I didn't intend to spend the last 3 hours playing around with all of the Google tools but .....here I am at 10:30 pm still having fun.
I first checked out Google Earth. My students showed it to me first and found my house. I was pretty impressed. Next, my brother in law, who has been working in China, showed us the exact location of his hotel and the job site - now I'm really impressed. My son will spend a semester in South America next year so we will be able to check out exactly where he is without actually being there. This is definitely a cool tool.
I then set up a Google Calendar and shared it with my husband...I'm adding family activities and birthdays. I'm still working on that tonight.
I did an Advanced Google Search for a power point on using databases for research. I found some good ones and really liked that it was able to narrow down the type of file you wanted.
Google Docs would be so helpful for students in a group project - each one being able to access the document and editing it without having to have a face to face meeting. This definitely has applications for a school and university setting.
Overall, Google has some really great and easy to use tools to make communication more efficient and fun!
I am really excited to use Google Calendar. With just a few settings, it's easy to share family birthdays, upcoming school events, and multiple school calendars (public school, college, etc.) You are able to keep relatives in the loop without worrying you are forgetting an event or birthday/anniversary.
ReplyDeleteMy hat is off to you, with your son being in South America next year. So many miles and a continent away. Wow... now that's a great push to use Google Earth! ;-)
I agree with you about google docs. I used it in another class and while I was working as a volunteer during a campaign. That's actually when I discovered it. I kept getting a message from somebody about the doc I was working on and I kept ignoring it because I just thought we were having technical difficulties. Later the lady came in the room and told me she was trying to ask me a question about the document. :)
ReplyDelete