What’s Up with What’s Up with Google?Google?

Patti Chappell

Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School

pchappell@gsgis.k12.va.us

Adapted from Patrick Crispin’s December 2008 Presentation

““These are much deeper These are much deeper waters than I had thought.”waters than I had thought.”

• Google is a constantly-moving target.

• Google adds new tools and features practically daily.

• In this presentation, we’re going to track what Google has been up to recently.

Image source: http://google.com/

OUR TOPICSOUR TOPICS

• Google Bells and Whistles• Google on the Road• Google Research Tools• Google Search Tools• Google Productivity Tools• New Google

Announcements

Image source: http://google.com/

NEW GOOGLE NEW GOOGLE BELLS AND WHISTLESBELLS AND WHISTLES

Google Search WikiGoogle Search WikiYou can now:

◦ “Vote up” a hit;◦ Remove a hit; or◦ Comment on a hit.

All changes are saved to your Google account and will not [directly] impact the searches made by others.

Google Search Wiki Search Wiki

• To see an aggregation of all promotions, demotions and comments, go to the bottom of the page and click on "See all notes for this SearchWiki”

Google Image Search Google Image Search Content FiltersContent Filters

Google Image Search lets you restrict your results using three content filters:

1. News content from the last 30 days

2. Faces (using Google’s face detection technology)

3. Photo content (using Google’s non-face detection technology)

images.google.com

LIFE Photo ArchiveLIFE Photo ArchiveMillions of photographs

from the LIFE archive are now included in Google Image Search.

Browse the archive directly or add source:life to limit your search to the LIFE archive

http://images.google.com/hosted/life

Google MapsGoogle Maps

• Now has Google Earth-like navigation.– Click the small yellow

man to see the street view imagery.

– Drag the icon to the correct location.

• The terrain layer has been updated to include contour lines and hill shading.

• Historic traffic data is available.

maps.google.com

Google FinanceGoogle FinanceGoogle Finance now

shows real-time data for all NASDAQ stocks.

There is no longer a 15 minute delay.

finance.google.com

Google Earth Browser PluginGoogle Earth Browser PluginGoogle Earth can be

used from a browser without you having to download the full application.

Just download and install the Google Earth plugin.

The plugin works with Firefox 2/3 and IE 6/7 on Windows.

code.google.com/apis/earth/

Google SkyGoogle Sky• As of March 13, 2008,

you can now use Google’s Sky tool—originally part of Google Earth—in any web browser.

• You can view the universe at different wavelengths (visible, x-ray, or infrared) and even play with the transparency to blend between the wavelengths.

sky.google.com

Google TranslateGoogle Translate• Google supports the

translation between English, Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Filipino, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

• That’s 1,156 language pairs!

translate.google.com

Google Personalized HomepageGoogle Personalized Homepage

google.com/ig

• You can create your own Yahoo-esque Google homepage that shows you– Your latest Gmail messages,– Headlines from Google

News and other top news sources,

– Weather forecasts, stock quotes, and movie showtimes, and

– Bookmarks for quick access to your favorite sites from any computer.

• Google Personalized Homepage [a.k.a., “iGoogle”] is available to everyone with a Google account.

iGoogle 2.0iGoogle 2.0

• Launched in mid-October 2008, iGoogle 2.0 moves the tabs to the left.

• It also adds a “canvas view” that allows Google Gadgets to become full-fledged applications.

• To switch back to version 1, access your settings page and change your language to English (UK).

igoogle.com

Google HelpGoogle Help

google.com/support

Google now has a unified help center, categorized by activity [e.g., “searching, shopping, and browsing the web”]

The search box at the top of the help center is actually a custom search engine that searches 218 Google sites.

Download Google Help FilesDownload Google Help Files• Add ?fulldump=1 to the end of the address of most Google help center homepages

• For example:mail.google.com/support/?fulldump=1

• This doesn’t work on all Google services.

Gmail ThemesGmail Themes

You can now apply themes to your Gmail interface.

Choose Settings > Themes.

Google Mail GogglesGoogle Mail Goggles• To prevent you from

drunk emailing, Gmail has a “Mail Goggles” tool that will force you to answer some simple, timed math questions when you attempt to send an email late at night or on the weekends.

• You must answer the questions correctly in the allotted time for the email to be sent.

• To enable, go to Settings > Labs > Mail Goggles > Enable [and then Save Changes]

GOOGLE ON THE ROADGOOGLE ON THE ROAD

1-800-GOOG-4111-800-GOOG-411(1-800-466-4411)(1-800-466-4411)

Google Business Directory Assistance

http://www.columbia.edu

Additional Google 411 FeaturesAdditional Google 411 Features

“Text Message”◦ To receive an SMS

“Map It”◦ To receive a map

“Details”◦ To get more details

google.com/goog411/

About Google 411About Google 411Google 411 is completely free. You can access Google 411 from any

telephone.◦You need a cell phone to receive text

messages and maps.Google 411 doesn’t offer residential

information … yet.

