Topic:
Using Technology to Save Time for Research and Teaching
Date:
December 9, 2014
Presenter:
Diane Novak
Purpose:
To introduce the BU Women’s Research Network to a few simple ways for
saving time while doing research and teaching or ways to improve the
quality of their research and teaching.
Tip 1: Setting up a Start Page to give you quick links to your most often
visited Web pages (white tiles)

Start Page: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/great-personalized-startpages-6-alternatives-igoogle/
The start page or home page is the first page that opens when you start
your computer. It is helpful if you use your start page as a sort of table of
contents to help you do the tasks needed each day. A good start page will
have links to the sites you visit most often, and give you quick access to
a search engine (Google or other search engine) and other tools that can
be informative, such as the weather and news. There are several start
page applications that can simplify your tasks by making it easy for you
to set up your own start page or pages. Here is a link to a webpage that
describes some of the most popular with the best reviews:
Symbaloo
My preference for a start page is Symbaloo: http://www.symbaloo.com
I like Symbaloo because it is so easy to set up and revise. A page with a set of
tiles in Symbaloo is called a Webmix. There are several webmixes already started
for you to revise, or you can create your own. Teachers also find Symbaloo
helpful for sharing webmixes with their students. I have created a Symbaloo
Webmix for this presentation and am sharing the Webmix with you. It has links to
all of the pages that give you access to tools or advice for saving time or
improving quality while doing research.
There is also an educator’s version of Symbaloo. It is called SymbalooEDU. The
only difference between the two versions is the EDU version has access to more
webmixes from educators. You can easily move to the EDU version from the
regular version at any time by logging in to SymbalooEDU with your existing
login information. From there you can add educational webmixes to your account.
MyFave.es
Another start page similar, but much simpler is MyFav.es. It works with a tablet
or smartphone also. https://www.myfav.es/
Page 1
VOICE Tools Web mix
Here is the link to my Symbaloo webmix named Research Network.
http://www.symbaloo.com/home/mix/13eOhDNE7D
Below is a screen print of the Research Network webmix.
Layout of the Research Network Webmix
You will notice many different coloured tiles on the webmix. The following is a
guide to what the background colours indicate:









White tiles: important background information
Yellow tiles: motivational information for writing
Blue tiles: hints and tips for your computer operation
Orange tile: hints and tips for Firefox
Pink tile: hints and tips for tablets
Purple tiles: hints and tips for Macs
Green tiles: hints, tips, and resources for writing
Brown tiles: resources for research
Gray tiles: links to downloads for programs you may find helpful.
You will notice that in the upper left hand corner are links to the Brandon
University website and the CTLT Resources page. I have left some blank spaces.
If you would like to get a Symbaloo account, you can use this webmix and add
some of your most often visited sites in these spaces.
Page 2


Under the BU and CTLT Resources tiles is white tile a link to the article
on “Great Start Pages”. This article shows several choices for creating
your start page. http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/great-personalizedstart-pages-6-alternatives-igoogle/
To the right of the Great Start Pages tile is a tile with a link to the
Symbaloo Users’. It offers a quick tutorial on how to use Symbaloo.
http://www.symbalooedu.com/wp-content/uploads/Symbaloo-userguide.pdf
Tip 2: Inspiration for writing (yellow tiles)
The group of tiles with the yellow background are links to articles that give
helpful ideas to help inspire you to write.

The yellow tile in the upper left corner is a link to a blog by Phil South,
located in the UK. His blog is named “Going Down Writing”. His audience
is writers, particularly professional writers. Scroll down a bit to the
article “Writing as a way of thinking”. You may find some inspiration for
writing from this article. https://goingdownwriting.wordpress.com/

In the furthest left lower corner of the webmix is a yellow tile with a link
to more motivation tips. The article is called “Motivational Tips that
Actually Work: 6 Sure-fire Ways to Get Writing and Keep Writing”. You
may want to look closely at steps 5 and 6. It suggests and interesting
way to help you keep motivated using Tweets.
http://writetodone.com/motivation-tips-that-actually-work-6-sure-fireways-to-get-writing-and-keep-writing/

