This e-tivity was rather challenging for two reasons: first, it took me some time to understand how del.icio.us worked :-). Second, as usual, the web is huge, many websites aren't well structured, some might be dispersive or maybe they turn out to be poor in contents.
Searching the net can be annoying, especially when you can't find what really interests you. del.icio.us really helps restricting the range of possibilities and this is extremely important, in my opinion.
To be honest, I didn't know anything about bookmarks (also because I'm not used to have them even in my personal pc!!) but I found the existence of this system quite intriguing: I can easily log in and find the websites of my interest from any pc! Moreover, I can share my resources and exploit those searched and saved by that somebodyelse! This is an amazing positive aspect of technology!
The web is an immense container and people share any kind of material, information, opinion, etc. There is everything but not everything is good for us! You have just muster patiente and root out the material you need as a virtual bookworm!
What I like the most is the "your network" section. It's our community! I put at somebosyelse's disposal my favourites sites and I can use theirs! This is something I really like!! What is online is public, it's for everybody - otherwise it wouldn't be there ;-) - and sharing information through this system is mutual help!
To help other users tags are fundamental as they give quick acces to websites selected by people who explored the net before us. They basically label sources on the strenght of their content, so that it's likely to read something we are really interested in. Differently, other search engines put together sources "randomly", so long as the website contains at least one tag we suggested.
Many menbers of our community searched for websites about:
- writing a thesis, essays, etc.:
- linguistics, such as the right pronunciation of words, variuos differences between AmE and BrE, pitch, accent;
- online dictionaries, glossaries, translation, slang and informal English;
The websites I liked the most are:
- How to Write an Essay -- 10 Easy Steps: A Step-by-Step Guide For Students Writing Essays, or For College Instructors Teaching Essay Writing; chosen by Alessandra Peron, because writing has always been a challenging activity. This website guides the "wishful" writer with simple steps. It provides external liks to newspapers; shows how to use certain softwares; gives explanations etc. I like the Practice section.
- Voice of America-Special English; chosen By Alessandra Teso, because we are given the possibility of downloading and listening to audio files.
- English Pronunciation; chosen by Alexandra, Tania (and I), because I think this site is rather techincal but still clear and easy to exploit.
- Free and commercial translations ; chosen by Alida, because it might turn to be useful for a prospective job.Common Errors in English; chosen by Ilaria, Tania (and I) because it provides a very accurate list of words that cause misunderstandings.
- the speech accent archive; chosen by Martina, because I like the section in which one can listen to audio file read by people with different accents. Moreover I like the phonetic transcription provided.
- Internet Article Writing; chosen by Susanne. I liked it becasue papers and internet have different syles and it is worth knowing the difference.
- Sound intelligent, powerful, polished, articulate, and confident; chosen by Viola, because I think that speaking in pubblic isn't always easy. especially for those who are basically shy!
- blog rules; chosen by Erica, because it gives good suggestions fo blogging.
- soundsofenglish; chosen by Erica Bergamin, because I'm interested in pronuonciation. I already knew this website. I think it is useful and I like the layout, too.
Some of them concerned difficult topic for learners that are no longer beginners! I appreciate websites useful for writing a thesis, as we are close to our degree. We searched material to help our classmates, too, not only ourselves. It is important to realize that sharing information helps other users, but it facilitates us as well. We save time to read material which is really pertinent!
Elena
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