Google Voice Search for the Google Voice Search for the iPhoneiPhone• Updated iPhone

application [“Google Mobile App”] you can download from the iTunes App Store.

• Launch the app on your iPhone, hold the phone to you hear, and and speak after you hear the tone.

• Lower your iPhone from your ear and Google automatically converts your speech to text and searches for what you said.

http://www.google.com/mobile/apple/app.html

Google Mobile MapsGoogle Mobile Maps• You can access Google

maps on most new cell phones, not just iPhones.

• Google Mobile Maps is a downloadable cell phone application that lets you view maps and satellite imagery, find local businesses, see real-time traffic information, see your location with or without GPS, and get driving directions on your cell phone.

• Just go to google.com/gmm in your web-enabled cell phone

Google Personalized Mobile Google Personalized Mobile PagePage

You can set up a personalized iGoogle page for your mobile device too.

Go to your iGoogle settings page to choose which gadgets you add, remove, or rearrange.

iPhone and iPod Touch users should go to google.com/ig/i

google.com/ig/settings

Mo’ MobileMo’ Mobile

Depending on your cell phone and provider, you may be able to access additional Google services on your cell phone.

Visit mobile.google.com on your cell phone’s web browser.

mobile.google.com

GOOGLE RESEARCH GOOGLE RESEARCH TOOLSTOOLS

Google Book SearchGoogle Book Search

Search inside over one million books.

– 100,000+ books added by partner publishers and authors

– 10,000+ works from the public domain

– 3,000 new library books added each day [Harvard, Oxford, UC System, NY Public Library, etc.]

books.google.com

Book Search GoalBook Search GoalGoogle Book Search’s goal isn’t to get

you a book for free.Rather, Google Book search’s goal is

to◦Help you find what you are looking for

inside of a book; and◦Show you where you can find that book in

a bookstore or a libraryThere are a few exceptions.

Google Scholar [Beta]Google Scholar [Beta]Limits your searches to

◦ Peer-reviewed papers◦ Theses◦ Books◦ Abstracts and articles

A great tool to search for scholarly information from ◦ Academic publishers◦ Professional societies◦ Preprint repositories◦ Universities and other

scholarly organizations

scholar.google.com

Source: http://scholar.google.com/scholar/about.html

Now appearing at Google…Now appearing at Google…

Google search results now show metadata for scientific papers [e.g., authors, number of citations, other versions.]

Google Knol [Beta]Google Knol [Beta]• Google has their own

wikipedia-esque collection of authoritative articles about specific subjects.

• You can read, comment, and even contribute to particular knols.

• You can also listen to and even download an MP3 file of a few articles.

knol.google.com

News Archive SearchNews Archive Search

Google News now lets you search through over 200 years of news articles.

Just go to news.google.com and click the “News Archive Search” link.

““All The News That’s Fit to All The News That’s Fit to Search”Search”

The default search shows articles in order of relevance to the query.

The timeline presents a timeline of events and articles associated with the query.

Google for EducatorsGoogle for Educators

google.com/educators• Google for Educators

offers teacher’s guides for Google’s most popular tools.

• These teacher’s guides include– Basic information about each

tool– Examples of how educators

are using those tools– Lesson ideas

• The site also offers lesson plans and videos from Discovery Education that show you how to use Google Earth and Google SketchUp in the classroom.

GOOGLE SEARCH TOOLSGOOGLE SEARCH TOOLS

Creative Commons is a not-for-profit organization of content creators who have built upon the “all rights reserved” concept of traditional copyright to offer a voluntary “some rights reserved” approach.

Google and Creative CommonsGoogle and Creative Commons

By default, Google doesn’t search for Creative Commons licensed content.

But, if you click Google’s Advanced Search link [to the right of the search box]…

Usage RightsUsage Rights

There you’ll find a Usage Rights pull-down list with five options:1. Not filtered by

license2. Free to use or share3. Free to use or

share, even commercially

4. Free to use share or modify

5. Free to use, share or modify, even commercially

Google SuggestGoogle Suggest

• Google Suggest is now available by default when you search Google.

• Google Suggest guesses what you are typing and auto-completes your search queries using a dynamic list of popular queries.

Google Q&AGoogle Q&AAnswers to plain text CIA World Factbook-type questions now appear at the top of your search results.

What is the population of Iraq?

Where is Bulgaria?How many people

live in Canada?What is the

currency of Cuba?

Refine Your SearchRefine Your Search

For certain topics, Google now lets you refine your results by directory topics.

The labels come from the Google Co-op directory.

Skip Flash IntrosSkip Flash Intros

For sites that have [time-wasting] Flash intros, Google now offers a “Skip intro” link that lets you jump straight to the site’s content.

Longer [Secondary] Search Longer [Secondary] Search BoxesBoxes

Google automatically adjusts the search box on the search results page for long queries.

