Thing 12

• How do you think you can use these tools in your library or at home?
• They are all blocked by our filtering system. We do leave a few other news forums open like SCtimes, so we need to evaluate these sites for our K-12 sitch.
  
• Do these tools seem to be a productivity enhancer or a productivity detractor?
• I think it would depend upon your frame of reference. Saturday AM in jammies I'd likely be detracted and Monday AM I'd be productive. I'd guess students would be more likely to pull off onto the stranger stories (imho) and "hey look at this" than delve into a heavy world news story
  
• Have you ever read a story/item as a result of seeing it on one of these sites?
• Yes. I check the ratings just to see what's being read and like a lemming often check out the more popular. Weird that those things would matter!