Keep Internet Notes the Easy Way

If you have students doing Internet research at school, they probably have to write all their notes in a notebook to use them at home. Here’s an unbelievably easy way to take notes at school and access them at any other computer in the world:

  1. In your browser’s address bar type the following: http://cl1p.net/anything, replacing the word anything with a unique word. For instance, I created a cl1p at the following address: http://cl1p.net/teenliteracy
  2. When the new page comes up, you can type or paste anything you want to remember, and then click the “save” button.
  3. Go to another computer, type in the address you used in step 1, and you will find your notes there!

I use several different computers myself: two at school, two at home, and sometimes one in the public library. Cl1p.net is a great way to remember bits of information when I have forgotten my thumb drive or notebook.

Students at school can do research online and instead of wasting paper printing out web pages, or wasting time copying into notebooks, they can use cl1p.net to keep track of their ideas, sources and direct quotes, and then access them easily at home.

Here are some more examples of how you could use cl1p.net in school:

  • Students could share a cl1p.net page and collaborate on an essay together
  • Teachers could leave messages to each other on a shared cl1p.net page
  • Teachers could communicate with parents
  • Classrooms in one part of the world could communicate with classrooms in another part of the world

A few things to keep in mind:

  • As soon as someone else finds out the address of your cl1p, they can add or delete anything they want (unless you buy the cl1p by clicking the “Own this cl1p” link)
  • It’s free, fast and easy, but also public–anyone who knows the address can read your notes or messages
  • It’s anonymous–anyone could write anything and sign it with anyone’s name

If you’re going to use cl1p, create an address that other people wouldn’t just stumble across. For instance, instead of using http://cl1p.net/john, you might use http://cl1p.net/john4389.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

2 Responses

  1. Clay Burell says:

    Hm. Diigo or Google Notebook don’t have the limitations that you mention – malicious deleters, etc – you might find them worth a look.

  2. Nick says:

    You’re right about Diigo or Google Notebook. The one thing I like about cl1p.net is that students don’t have to sign up for anything. I think it works well when you’re in a pinch to remember something and you’re on a school computer.

    But for long-term research or working on the same few computers, the solutions you mention are much better.

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