4 Online Tools That Make Work Easier

I don't actually spend a lot of time exploring the internet but when I do go online I have a few tools I like to use: 

While I do see myself as a creative individual, sometimes I need a little inspiration and Pinterest has helped me out immensely. From fashion tips to recipes this "visual discovery tool" has it all. I tend to use this site the most for cooking when I'm in the mood for a new recipe, but I have also used it for interior decorating and craft project ideas. 

Youtube is another reference site I use a lot, lately as a learning tool for fly tying and other fly fishing related videos. I also use it a lot for school and listening to music on occasion. For this class, especially, this site has been a valuable tool for learning the ins and outs of certain computer programs like excel and powerpoint.    

I have never used STUDYBLUE but I ran across this online tool and found that it could come in very handy for school. This site provides study tools and allows you to create customized flashcards. In a few terms I will be begin taking Anatomy and Physiology classes for my program and I know I will be using this tool alot.

Khan Academy is another study tool that provides tutorials and lessons for a variety of subjects for all grades and a variety of topics. When I was in school a few years ago working on a different degree I used this site a lot to supplement my math and chemistry classes when I needed a different perspective from what my instructor was providing. I highly recommend this site for any student! I even plan on using this tool during winter term to brush up on my math skills while taking a chemistry class. I took the prerequisite for this class several years ago so instead of retaking the class I am hoping this tool will serve as a good refresher course. 

4 Web Sites I Visit Most Often

Here are 4 sites that I use on either a daily basis or quite frequently...

I love to learn so I tend to look things up a lot. For that reason, I pretty much use Google on a daily basis. Google Scholar is a great source for peer reviewed information that I use a lot at work, Google Maps helps me out because I am fairly directionally challenged, and regular ol' Google search helps me answer the many curiosities I tend to come up with every day. I tend to refer to this site as The Oracle.  


In my attempt to start cooking more, I have had to rely heavily on the internet to guide me through the process. To make things more interesting I have to eat gluten-free, so I have spent much time browsing the internet for recipes that are almost as good those containing that lovely gluten. About a year ago I ran across the site Gluten free on a shoestring and it has saved me life! They have a lot of really great recipes ranging from doughnuts to salad dressing. And if you have ever tried to cook gluten-free, you quickly find out that it is not cheap, so this sites focuses heavily on affordable recipes. I do not tend to visit this site daily, but several times a week.



Blackboard is no doubt one site that I will be using on a daily basis for the next few years as I work my way through school. While taking an online class, this site is my virtual classroom, but from past experience I expect even my classroom based classes will be using this site a lot as an additional resource. 



Along with my Googling skills, accompanied by that tends to be Wikipedia. Though this site is not known for their high standards in credibility and accuracy, it is a great starting point for fast information. When doing research I tend to start here for basic information and then branch out in to more credible resources from there. 

3 Powerful PowerPoint Presentations at TED

While exploring the TED archives I found 4 talks that used great visual aids to more effectively explain the topic of discussion:

In the talk The coming crisis in antibiotics, the topic of antibiotic resistant bacteria is discussed, explaining the dangers of antibiotic resistance in hopes of gaining awareness and how it could potentially be avoided. While making his point, the presenter uses various visual aids to first talk about the importance of antibiotics, but then show the dangers of relying on them too much. One of the most grabbing visual aids used was of an animated map of the U.S., showing the presence of antibiotic resistance across the country over time. In doing this, the presenter made his topic of discussion more visual, something that allows the discussion to make a bigger impact.

Depressed dogs, cats with OCD - what animal madness means for us humans talks about the topic of mental anxieties in animals. In this discussion, the presenter talks about a variety of mental anxieties in animals, ones very familiar to humans, and uses visual aids to show what these disorders look like in animals. With non-human animals, talking is not generally an option so it is hard to gauge whether an animal is just performing some random act or a troublesome ritual related to the creature's mental state. In playing videos of these behaviors, it allows the audience to see the behavior instead of just hearing about it, such as the difference between a sun bear playing with a stick and carrying out its obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

Much like the topic of this entire post, How animations can help scientists test a hypothesis talks about the importance of visual representations and how their use in biology greatly affect how processes are understood. Specifically, the presenter discusses the importance of animation in biological research, and how a moving image is much more effective in forming a hypothesis than simple drawings that aren't able to portray an entire process. To effectively explain this to the audience, the presenter shows a 2-D representation of a cellular process where you are able to see only the end result of each step. Then an animation of the same process is played, which shows how each step takes place to lead to the end result of the process.

Led by a mechanical engineer interested in the medial field, A tool to fix one of the most dangerous moments in surgery uses visual aids to show the function of a newly designed device could reduce mortality on the operating room table. This engineer is interested in a tool used in laproscopic surgery called a trocar, where accidental puncturing of organs is not an uncommon occurrence. To avoid such a situation in a very routine type of surgery, this same engineer has come up with a design for a spring loaded device to perform the same function, and provides videos to the audience allowing them to see just out the new device would work.

3 Tutorials Explaining Excel Financial Functions

I found 3 websites with great resources for explaining Excel financial functions...


Excel Easy has easy to understand instructions for solving the most basic of financial functions in Excel, including NPer, rate, PMT, PV, and FV. Although only basic functions, they do a great job at laying the groundwork for other, more involved financial functions. 

For a more in-depth look at financial functions within Excel, GCF LearnFree provides instruction for more advanced functions including what-if analysis. As with all other aspects of the Microsoft suite, I liked this site for explaining financial functions because they are easy to understand and the site provides more than just an explanation, but examples and video tutorials, as well.          

Excel Functions.net has a variety of tutorials for a wide range of financial functions, from the most basic to ones like YIELD and FVSCHEDULE. They start out by explaining what the function is, and what all parts of it mean. They then go on to provide an example for the function. What I found particularly helpful with this site as opposed to others I have found is that they explain common errors you might run into when performing various functions and what you can do to correct those errors.