Google for Educators

Round table discussion notes from TechForum Chicago, 4.27.07

 

Google Tools:

How to find them... click "more >>" and then "even more" on the Google home page:

for a list of great tools -- for both educators and consumers -- click the tool to investigate further:

 

 

 

 

For some Google services, you need GMail:

however, not for all of these!

 

Be sure to check out the Google for Educators website:

http://www.google.com/educators/index.html

 

and the Infinite Thinking Machine blog:

http://www.infinitethinking.org/

 

join the Google for Educators Discussion Group:

http://groups.google.com/group/google-for-educators?lnk=gschg

 

 

Some of the more popular Google tools include:

 

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Blogger

    Examples:

 

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Earth

    Links and more:

    Google Earth Lessons:  http://www.gelessons.com/lessons/

 

    CoolMaps 7 Wonders of the World - Interactive Maps: http://coolmaps.7wonders.googlepages.com/home

 

    Google Earth Mashups: http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2006/12/50-things-to-do-with-google-maps.html

 

 

From Quentin D'Souza, "Google Earth 101" -- lesson in a wiki

    http://www.teachinghacks.com/wiki/index.php?title=Google_Earth_101_for_Educators

 

    From Henrico Schools, "Google Earth Tutorial"

    http://staffdev.henrico.k12.va.us/~woodwatw/google_earth/Intro.html

 

    From Hall Davidson at Discovery Education:

    http://www.halldavidson.net/GoogleEarthHD.pdf

 

If you are looking for ways to integrate Google Earth into your teaching, try these:

1. http://kmlphotos.metaltoad.com

Allows you to place Flickr photos into your Google Earth placemarks

 

2. http://googlelittrips.com

From Apple Distinguished Educator Jerome Burg, this website "recreates the journeys" of characters in literary works such as MacBeth, Candide, The Grapes and Wrath, and more. Click the "Downloads" link at the top of the website to download the Google Earth files.

 

3. http://www.archive.org

Public domain videos, sound clips, photos and more for your Google Earth placemark files.

 

4. http://www.findsounds.com

Locate sounds around the Earth, and create "placemark" scavenger hunts.

 

5. http://googleearthusers.blogspot.com

A resource for learning to use Google Earth

 

6. http://www.infinitethinking.org/2006/10/itm-1-calling-planet-earth_10.html

A 9-minute movie from "The Infinite Thinking Machine" website, named "Calling Planet Earth." In this video you will learn from students, teachers, and the folks from Google. The video can be downloaded in quicktime for later viewing, and there are valuable links on this page for items mentioned in the video.

 

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Sketchup

    Examples:

Designing with Sketchup InfoWiki: http://dws.editme.com/

 

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Videos/ You Tube

    Examples:

 

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Labs

    Examples: check out Google Notebook!

Clip useful information.

You can add clippings of text, images and links from web pages to your Google Notebook without ever leaving your browser window.

 

Organize your notes.

You can create multiple notebooks, divide them into sections, and drag-and-drop your notes to stay organized.

Publish your notebook.

You can share your Google Notebook with the world by making it public.

 

Here is an example of a public Notebook on Cyberbullying:

Address: http://www.google.com/notebook/public/00626317039437180207/BDQSkIwoQvL_ky6Mi

 

 

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Docs and Spreadsheets

    Examples:

 

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Picassa

    Examples:

 

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Translator

    Examples:

 

 

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Google Book Search:

http://books.google.com/intl/en/googlebooks/about.html

 

 

    Examples:

 

 

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More Resources about Google tools for Educators:

 

Podcasts:

http://t4.jordan.k12.ut.us/t4/content/view/205/35/

    an overview of Google Maps and Google Earth

 

http://t4.jordan.k12.ut.us/t4/content/view/209/35/

    Think of the collaborative possibilities for students and teachers as you use these free tools.

 

 

 

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From: http://moodlicio.us/

Creating RSS feeds from Google Searches... posted by John Patten

In a workshop that Mike Lawrence conducted, he shared the fact that Google searches can be syndicated with RSS. So in your blog or web site, you can capture the feed of a specific Google search and then any new information related to the original search terms are displayed within an RSS block on your blog! Very cool! At the bottom right of this blog there is an example of a RSS feed for information using the terms SecondLife and Education. As a teacher, you could have a different RSS feed for each content standard or theme of the week! The next time you do a search in Google, check out the RSS link in the left margin. That will be the link you can use to syndicate the query and post to your RSS block or RSS reader.