A Few Things Google

If I were to rank Google in a list of things I need to use each day, it would be higher than a telephone, blow dryer, and washing machine. It would be right up there with toilet paper, toothpaste and soap. A curling iron, vacuum, and microwave don't even come close!

Yes, I admit I need Google. I need it like I need my grandma when I have a cooking question. I need it like I need fingernail polish when I have a run in my panty hose. I need it like I need a lasso when I ....oh, you get the point.

The great thing about my need for Google is that it keeps growing as Google grows its resources. Today, I will be highlighting some of the cool Google features I love. Some are new, some aren't - but may be new to you. What are your favorite Google features and tools?

iGoogle

iGoogle is a personalized homepage for lovers of Google, or anyone! Here's what I love most about it:

*I can have my favorite resources, such as Twitter, come to me rather than having to go to them.

*I can add widgets and organize them on the page any way I want

*I can see my emails and calendar on my home page

*I can create multiple iGoogle pages and easily switch between them

*I can add cool themes to fit my interests or mood

Get an overview of iGoogle here, and also check out how to create your own iGoogle page.

My iGoogle page

Google Image Search and Similar Search

Google's image search isn't anything new, but there are new features. Once you type in a search, you can filter the results based on image size, type of image such as clipart, faces, line drawings, and photo content, or color. I have found this feature to be invaluable and know students and teachers alike will too.

Another tool, which is all "a Twitter" today is Google Labs' Similar Images, which allows you to refine your search with similar images. Just type in your keywords and then click the similar images link under a picture to see similar images.

Google Labs News Timeline

A new way to search the news is to use Google Labs News Timeline. Go to the timeline, choose your content such as news, newspapers, videos, sports scores, etc., and type in your query. The results will show in a timeline with a few features that you can modify to your liking. Result sources can be modified as well. This one is worth checking out.

Cool Google Tools

Today I attended a college class on Google Tools. Google is my encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus, phone book, atlas, cookbook, calculator, photo album, travel agent and more all rolled into one. I have Google set as my home page and have it customized with iGoogle (see video below). I frequently use Google as a verb rather than a noun....oh probably 25 times a day!

As I tweeted this morning before going to class, "there is always more to learn". So, I signed up for the class to see what I cool things I could learn. And learn, I did! Many thanks to my instructor, Cammy, for being a part of my PLN and helping me learn about some great Google features! Below are some highlights:

Google Searching
Google can be used as a calculator. Simply type in the equation and click search. The equation and answer will be displayed. This works for many types of equations. For a list of types, click here.
Google can be searched for a certain file type so that the results only display those matching a particular file extension. To do this, type in your search terms then type filetype: (file ext. here)
ex. water cycle filetype: .ppt will return results of PowerPoint presentations about or relating to the water cycle.
Google can search for synonyms of search terms that you enter. I am often searching for tutorials or guides for software that teachers use. Sometimes I spend lots of time just changing the search term to include words like "guide, tutorial, or directions". Using the synonym search, I can tell google to look for all of the above by only doing one search. To do this, in the search field, type: keyword ~tutorial (or whichever word you want it to search synonyms for).

Picasa
I downloaded Picasa a couple years ago and found it completely annoying, so I uninstalled it. It is much improved since I last looked at it. One of the features that I looked at and seems pretty cool is the picture collage. It is very easy to create one of four different styles of collages. Here are a bunch of tutorials (guides? directions?) from Learning Electric. I have decided that the improvements in Picasa make it worth another try.

Google Earth
Google Earth is another program I once had installed, but got rid of because of slowness of my network. Since then, my network has improved, and so has Google Earth! The feature I like most is the layers feature. This allows you to find information about a place as provided by many partners with Google. Layers can show tourist attractions, video clips, GPS tracks, National Geographic images, articles and movies, and more.