This week's assignments focus on the use of Google's free online applications. There are many "Google Apps," and we are going to explore five of them: Google News, Google Books, Google Maps, Google Sets, and Google Forms. Part #1: Google News Google news allows you to read news stories gathered from Internet newspapers and services. You can also create a personalized news page that finds updated information on the news YOU want to read. Go to the Google News site and scroll though the stories. http://news.google.com/ You can change he order of the newspaper sections by clicking on the "personalize this page" link on the top right of the second column. You can even "add a custom section" by entering keywords. For example, you can find the latest news stories about Scarsdale by entering "scarsdale" as a keyword. Don't forget to save your layout to see your results. You can search comments by people in the news: http://www.google.com/support/news/bin/answer.py?answer=114170&topic=8850 You can also search an archive of news stories with a timeline view: http://www.google.com/support/news/bin/answer.py?answer=47662&topic=9312 How would you use this tool in your classroom or in your teaching? Post your response in our Google Groups discussion area. Part #2: Google Books Google Books Search allows you to search the text of millions of books that are scanned from the leading public and university libraries. It's an amazing resource! Here is the Google Book Search Website: http://books.google.com/ Here is a list of the libraries that are participating in this project: http://books.google.com/googlebooks/partners.html Browse this sample Google Books page on "Fast Food Nation." Be sure to scroll all the way down the page. What kind of information can you find? http://books.google.com/books?id=yNFN1OpnkBkC This video explains how scholars are using Google Books: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7s8q9nTQh4 Family Tree Magazine has an interesting tutorial on using Google Books Search for studying family history: http://www.familytreemagazine.com/article/google-book-search/#2 Try searching Google Books for some areas that interest you. How would you use this tool? Part #3 Google Maps Google Maps is an amazing tool. Watch the five videos in this tutorial to learn more (select the videos from the top of the screen). http://www.google.com/help/maps/tour/ Try some of the features mentioned in the video tutorials. Part #4: Google Sets Google Sets is an experimental tool that helps you to brainstorm a list of related terms. For example, if you enter "Ford," "Toyota," "Mazda," and "Chrysler" in the fields on the screen, Google sets will generate other related items including " Honda," BMW," "Chevrolet," etc. Try it by going to: http://labs.google.com/sets How would you use Google Sets in your classroom or in your teaching? Post your response in our Google Groups discussion area. Part #5 Create a Survey with Google Forms One of the most exciting new Google Tools is GOOGLE FORMS. Forms allows you to create FREE online surveys. Here is an article on Google Forms: http://www.paulallen.net/playing-around-google-forms It's easy to create a survey using Google Forms. Follow this online tutorial to get started: http://www.mattsilverman.com/2008/10/introduction-to-google-forms.html Your assignment is to create a survey and email the survey link to other members of our online course. The survey must have between 3-6 questions. That's all for now...we'll see everyone next week at the Middle School. |