Technology Tuesday - February 28th

Twiddla ( http://www.twiddla.com) is an online virtual whiteboard where folks can get together to mark up a document, website, image, or white board for group collaboration.  Chats can also occur to allow folks to contribute and collaborate without being in the same room.  Try it out:  http://www.twiddla.com/767721  I uploaded the BYOT infographic and you can color on the page or circle images, draw, etc.   In your classroom this would be a great way to have student collaborate on word problems, projects, analyzing literature, etc.  As professionals you can use it to plan events or lessons with teachers from across campus, or from other campuses.    Did I mention it is free and no sign in is required to use the site.

 

Linoit - (http://en.linoit.com/) I LOVE this site!  This creates a virtual bulletin board with various backgrounds.  Place sticky notes with due dates, images, videos, etc.  This could be a great launching pad for your classroom if you display this on your screen at the beginning of the period or a place to organize resources for a project.  Items can also be added from a iPhone/iPad (no android apps at this point).  Items can also be added by email.

Main

 

PBS Learning Media (http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/)  is a collection of all things educational on the PBS website.  The categories include Arts, ELA, Health/PE, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Professional Development.   Resources can also be searched for by grade level, media type and resource type,  A login is required, but access is free.   resources include interactives as well as videos, documents, audio and pictures.  A wealth of resources worth checking into.

 

Science Links:

Periodic Table of Elements (http://www.periodicvideos.com/index.htm) - videos for each element, some more entertaining than others but does a good job of explaining the properties of each element and getting a good glimpse of what they look like.

Web Adventures ( http://webadventures.rice.edu/) - created by Rice University this teachers science through role play and web games.  Topics include infectious diseases, impact of alcohol on the body, the neuroscience approach to substance abuse, become a  member of CSI and learn to solve crimes with forensic techniques, and explore science as an apprentice.  Well-done and thought out this site deserves a look!

 

Technology Tuesday: Infographics

Infographics are all the rage. I have seen them on blog postings, shared on facebook, pinned on pinterest, printed in papers and in magazines. Basically they are a graphic representation of information. Think about USA Today, they have been doing this for years, taking data and displaying it with bright colors and images to make a point and display the data in a way that is easy to understand. Several subject areas TEKS require students to be able to read data from a chart, graph or image and draw conclusions. Infographics are a way to do that.

For those of you that are visual learners here is a great video on Inforgraphics as a Creative Assessment:



Infographics as a Creative Assessment from Kathy Schrock on Vimeo.

Examples of Infographics:

• Huge Collection of Infographics and an analysis of each one: http://www.coolinfographics.com/


• Getting More out of Google Infographic: http://www.hackcollege.com/blog/2011/11/23/infographic-get-more-out-of-google.html 


• Examples of Infographics concering Education: http://www.coolinfographics.com/blog/tag/education


• Constant Celocity Infographic: http://www.slideshare.net/gabud/constant-velocity-infographic (student created and uses QR codes to extend the learning beyond the page)


• Kathy Schrock's Infographic Topic List: https://sites.google.com/a/kathyschrock.net/infographics/infographictopics to get you started researching

Use infographics in the classroom:
Search google using "infographics" and your keywords to see what is available on the internet. Use the projector to display and discuss the information available on the infographic.

Taking it a step further:
Students could make their own infographic as a creative assessment using Excel for the charts and graphs and Publisher for the layout of the information. What a great way to report on a country or a historical event, or any topic that is organized around data of some kind.

Students have to

• choose the appropraite data


• graphics to help visualize the data


• organize the information to tell a story or get their point across.

Other Resurces:

• Kathy Shrock is an expert on technology, resources and education and she has compiled a list of resources in creating an inforgraphic: https://sites.google.com/a/kathyschrock.net/infographics/links


• Blog article on using and creating infographics in the classroom: http://www.slideshare.net/gabud/constant-velocity-infographic

Technology Tuesday - December 13th

Resources and Articles that caught my attention this week.

Mathtrain.tv  - http://mathtrain.tv/
Math videos created by students.

YouTube for Education -  http://www.youtube.com/education_channels?level=primary_secondary_education 

Lists the different Youtube Channels focused mostly on the K12 classrooms. Channels including Biography Channel (lots of celebrities but also historical characters), Encyclopedia Britannica, Smithsonian Channel, etc. Worth checking out!

BYOT: 10 Schools Encouraging Smartphones in the Classroom: http://edudemic.com/2011/12/smartphones-in-classrooms/
This article covers 10 schools and what they are doing with smartphones and what the results have been. Great data to use when considering using BYOT in the classroom.

