. Find out information easily while on the go. Whether you are looking for a great place to eat dinner, wondering what the weather is like, or want to know what the Spanish word for "bathroom" is, just text your information to Google (466453–spells Google on your phone) to get the answer texted back right away.
63. Access iGoogle. Get your iGoogle page formatted just for the smaller screen size of your phone.
64. Read your Google Docs. Have access to all your Google Docs items right on your phone.
65. Keep a to-do list on your phone. Use Google Tasks for mobile so you can access your to-do list any time–and check off what you’ve finished, too.
66. Never get lost again. Google Maps is an interactive program for most smart phones that offers tons of features so you will never have to be lost again.
67. Do a quick search anywhere. Find information with a Google search from your phone to impress your professors and your friends.
68. Access Google Books. Android and iPhone users can access Google Books on their phones.
69. Post to your blog. Use your mobile to post to your Blogger blog.

Google Chrome Tips and Extensions

If you are using the Google Chrome browser, then you will love these time-saving tips and extensions.

70. Use a "Pin Tab". If you have multiple tabs open, use a "Pin Tab" to make the tabs the size of the little icon on the left side.
71. Don’t overlook Paste and Search and Paste and Go. These two features are available when you right-click to add a word or URL to Chrome and will save you an extra step.
72. Reopen a closed tab. Oops! If you didn’t mean to close that tab, just press Ctrl+Shift+T to reopen it.
73. Use the Chrome shortcuts. Open a new tab, see your history, maximize your window, and much more with these shortcuts.
74. Take advantage of the address bar. With Google Chrome, you can use the address bar to perform a Google search, quickly access pages you’ve already visited, and get recommendations for places to go.
75. Go incognito. If you don’t want to leave traces of where you were browsing, use incognito mode instead of having to go back and delete your history and cookies.
76. Use the bookmarks manager. Stay organized, rearrange bookmarks, search for bookmarks, add folders, and much more with the bookmark manager.
77. ChromePass. This tool will give you a list of all the password information stored in Google Chrome.
78. Save as PDF. Save any page as a PDF with this bookmarklet.
79. ChromeMailer. If you’ve lost valuable time when having to manually enter email information from a website because Google Chrome doesn’t support the mailto: function, then you will love this extension.
80. Google Chrome Backup. Back up your personal data, bookmarks, and more with this simple tool.

Google Books

Learn how Google Books can save you time and trips to the library with these tricks.

81. Search full text. Google Books offers full text for over 10,000 books, so look here the next time you are researching something at the last minute.
82. Use "About this book". At the top left of the page of a book, clicking this link will give you helpful information such as the table of contents, related books, and a map of places mentioned in the book.
83. Create a personalized library. Click on "Add to my shared library" to start your own personalized library where you can label books to keep them organized for each class or project.
84. Find books in your college library. Each book in Google Books has a link to find the book in a library. It can tell you exactly where to look at your own school.
85. Use the Advanced Book Search. If you can’t find the book you are looking for, try the advanced search, which provides you with many more detailed options.
86. Access text books. Many text books are available on Google Books, so see if you can save a trip to the bookstore next semester.
87. Search for magazine content. Select Magazines in the Advanced Book Search to locate information from magazines.
88. Read the blog. Google Books is constantly evolving, so stay on top of all the latest news with the Inside Google Books blog.
89. Find books to supplement your assigned texts. Search by subject to see what books you may be able to read to get the extra leg up in your classes.

Handy Google Services and Apps

These other Google products will help you save time by offering you everything from alerts to online collaboration to help working with data sets.

90. Google Alerts. Sign up to get email notifications any time a topic you designate shows up in Google search results. This is a great way to stay current with a project or news story.
91. Google Desktop. Keep a clock, weather, news stories, Google search box, and more all within easy reach when you use Google Desktop.
92. Google SketchUp. If you need to draw 3D figures for class, use Google SketchUp to do so easily and free of charge.
93. Google Talk. This versatile app is more than just for IMs. You can switch to voice, do a video chat, and send texts, too.
94. Google Images. Google has an incredible image search feature that will provide you with tons of high-quality images you can use in presentations.
95. Google Translate. Don’t spend time looking up stuff in books, use Google Translate to get foreign words translated right away.
96. Google Wave. This brand new Google product shows great promise for anyone collaborating, but especially for those in school. Communicate, create documents, and more–all in real-time.
97. Google Finance. Business students can keep track of markets, news, portfolios, and more in one place.
98. Google Toolbar. Have easy access to Gmail, Google search, bookmarks, and more with this toolbar available for Internet Explorer and Firefox.
99. Picasa. Manage your photos and even incorporate them into your blogs and emails with Google’s streamlines photo manager.
100. Google Squared. Find facts and organize them with this search feature from Google Labs.
101. Google Fusion Tables. If you are working with data sets, then you will love this program that will allow you to upload data, create visual representations, and take part in discussions about the data.
102. Blogger. Create a blog as a part of a project or just to stay in touch with friends and family in an easy way.

Organization

Check out these apps to leave yourself notes, make to-dos and keep all your ducks in a row.

1. Evernote: Use this handy app to jot down ideas, make notes, save them and send them to yourself.
2. Remember the Milk: You’ll never forget to do important tasks again if you remember to put them in this helpful to-do list manager.
3. 30Boxes: Check out this calendar application to keep track of important appointments and days off of school.
4. iBlueSky: This application will help you brainstorm new ideas and map them out visually.
5. Attendance Countdown: Count down the days left in your semester or the hours until summer vacation with this application.
6. Harvest: With this application you can track your finances, contact information for students, lesson plans and pretty much anything else job-related.
7. QuickVoice: If it’s easier for you to speak rather than type, this app will make it simple for you to record voice messages.
8. OmniFocus: This application is all about helping you to be more productive, keeping you organized and on task anywhere.
9. To Do: Here you can jot down all the little things you need to get done for class or at home.
10. A Personal Assistant: Ever feel like you could really use a personal assistant? This application takes on some of that role, making it easy to stay organized.
11. ZenBe: This application is all about simple, easy-to-use task management.
12. FireTask: If you’re all about GTD you can check out this application designed specifically to improve your productivity.

Helpful Tools

These apps will help make your life as a teacher a little easier.

13. TouchType: Download this application to make typing out an email easier on your iPhone by shifting it to landscape mode.
14. Spell Check: Make sure you’re not making any spelling gaffes in your communications with students with this app.
15. Date Wheel: This application will let you easily count down the days between two dates, like until an assignment is due or until spring break.
16. Mocha VNC Lite: Use this app to access a Windows PC or Mac OS X and see the files, programs, and resources exactly as you would if you were sitting at your desk.
17. HTML Cheat Sheet: Many teachers these days are responsible for maintaining websites, so this cheat sheet can make it much easier if you can’t remember your coding.
18. GPA.me: This tool will allow you, or your students, to more easily calculate their GPA.
19. Assignments: While this app is designed for students, it can be a great tool for teachers as well, allowing you to input and view your class assignments and notes.
20. Read It Later: Since you’re a busy educator, you may not have time to immediately read every interesting article you come across. This app lets you save that material for later.
21. QuickOffice: If you need to open Word or Excel documents on your phone, this application will make it possible.
22. Google Reader: Use the mobile version of this tool to easily read all your favorite blogs.
23. Free Wi-Fi Finder: If you’re struggling to find a Wi-Fi connection, this app will make it a lot easier.
24. Blackboard Learn: Professors or teachers using Blackboard in their classrooms will be able to use it a whole lot easier no matter where they are.

Communication

You’ll be able to keep in touch with students, parents and fellow teachers through these great mobile tools.

25. IfbyPhone: iPhone users can sign up to use this app and get iPhone Voice Broadcast and Conference Call services.
26. Facebook: Keep in touch with friends, family and even former students through the mobile version of this site.
27. WordPress: If you’re part of the growing number of teachers blogging, this tool is an essential download.
28. Skype: Talk to anyone, anywhere for much less with this great application.
29. Beejive IM: You don’t have to stick to AIM to message over your phone–this application is one of the best out there.
30. Twitterlator: Use Twitter on-the-go with this app that lets you read, post and track your tweets.
31. LinkedIn: Keep in touch with colleagues and your eyes open for new opportunities with this tool.
32. Ember: Campfire goes mobile with this app, letting users engage in mobile chatting, see live image previews right within the chat room, and view files right from the chat.

Reference

Need to look up a fact in a hurry? These tools will help you to do so no matter where you are.

33. Dictionary!: This dictionary will help you find the spelling and meaning of over 200,000 words.
34. Wikiamo: This application makes it easy to search for and find articles from Wikipedia.
35. Wikipanion: If you love looking things up on Wikipedia, then check out this application that lets you take it anywhere.
36. WorldCat: Find any research or classroom materials you need from the closest libraries that have it with this app.
37. GeoPedia: Try out this application to find out what Wikipedia articles relate to where you are in the world.
38. Google Earth: With this tool you can take a look at any place in the world with the mobile version of this program.
39. Poptiq: Through this application you can watch all kinds of educational videos from anywhere.
40. WeDict: Using this tool, you’ll be able to look up just about any word out there, as well as find translations for Chinese words.
41. QuoteBook: Whether you need a quirky quote for your lessons or just want to find something relevant, this app makes it simple to look up info.
42. Roget’s New Thesaurus: Find synonyms for any word with this helpful thesaurus.

