TOP TOOLS 2008
Google Alerts

Google Alerts provides you with email updates of latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.  For instance if you want to keep up with news about e-learning, type that in as your search term and you will receive notifications of all new Google results that contain that search term.  You can also manage the alerts you receive, for example how often you want to receive them.
 

Website	www.google.com/alerts
Cost	Free
Availability	Online
2007 ranking	57=
2008 ranking	33

Comments from those who selected Google Alerts as one of their Top 10 Tools in 2008

• "Google Alerts will repeat your good search strategy automatically and when results turn up Google will email you and include the annotated links in the message. It is like having a reliable research assistant!" Lissa Lord

• "is very useful to track the web for news on matters of interest to me. It can also be displayed in a widget on my iGoogle page."  Guy Boulet

• "I get regular alerts via email and this is the main way I keep up on elearning news. I haven’t got into rss yet and in the meantime this simple solution suits me well." Rob Hubbard

• "into my email box each day, provides me with links to articles, blog posts and so on according to my search terms. I have set up about 5 alerts and it is very manageable."  Elaine Talbert

• "This is how I keep track of the topics I want to learn about through email updates of the relevant Google results.  I also use it to monitor my own blog and websites."  Anastasia Prynikova

Comments from those who selected Google Alerts as one of their Top 10 Tools in 2007

• " I also use Alerts to keep me informed about a topic I'm researching or interested in."  Janet Clarey

• "A nice adjunct to Google Reader; I'm always discovering something new via my "instructional design" alert."  Cammy Bean

• "to get emails on topics I'm following"  Michele Martin

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