To the right of the first tile is a yellow tile with a link to “10 Tricks to
Motivate Yourself to Write”. You might find some helpful tips here.
http://ollinmorales.wordpress.com/2011/09/02/motivation-2/

The last yellow tile (below the one above) is a link to a research project on
motivating faculty to research. It is titled “Faculty Motivation to do
Research: Across Disciplines in Research-Extensive Universities”. It is a
research article so it is a bit long, but there are some very interesting
results that you may find interesting. http://jotp.icbche.org/2011/51_Hardre_p.35.pdf
Page 3
Tip 3: Using free or inexpensive tools and resources (blue tiles)
Many people are unaware of the valuable free tools that are available on the
Internet. Although you must consider what you give up when you use a “free”
tool, many are very valuable. Before downloading any “free” resource, read
through the agreements. When you download programs, you must agree to
their list of ways to behave, what they can share, who they can share with, and
other agreements. If you are uncomfortable with any of these, do not download
and use the programs. The resources listed below are ones that I use and feel
safe using and I am a very private person who refuses to use Facebook. These
free or inexpensive tools are on the blue, pink, orange, and purple tiles.
The first two blue tiles on the top row are tools for PCs, The orange tile applies
to using the Firefox browser on both PCs and Macs. The pink tile is for mobile
apps. The bottom row of purple tiles are tools for Macs.




Time-saving PC tips and tricks: Blue tile
21 tips and tricks for saving time. You may find more than a couple of
them useful. I particularly like tips and tricks numbers: 3, 4, 6, 7, 12,
13, 16, 17, and18. : http://www.pcworld.com/article/2036996/leaveearly-on-friday-time-saving-pc-tips-and-tricks.html
Top 10 Underhyped Windows Apps: Blue tile
If you are looking for simple solutions or tools (apps) that are free or
inexpensive, you can find the descriptions, reviews and links to help you.
The apps include: WizMouse (one of my favourite tools), Skitch
(screenshot tool), PotPlayer (video player), Bins (helpful taskbar),
Chocolatey (makes Windows more Linux-like), Dexpot (adds lots of
features to a Windows desktop), Growl (notification system), Music Bee
(music player), Nircmd (command line tool), and OneNote (note taking
application). http://lifehacker.com/5984329/top-10-underhypedwindows-apps
10 Best Firefox security add-ons: Orange tile
If you use Firefox as your Web browser and want to increase your level of
security while working on the Internet, go to this Web site to download
valuable add-ons. The add-ons include: Web of Trust (WOT) (another one
of my favourites), AdBlock Plus (blocks pop-ups), LastPass (password
manager), BetterPrivacy, No Script, BugMeNot, (provides anonymous
credentials to most sites), SpamAvert.com (creates quic, disposable email addresses), Beef TACO (blocks tracking), Torbutton (hides where
you have been online) hideBad (hides your screen quickly).
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5805&review=Top
+10+Best+Firefox+Security+Add-ons
Apps for academics: mobile web sites and apps: Pink tile
If you want even more apps that are aimed at academics, here is your
site. Near the top of the page, you will see tabs to help organize all of the
apps and help you find what you are looking for. If you find something
you like, share it.
http://libguides.mit.edu/content.php?pid=174869&sid=1481857
Page 4



80 handy OS X Lion tips and tricks: Purple tile (Mac)
Suggestions for optimizing your Mac.
http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/80handy-os-x-lion-tips-and-tricks-1044374
Interesting Programs for Macs: Purple tile (Mac)
Suggestions for programs to work more efficiently in Mac.
http://mac-hint.blogspot.ca/
Mac Tips for MacBooks and other laptop Macs: Purple tile (Mac)
http://macs.about.com/od/tipstricks/tp/Mac-Tips-For-MacbooksMacbook-Pros-And-Macbook-Airs.htm
Tip 4: Time saving tips for word processing
The green tiles starting from the top of the right side are links to save time or
assist you in your writing. The top row has a link to time saving tips with MS
Word. Next to that are two videos showing the values of using Word styles and
templates.