History and Social Studies

Whether you need help with fact checking or just want to get new ideas on how to present material, these apps can help.

43. Declaration: This application will let you search through and read the whole Declaration of Independence.
44. Constitution: If you’re teaching your students about the Constitution, this application can make it easy to look up and reference any part of it.
45. iPresident: Check out this application for a list and information about all the presidents, former and present, of the United States.
46. This Day in History: Find out what happened on any day of the year in the past with this daily factual app.
47. AlltheCountries: Here you’ll be able to find out information about any country in the world–a big help if you’re in need of quick facts in the classroom.
48. Oregon Trail: You can get an updated version of this classic game on your iPhone and practice trekking across the United States.
49. Maps of the World: Not sure exactly where Bora Bora is? This application will help you look it up and pass on the information to your students.

Literature

These applications can help boost your knowledge and help you pass it on to your students.

50. VocabDaily Free: Learn a new word each day or find new words to share with your students using this application.
51. Word of the Day: This application is another way to get access to new words to expand your vocab and teach with.
52. AccelaStudy Vocabulary Builder: Created for studying for the SAT or ACT, this application is also a great way to boost your own vocab and teach your students new words.
53. Talking Phrasebooks: Check out this application to learn how to say basic phrases in almost any language out there.
54. EngLits: Download and read hundreds of classic books through this site.
55. Classics: If you want to bone up on classic literature, this application offers numerous free reads.
56. Stanza: Whether you’re rereading something you’ve assigned for class or just want to read more on your own, this application makes it easy.
57. Bookshelf: This application will turn your iPhone into a Kindle, allowing you to easily read ebooks on it.
58. Margins: Take notes as you read with this helpful tool that makes it simple to prepare for class.
59. Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms: If you’re a little shaky on your knowledge of literary terms, then this application can help.
60. Aristotle’s Complete Works: Read this famous philosopher and thinker’s works for free using this application.

Science

Download these apps to learn and find great material you can share with students.

61. Astronomy Picture of the Day: Get inspiring and beautiful pictures of the cosmos for yourself or to show in class with this application.
62. Atom in a Box: Through this app you’ll get real-time visualization of quantum mechanical atomic orbitals. Great for those upper-level courses.
63. Starmap: Track the progress of the stars through the sky with this application.
64. iAmino: This application can make it easier to teach and learn about amino acids.
65. Chemistry Formulas: You don’t need to remember every formula now with this helpful application.
66. EleMints: Take the periodic table with you everywhere with this tool.
67. ScienceFacts: Get all kinds of useful scientific fasts through this application that allows you to search or browse through all kinds of topics.
68. ScienceQuiz: From the earth to the outer limits of space, this application will test your knowledge.
69. Solutions: Learn and teach about chemistry with this helpful application.
70. The Chemical Touch: This application will make it simple to reference information about the properties of the elements, the standard amino acids, and the nucleobases.

Math

Do some simple calculations or find better ways to teach mathematics topics to your students through these applications.

71. Touch Calc: Do all kinds of basic calculations through this helpful calculator.
72. Slide Rule: This application takes out the nerdy necessity of using the old fashioned slide rule.
73. Protractor: You don’t need to bring along this geometry tool when you have your iPhone and this application.
74. Mathomatic: This application will let you double-check your work, with the ability to solve complex algebraic problems.
75. Abacus: The abacus has been used for thousands of years and this new application brings it into the 21st century.
76. Formul8: Download this application to get access to the most-used formulas for Algebra, Geometry, Calculus, Science, and Chemistry.
77. Algebra Helper: Learn how to better help your students master the basics of algebra with this application.
78. Graphing Calculator: You don’t need an expensive graphing calculator to map out a parabola or ellipse–just use this application.
79. Geometry Flash Cards: Test yourself and your students on their geometry knowledge with this app.
80. Math Quizzes: With this application you’ll get a better idea of how to make quick math quizzes.
81. Math Ref Free: Even teachers need a cheat sheet sometimes. This application provides reference tools for geometry, algebra, trig, derivatives and more.
82. BrainThaw: Boost your brainpower and ability to do mental math with this quick-paced math application.

Creativity

Whether you want to make great animations to teach with or just find out more about art history, these applications will help.

83. Animoto: Use this application to make great animations you can use in the classroom.
84. FlipBook Lite: Make simple flip-book style animations with this tool for fun or educational purposes.
85. Artist’s Touch: Edit your photos for use in the classroom or elsewhere with this great tool.
86. Gallery of Painters: Learn more about the painters who have made a big mark on the history of art through this app.
87. Color Wheel: If you’re teaching students about color theory, this application can be a big help.
88. MovieMaker: Make short movies for your students with this tool.
89. OpenCulture: Here you’ll be able to find all kinds of free learning and cultural resources and bring them right to your phone.
90. Art2Go: Learn about artists who changed the world and get all the facts you need to teach your students form this app.
91. Brushes: With this application you’ll be able to draw just about anything you want, helping you explain and illustrate any concept.

Miscellaneous

Check out these apps for all kinds of inspiration, relaxation and help getting through your day.

92. School of Rock: If you’ve seen the movie of the same name you know what this app is all about, offering to teach you (and your students) about music.
93. ToyArk: Find some of the best educational toys you can add to your classroom through this online shopping application.
94. Fact of the Day: Boost your knowledge of random things with these daily fun facts.
95. BBC Reader: This application will make it easy to keep up with world news from the BBC right on your phone.
96. Stress Reducer: Have a hard day at work? Check out this application to calm and relax you.
97. Public Radio Tuner: Learn and be entertained at the same time with this tool that lets you find public radio stations no matter where you are.
98. The Weather Channel: Want to know if there might be a snow day headed your way? This app will help you keep up with the weather everywhere.
99. Flash-Me: This application from Cramberry makes it easier to create and share flashcards with your students.
100. GoogleMobile: Here you’ll be able to search Google from your iPhone easily and simply.

Finding Information

From doing math without a calculator to getting definitions, use Bing to find this information quickly and easily.

1. Use the background image. Hovering over different locations on the background image provides an opportunity to learn facts about the image or related topics.
2. Do math. Enter a math calculation directly into the search box to compute anything from simple math to trig functions.
3. Ask questions directly. Type a question into the search box and if the answer is located in Encarta encyclopedia, you will get an answer directly.
4. Get definitions. Enter "define" or "definition" along with a word to find a definition of that word.
5. Look up IP addresses. Type in IP: [IP address] (substituting [IP address] with the actual IP address) to find a list of domains associated with that IP address.
6. Find statistical information. Find statistical information by typing what you want to know, such as "population of Texas" or "number of bald eagles in America" to get the answer.
7. Locate area codes and zip codes. Enter an area code or zip code into the search box and find out with what location the number is associated.
8. Find business contact information. If you have ever tried to find a phone number for a business with little success, then try typing the name of the business in Bing’s search box. They frequently provide contact information even for companies with hard-to-find phone numbers.
9. Get used car information. Simply type a car’s VIN into the search box to get history on that car.
10. Get stock quotes. Add "stock" or "quote" to the name of the company or their stock quote symbol to find stock quotes and other financial information.
11. Find holiday dates. Enter the holiday and year to find out what date that holiday will occur.
12. Get sports information. Get scores, stats, game times, and much more quickly and easily by searching for your team only or adding specifically what you want, such as "Mariners score."

Research and Collaboration

Bing is great for Internet research and sharing that research for others. Find out how with these suggestions.

13. Save search results. Save your search results to a local folder online to have access to them without having to remember how you performed the search.
14. Share search results. If you have found important information you want to share, email your search results or share via Facebook.
15. Find specific types of files. Use a keyword and "contains: file type" (with file type being the file type you are seeking) to find PDFs, MP3s, and other files.
16. Get results from a specific region. Type your keyword and loc:US (or any other location) to get webpages from specific countries.
17. Restrict search to titles. If you want to find your keyword in a title only, use intitle: to search.
18. Disable search suggestions. If you don’t want Bing’s search suggestions, just click on "Turn off " at the bottom of the suggestions. To turn them back on, follow these directions.
19. Show more results. If you want more than 10 results per page, change your Preference to get up to 50 results per page.
20. Get search results as RSS feeds. Get your search results sent to your favorite reader where you can access them later or share with others.
21. Use related searches. When searching for a topic, use the related searches located in the left pane to more easily find what you are seeking.
22. Control search history. Learn how to turn off the search history or clear the search history here.

Images and Videos

Use images and videos easily and more quickly with Bing to find the information you need.

23. Easily find images. The image search on Bing provides many images that are easily scanable.
24. Preview videos. Get a whole page of video thumbnails, then just hover over each to start it playing.
25. Preview websites. Get an image of the website from your search results just by hovering over the link.
26. Find videos of a specific length. Whether you are searching for a full episode of your favorite show or a quick overview of a how-to, find the length video you want by following these instructions.
27. Specify the size image. When looking for an image, you can specify what size image you want, whether small, medium, large, or wallpaper.
28. Search for color or black and white. While performing an image search, specify if you want only color or only black and white images.
29. Ensure your images are safe for everyone. This blog post from Bing tells you how to ensure your image previews don’t show adult content.
30. Save Bing’s background images. If you want to keep the background images from Bing on your desktop, follow these instructions.

