How do I love Google?
Let me count the ways...
There are plenty of reasons to love Google; these go beyond the basics.
#1 Research Tool
While working in Google Docs, there is no need to open a new tab to search for information or images. Simply click Tools - Research and a research pane will open right inside the document. From there, you can easily cite content and drag images to your document.
#2 Voice Typing
You can dictate to Google Docs! Click Tools - Voice Typing and a microphone will appear. Click the microphone to type what you dictate. Cool!
#3 Convert PDFs to Images & Text
Upload the PDF to Google Drive. (this will only work with PDFs using text - not images; if you can highlight the text, you can convert it) Upload the PDF to Google Drive. Right click on the file name in Google Drive & select Open With - Google Docs and voilĂ ! The PDF is now an editable document!
#4 Comment on Student Work
Teachers or students can leave comments on work in Google Docs. Highlight the sentence, phrase, or whatever you would like to comment about and click Comments at the top right of the screen. The author then can see the comments and make edits as necessary. The English department uses the commenting feature to streamline the research paper process!
#5 Collaboration
No more emailing & downloading files to collaborate with others! Create a Google Doc, Sheet, or Slide. Share with friends by adding their email address and you all can work on the same file at the same time. This is great for teachers and students!
#6 Send Huge Attachments
Is that file to large to attach to an email? No problem - upload it to Google Drive and send the link. Problem solved!
#7 Google Timer
Need to project a timer? Simply enter "Timer 5 minutes" (or however many minutes you need) in the Google search bar.
#8 Google Tour Builder
Use Google Earth to tell a story, marking important locations along the way. Tour Builder allows you to add images or videos and a description for each location. This is a great way to tour a foreign city, create a timeline for your students, or have your students create their own tour. Click here to see a sample Google Tour.
#9 YouTube Video Clipper
If you need just a couple of minutes from a YouTube video, use this template. This will be added to your Google Drive and you can use it over and over. Paste the YouTube link and the start and stop time for the video, and a link and embed code will be generated for you.
#10 Revision History
Revision history is useful when you are collaborating with others or checking students' group projects. Revision history keeps track of changes, who made them, & when they were made. This also helps recover a paper that may have been deleted. For example, a student's research paper mysteriously disappeared last week and by clicking revision history, he was able to recover it. Whew!
Jennifer Butler
Instructional Partner
Florence High School
Email: jcbutler@florencek12.org
Twitter: @jcbutler22