Google Services for Educators, Refreshed for Fall
RSSBy Eric Langhorst
| Photo by Mark McDonald Photography |
Google Instant caused quite a splash at its debut last month, making search even faster. But Google had even more up its sleeve over the summer, updating classic applications and launching new ones, many of which make life easier for educators. Let’s take a quick look at how Google can help you save time and engage your students.
Google Voice allows you to combine your computer with your phone. One great feature is the ability to transcribe phone messages into text. Having a text copy of messages from parents can prove invaluable to teachers. Voice also allows conference calls with up to four people and the ability to send text messages to students and parents from your computer.
Teachers without a phone on their classroom desk are going to love Google Call Phones. Now you can call any cell or land line using the new Call Phones feature from within Gmail. Calls to phones in the U.S. and Canada are free through at least the end of 2010, with international rates starting as low as two cents per minute. The quality is amazing and only requires a microphone (standard equipment on most laptops). Imagine bringing in a famous author for a classroom chat?
Update Google Earth with version 5. The latest edition of the virtual globe software features improved resolution and more tutorial videos to help you maximize classroom use. Help your students trace the journey west in a Grapes of Wrath lit trip or view the Texas Book Depository Building in Dallas as you virtually drive into the heart of Dealey Plaza just as JFK saw it on that fateful day in 1963.
Perhaps less glamorous than 3-D tours, collecting data from parents and students is a snap with Google Forms. Nothing could be easier for handling this information at the start of the school year. Forms that you create are accessible 24 hours a day, and once the data is collected, it’s easy to access in a spreadsheet.
If you’re looking for a great image to help teach a lesson or use in an activity, your first stop should be the new and improved Google Images. Google now gives you more images on the screen once you complete your search; simply scroll down to view additional images—no more checking page after page to find the right picture. Teachers looking for a specific type of image can filter results by size, color, face, line drawing, or clip art.
Eric Langhorst (pictured) teaches eighth-grade American history at South Valley Junior High School in Liberty, MO.