Travel

Whether you are going home for the holidays or traveling to the next big conference, use these tips to help facilitate your travel with Bing.

31. Find low air fares. Enter "flights from x to y" (with x and y being the cities of travel) to find low air fares as well as predicted fare trends.
32. Get flight status. Enter your flight number along with "flight status" to immediately find out the status of your flight.
33. Plan your stay. When you enter a place name, you will receive links for attractions, weather, nightlife, tours, and images of that location.
34. Find a hotel. Get star ratings, reviews, a map, and more details to help you find the perfect place to stay.
35. Eat out. Get maps, menus, and reviews easily for restaurants in the area.
36. Find directions. When you enter an address, you will get a map and directions powered by Microsoft Virtual Earth.
37. Get real-time traffic information. The traffic map has routes highlighted in red and green to designate which roads are having problems and which are good.
38. Find out the weather. Weather forecasts are easy to find and easy to read when you select "weather."
39. Convert currency. Type in "1 x in y" (with x and y being the currency abbreviations) to get an automatic currency conversion.
40. Take advantage of local search features. From detailed business listings to business scorecards to one-click directions, take advantage of the Bing local features.

Mobile

Just because you stepped out of the library or away from class doesn’t mean you can’t still access the benefits of Bing. Find out what you can do with Bing and your mobile.

41. Use their mobile site. The Bing mobile site is specially designed for mobile phone usage.
42. Download the app. From your mobile phone’s browser, go to http://m.bing.com/download/ to download their mobile app.
43. Get mobile with a text. Visit Bing for mobile to enter your phone number and receive a text with the link.
44. Download Bing Tones. Download these free MP3 ring tones for your cell phone from Bing.
45. Try Bing 411. Call 1-800-BING-411 to get information via text message or to contact a business directly–for free.
46. Get turn-by-turn directions. Save both home and work starting points to get turn-by-turn directions over your phone from Bing 411 if you don’t have a phone with GPS.
47. Get walking directions. If you are on foot, don’t rely on directions down highways, instead, get the step-by-step walking directions on your phone.
48. Get weather by phone. No need to get a meteorology degree online. Bing 411 also delivers very detailed weather for your specific location over the phone.
49. Find movies. Locate theaters, find show times, and buy tickets all from your phone.
50. Go shopping. Not only can you locate products, but you can also do a price comparison to ensure you are getting the best deal.

The recession has forced millions of people to reconsider their career options. Not only has technology made finding your next job easier, but self-education sites are training workers for their next jobs faster and more efficiently than ever before. Whether it’s brushing up on coding skills or learning how to write, the Internet is full of self-education sites ready to offer valuable job training. Here are the 100 best self-education sites for switching careers.

OpenCourseWare

Tired of accusations of elitism, universities have begun to offer courses online and free to the public. While these courses are available from accredited schools, none earn credit. Instead, the online resources provided by these schools are invaluable to continuing education and job training. Here is the best OpenCourseWare for switching careers.

1. MIT: The elite technical school was one of the first to make courses available online. Prospective students may choose from hundreds of classes ranging from creative writing or modern media techniques.
2. Notre Dame: The Catholic university based in Indiana has courses in over 24 fields of study.
3. University of California-Irvine: The public California school has a long history of social engagement and makes available quality courses to follow in that tradition.
4. Utah State University: This pioneering OpenCourseWare site from USU has been around since the late nineties. Users can take classes in engineering, media and humanities.
5. Yale University: Yale has educated princes and presidents for centuries. Now the school’s prestigious courses are available online for free.
6. University of Washington: The online course catalog from UW is a little limited but contains interesting and useful classes.
7. John Hopkins University: John Hopkins is one of the most renowned medical schools in the world. (Dr. House went there.) The courses available from this school are related entirely to health topics such as AIDS and refugee help.
8. Brigham Young University: An independent study program provided by the private Mormon university in Utah. This school’s great program has classes in everything from accounting to theater.
9. Tufts University: Great tools, tips, advice and courses from this university in New Orleans.
10. Carnegie Mellon University: Get free materials, assignments and exams for guiding your self-education. This resource is especially good for students looking to better their understanding of technical topics.
11. University of California, Berkeley: Get started on your self-education with podcasts and lectures from one of the most respected public schools in the country.
12. Harvard University: Harvard is the richest school in the world. Fortunately, they’ve decided to give back to the public with dozens of continuing education courses.
13. Stanford University: Apple and Stanford have teamed up to offer lectures and faculty interviews through iTunes.
14. Kutztown University of Pennsylvania: This continuing education resource focuses primarily on education for small business owners.
15. University of Southern Queensland: This Australian university gives self-learners around the world access to a range of classes in technology and media.
16. Columbia University: Quality distance learning from an Ivy League source, this site has classes in music, literature and journalism.

Self-Education Tools

Just because a course is online and free doesn’t mean it’s easy. Distance education requires discipline beyond most people’s normal abilities. These tools for self-education will help make your online classes a breeze.

17. Scholar.com: This is a great tool for research papers and assignments for any subject.
18. Springnote: An online note taking application, Springnote organizes thoughts, projects and classes.
19. incollector: This information collectors stores notes, data and other information for quick recovery later.
20. Evernote: Access task lists, assignment managers and research on any device.
21. EasyBib: Never be concerned with proper citation again. This handy little resources generates citations in a number of professional and academic formats.
22. iTunes University: Get lectures and other information in convenient podcast format.
23. TeacherTube: This community of users shares educational and "how to" videos on everything from algebra to carpentry.
24. WiseMapping: Some people are better visual learners. This great resource allows users to create their diagrams and flow charts.
25. AcademicEarth: Recorded lectures from leading scholar at the world’s top universities, this site puts anyone, anywhere in an Ivy League class room.
26. Graspr.com: High quality content on a range of topics, this site motivates users to learn new skills with educational videos.
27. ViewDo: The one stop shop for on the go know-how, this site offers videos for any device such as the iPod or PSP.
28. eHow: Learn how to do just about anything with this clever site that includes a social network.
29. Dictionary.com: One of the largest online dictionaries, this site also includes professional and legal terms.
30. Citizendium: Started by a Wikipedia founder, this "citizens’ compendium of everything" is an open source project aimed at creating a more reliable online encyclopedia.
31. InfoMine: An internet collection of scholarly articles available for subjects such as agriculture, biotechnology and the humanities.
32. Wikipedia: The collaborative online encyclopedia has been a bane to teachers everywhere since it was introduced in the nineties. Wikipedia contains millions of articles on pretty much any subject imaginable.
33. Scholarpedia: With articles written entirely by experts in their fields, Scholarpedia is reliable but offers much less than the other, more famous online encyclopedia.
34. The Open Video Project: An online shared digital video project, this site aggregates educational resources and documentaries.
35. Self Education Motivation Tools: This guide to staying positive during your self-education is a must for any online student.

Self-Education Communities

Social networking sites are great for self-education. Students can interact with others, share useful notes and information or even offer tutoring assistance. Find your virtual shoulder to lean on at these social networking sites for self-learners.

36. LearnHub: A community of experts and students seeking to help self-educators manage their course loads.
37. e-college: An e-learning network of professionals seeking advice and support as they continue their education.
38. Classroom 2.0: A free, community-supported network of people just starting their self-education online.
39. Creating Learning Communities: This network is dedicated to ongoing education for adults and working professionals.
40. Wikiversity: This community of students has an interface similar to the popular online encyclopedia. Discuss courses and trade notes with this community for continuing education.
41. Creating Learning Opportunities: A social site discussing the multitude of ways technology can help better education.
42. ClassScene: This social network is set up to add schools and courses by users as their needed.
43. Gather: Meet individuals taking the same or similar online courses with this intuitive social interface.
44. Classes Online: Connect with students and education professionals seeking to use networks and technology to improve online course quality.
45. College 2.0: An online higher education social network aiming to better its members understanding of Web 2.0 technologies.
46. Global Classroom: A fantastic social network for self-education linking students and educators with unique web tools. This site also features resources for teachers to use in their real world classrooms.
47. Connecting Online CO10: This is a social network of online students sharing their experiences with various courses.
48. Adda: A social site for Indian self-educators, this network offers invaluable advice on getting valuable training online.
49. SPEMFS: The goal of this network is to provide knowledge, mentorship, and networking opportunities to online students.
50. Apprendre 2.0: A social site for French students, this network is not for beginners. This community of students is a great way to start using French in everyday ways.
51. WebTools: A collaborative hub for educators to bring social media as a way to engage self-learners and promote 21st century skills for learning.
52. EduBloggerWorld: Education blogs have become a sizeable presence in the blogosphere. This education site seeks to boost communication between education bloggers.
53. Teaching Content 2.0: This social site is a platform for teachers to meet teachers and discuss online education techniques.
54. socialstudents: A network for students, this site focuses on tech issues and electronic education.
55. FieldFindr: This social network aims to connect teachers with students and volunteers to improve educational quality.

Self-Education Blogs

Blogs are a great way for prospective online students to learn more about self-education and others’ experiences. These are the best self-education blogs on the Web today.

