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Remember back when dial-up modems were the coolest and Jimmy Ray was burning up the charts? Back when a search of the internet would dump a bunch of ugly search results back at you? Then after about 30 minutes of searching, you’d be lucky to find the exact phrase you were looking for. Then you’d be luckier still if that was even in context.

ChunkIt! is a plugin for Firefox and Internet Explorer that is designed to make search results more relevant, displaying them in context and with more information than the small excerpt we’re used to seeing. By refining results, ChunkIt! is able to provide users with a preview of sites, thus eliminating the need to click through a search result, back out, then try the next search result, and so on. One example when this comes in handy would be apartment hunting on Craigslist. Anyone who has ever slogged through that stark search result format can easily imagine the amount of time ChunkIt! could save you. Now, imagine how this might help a student save time during academic research, like on an eyeball-terrifying Lexis-Nexis search result page. Maybe if I had such a time-saver when I was in school I would have had higher than a 1.25 GPA.

ChunkIt! isn’t without some drawbacks. I was a bit annoyed to have to give up a little bit of browser real estate for another toolbar. Another unpredictable thing was how unconsciously familiar I was with Google results, so I had a little bit of mental resistance to a new style at first. There were also a handful of reviews and comments floating around out there of people who were a bit unimpressed, or suggested another tool for the same task.

Really, the user should be the judge. This is a plugin, so if ChunkIt! isn’t for you, it’s easy to uninstall and it didn’t cost you anything. Maybe when your Boolean logic tricks aren’t quite cutting it, you would want to crank up ChunkIt! for a short time. Like an annoying and ghastly song from 1997, it’s just good to know it’s available whenever you want to refer to it. -NICK YINGLING

ChunkIt!

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For every positive and supportive person out there on the internet, there are about 500 people being negative and acting like they’re super-cool know-it-alls. I mean, how was I supposed to know that it wasn’t cool anymore to use Netscape to surf the ‘net? Now I’m being told that no one says “surfing the ‘net” anymore, either. That’s enough from my new character, Guy Who’s Bewildered by Computers in 1998. You get the point.

First, please open up your Firefox web browsing program. Now, click here. Elliott Kosmicki, a web developer, marketing specialist and creator of the productivity website Good Plum, offers up a bunch of useful tips for getting some productivity out of Firefox. From keyboard shortcuts to some very handy extension plugins, Kosmicki offers up eight simple tricks you can use to impress other Firefox users.

Maybe you’re at a coffee shop and you want to look cool? These tips can make you look totally rad for someone who is watching you use a computer. Now I’m being told that people stopped saying “totally rad” a long time ago, then the hipsters brought it back for ironic usage, but now its been abandoned for good. I can’t win! -NICK YINGLING

HOW TO: Make Firefox Your Productivity Machine

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When will Google quit? They seem to want to invent everything that hasn’t been invented yet and reinvent everything that’s already been invented. One recent contribution is Google Notebook, which, as you might guess, is an online note-taking site.

The main advantage to using Google Notebook might not even be considered an advantage by some teachers: it gives the students the ability to share and comment on each others’ notes. Maybe Google Notebook could integrate with PayPal so that bright, unscrupulous students can more easily sell their notes? Horrors. But personally, I’d bet that a bright, scrupulous teacher could get great results by using this tool with an entire class or with more than one class studying the same subject. (Overseas collaborations, anyone?) Even if students don’t share them, however, web-based notes will still be conveniently accessible from any computer or smart phone, as well as searchable.

Google Notebook will work best for Firefox users who are willing to install and use add-ons (also called “extensions”), because the Google Notebook Firefox add-on makes it very easy to “clip” pieces of text from websites: all you have to do is highlight the text and right-click to save it. This functionality is duplicated by the Zotero Firefox add-on, however, which unlike Google Notebook can also handle images and generate a properly formatted bibliography.

Google isn’t the only one to have invented an online note-taking site: plenty of other non-behemoths have had the same idea. If you’ve used one or more of the note-taking services below, why not throw us a comment? We’d love to hear what you think.

• Fruitnotes
• Luminotes
• Notefish
• UberNote
• WebAsyst Notes
• Zoho Notebook

-AMANDA FRENCH

Google Notebook

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I love Firefox. Not only has it proved more stable as a browser than IE (Internet Explorer), and has some great built-in features (like spell check), it has a bunch of great add-ons (or plug-ins, or extensions). Many can be found on the Mozilla site (publisher of Firefox).

I’m going to focus today on the variety of search tools you can add to your browser. What’s really slick, is that this will give you one search box, with a pull-down menu listing all the possible sites to search. You can see some “top” choices for search engines by adding the search box, then clicking on the pull-down menu, and select “Manage Search Engines.” Here are my top five for educators:

1. CC is a Creative Commons search tool that is one of the “defaults” available when you click on “Manage Search Engines”
2. Google and Yahoo! are great, but you can also add Ask.
3. Need some reference sources? Let’s start with Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.
4. Wikipedia anyone?
5. Search Flickr tags for that perfect photo.

I’m adding one more for elementary, that Yahooligans! (now Yahoo!Kids).

Happy Searching! -ALICE MERCER

Firefox Add-ons

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As if Firefox couldn’t get more useful for teachers and students, now you can use it to solve algebraic equations. Studenthacks.org has the scoop on the Math and Algebra Expression Simplifier and Solver, a handy tool that’s pretty much what it sounds like. But the best part is that you can install it into your search bar in Firefox (and yeah, Internet Explorer, too).

