Google+Tools

Google has an incredible range of tools available for free. We would like to highlight just a few, but here's how to see them all: From the top of the classic search page, click on "more" along the top, then click on "even more." Take a look around! Below we highlight a few tools that we use a lot. Documents

Google offers a place for creating, uploading, and sharing documents for free and has the following features: Users can... 1. access their files on the internet from any computer, anywhere 2. effectively have access to Word, Excel and Powerpoint without paying for the software 3. share documents with others so that they can contribute to or edit your document, even simultaneously! 4. create a website out of a document and send or share the link 5. store up to 5,000 pages, which can act like an automatic backup system 6. use any of thousands of templates readily available Alerts

What tool can automatically send you emails to let you know when something new is posted on the web on any topic you want? Google Alerts! Alerts "aggregates" information for you according to whatever criteria you set up and will deliver it to you at specified intervals. This is perfect for following breaking news, or for keeping up with your favorite blogger. When we are all feeling like there is too much information out there to keep up with, this can help cut it all down to size a little bit. Some of the Alerts that we get are based on searches for "David Warlick," "coolcatteacher," and TED talks. Give them a try and don't be afraid to modify your search if you get overwhelmed, or (rarely) few hits.

To learn more about Alerts, try their help page.

Reader

How do you keep track of all the new stuff that's coming out without drowning in paper or emails? Google Reader provides a one-stop shop interface that collects your favorite blogs and e-journals, news outlets and weather updates. Then you can choose the most convenient time to catch up on everything. Put it on your calendar; make it a regular habit to check it at the same time each day. After a while it becomes second-nature!

Labs

Don't forget that there are more tools available that may be in development. Click Google Labs to access some phenomenal apps for you to test out. For example, Google Squared provides a list of hits organized in a graphical, easy to organize set of columns. And who knows--some day these may migrate out of beta testing in the regular list of Google Tools! Google Lit Trips/Google Earth @http://www.googlelittrips.com/GoogleLit/Home.html

Organized by grade level and book title, this site offers an opportunity for students to fly from location to location of familiar and well-loved books, from //The Kite Runner// to //Fever 1793// to //Make Way for Ducklings//. Though the link above is not located within the Google suite of applications, the downloads open up into Google Earth and provide a virtual, hands-on learning experience which is engaging and enthralling.

Would you like to see what else is available for education on Google Earth? Try Google Earth Across the Curriculum created by Richard Byrne who writes the blog, FreeTech4Teachers.

Etc.

In the past few years, Google has been investing in some very large projects, a few of which might really bring some changes to how we do things. For instance, now out of the lab is Google Health, an online, "cloud" platform to keep health records, which would be accessible to anybody you choose to allow to view them.

New in the past year is **Google Sites**, which provides users with an easy-to-use website builder. Early attempts to use it prove this out, creating a polished look with little effort. Sites can also act like a wiki platform so that many people can edit and add to a website.