56. Academic Blogs: This portal offers blogs on nearly any academic discipline.
57. Education Notes Online: Provides information on current issues and organizing activities for improving public education around the world.
58. Web Education Online: A blog for free online education advice and information. The helpful posts available on this blog are particularly great for electronic tutoring.
59. The Self-Education of Pat: This blogger details his trial and tribulations with online education.
60. iLearn Technology: An edublog about innovative education technology and real world applications.
61. Blogging About Web 2.0 Education Technologies: An unbelievable amount of information on using Web 2.0 education technologies in everyday life.
62. EdTech Live: A blog with a massive interview archive, EdTech Live is a great resource for computer education.
63. Weblogg-ed: This blogger offers valuable insight into online self-education by sharing his experience.
64. Selfmade Scholar: This blogger is a former English teacher who offers advice and helpful tips for self-learners.
65. The Art of Self-Education: A blog that understands the finer points of educating oneself, The Art of Self-Education has posts giving great motivation.
66. The Best Free Training: This blog discusses the best places to get free education online.
67. Pick The Brain: Motivation for self-education, this blog offers helpful and inspirational posts.
68. Stingy Scholar: A blog offering advice for how to learn online for free.
69. Clive on Learning: This technology consultant is obsessed with spreading technology assisted learning. Check out his blog pulling from over 25 years of experience.
70. Connectivism: A blog discussing the uses of social networking in education.
71. E-learning Queen: This bloggers writes about distance training and education, from instructional design to e-learning and mobile solutions.
72. Speed of Creativity: This blogger is a published author with numerous books and articles about the benefits of educational technlogy.
73. The Knowledge Tree: An Australian blogger discusses the opportunities afforded by e-learning and distance education.
74. Digital Chalkie: This blog focuses on informing users of the latest in education technology.
75. Xplanazine: A blog about the future of education and education technology.

Learning a New Language

Learning a new language is a quick and sure fire way to improve your job prospects. Check out these tools, resources and books for

76. italki: This site offers everything you need to learn a language and has a unique networking interface for practicing with partners.
77. busuu: A community for learning new languages, busuu has networks for dozens of languages.
78. LiveMocha: An online social network for language learning, LiveMocha is an extremely easy and useful tool.
79. BBC Languages: The BBC offers this resource for learning a new language and has over 36 to choose from.
80. Google Translate: Google applications are slowly becoming a way of life, this translator has languages from Armenian to Vietnamese.
81. Selfmade Scholar Language Classes: This site has resources for learning Middle Eastern languages such as Hebrew and Arabic.
82. Radio Lingua Network: This great site provides free audio materials for learning new languages such as German and Spanish.
83. How to Learn Any Language: Rather than simply give you the material, this site teaches users how to actually learn a language.
84. Open Culture: This site offers audio and text resources for learning any of 36 different languages.
85. WordLingo: One of the Web’s best online language translators, this site is invaluable for any student learning a language online.
86. Free Translation: This great online translator is fast and reliable for dozens of languages.
87. Translation Guide: This site guides users through accurate translations for 28 different languages.
88. Free Translation Online: Get an accurate translation fast with this great language resource.
89. Language Online: A site for materials and resources aimed at learning a new language.
90. Foreign Language Lesson Plans: Get a simple to follow lesson plan to ensure you actually learn the language your studying.

Library Resources

The best education begins with a book. While traditional schools have massive libraries, there are dozens of fantastic online resources to get the texts you need. Here are the best library resources for your self-education.

91. Project Gutenberg: One of the greatest projects being undertaken on the Internet today, Project Gutenberg is a non-profit effort to create the world’s largest online library. This site offers classics from Plato, Twain and Shakespeare.
92. Google Books: This site allows users to read whole books and excepts representing a variety of genres from non-fiction to poetry anthologies.
93. Wikisource: A source site from the makers of Wikipedia, this resource allows for quick access to literature and primary source documents such as speeches.
94. Scribd: An online network of readers sharing books and information for self-education
95. Bartleby: One of the world’s largest publisher of textbooks for students offers this free reference resource.
96. ManyBooks: Browse through popular titles, make recommendations, or read user reviews from over 20,000 books..
97. Read Print: Search famous works by famous authors with this amazing database of electronic books.
98. Havard Classics Bookshelf: Older works are available in the public domain, meaning they can be legally read without payment. This great collection of famous public domain works was put together by Harvard professors as must reads.
99. Sacred Texts: Does paying for a holy book make you uncomfortable? Get religious texts from major and not so major religions with this sacred site.
100. Daily Lit: This search engine for classic works of literature makes reading online fun and easy.

If college wasn’t quite what you had planned or you’re struggling to find a job with your very expensive new degree, you may be feeling a little disgruntled about your college experience. With the economic slump, you’re not alone in feeling a little frustrated, but there’s no reason to let a little challenge keep you down. These posts will help you get the motivation and inspiration you need to make the transition from college into the real world and find a way to make the time you spent in school worth it– whether you use your degree or not.

Planning a Career

How do you want to use your college degree? Do you have a plan for making the most of your education? These posts will address some issues you should consider.

1. Developing Leadership Skills: Written with realtors in mind, these leadership tips will help you in just about any field.
2. New Grads Quickly Grow Impatient for Climbing the Corporate Ladder: If you’re not advancing as fast as you’d like, this article explains why you shouldn’t be frustrated.
3. College grads hit the road to find their dream jobs: You may want to follow in a growing trend when starting out your career and take to the road in your first few years after college.
4. As economy sours, China frets over jobless graduates: Think you’ve got it hard here? Things are even worse for Chinese grads so count yourself lucky.
5. Our disgruntled young journalists: If you’re in the newspaper or writing business you can get some career tips from this article that will help you be happier and healthier in your career.
6. Open Letter to College Seniors and Recent Grads: Stop Whining: Need a dose of straight talk to get yourself on the right track? This blog provides just that.
7. Career Planning Advice: Check out this post to learn about the importance of creating a career plan.
8. Advice for Recent Grads: Give this blog a read to get some helpful advice on starting out in a new career.
9. 10 Tips for Successful Career Planning: These tips can offer you a little assistance in figuring out your career plan.
10. Writing a Career Action Plan – Why You Need One: Are you floundering after college? Unsure of what to do? Learn how to create a plan of attack for your post-college life from this posting.

Finding a Job

These days, finding a job for new college grads isn’t an easy feat. These posts will give you some motivation and support.

11. Makes Me Wanna Holler: This blogger sympathizes with those who are having a hard time finding a job.
12. 7 Common Interview Questions for the New Graduate: Don’t go into an interview blind, prep beforehand by reading this common questions.
13. Students and Grads: Resume Boot Camp: This post is part of a series where you can pick up some great tips to help you make the most of everything you did during your high school and college career.
14. Tales of a Disgruntled Graduate: A View from the Front Lines of the Post-College Job Hunt: Get a little inside advice from another recent grad who is looking for a new job.
15. How to Get the Most Out of Career Fairs: Career fairs can be one place to keep you moving forward on your job search. Learn how to get the most from your experience here.
16. What I’ve Learned Lately about Job Searching: Here you can read some advice on the job search process.
17. Starting off on the right foot: If you’ve just found a new job, make sure you keep it with some great advice from this post.
18. Weak job market is actually mad for grads: Could the recession actually be helpful to new grads looking for a job? This poster seems to think so.
19. How New Grads Can Take Charge of Job Search Rejection: Don’t let rejection break your will to find a job. Learn how to turn rejection into determination here.
20. College grads finding job search tough, but not impossible: Here you can find an article that offers hope in the job search for new grads.
21. Job Hunting 101 For New Grads: Learn some basics of job hunting in this useful guide geared towards those just coming out of college.

Repaying Loans and Financial Responsibility

Many students graduate from college tens of thousands of dollars in debt with few resources to pay it back if jobs aren’t plentiful. Get some support in paying back your debts and learning to manage money from these posts.

22. 10 Financial Tips for New Grads: Read these tips to get a little advice on how you can manage your finances, especially if you’ve never been on your own.
23. Less Pain for those Repaying Student Loans: There may be some relief for those with hefty student loans under a new policy. Find out if it may apply to you.
24. Save thousands by pre-paying your debt: For those with a large amount of debt, these tips from I Will Teach You to Be Rich can help you get it paid off sooner.
25. The $1500 Frisbee: Think those little expenses don’t add up? This post will teach you otherwise.
26. How to Get Out of Debt: If you want to get out of debt fast this posting has some great advice to offer.
27. 25 of the Best Books About Money: Add a few of these texts to your library so you can learn more about what it takes to be financially savvy.
28. 25 Free Budgeting and Finance Tools for Students and Grads: These helpful tools can be really great for new grads just starting out.
29. The Different Types of Loans: A Primer: Could you consolidate your loans? This post will educate you on the types of loans and let you know what you could do to save.
30. 7 Great Jobs that Offer College Loan Forgiveness: One way to get out from under those loans is to take on a job that will cover them. You can learn more about the process here.
31. Student Loans And The Philosophy Of Debt: Read this blog to better understand your student loans and the process of paying them.
32. 5 Loan Tips for the New Grad: Here you’ll find some great tips for addressing your loans after graduation.