Remember, though, that Google has a hard limit of 32 keywords

Alternative Query TypesAlternative Query Types

Google CalculatorEnter your equation or problem in the

Google search box

Google DictionaryUse define:keyword

64 inches in ft Define:reality

Alternative Query TypesAlternative Query Types

Google WeatherEnter weather: and the city, state,

and/or zip code

Google Movie ShowtimesUse movie: and the city, state,

and/or zip code

Weather:23112 Movies:23112

Alternative Query TypesAlternative Query Types

Google TimeEnter what time is it in [insert location here]

Google TranslateEnter translate [insert word

here]

What time is it in Iraq? Translate biblioteca

GOOGLE PRODUCTIVITY GOOGLE PRODUCTIVITY TOOLSTOOLS

Google AccountsGoogle Accounts• Many of Google’s

newest tools require you to have a free Google account [which is not the same as a Gmail account].

• To create a new Google account, – Go to

google.com/accounts– Click the “Create an

account now” link– Follow the on-screen

prompts

““Bending” the RulesBending” the Rules If your students don’t [or can’t] have their own email

addresses, you can create a set of emails for them using your Gmail account.

Add “+kid’s name” and it will filter to your gmail account – Example: patti.chappell+jakechappell@gmail.com

You can then use these email addresses to create a free set of classroom Google accounts.

Google SitesGoogle Sites

sites.google.comGoogle Sites is a free, online, WYSIWYG web editor that lets you easily create your own group websites.

Google even gives you your own URL [sites.google.com/site/sitename] and 10 GB of storage for your pages and uploaded files.

Google Docs & SpreadsheetsGoogle Docs & Spreadsheets

docs.google.com• Google Docs & Spreadsheets

is available to everyone with a Google account.

• Docs & Spreadsheets lets you– Upload Word or Excel files or

create new documents and spreadsheets online

– Edit your files online– Invite others to edit your files

online– View the files’ version histories

and roll back to previous versions– Publish the finished files to the

world as web pages or blog posts– Download the final, edited files

as .doc, .rtf, .pdf, .html, and/or .zip files

Footnotes in Google DocsFootnotes in Google Docs

• You can now add footnotes to Google Docs by choosing Insert > Footnote

• Footnotes appear in the document margin on-screen and at the bottom of the page when printed.

• Problem: Google Docs still doesn’t support pagination.

docs.google.com

Google Docs TemplatesGoogle Docs Templates

Google Docs now has 314 document, spreadsheet, and presentation templates you are free to use.

You can create a new document from a template by choosing New > From Template…

docs.google.com/templates

Our Feature PresentationOur Feature Presentation

As of September 2007, Google Docs also lets you collaboratively create, edit, and share PowerPoint-type presentations.

You can import existing presentations or use the on-screen slide editor.

Google Custom Search EngineGoogle Custom Search Engine

• If you have a Google account, you can now create [and share with others] your own personal search engine that only searches the sites you specify.

• Examples– Econ Search Engine– Edublogsphere Search– Mrs. Gray’s Research

Sites for Kids

Google Personalized SearchGoogle Personalized Search

google.com/psearch• Google Personalized Search

is an option for users with Google accounts.

• Google Personalized Search reorders your search results based on your history of past searches, giving more weight to topics that interest you.

• For example, if you search for “fly fishing” today your future results for a search on “bass” will be more heavily weighted toward fishing than the musical instrument.

Google NotebookGoogle Notebook

google.com/notebook• Google Notebook is a

free research tool, available to everyone with a Google account, that lets you create a notebook of your online discoveries – quotes, images, etc.

• Think of this as Google’s 3x5 index cards for internet research.

• Step one is to download and install a free Google Notebook browser extension [or a bookmarklet] for IE or Firefox.

Using Google NotebookUsing Google Notebook

• The next step is to find a resource you want to remember – a text passage, an image, and/or a bookmark.

• Highlight that resource and then click the Open Notebook link in the bottom corner of your browser.

Using Google NotebookUsing Google Notebook

Click the Star.◦ This adds the

highlighted resource and its URL.

◦ This also adds the date you added the resource to your notebook.

Reviewing Your NotebooksReviewing Your Notebooks• To view, edit, and

organize your notes, either choose Tools > Go to my notebook homepage or go to google.com/notebook

• You can– Edit or delete existing

notes– Manually add new

notes– Create new notebooks– Share your notebooks

with other collaborators

NEW GOOGLE NEW GOOGLE ANNOUNCEMENTSANNOUNCEMENTS

Google AnnouncementsGoogle AnnouncementsFor more information about what’s new and what’s next at Google, I recommend visiting the following sites:

– Google Labshttp://labs.google.com/

– Google Press Centerhttp://googlepress.blogspot.com/

– Google Bloghttp://googleblog.blogspot.com/

– Google Blogoscopedhttp://blogoscoped.com/

– Google Operating Systemhttp://googlesystem.blogspot.com/

This work is licensed by Patrick Crispen to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license