I have been as busy as a busy thing lately, and my blog has suffered for it. I know that nobody really reads this thing, so this is just a personal admonition. I truly believe that writing is something that needs to be used, or it will evanesce quicker than a Hummer burns gas. Anyway, I’ve been working on a couple of important projects lately that have been taking all of my waking life. However, I do try to browse, and apropos to that, Google Reader has made some significant updates. More options are a good thing, including a feature to share certain news items on a specialized page with its own feed. Nice. So, now those people who don’t read my site have something else to ignore, too. Don’t you just love the Internet?
Since my reader is all new, I have been reading a bit more. I’ve discovered a couple of sites worthy of mention.
The first is Solution Watch, a site that “surveys the new generation of the web, reviewing and providing in-depth walkthroughs of today’s best products and services.” Great idea. A current entry addresses educational solutions for tech-savvy educators and students. Many of these I knew about (and some I use), but I am happy to see that inroads are being made into an online grade book, something I’ve been wanting for a while, not just for my own use, but as a place where students can view their progress at any time.
Chalksite looks like an excellent solution, with one huge drawback: apparently the creators do not understand that teachers (including most professors) make next to nothing, so making us pay for this service seems a bit ridiculous. Teacher! looks like it has potential, but is still apparently in the beta phase, and they are not presently taking new accounts. I might try Engrade.
Also linked off of Solution Watch’s report is Emurse, the web-based résumé creator with an unfortunate name. I got an account so I can post my vita. I mean, who knows when having an online vita might come in handy? Emurse allowed me to create a cv from scratch, and when I’m finished, I’ll be able to post it online. It even allows me to password protect it, if necessary. I’m right in the middle of porting my cv, but so far Emurse is working well. I may even pay the few bucks to get more templates.
It seems like Emurse would be great for teaching professional or technical communication, too.
Not a fan of the Resume anagram eh? Well, I guess thats not the worst problem to have
I’m glad you like the service otherwise. If there’s anything we can do to improve things, drop us a line and we’ll do our best! We’re still relatively new and are working on a ton of new features, but we really do try to base things around user feedback.
Thanks for the link/shout out!
Best,
Alex Rudloff
Emurse.com
I didn’t catch the anagram until later; yes, it could be worse.
I’ve started using Emurse, and it’s quite nice. I’d like to see a template catered to academic curriculum vitae, but otherwise, Emurse is pretty sweet.
Ya know.. I’ve actually had that request before.
If you get a second, and have an example document, send it my way and I’ll see what we can do.
alex at emurse.com
Best,
Alex
Actually, Chalksite appears to be completely free for indidivual teachers. It apparently only carries a fee for teachers that are using the site through a district or building wide solution. Not entirelry sure why, although I’m guessing something about larger file storage and database maintenance might come into play. Just thought I would point that out, as there are many great solutions out there that are free so long as you’re signing up on your own.