Using Your Degree

These posts will encourage you to think of new ways to use your college degree even if you’ve veered off from your original plan.

33. 4 ways to use your IT degree in a job search: Those in the technological fields can learn how to make the most of their degrees here.
34. Use your qualification: Make sure all that hard work doesn’t do to waste with some advice here.
35. Top Part-Time Jobs: Use Your Degree to Make Ends Meet: Your degree may not only be able to get you full time work but part time gigs as well.
36. Ten Ways to Market Your Liberal Arts Degree: Liberal arts degrees are some of the most interesting but the least likely to get you a job. Learn how to make them work for you here.
37. 5 Steps to Achieving Maximum Benefit from Your Degree: Check out this posting to read how you can get all the benefits you deserve from your degree.
38. How to Make the Most of a College Degree: Ensure that your degree works for you by reading this helpful post.
39. Coming Out on Top with an Arts Degree: If you love the arts, you can make your degree more useful in the job market with a little advice from this blog.
40. How to Make the Most Money With your College Degree: If financial security is what you’re after, this post is a good read.
41. From Degree to Paycheck: Which Degrees Offer the Best Return?: Do you have a potentially lucrative degree? Find out more here.
42. 15 Successful Entrepreneurs Who Didn’t Need College: If you no longer love what you majored in you may not need your degree to be highly successful as these entrepreneurs show.
43. Many college grads find work outside line of study: If you’re finding work outside of what you studied you may not be alone.

Entering the Real World

If you’ve never had a solid 9-5 job or haven’t ever lived alone, the real world might be a bit of an adjustment. These posts will help you avoid getting flustered by all the new challenges you’ll face.

44. Tips for Furnishing Your New Place: If you’ve never lived outside a dorm or a furnished apartment this blog post will help you figure out how to create a live able place.
45. 5 Do’s and Don’ts Of Living The Good Life For New Grads: Here you’ll learn how to enjoy your new freedom– within limits of course.
46. 21 Incredibly Practical Tips To Survive The "Real World": Those just entering the real world can benefit from these great tips for survival.
47. The Real-World Consequences of Dropping Out of College: You can read this blog to learn why your degree might be great, even if you don’t use it.
48. Welcome to the Real World – My Best Advice for New Graduates: Get some advice from an older person who’s been there and done that.
49. The "real world": life after college: Learn about what to expect in life after college from this blog post.
50. Ten Things to Learn This School Year: This blog post can help you determine whether or not you’ve learned some important skills that will help you on the job.
51. The Post-College Relationship Manifesto: If you want to continue a relationship you had after college is over, this blog can offer some inspiration.
52. Cemented post-college plans overrated: Not having your plans set in stone may be better than you think, as this blogger describes.
53. Welcome to Hell: A Real World Guide for Graduates: Whether your life after college is great or a nightmare, this post will offer a little guidance.

Finding Your Passion

Even if your college degree becomes worthless in the process, following your passion in life can be a great way to re-inspire you to love what you do. Read more about it in these posts.

54. 50 People, One Question: If you could do anything for one day what would it be? 50 people answer this question, which can be a big insight into what really matters to you.
55. To Succeed in Your Career, Follow Your Passion: This blog explains how having a job you’re passionate about can help you succeed in life.
56. The 5 Reasons Why You’re Not Fulfilling Your Potential: Do you feel like you’re not living up to what you thought you would? This blog will give you some possible reasons why.
57. How to Doggedly Pursue Your Dreams in the Face of Naysayers: Everyone will face down negative people in their lives. Whether they are parents, professors or friends, learn to follow your dreams no matter what other people say.
58. How to Find Your Passion: Unsure what goes into finding a passion? Here you’ll get some guidance.
59. The Ultimate Security: Doing What You Love: This blog explains how there’s much greater job security in finding something you really want to do.
60. The Emerging Professional: Finding Your Passion: New graduates can find advice on finding a passion in life from this post.
61. Parents Make Five Common Mistakes Helping New Grads Find the Right Career Path: If your parents are involved in your career planning (perhaps more than you’d like) you can learn what things to avoid let them doing here.
62. 5 Reasons Why Doing What You Love Can Optimize Your Life: Learn why you may want to pursue your true loves in life rather than stick with something you have a degree in if it doesn’t spark your passion.

Other Disgruntled Grads

These posts will help you connect with other college grads who are less than pleased with the results of their college education and let you know you’re not the only one struggling post graduation.

63. What Were Your Most Useless Courses?: Was there anything about your college experience that was completely useless? Share your thoughts on this blog.
64. Glowing reference?: Learn how your professors may not be who you thought they were from this post.
65. Bored and unhappy graduates?: You may be among the growing number of grads who are unhappy after finishing school.
66. For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time: Read this blog to hear an impassioned explanation about why college may not have been worth it.
67. Was College a Waste of Time? – Six Mistakes You Made: If you didn’t get what you thought you would out of college this post explains how it may have been on you, not the college.
68. Pomp In These Circumstances: What’s a College Degree Worth?: If you don’t feel like your degree was worth it you can find commiserate feelings here.
69. Over-Educated, Under Employed: Was College Worth It?: This blog addresses the possibility of college not being worth the time you put into it.
70. Writers Block? Pssh…: Was college a boost or a bane to your creativity? Learn more about this blogger’s experience here.
71. AreCollege Degrees a Waste of Time: Read this posting to help you feel better about your bad experiences in college.

Further Education

College didn’t turn out the way you wanted this time around? Think you can learn more and work harder? These posts will help you determine if you should go back to school instead of heading into the job market.

72. The Rush to Graduate School: Check out this posting to learn more about the growing number of people heading back to school.
73. Mad Grads: Graduate school may not be all that you thought it would. Read this post first.
74. Economy forces 2009 grads to dump dream colleges: This blog offers something to think about when trying to go back to school.
75. Grad School or the Real World?: Get a little advice on making the decision between jobs and school with this blog.
76. Going Back to School – Eight Things to Consider Before Going Back: Learn more about the details of going back to school in this blog.
77. Should You Go Back to School During a Recession?: Many people hide out in grad school during times of economic downturn. Read this blog to learn if this is a smart decision.
78. Is grad school worth it in This Economy?: Grad school is a big monetary investment and you can get a little advice on making the expense worth it here.
79. What Is a Master’s Degree Worth?: This NYT blog will educate you on which higher degrees may be worth getting and which may be a waste of time.
80. Should YOU Go Back to School After Graduating College?: Choosing to go back to school can be a big deal. Learn whether or not it may be right for you with a little help from this blog.

Life After College

These posts are all about easing the transition between the world of the student and that of the adult worker.

81. Life After Graduation: In this Get Rich Slowly post you’ll find some simple tips to help you adjust to your new life and career after college.
82. 10 Rules for Life After Graduation: While this post is written for veterinary medicine grads, the advice it offers can be helpful to students starting out in all careers.
83. Life After Graduation (Even if it’s Been a Few Years): Are you in need of some motivation? This post collects some of the best graduation speeches to remind you to stay hopeful, determined and inspired to follow your dreams.
84. This is it. You’ve graduated. You’ve moved on. Now What?: If you find yourself asking this question then take a look at this blog post.
85. How to Adapt to Life after College: Here you’ll find a collection of tips that can help you start making the transition to life outside of the college campus.
86. The Truth About Life After College: This post is focused on getting your finances together post graduation and can help you create a firm foundation.
87. Lonely in Real Life: Some things are bound to change after you graduate, including being far from your friends, and you can learn a little about it from this college grad going through the process.
88. Life After College: All Work and No Play?: What did you picture life after college being like? This grad shares her experience and the reality check she got.
89. 10 Things Every Graduate Should Know: Those in need of a little sage advice about life after school will appreciate the answers this article provides to common post-graduation questions.
90. There is Life After College Graduation: If you’re confused about the direction you want to take after finishing school, try reading this post to see the stories of other recent college grads.
91. A Look at Life After Graduation: Here you can read about what other college grads are doing.

Changing the World

Even if your college experience wasn’t all you thought it would be that doesn’t mean your life afterwards has to be. Here are some great posts that can help inspire you to do something good with your time, even if it doesn’t use your degree.

92. Ten People Who Could Change The World: Could you embark on a career that could help you change the world? Let these individuals act as an inspiration for what you can do with your knowledge and ambition.
93. 10 Ways to Change the World Through Social Media: As a product of a technological age, you can use that technology to make a change in the world as this post explains.
94. 30 Things You Can Do to Change the World in 30 Seconds: Don’t let your youthful enthusiasm die out. This blog post offers you small ways to make the world a better place.
95. 8 Steps Toward Becoming The Leader You Need To Be To Succeed: If you didn’t learn leadership skills in college it’s never too late to start. These tips can help guide you to being a great leader at work at beyond.
96. Become a Role Model: Learn how you can turn your college education into an experience that can serve as a model for someone else.
97. Young People Who Rock: Check out this blog series to learn about grads who’ve taken strides to change their lives and those of people around them.
98. 10 Ways to help your community in 30 minutes or less: This post offers some basic advice on how you can help your community without giving a huge amount of time.
99. New Grads Increasingly Turning to Jobs in Service, Volunteer Sectors: Could a job in public service be for you? Learn what options are out there for this post.
100. Make a Difference: 10 Positive Career Choices: Those unsure of what they want to do post-graduation may want to consider these careers that can make a big difference in the world.

