# 7a Back to the Reader

I've visited my Google reader a few times over the last few weeks, but I haven't really stayed long. Finally, I told the procrastinator in me to hush, and I stopped in at my reader.

First I read through the "Free Technology for Teachers" blogs. Here, one of the blogs "Copyright-Friendly and Copyleft Images..." offered another extensive list of copyright-free images, sounds, and movies that the public can use. At first I was excited, but once I explored the actual sites, I discovered that many were connected to Flickr. After spending a previous weekend in Flickrland, I didn't want to go back. I did manage to find Behold (another place for cc images). Just for kicks, I searched for "scream" (just as I had done in Flickr) hoping to find some new images to replace some of the other photos in my mystery slide show, and I have to admit that the images that popped up were nice (high resolution and relevant). The page of photos was free of advertisements and other distractions -- just beautiful, artsy pictures. When I tried to find the photographers so that I could give credit, many of the pictures lead me back to Flickr, their original home. However, overall the search in Behold was more productive and economical as far as my time was concerned.

Another interesting tool I found, which I had actually come across on an earlier visit, was a class discussion guideline by Angela Cunningham. It has useful tips and instructions on how to conduct a productive discussion.




Scrolling and skimming through the many missed blogs, I came across a place called Shmoop, which provides study guides for history, government, literature, and a few other subjects. It even has literature guides in Spanish. This has some potential; I just need to explore it more closely.

Finally, when I ended up at Life Magazine's 30 Dumb Inventions, I realized that stupid people have been around for decades; it's not a recent phenomenon. For example, Ron Hubbard had created a Hubbard Electrometer which he used to detect whether or not tomatoes felt pain. I hate to tell you all, that according to his device, they actually "scream when sliced." There's plenty more stupid inventions at this site, so if you need some entertainment check it out.