To simplify or solve an equation, simply type it into your browser’s search bar (you can also enter it at the solver’s main page at Algebra.com). The Math and Algebra Expression Simplifier and Solver will then simplify or solve your equation.

The creators ask that you please keep in mind this simplifier/solver is still a work in progress, so it may not quite be able to solve everything you throw at it - yet. You should also keep in mind that many mathematical expressions are tough to type on a standard keyboard, so entering equations is an exacting process. On the other hand, when typing is the hardest part of using a tool, that’s a pretty good sign. This is one plugin that makes a complicated subject like algebra a little simpler. -BILL FERRIS

Math and Algebra Expression Simplifier and Solver - Firefox/IE Plugin via studenthacks.org
Math and Algebra Expression Simplifier and Solver via Algebra.com

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Say it Right the First Time with Pronounce Firefox Extension

Do your students need help pronouncing a tricky or unfamiliar word while doing research? Or are you an ESL teacher helping kids with their English pronunciation. If you use Firefox (and you definitely should), you should add the Pronounce extension. Just highlight the word that’s giving your kids trouble, right click and choose “Pronounce” from the menu. Firefox will then speak the word out loud with correct English pronunciation.

We’ve covered pronunciation tools before, such as howjsay. The Pronounce extension has a slight edge for two reasons: since it’s integrated into your browser, you don’t have to go to another website to look up the word, thereby saving you time. And second, the pronunciations come from Merriam-Webster OnLine, so you get the the definitive American pronunciation, as opposed to howjsay’s British pronunciation of words like “aluminum” or “blueberry.” -BILL FERRIS

Pronounce
Pronounce Tells You How to Say It via Lifehacker

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Potato, Potahto? Before you call the whole thing off, consult Chuala

Zotero may sound like a futuristic adventure series starring, say, a precocious eleven year old who deftly maneuvers spam filters to keep suspicious supplement offers corralled in the bulk mail folders of upstanding citizens everywhere, but this free Firefox extension is very much a hero of the present.

Ideal for research assignments, Zotero is a tool that helps you keep track of your online sources. It seeks out and automatically collects citation information from an extensive list of web pages commonly used for research (many university, library, and periodical sites, JSTOR, Amazon, etc.)

Not having to worry about forgetting to note the copyright date is nice enough, but Zotero’s not a one trick pony. You can also use it to take notes on the sources you’re viewing, store PDFs, images, or web pages, and export your citations to Word.

This tool is ever-evolving. In 2008 Zotero plans to get on the bandwagon of web collaboration, so familiarize yourself with it now, and soon you’ll be able to exchange research advice with your e-colleagues (and browse off into the sunset). -MARIELLE PRINCE

Zotero

It’s high time you started using Google Docs. In their ongoing efforts to take over the world, Google has created a free online word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation application. There’s nothing to download, you can save in Microsoft Office formats, and you can share your documents online with as many (or as few) people as you want.

We realize Google Docs have been around for a while. But you can now access your online documents easier than ever before with the new Google Docs Bar. This Firefox extension lets you access all your Google Docs with only one click of the mouse. You can also easily upload documents for collaboration, or for a backup copy.

Of course, you need to use the Firefox Web browser to use the Docs Bar. Honestly, though, you ought to be using Firefox anyway. Once you add the Google Docs Bar extension, you’ll be able to access any file you need, anywhere you have an Internet connection. -BILL FERRIS

Google Docs
Google Docs Bar

Graduation comes in only a few months, and your precious youngsters are about to make the harsh transition from parent-subsidized affluence to scrounging up change for laundry they should’ve washed weeks ago. They’re ready for college classes, but can they juggle homework and a 20-40 hour a week job?

Do your soon-to-be cash strapped students a favor and tell them about Software for Starving Students. It’s a bundle of great programs you probably already know about like Open Office, Audacity, Firefox, plus stuff you might not have heard of like PDFCreator (you get three guesses what this does), and Blender, a 3D graphics program. Everything is free, and students can get it all in one easy download, rather than jumping from site to site to download the apps.

The software is available for both PC and Mac users. FYI, the download is in .img format for CD burning, so you’ll need a CD burning program to install it (there’s one included in the download, for all the good that will do you).

The only problem with most of this free software is that the people who need it don’t know it exists. With Software for Starving Students, your kids can get a bundle of useful programs in one shot and still have money to wash their whites. –BILL FERRIS

Software for Starving Students

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A lot of times, I’ll use a word knowing that it is the right one to use, but I have no idea what it actually means. Then, I’ll have to know the definition to make sure I’m not botching the word’s usage. It’s either off to the shelf to thumb through that heavy dictionary, risking paper cuts and muscle fatigue, or it’s time to search for the word on Google, Wikipedia or some other ad-filled site with unreliable content. Face it, it’s tough on the eyes and who has time for all that searching!?! Well, not me, friends.

Definr is a tool designed to cut down on the time it takes to define a word and eliminates all the clutter that comes with online searching. Just start typing in the entry field and Definr will bring up a list of suggested words you might like defined, so you don’t even really know how to fully spell the word to get the right definition. If you are a Firefox user (which, hopefully, you are) then you can quickly install Definr right into your search engine bar. It really doesn’t get much easier than this when it comes to quickly defining words, nor do dictionary mascots get any cuter. — JEREMY S. GRIFFIN

Definr