Whether you work and study from home, are constantly on the go, or are chained to a desk all day, the Internet provides welcome relief for all kinds of productive networking and indulgent socializing. Our list of 100 awesome social sites for every aspect of your life can help you make contacts in your field, organize your research, get great recommendations, and more.

Business

Keep up with your business contacts, deals and marketing through these sites.

1. LinkedIn: LinkedIn is one of the most popular social sites for business professionals who are serious about making connections that matter.
2. Plaxo: Plaxo Pulse lets you network while syncing with Outlook, Mac and your mobile phone.
3. Ryze: Join Ryze to make deals with new clients and colleagues.
4. MeetTheBoss: Management professionals network and share content on this site.
5. Xing: Business professionals who do a lot of work overseas will appreciate this global-minded networking site.
6. Talkbiznow: This site offers more than social networking: you can collaborate with co-workers, research emerging trends in your industry, advertise your business, and more.
7. Ecademy: Ecademy is a site for people who want to expand their contacts base, advertise and participate in the greater discussion.
8. Ziggs: Here you can look for jobs and employees, organize contacts, build up your address book, monitor your online image, list yourself in professional directories, and more.
9. Networking for Professionals: Business professionals living in New York, Santa Monica, Phoenix, Ft. Lauderdale and other cities network online and at special sponsored events.
10. Small Business Brief: This site for business owners combines social bookmarking with networking and marketing.
11. FreelanceSwitch: Freelancers and the companies that hire them keep abreast of news and trends in the self-employment world, can find job listings, and network on this site.
12. NetParty: Companies looking for young professionals to join their team can set up happy hour networking events through this site.

Education

Use the Internet to learn with others through sites like SecondLife and Gather.

13. Gather: If you’re in the mood for a discussion, log in to Gather to talk about politics, business, movies, travel and any other topics that members are gabbing about.
14. Ning: Ning is a social platform that’s completely customizable. Set up your own network for teaching or organizing your own private club.
15. Meetup: Join a club online to learn about bellydancing, speaking a foreign language, or home brewing. Then, you can organize real-life meet-ups through this site.
16. SecondLife: On SecondLife, you can learn new skills, experiment with other jobs and living in other cities, and use the site for training exercises.
17. Whyville: Whyville is a kid-friendly learning site where users create avatars and chat, play games, and more.

Dating

Use these social sites to find true love or just Mr. Right Now.

18. Match.com: This popular dating site claims that 20,000 new users sign up each day.
19. FriendFinder: Find companionship or lasting love through this site.
20. BigChurch.com: Christian singles mix and mingle on BigChurch.com.
21. eHarmony: Members on this site are pre-screened before you search their profiles.
22. Amigos.com: Latin singles network and find dates on Amigos.com.

News and Information Sharing

Catch up on the latest news and share your favorite stories with friends online.

23. Newsvine: This news site is updated by everyday readers.
24. Digg: Share amusing and thought-provoking stories in entertainment, politics, science, gaming and more.
25. Twitter: Twitter is changing the way the public reviews and accesses news. Share links and even find breaking news stories here.
26. Reddit: Easily rank news stories and catch up on the bizarre and controversial news items of the day.
27. Wikipedia: This open encyclopedia welcomes edits and information sharing from practically anyone.

Travel

Get travel recommendations and meet up with other travelers around the world by logging in to these sites.

28. Dopplr: Dopplr lets you submit your travel schedule so that you and your friends can keep track of your travels and meet up when you can.
29. TripAdvisor: Share reviews of destinations and amenities, learn about hot spots around the globe, and network with other world travelers.
30. TravBuddy: Here you can set up a profile, post photos of your vacation, meet other TravBuddies, get hotel reviews, view maps and play games, and journal.
31. CouchSurfing: Find free places to stay and open up your home to casual travelers through this network.
32. Zorpia: Use Zorpia to meet new friends wherever you’re traveling to.
33. WAYN: Here you can meet "like-minded people" on your adventures and meet up even when you’re far from home. Also supports photo and video sharing and more.

Shopping and Deals

Learn about special deals and get product reviews from real people.

34. Crowdstorm: Here you can "ask the crowd" for reviews of certain products before buying.
35. Craigslist: Find jobs, travel opportunities, furniture and more on this open classifieds site.
36. Kaboodle: Kaboodle lets you shop with friends online, look up products and brands, learn about fashion, view polls, and more.
37. Zebo: Zebo celebrates personal style (you can post pictures of what you wear each day) and the democratic shopping experience (members review products and add them to their wish lists).
38. Reesycakes: Find coupon codes, shopping and style tips, and store reviews on this social site.
39. woot!: Get consumer-interest news, product reviews and more.

Staying in Touch

These sites make it easy to stay in touch with family and friends by letting you share photos, status updates, links, music, and more.

40. Facebook: Post photos, links, contact information, music and plenty more to keep your friends and family updated on your every move.
41. Plazes: Keep track of your friends’ locations so that you can meet up as often as possible.
42. hi5: This social site features games, photo sharing, music sharing, message capability and more.
43. Flickr: Post photos from special events or your everyday routine to help faraway friends and family feel like they’re a part of your life.
44. Blogger: Start a blog with Blogger to keep your friends and family updated and enter into the whole Blogger community.
45. Flock: Flock is a social web browser that syncs with other tools like AOL mail, bebo, Digg, Gmail, Twitter, Flickr and Facebook.
46. MySpace: MySpace is one of the original social networks and is still going strong for companies, teens and adults.
47. Groovr: Groovr keeps your friends and contacts close and notifies you of local events and hot spots.
48. Tumblr: Set up a personal blog on Tumblr to easily share photos and news about your life.
49. Mobicue: Mobicue is a social site for mobile users who want to share photos, videos, news and status updates.

Making a Difference

Look for volunteer opportunities and causes to support by networking on these sites.

50. Bright Light: With Bright Light, you can find causes to join, like environmental groups, human rights campaigns, and more.
51. Care2: This large network of green living enthusiasts supports human rights and animal welfare, too.
52. Idealist.org: Find volunteer opportunities, mission trips and nonprofit jobs and news on this social site.
53. Opportunity Knocks: Opportunity Knocks is a job site and networking finder for the nonprofit sector.
54. ServeNet: Here you can find networking and social opportunities online for youth who want to make a difference.
55. Google Groups: Keep your group organized and connected by using a free service like Google Groups.
56. YouTube: Get the word out about your organization by uploading a video onto YouTube.
57. TreeHugger: Learn about environmental advocacy groups, research projects, green design, organic eating and more from TreeHugger.
58. LiveJournal: Get on LiveJournal to share all types of updates about your cause and network with other users.
59. Etsy: Support independent artists and designers by shopping and connecting on Etsy.com.

Organization and Personal Growth

Stay organized and keep track of your personal goals through sites like meebo and 43Things.

60. meebo: Streamline your chat accounts with meebo, which supports AIM, MySpace and more.
61. 43Things: List your goals and meet others on a similar journey through this group.
62. esnips: Use esnips to save and share all your favorite stuff from the web.
63. Clipmarks: Users share their favorite clips and then send them out to friends via this site, Twitter, and more.
64. Instructables: Learn how to do anything by reading the tutorials and asking friends for advice on Instructables.
65. Diigo: This social site lets you collaborate on projects, share annotations, create groups, highlight the web, and more.

Health and Fitness

Learn about healthy eating, get support from patients who are suffering just like you, and find workout buddies on these sites.

66. Gimme20: Learn about diet, nutrition, fitness and overall wellness on this community site.
67. iTrainHarder: Trainers, gym reps and individual fitness enthusiasts get together on this site.
68. SparkPeople: Here you can get tips on living and eating healthy. Access tools and meet other individuals who are learning about becoming healthy, too.
69. Traineo: This weight-loss community supports goal tracking and more.
70. MyCancerPlace: Cancer patients share information, upload photos, join groups and find support on this site.
71. Inspire: All kinds of patients and healthy-living enthusiasts can join this site to find courage and information.
72. Diabetic Connect: Diabetics connect on this site to learn about treatments, special meals, networking events, and more.

Special Interest

Social sites for women, bookworms, musicians and more are found here.

73. OSOYOU: This fashion network features celebrity style news, trend reviews, shopping information and more.
74. Muxtape: Currently, Muxtape is invite only and a place for bands to share music, sell downloads, network, upload music videos, and more.
75. Shelfari: Those who love to read can turn to Shelfari to get book recommendations and swap titles with new friends.
76. iVillage: This women’s network features channels, communities and tips for pregnancy, beauty and style, home and garden, celebrities, food, dieting and more.
77. deviantART: Artists of all kinds connect, find community projects, and learn about contests here.
78. Quarterlife: Creative people head to this site to post portfolios, set up their own communities, learn about special events and festivals, and find inspiration.
79. italki.com: Pair up with others intent on learning a new language on this site.

Finance

Organize your finances and keep up with trading news here.

80. Cake Financial: This investment support site boasts a healthy interactive community for learning about what to do with your money.
81. MarketWatch Community: Join groups, get industry news, and look up other finance-minded people here.
82. Wesabe: Use this site to track your budget, organize your finances, get quality finance tips, and meet others who are trying to be wiser about money.
83. Tip’d: On Tip’d, you can rank and submit finance stories.

