Welcome to the first edition of Google Gab! Today I am going to start with the basics of Google- Google Search. There is so much more to Google search than most people realize. Most people know how to type what they want information on and then they muddle through millions of listings trying to find “the right one.” There are more ways to use Google search to speed up the process. You can use it as a calculator, dictionary, thesaurus, unit converter, time converter, and more. You can search for only books, powerpoints, .pdfs, images, documents, or excel spreadsheets. Even with all of the things Google offers, it still claims web search as its “bread and butter”. In fact, while a nearly unheard of word 10 years ago, Google is now a noun and a verb! Have you Googled lately??
Let’s get started:
Google- the calculator. Simply type your problem into the search bar, click search and Google will calculate the answer, using order of operations!
Google- the conversion expert. Do you need to know how many milliliters are in a cup? How many miles is a 5K run? Let Google convert units of measure for you! Type in the unit you know (inches) and what you want to know (millimeters)
Google knows time and weather! Need to know what time it is in London? Need to know about the weather in Cairo? Google knows! Type in either time or weather followed by the city.
Finally, have you ever wanted to find a powerpoint, word document, or .pdf document? Google can help! If I am looking for a powerpoint on adding fractions, I would type in the search box followed by filetype:ppt This will search only for powerpoint files.
The filetype may be changed to any below so to fit your needs:
.ppt- powerpoint
.pdf- Adobe PDF file
.xls- Excel
.doc- Word
.swf- Shockwave Flash
There a few others that can be found by clicking on advanced search.
Now I realize that many of you may already know these tricks, but I wanted to make sure everyone reading did. Next week, GoogleGab will continue with more tools and how to use them in the classroom. If you have not already signed up for a Google Account, I would encourage you to do so. As GoogleGab continues, we will be using tools that will require a google account.
Teaching Tomorrow 