Thing “21″ Netvibes
Posted by arlieosborne on March 16, 2009
Visit Arlie’s Pageflakes Site.
Visit Arlie’s Netvibes Site.
I wanted to explore further this idea of “flakes.” Pageflakes is an interesting site with some cool stuff to add to your pages. As I was exploring, I found some other sites that look the same and offer similar things such as Netvibes, iGoogle and Webwag.
Netvibes uses “widgets” to add content. iGoogle uses “gadgets” to add stuff. Pageflakes uses “flakes” to add stuff. Webwag uses “widgets” to add content. I was able to add content on all of these sites but was unable to publish my pages on iGoogle and Webwag. On Webwag, I know you can send this “stuff” to a mobile device but I am yet to find how to make it public so my friends or students can view it. If you can figure out how Webwag can be viewed by guest web users, let me know. At this point, I do not recommend using it in the classroom.
Webwag is a mobile service for your Phone and PC but I am still wondering if anyone else can see my web page other than myself. I have several nice widgets on my page but wonder if I am missing the purpose in the service or overlooking something. It would be nice to for others to view it as well.
iGoogle is integrated in my Google interface along with my email and google docs etc. I created an iGoogle page full of interesting and fun gadgets but again wonder if I am the only one who will see them. I am still searching for a link to pass along for others to view it as well.
Netvibes is definitely worth investigating. It has many of the same features available in Pageflakes. Take the Netvibes Tour to find out more. Also, take a look at Protopage and MyYahoo.
Pageflakes are customizable as well. The Anything Flake is very useful in creating a custom flake for your page. As with Netvibes, pageflakes has a large selection of flakes already created from which to select.
Pageflakes and Netvibes are two aggregators that appear to work well for use in the classroom allowing teachers to create personalized pages containing pictures, videos, podcasts and all of their favorite widgets and gadgets. Teachers have at their fingertips another tool that will allow them to communicate with students and parents. Students can access homework assignments, check grades, see extra credit assignments, review study material as well as other helpful information. Tools such as Pageflakes and Netvibes can be used on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to assist the teacher in the execution of their lesson plans.
Schools can also use these tools to provide news and information to parents such as upcoming parent conferences, school events and other special functions like book fairs and after school activities.
Finally, here is a nice quote in an article from edtechservices,
“Easy Registration and Tab Sharing are two features that make Netvibes an especially atractive tool for the classroom. A teacher can create a tab filled with instructional content, links, pages, and collaborative spaces, while still allowing students to have their own netvibes page filled with all the “other content” they want. As an added benefit, if students have a block such as MySpace on their netvibes page and MySpace is blocked by the school, that block won’t show up – but the netvibes page will. It makes for a nice system where students can still get to some content, but not necessarily all.”
ADDITIONAL READING:
Netvibes in the Classroom – Module by Evelyn Jessie
Netvibes Blogs – This is their official blog site.
Netvibes Videos – Videos about Netvibes on vimeo.
Netvibes Widget Directory – Over 180,000 widgets available for your pages.
Netvibes Continues to Impress – Article.
Using Netvibes For RSS Aggregation – TeacherTube Video
