Google+in+the+Classroom+C

= = = Google Tools for Research =

//Professional Development Series - 2014//
//** Objectives: **//
 * Learn what Google has to offer for use in your classroom.
 * Generate ideas how Google apps can be used in your classroom.
 * Get hands-on experience with some of the tools.


 * Pre-Session Activity - Please Do! **
 * 1) Go to https://accounts.google.com.
 * 2) If you already have an account, go ahead and log in. (Note: if you have associated your District email address with your Google account, you will want to disassociate it now.)
 * 3) If you don't have a Google account, click on //Sign in with a different account// and then //Add an Account// and then //Create an Account//. (Note: Please do not use your District email address to create your account. Use another personal email address; preferably not an AOL email address.)


 * Google Apps for Education vs. Google Personal/Consumer **
 * [|Beginner's Guide to Google in the Classroom]
 * What is the difference?
 * What do we currently have in the District?
 * Where are we going?

**Google News**
 * **What is it?** // * [|Video: Google News: An Introduction for Students and Teachers]  //
 * Google News brings together news from thousands of different sources from around the world and makes them available in a single place.


 * **Why Use it?** // * [|Video: Google News, More than Just Top News Stories] //
 * Students can use Google News to:
 * Compare and contrast current events from a variety of sources.
 * Find primary documents related to historical events over the past 200 years.
 * Access the news from their mobile phones – no computer lab required.
 * Teachers can use Google News to:
 * Personalize their news page to stay informed on topics they teach.
 * Search the news for stories relevant to a particular day’s lesson.
 * Model for students how to examine bias and reliability in the news.


 * **Instructional Ideas:**
 * Create a "The World This Week" photo poster.
 * Students compare and contrast articles on a single event from different sources - nationally and/or internationally.
 * Provide foreign language reading and translating material from authentic sources.
 * Twenty-five Great Ideas for Teaching Current Events

Google Search

 * **What is it?**
 * Google Search is the world's largest search engine and easy-to-use service for free that usually returns relevant results in a fraction of seconds. // *Video: Google Search Features //
 * Google Search Help
 * Search Stories: An Introduction
 * Search Story: Zack Matere
 * Search Story: Cheryl & Morgan
 * The Knowledge Graph // *Video: Introducing the Knowledge Graph //
 * // *Video: Explore Lists and Collections with Google Search //


 * **Why use it?** // *Video: Google Web Search Strategies in Plain English //
 * Students can use Google Search to:
 * Research class topics.
 * Find pages similar to ones that are relevant to their school work. Simply click “similar pages” below a successful search result.
 * Search for images to use in multimedia projects.
 * Search the web right from their mobile phones.
 * Teachers can use Google Search to:
 * Translate web pages for English Language Learners.
 * Search for instructional materials in specific file formats including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF.
 * Use Google’s “Safe Search” settings to restrict the search results on student computers. On the Google homepage, just click the small “Preferences” link next to the search bar.


 * **Instructional Ideas:**
 * Google Search for Educators - Classroom Lessons and Resources (including A Google A Day presentations)
 * Teaching Search in The Classroom 54 minute webinar video posted on YouTube (//Watch @ home!//)
 * Fifteen Lesson Plans for Making Students Better Online Researchers
 * Use an inquiry-driven approach: When students ask a question, assign a student to search for the answer and share with class.
 * Try to Ace a Class:
 * Calculate anything
 * Search by Advanced Image search
 * Get definitions
 * Search by file type
 * Find related pages
 * Get number conversions
 * Read Public Domain books
 * Hone in on a particular range
 * Search by reading level
 * Type in a query //@google.com//
 * Above your search results click on //Search Tools//
 * Underneath click on //All Results// and from the drop-down menu choose //Reading Level//
 * Click on the level to display the results you want
 * Create a Custom Search Engine for Your Classroom: Click here
 * A Google A Day (game on Google +)

Activity One

 * 1) Explore/play the "A Google A Day" game at the link above. Try it in Google+.
 * 2) Explore the Google A Day lesson plans located here.
 * 3) After you have taken about 10 minutes to explore, click here to record some reflections.

Specialized Searches

 * Google Search now includes a specific search for apps for mobile devices!
 * Blog Search - Find blogs on your favorite topics
 * Patent Search - Search the full text of US patents
 * Finance - Business info, news and interactive charts
 * Product Search - Search for stuff to buy
 * Scholar - Search scholarly papers
 * Trends - Explore past and present search trends
 * Alerts - Get email updates on the topics of your choice

Google +

 * **What is it?** * // [|Video: Google + A Quick Look] //
 * Google+ makes connecting on the web more like connecting in the real world, providing new ways for students and faculty to find, share and connect online -- both inside and outside the classroom. It's a social network.
 * Using Google+ in Education
 * Google+ Help
 * Google+ Cheat Sheet


 * **Why Use it?** // *[|Video: What is Google + and Do I Really Need it?] //
 * Circles: make it easy to organize your work and social content by allowing you to share relevant content with the right people. Choose education experts to follow:
 * Google in Education
 * Edudemic
 * Edutopia
 * Educational Technology and Mobile Learning
 * NASA
 * And many more!
 * Pages: create pages for student clubs, sports or classes and share important updates with membership
 * Communities: 4 options
 * Join an educational community to share and get suggestions and answers.
 * Create a private community for your class(es)
 * Hangouts: group video chat that you can use with up to 9 others at the same time when you are not able to physically meet together
 * Integration of Google Apps in one place: search, calendar, photos, events
 * Mobile app


 * **Instructional Ideas:**
 * Create a Google+ community for each class where you can post homework assignments, hold discussions, etc.
 * Create Google+ Pages for classes to share homework updates, the latest news on the course topic, or interesting ideas and articles; news for your after school clubs or sports teams, etc.
 * Use Hangouts to hold virtual office hours, or collaborate on a project or a lesson plan;
 * Use Hangouts to bring in speakers from around the world to your class;
 * Post discussion items and assignments in the Stream;
 * Encourage students to comment on content you have shared to foster class engagement on topics of interest;
 * Search for current information on a topic;
 * 10 Ways to Use Google+ in the Classroom
 * Google Plus for Educators

Activity Two

 * Click on this link to fill out a form that will generate an invitation for you to join the Google+ SDP Google Training Community.
 * An invitation will be sent to your email account. Please access your email account and click on the link to accept the invitation to join the community.
 * The rest of this activity is posted on the community page.

Google Search Tips and Tricks

 * 14 More Google Search Tricks You Didn't Know Existed
 * 12 Google Search Tricks You Probably Didn't Know

Additional Resources
Google for Education Google Educator Resources Google for Education Training More Google Products