Religion and Spirituality

These social sites allow you to explore religions and spirituality while seeking the advice of others.

84. Beliefnet: Turn to Beliefnet to learn more about religion, health, faith and more.
85. Xianz: This "faith-based Myspace" is a social networking site for Christians.
86. Gaia Community: This site offers users the opportunity to explore spirituality and discover their talents and passions.
87. Lime.com: Lime.com is a site for researching "healthy living with a twist" and spirituality.
88. ShoutLife: This family-friendly social networking site is "safe and clean" and offers space for users to share music, photos, videos and more.

Family

These social sites are perfect for families who want to stay in touch and track their history.

89. MyHeritage: Set up your family tree on this site. You can also share photos, send each other gifts, and more.
90. Geni: Geni is another site that lets families build a family tree and organize special dates and photos.
91. CafeMom: Moms connect, journal, share photos, swap advice and more.
92. Famiva: Families use Famiva to build a family tree, share photos, share calendars, and more.

Vegging Out

When you want to use the Internet to relax and catch up on mindless news and viral videos, turn to these sites.

93. bebo: Share videos, music, celeb crushes and more on this site.
94. Imeem: Get lost on Imeem, a site that lets you discover music and movies that real people are promoting.
95. Technorati: Quickly browse the topics people are blogging about on Technorati.
96. Fark: Fark is a social bookmarking site that features categories like showbiz, geek, business, sports, music and video.
97. Vimeo: Share videos and get lost in the database of music, movies and shows to watch here.
98. Break: Watch wacky videos like "Dog Attacks Grandma" on this site, which also has games and other mind-numbing features.
99. eBaum’s World: eBaum’s World has come a long way in the last several years: now you can play games, blog, join groups, submit your own content, chat and, of course, watch weird movies.
100. Flixster: Watch movies, get recommendations, swap reviews and meet other movie addicts here.

Communication

Twitter offers new and exciting ways to open up the lines of communication in the classroom. Find out some of the ways it can work with this list.

1. Direct Tweet. Professors and students can contact each other through direct Tweets without having to share cell phone numbers.
2. Get to know your classmates. A class Twitter group will help facilitate professors and students getting to know each other, especially if the class is part of a more intimate setting such as a seminar.
3. Collaborate on projects. When working together on projects, set up a group using an app like Tweetworks to facilitate communication between everyone working together.
4. Make announcements. Professors can send out reminders about upcoming tests, project due dates, or any news that needs to be shared via Twitter.
5. Brainstorm. The ability to share ideas as the occur any time and any where creates an excellent opportunity for brainstorming on class topics.
6. Take a poll. Ask student their opinions or get feedback on future projects or topics by using an app like PollDaddy.
7. Share interesting websites. Both professors and students can post interesting websites that are relevant to their class.
8. Daily learning. Twitter feeds happen much more frequently than the two or three times a day a student is in class, therefore using Twitter in the classroom means there is a daily opportunity for learning.
9. Ambient awareness. This blog post on TwiTip offers an excellent description of ambient awareness and how it facilitates getting to know those you follow in more meaningful ways.

Class Projects and Discovering Content

From learning how to use Twitter to finding useful information for class to practicing a foreign language, Twitter provides creative opportunities for learning.

10. Twitter-specific projects. Help students learn how to use Twitter by offering assignments such as this one from the Georgia Southern University instructor.
11. Spread the news. Journalism classes can send out Tweets with sports updates, academic competition results, and campus news via Twitter feed.
12. Practice brevity. English professors can assign stories that must be Tweeted within the 140 character limit to practice writing with succinctness.
13. twittories. Another great English class activity, participate in creating a story where each person can add 140 characters to contribute to the story as a whole.
14. Keep up with politicians. Many politicians are on Twitter. A political science or current events class can get real-time updates from politicians.
15. Practice a foreign language. Language classes can take advantage of the opportunity to communicate in the target language of the class by finding native speakers on Twitter.
16. Follow mentors. If professors or other key figures in your field of study are on Twitter, follow them to keep up with their research and activities.
17. Follow an idea, word, or event. Send "track ___" with whatever word, event, or idea you want to follow in the blank, and you will receive Tweets that contain that keyword.
18. Follow news stories. From sources such as @Reuters to @CNNMoney to @NatGeoSociety, students and professors can follow news that may pertain to their class.
19. Have a Twitter treasure hunt. Follow the example given here to create a treasure hunt. Instead of winning a prize, students complete the assignment after collecting all the information necessary for the hunt.
20. Twitter search. The search tool on Twitter will immediately provide you with any Tweets including your keyword. Give it a try to see what you may discover.
21. twiggit. Find interesting news articles or articles relevant to a current topic in class and share the results with this app that combines Digg with Twitter.

Twitter Tools

These tools will help you use Twitter more efficiently so you can make the most of what it has to offer and it doesn’t take up too much of your valuable time.

22. Twhirl. This desktop client helps manage your Twitter experience through such helpful features as URL shortening, new message notifications, image posting, and more.
23. QuoteURL. A great tool for summarizing a Twitter project, this tool will put different Tweets together on one page.
24. TwitPic. This app lets you share photos on Twitter, which can be useful for sharing visuals in class projects.
25. Tweetree. Put your Tweets in context with this app that groups entire conversations together.
26. bit.ly. Shorten URLs so that you use fewer characters when sharing web links with this tool.
27. TwitterNotes. This app makes it simple to keep private notes for yourself among your Tweets.
28. TweetScan. Get Tweets emailed to you based on keywords you select with this tool.
29. TweetDeck. This app allows you to create groups of Tweets to better manage all the information you receive.
30. TweetGrid. Create a customized search dashboard to facilitate your Twitter searches with this tool.
31. TwitterFone. For those on the go, this tool allows you to leave a voice message that will be turned into a Tweet.
32. Tweet Later. For reminders and announcements, use this app to write Tweets that you can schedule for posting in the future.

Finding People in Academia to Follow

If you need help finding professors, students, or other people associated with your field of interest, check out this list.

33. Twitter Professors: 18 People to Follow for a Real Time Education. Mashable’s Lon S. Cohen lists 18 professors you should follow and why.
34. Twitter Grader. This tool will grade your Twitter presence, but it also provides a listing of the Twitter elite in your area, providing an excellent opportunity to find people to follow.
35. Follow Fridays. This popular activity of recommending others to follow provides you an excellent opportunity to find professors, among others.
36. Tweetizen. Use this tool to find groups of others on Twitter with your same interests or start your own group.
37. TwitterLocal. Find local Twitter users based on whichever geographic location you supply. This tool is used in conjunction with Adobe AIR.
38. WeFollow. Add yourself and find others in this user-powered Twitter directory where you can search by hashtags.
39. Twubble. This tool searches your friend graph and selects others you may be interested in following. This is a great way to discover others associated with your school.
40. Colleges & Universities Directory. From Just Tweet It, this directory will connect you with others in academia–both professors and students.
41. Professors :: Twellow. Professors on Twitter can add themselves to this directory. Find out if there is anyone from your school listed here.

Get Ready for Life After Graduation

For Twittering students nearing the end of their college experience and getting ready to move to a career, these tips and tools are invaluable.

42. Establish a positive web presence. Twittering in college offers students an opportunity to establish a personal web presence that will help after graduation when the job search begins based on work at school. Just be sure not to post about any crazy parties or other activities so you don’t negate the positive work you’ve built.
43. Follow your occupation. Use the tracking method in #17 to enter the profession you want to practice, then follow what is being said about it on Twitter.
44. Follow your target company. No matter which company with which you want to start your career, they probably have a Twitter feed. Follow them and keep up-to-date with the news and learn about the culture of the company before you even start to interview there.
45. Start looking for a job. Read about how to find a job on Twitter, then start working your Twitter magic.
46. twitterjobcast. Search for jobs posted on Twitter by keyword or geographic location with this tool.
47. TweetMyJobs. This job search tool allows job seekers and employers to find each other via Twitter.
48. Follow @jobhunting. From tips for recent college grads to recession-proof job information, this Twitter feed offers tons of information.
49. Post about your job hunt. If you have created a positive web image and connected with plenty of people in your desired field, you may be surprised what happens when you post about your job hunt on Twitter.
50. 50 People on Twitter Job Seekers Should Follow. This blog post offers 50 great resources for job seekers and also has a follow-up post with even more.

The iPhone is a great tool for streamlining your life at school and work. You can find apps that will save you time, offer remote control, and more. Here, we’ll take a look at 100 iPhone apps that can help you get your life automated so you can focus your time and energy on more enjoyable things.

Remote Control

Deal with your home, computer, and more, without even having to physically be there.

1. Crestron: Crestron Mobile interfaces easily between your iPhone and Crestron home control system.
2. Jaadu VNC: You’ll be able to get full control of your computer’s mouse, keyboard, and computer screen using Jaadu VNC.
3. iHome Remote: Use iHome Remote to get remote control of your iHome.
4. Remote: This iPhone app will control iTunes and Apple TV on the same WiFi network as your iPhone.
5. iControl: Get remote control over your air conditioner, window shades, lighting, and more with iControl.
6. Xtenscape: Download Xtenscape for your iPhone to interface with Xtenscape on your PC or Mac, and you can control home appliances from anywhere.
7. Savant Systems: Control your home automation systems that use Savant’s ROSIE technology using this app for the iPhone.

