Memrise – This vocabulary builder is unlike anything I’ve seen online thus far. I visited Memrise thinking I will use it to freshen up the advanced French vocabulary I learned back in college, but I soon found myself learning Mandarin. Memrise is a fast, easy and above all, enjoyable way to learn a new language and to enhance the ones you already speak.
What’s so special about Memrise? The team behind this innovative tool has mastered the science of new knowledge acquisition (especially the kind that’s involved in learning new words) to ensure long-term retention stays above 90%. How? Contributing users fluent enough in a given language give word association tips, and share their way of remembering what words mean. Association, according to science, is the best knowledge and memory retention method. Here’s a solid example of Memrise’s magic, showing how to remember the Mandarin word for Man.
The Memrise magic doesn’t stop there. By using a Farmville-like seed planting and greenhouse growing bait, the system gives you incentives to come back later and practice what you’ve learned. Even the quiz questions are built in a way that helps you remember the new vocab words better. I seriously believe Memrise is a must in every classroom across the country. Well done, Memrise team!
Visual.ly – Focused on the field of data visualizations, Visual.ly collects “the best examples on the web and gathered them for you to reference, share, and enjoy.” You will find here insightful multi-colored infographics and visualized maps. The site also welcomes visual arts professionals seeking to showcase their own designed inforgraphics.
To explore the visual wonders on this site, go to View the Showcase, and if you’d like to share your own designs then sign in, and hit Submit Infographics. Another special perk that will soon be available on Visual.ly is their labs, the place where infographic magic happens (and created) by site visitors. And since infographics is the topic in question, why not share one with you? There you go.
The Most Dangerous Species in the Mediterranean, published by Agencia Catalana.
Project Noah – What initially started out as an experimental project by NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program later became a mobile app – the interactive and social platform, Project Noah, where ‘scientific spotting’ are entered by users all over the world, and shared with the community. This, as Project Noah’s creators hope, will serve as a “go-to platform for documenting all the world’s organisms and through doing this we hope to develop an effective way to measure Mother Nature’s pulse.” And the best part of Project Noah? It’s designed to work on mobile phones (started with the iPhone). This means you can take a shot of that weird-looking beetle you found during your hike in the woods, and share it on Project Noah, thereby learning more about that organism.
Here’s a screenshot showing what users recently spotted in nature and shared with the Project’s community. Each image you click on takes you to a page where you can see the animal photo’s full size, discover who posted it and where was this taken. This app is particularly beneficial to families with young children, as it’s a wonderful way to experience and learn about the environment and the creatures living within it.
OpenStudy – I wish I had this community available to me back when I was a student. OpenStudy is a well-intentioned network of students seeking live online help from other students. Alternatively, OpenStudy is also a place where experienced students can offer their knowledge to novice peers struggling with a certain study topic.
As you can see from the screenshot above, you can find help in math, finance, physics, biology, writing & English, comp. sci and history. If you’re looking for help, simply select the topic in question and type in your question in the twitter feed-like list on the left. Someone from the OpenStudy community will reply soon. If you know the answer to someone else’s inquiry, go ahead and submit your explanation. See the example below for OpenStudy’s Math page.
OpenStudy is a terrific study tool that involves the online community in a positive and fruitful way. I relish in witnessing Education take a digital and innovative turn by such collaborations online.
Well – As with most of the NYTimes.com blogs, this one about health & wellness is also a superb source of content. Well offers engaging posts on a number of relevant topics including food, pets, exercise and personal achievement, the science of fitness, and “Patient Voices.” Well has a commendable size of active, responsive readership that likes to comment on the blog’s interesting posts and further elaborate the discussion.
One particular post I found intriguing on Well is Tara Parker-Pope’s A Dual Portrait of American Fatherhood, discussing the radical changes in the paternal role of today’s America, compared to pops’ levels of engagement a few decades ago (just in time for Father’s Day). Well is a last week’s Weekly Blog winner and a personal favorite for both my mind and soul. Enjoy.
Fooducate – Eating better and healthier is now easier than ever. No more excuses! Fooducate, a free iPhone and Android app is here to help you make smarter choices at the supermarket. The app’s barcode scanning feature facilitates deciphering those long and complicated ingredients lists, and it tells you straight up what the product you’re holding in your hand is made of (both good and bad ingredients).
The Fooducate team is made up of parents, dietitians and “techies,” which means you can trust the app’s health recommendations and product information. Use Fooducate to scan products, compare and seek alternative choices, or learn more about healthy nutrition. All you have to do is download the free app and scan products. Fooducate will do the rest.