12 Time saving tips for MS Word:
If you want to save lots of time while using Word, consider these 12
shortcuts. Many of them are keyboard commands that replace mouse
movements. When you do not have to pick up your fingers to go to the
mouse and then find your way back to the keyboard, you can save lots of
time. http://gigaom.com/2008/02/21/12-time-saving-tips-formicrosoft-word/

Why use styles in Word?
If you are unfamiliar with Word styles or think that using them is a
waste of time, start by watching the YouTube video. This video explains
how using styles saves you LOTS of time and makes your reports and
other documents look better. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okb32j3-nY

How to use MS Word Templates
A template establishes a form or pattern for producing objects. Microsoft
Office give you access to many helpful templates to use in Word, Excel,
and PowerPoint. In Word the templates serve as a style sheet with all of
the styles defined. You only need to highlight the text and choose the
style for that text. Short video:
http://www.symbaloo.com/home/mix/13eOhDNE7D
Page 5
Chicago
APA
MLA
The next three rows give information for about writing styles. Each row
addresses one of three styles, MLA, APA, and Chicago. Beginning from the left
are suggestions for using a Mac, next is a template for MS Word, on the far
right is a link to quick information about the style from Purdue Online Writing
Lab (OWL).

MLA format with Macs: http://academictips.org/mla-format/how-todo-mla-format-using-pages-on-mac/

MLA style template for MS Word: http://office.microsoft.com/enus/templates/research-paper-in-mla-style-TC001018376.aspx

Purdue OWL MLA format style:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

APA format with Macs:
http://community.pepperdine.edu/gsep/writingsupport/resources/apaformatmacword12_2.pdf

APA style report template for Word (6th Edition):
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/apa-style-report-6thedition-TC103982351.aspx

Purdue OWL APA format style:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Training courses for Word 2013: https://support.office.com/enus/article/Training-courses-for-Word-2013-14807f76-d2b5-44d6-af119c880c44e551?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US

Chicago Manual of Style Online:
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html

Purdue OWL Chicago format style:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/01/
Tip 4: Time saving tips for researching
The brown tiles in the centre lower portion of the webmix are research tools.

Helpful hints and research tools:
Includes links to reference software:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/medphys/prospectivestudents/international/hints

Free research tools every educator needs to know about:
If you want help dealing with plagiarism questions;, capturing, sorting
through and organizing information, sources, and referencing; dig deeper
into a topic; and share your work and collaborate on research then here
are links to free resources that help you do your research. Also
remember how fluid the Internet is. What may be free one day, may be a
pay for service later.
http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/06/free-search-tools-everyeducator-need.html
Page 6


11 Free tools for discovering research:
Help for dealing with database searches and discovery tools.
http://blog.mendeley.com/tipstricks/11-free-tools-for-discoveringresearch/
Publish or Perish by Harzing:
Publish or Perish is designed to help individual academics present their
case for research impact to its best advantage.
http://www.harzing.com/pop.htm

Online Qualitative Research Resources: If you are new to qualitative
research this is a great resource for learning more about qualitative
research. This site is a compilation of links to resources for qualitative
research. It was created by a professor at a university to give her
graduate students access to information on qualitative research that they
could easily access at no cost. It is great that she shares it with all of us.
http://www.antiochne.edu/clinical-psychology/qr/

Research Data Management from York University:
http://researchguides.library.yorku.ca/content.php?pid=382352&sid=3
873543

Research Data Management from Concordia University:
https://library.concordia.ca/help/data/

Research Gate: (Gray tile) Share with other researchers. Social network
for research. http://www.researchgate.net/
Bonus Program
f.lux: (Gray tile) Adjusts the colour of your computer display to time of
day. https://justgetflux.com/
Additions, Deletions or Replacement of Tiles – Questions or Comments?
As we all know the Internet is constantly changing and it can be difficult
keeping up with links that open one day and are gone the next. In addition,
technology changes daily and the wealth of knowledge we have continues to
grow. For these reasons, some of the tiles I have identified may need to be
revised.



If you find something not working, let me know.
If you find a valuable resource that you want to share, let me know and I
will try to add it.
If you have any questions about the links, let me know and I will try to
answer your questions.
Contact Diane Novak at:
(204) 727 7358
novakd@brandonu.ca
Office: 063 Health Studies Building
Page 7