Entertainment

These apps will make entertainment something you barely have to think about.

8. Rimote: Rimote will allow you to operate any bathovision TV in your local area network.
9. Sky+: If you use a Sky+ box, get this app to schedule recordings at home from anywhere.
10. Shazam: With Shazam, it’s easy to identify songs and add them to your library just by holding your phone up to the music.
11. Pandora: Create stations in the Pandora app, and you’ll be served with songs that you’ll love, based on the original song and your input.
12. SlingPlayer Mobile: With SlingPlayer Mobile, you’ll be able to manage your SlingPlayer from afar.
13. Last.fm: With this app, you’re guaranteed to hear something you like without having to find it yourself.

Information

Gather information with as little effort as possible by using these apps.

14. Newsstand: Using Newsstand, you’ll be able to collect and read RSS feeds to check out on the go.
15. Howcast: Use this app to find useful how-to videos wherever you are.
16. Cooliris: Use Cooliris to get super easy image searching.
17. LifeCast: LifeCast offers an easy way to blog, upload photos, tag with GPS and more, all at once.
18. Wake Me If: This alarm clock will wake or alert you in the event of specific weather conditions.
19. Heads Tails: Use this app to automate easy (or hard) decisions.
20. Color Harmony: Pull up a photo, and Color Harmony will automatically tell you which colors work well with it.
21. Snappy Seeker: You can find what you’re looking for on mobile optimized sites with just a few actions on your iPhone.
22. FedEx Mobile for iPhone: Get up to date shipment tracking information by using this app from FedEx.
23. SnapTell: SnapTell makes it easy for you to find information about books, DVDs, CDs, or video games just by taking a photo of the cover.

Technology

These apps will help make the technology in your life easier than ever to automate.

24. WifiTrak: WifiTrak can help you automate the process of finding free WiFi.
25. Ringonator: This simple drag and drop application will turn any AAC file into a ringtone in iTunes, automating the conversion process.
26. Discover: Download this app to use your iPhone as a wireless device on your networked Mac or PC.
27. Stage Hand: Use this app to conduct powerful presentations using your iPhone.

Security

Make security a snap by using these apps.

28. 1Password: 1Password will automatically fill forms and passwords for you on your iPhone.
29. mSecure: Using mSecure, you’ll be able to keep your important numbers and information close at hand and secure.
30. iHound: iHound will automatically help you recover your lost or stolen iPhone.

Social

Put your social life on autopilot by using these apps.

31. Loopt: Loopt allows users to see friends’ proximity on the iPhone.
32. Birthdays Organizer: With this app, you’ll be able to get alerts notifying you that important days are coming up.
33. Juglir: Use Juglir to update your Twitter, Facebook, and FriendFeed accounts all at once.

Shopping & Customer Service

Use these apps to automate shopping lists, contacting customer service, and more.

34. pic2shop: With this app, you can take a picture of a barcode to instantly get information about the product.
35. CompareMe: CompareMe offers a great way to automate price conscious shopping and negotiation.
36. Dinner Spinner: Use this app to automate your dinner choices.
37. ShopShop: This free iPhone shopping list app will automate your grocery shopping, offering easy list building.
38. Shopper: Make your shopping lists easier with this awesome grocery list app.
39. Dial Zero: The Dial Zero app will give you the information you need to get to an actual human as soon as possible when calling companies with phone trees.
40. iFood Assistant: iFood Assistant offers recipes that have a shopping list you can take on the go.
41. Save Benjis: Save Benjis offers information on Internet prices while you shop in brick and mortar stores.

Organization

Keep everything organized at work and school with these iPhone apps.

42. iiBlueSky: Keep your ideas and notes handy on the go, and automatically access later with iiBlueSky.
43. Google Calendar: Although the iPhone comes with a calendar app, Google Calendar will make it easy for you to sync with other services.
44. Remember the Milk: Find excellent task list functionality in a format made just for the iPhone.
45. Bento: Use Bento to organize the details of your life.
46. Evernote: Evernote makes it easy for you to corral all of your important information, tasks, and appointments.
47. Personal Assistant: Keep all of your personal accounts and contacts in the palm of your hand with this app.
48. 30Boxes: Make use of 30Boxes in order to keep your calendar updated and automated.
49. myHomework: Using this app, you can keep track of homework, classes, and more.
50. Facetime: Using Facetime, you can automate productivity with specifically set times for playing online, and getting work done.
51. Stuff Finder: This app automates the process of finding stuff, allowing you to photograph and tag items you might be looking for.
52. QuickVoice Recorder: You can speak and send information using just your iPhone and this app.
53. Date Wheel: With the Date Wheel, you can use the wheel to determine the amount of time between two different dates.
54. Print and Share: This app allows you to easily print from your iPhone.
55. Air Sharing Pro: With this app, you can view your documents on the go.

Communication & Collaboration

These apps make communication and collaboration super easy.

56. SoonR: Use SoonR to get remote Outlook access on your iPhone.
57. Pinger: Pinger makes it easy for you to see your voicemail messages in linear fashion, as well as send broadcast messages from your cell phone.
58. Whiteboard: Whiteboard offers collaborative drawing between iPhones and the iPod Touch.
59. ProjectMgr: ProjectMrg is the perfect app for automating project management on the iPhone.
60. iEDL: Make sending mass emails a snap by creating distribution lists in this app.
61. Email ‘n Walk: Use this app to be able to see the ground below you as you type an email on your iPhone.
62. AT&T Virtual Receptionist: Give your business a professional image with this small business phone service.
63. Gubb: With Gubb, you’ll be able to easily and simply share lists with coworkers and colleagues.
64. Shozu: Shozu will let you upload photos to all of your favorite social networking sites, including Twitter and Facebook.

Finance

Get your finances automated with the help of these apps.

65. Cellfire: Cellfire offers mobile support that helps you not only find coupons, but eliminate the need to physically clip them out, as it shows coupons on your phone.
66. CheckPlease: Using CheckPlease, you’ll find that calculating split checks and tips are a breeze.
67. iXpenseIt: iXpenseIt will help you automate daily expense tracking and monthly budgeting.
68. LionClock Plus: This app makes it easy to automate your time and billing for clients.
69. Mini Mortgage Manager: Maintain your mortgage repayments with this useful app.
70. Owed: Owed will help you automate unpaid IOUs and invoices.
71. Balance: Balance will help you prevent bank overdrafts.
72. Receipts: Use Receipts to automate the tracking of receipts without a lot of hassle.
73. Fidelity Monitor: Use Fidelity Monitor to easily keep an eye on your Fidelity accounts.
74. Mobile Banking: Use this app to manage your bank account on the go for a number of popular banks.
75. Mint: Keep an eye on your budget and balances using Mint’s iPhone app.
76. QuickBooks Online: Use QuickBooks to manage and view your accounts on the iPhone.
77. AT&T myWireless Mobile: With this app, you’ll be able to manage your iPhone’s AT&T wireless account from your device.
78. Moneytrackin: Moneytrackin will help you keep an eye on your cash flow.

Travel & Local

Whether you’re finding your way around home or exploring a city, these apps will help you find your way without a lot of hassle.

79. Whrrl: Whrrl makes it easy to find information about places and businesses close to your current geographical location.
80. Where To?: This GPS offers guidance toward points of interest.
81. iTrans NYC Subway: Make the NYC subway system a little more automated by using this helpful app.
82. Trips: Make use of Trips to keep tabs on all of your important travel information.
83. Parking Meter: Use this app to keep track of when your parking meter will run out, and where you left your car.
84. TubeStatus: If you’re in London, get real-time updates on delays in the London Underground.
85. FlightTrack: FlightTrack makes it easy to see real time status for flights around the world.
86. Take Me to My Car: This app will help you find your vehicle in a super easy way.
87. Urbanspoon: Shake Urbanspoon to automate the process of finding a restaurant to eat at.
88. Where: Using Where, you can find local businesses and find your friends nearby.
89. Cheap Gas!: Instead of driving all over town to find cheap gas, just check out this app before you go.

Health

Without good health, you’re not very productive at school or work, so get your health automated using these apps.

90. My Life Record: Make use of this app to automate your medical records.
91. ICE: ICE is an app that can be filled with the details of your emergency contacts.
92. Glucose-Charter: This app will help you automate tracking of your glucose levels.
93. Free Menstrual Calendar: Using this app, you can automate tracking of your menstrual cycle.
94. iMapMy: iMapMy gives you location-based data for running, cycling, and other activities that cover distance.
95. My Emergency Info: Keep important information close at hand in case of a medical emergency by using this app.
96. iWatchr: If you’re on Weight Watchers, you’ll love this app that automates point value calculation.
97. SparkPeople: Track your health progress, food, and more with SparkPeople.
98. Symptom Navigator: Symptom Navigator offers a great way for you to investigate symptoms on the go.
99. Steps: Use this iPhone pedometer to automatically track the steps you take every day.
100. 8h20: 8h20 simplifies the habit of drinking eight glasses of water daily.