Fooducate, especially considering the fact that it’s free, is a must-have health app you’ll appreciate and benefit from for the long term. Its interface is easy to follow and interact with, and the barcode feature works like a charm. I have already added this app to my iPhone and I use it every week. Highly recommended!
TestQ – This well of knowledge and career quiz site is brought to us by Monster, the job search company. TestQ is packed with various quizzes that help you make better decisions, see what career fields suit you best, and it can even help you decide what to major in at college.
Although the idea of having a website dedicated to quizzes might constitute a huge turnoff to some, scratching beneath TestQ’s surface reveals a most valuable job and career resource worth exploring every now and then. I actually found that I liked taking quizzes… My personal favorite here was What Motivates You?
DocsTeach – The National Archives are reaching out to teachers and educators across the country, offering an amazing collection of primary resources of historical documents and information. Moreover, DocsTeach invites teachers to browse and create classroom activities built around primary sources. DocsTeach is the perfect example of how drastically education has changed since the old blackboard school days. It is the perfect aid for the didactic confluence of fascinating history with engaging teaching methods.
Here’s an activity example I found on DocsTeach, The Settlement of the American West. Click the image below to get to the full activity.
Civil War 150 – It’s hard to believe, but America’s most influential war is a century and a half old. Thanks to the rapid flow of information online and the advancement of technology today, it’s possible to explore the American Civil War like never before. The History Channel offers an exciting interactive spot commemorating the Civil War, and invites you to discover unique relevant details. These include technologies and weapons used in battle, individuals of the time who made history, the five deadliest battles and much more.
The entire Civil War 150 interface is absolutely amazing, and it’s obvious a lot of time and thought have went into the design of this historical project. To give an example, see the beautiful infographic below of the weapons used during the Civil War. Clicking on each of the methods below will prompt another page with explanations and illustrations.
The History Channel’s Civil War 150 is a must for every American, young and old. Kudos, History Channel!
LearnVest – Did you ever take a personal finance class back in school or college? Neither did I, and quite frankly, it’s surprising it’s not a degree requirement in universities and colleges in America. Alexa von Tobel felt the same when she was a Harvard Senior. A few years and lots of research later, Alexa has created LearnVest, “an online platform to help women everywhere gain control of their finances.”
I have to admit, I had some problems with the fact that this site targets women and their implied inability to control their spending. Having that said, I do believe personal finance sites on the Web fail to address the special concerns and issues of women when it comes to staying on top of expenses. So, what’s so special about LearnVest? It’s a full blown wallet watcher if you please, that also offers regularly updated content on living richer and better.
Sign up with Facebook and start exploring LearnVest: there are bootcamp programs (many are free!) such as how to get out of debt, cut costs, build health and more. There is also the Money Tuneup which offers a comprehensive resource on investments, retirement, insurance and loans, and my favorite: Living Frugal which shows you how to spend sensibly on fashion and beauty, eating out and entertainment, even on styling your home.
In short, LearnVest is a blessing, and I’m already subscribed. Here’s a fascinating article I found on LearnVest and wanted to share: How to Splurge Right.
Animal Jam – National Geographic Kids has come up with a brilliant idea to bring in young followers and nature learners. Animal Jam is essentially the animal kingdom with all its glory and engagement, wrapped up in a kid-friendly interface that’s beautiful and engaging. The result is an interactive game that teaches little ones about the wonders of nature with lots of fun and color.
Once your child has signed up (parents also receive an email concerning content), he or she can choose their animal character and name it (mine was Countess Snowyflower). Animal Jam then takes your child to the vast animal world via several different locations, each filled with short games, animal videos and fun facts. I wish I had this when I was a kid…
SHFT – “Curating the Culture of Today’s Environment” is what SHFT creators, activist/actor Adrian Grenier and film producer Peter Glatzer strive to deliver. Explore SHFT’s huge video archive where each video tells a different unique story about the environment and the good souls trying to make it better. In addition to video, SHFT offers top-notch content on a variety of topics including art, design, energy, fashion, sports, travel and more.
SHFT not only looks great, it also delivers engaging content on important matters, whether cultural or environmental, or both. Another cool feature on SHFT is the shop section, although some products featured there can get quite pricey. Either way, SHFT is a shining eco star! Here’s a cool video I found here, Backyard Sun Boxes by musician Craig Colorusso, showing music created by the sun and the solar panels Craig put in his backyard. Each solar panel was set to play one guitar note on loop, with the all the notes collectively making a B-flat chord. Amazing, isn’t it?