QuadBlogging - http://quadblogging.net/
Join 4 other schools to share blogs. This guarantees your blog site will get heavy traffic for at least a week from students in another part of the world. Signup on the website. This is a great way to improve student's writing abilities and create those personal learning networks that are required in the Technology TEKS. You can still sign up for the next round happening in January 2012.

Digiteen Project: Gloabl Citizenship Collaboration and Education  - http://www.digiteen.org/timeline.html
Part of the flatclassroom series. Apply now to join in with other 6-9 graders in exploring digital citizenship. This project includes research and a on-campus project to implement what they have learned from the research. Project runs February through May. Applications are due Feburary 1.

Skype in the Classroom  - http://education.skype.com/
Join other classrooms in projects that include collaborating together online. Join a project already proposed or submit your own proposal for others to join in. Proposals are divided into age groups, language and categories. Worth taking a look!

Twitter Tuesdays - September 13th

Resources and Ideas:  Contains many useful websites and tips for educators using technology.  Recent posts include google docs tips, September 11^th resources, and 3-D tours of the solar system. http://www.freetech4teachers.com/

@IanBurley31  - Wow, what a great tech resource, of tech resources!! http://www.freetech4teachers.com/ #edtech #educhat #soudhs

Library of Congress –This is a list of 10 fun things you can do at their website including virtual tours, trivia games, podcasts, webcasts, photos , science mysteries,  and catch online e3xhibits.  http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-fun-learning-library-congress-online/

@sheconsulting  10 Things U Can Do 4 Fun & Learning On The Library Of Congress Online http://zite.to/p1pPnM via @Zite RT @nmhs_principal #edu #edtech

StudyJams – these contain Math and Science concepts that students can explore with video, explanation slides and check for understanding opportunities.  These are from scholastic and are well done!   Some may be too basic, but many are appropriate for middle school.  http://studyjams.scholastic.com

@MsThomas79 Fractions: Here is the video from Scholastic’s Study Jams we viewed in class today and some inte... http://bit.ly/orieuN #edchat #edtech

Storybird – students can publish their writings or create books to explain a concept with Storybird.  This blog post explores ways two teachers have incorporated this tools into their teaching.  http://teachingwithsoul.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/new-teacher-boot-camp-fall-re-bootweek-3-using-storybird-ntchat/

@gret New Teacher Boot Camp Fall Re-Boot:Week 3 Using Storybird #ntchat by @teachingwthsoul http://j.mp/o9phbS #edchat

YouTube – “Last month, 16 teachers from across the country got together at Google’s Seattle office for the YouTube Teachers Studio — a sort of bootcamp to learn how to best use YouTube in the classroom.”  Contains 5 great videos that show what YouTube has to offer and why these types of videos are worth using.  http://mindshift.kqed.org/2011/09/five-reasons-why-youtube-rocks-the-classroom/

@stem_high  5 reasons to use YouTube in the classroom 5 reasons to use YouTube in the classroom - http://sbne.ws/r/8Usy #edtech #edchat

Wikispaces – New tool – set up projects in your wiki – worth taking a second look at wikispaces for use with students!  http://blog.wikispaces.com/2011/08/projects-a-better-way-to-work-in-classroom-groups.html

@geraldaungst I discovered Projects in my wiki today and am psyched! http://bit.ly/pvvm01 Brilliant! Thank you @wikispaces!

Twitter Tuesdays

I have been on twitter for several years now and have found it a great way to build my own Personal Learning Network (commonly refered to as a PLN).   I have found several people to follow that are also interested in educational technology.  Those connections lead me to new resources to share with you.   Each Tuesday this year I want to share some of those resources with you along with the original tweet  and who sent the tweet.  I have tried to group these resources into categories so that you can quickly go through and find ones that may be helpful to you.

Here are a collections of resources that caught my attention this past week on Twitter:

General Sites:

ConceptBoard - @addthis  Conceptboard - Realtime Teamwork & Collaboration Software http://t.co/YZ6KCl4

• Create interactive whiteboards that can be shared

Moodle -  @moodlenews: 47 Interesting Ways to Use #Moodle in the Classroom (started by @TomBarrett)  http://www.moodlenews.com/2011/42-interesting-ways-to-use-moodle-in-the-classroom-started-by-tombarrett/

•  A google presentation that lists different ways you can use moodle in the classroom.

 Language Arts

 The LightingBug -   @TCEA: Lightning Bug is a writing resource website with interactive elements for tween and teen writers. http://www.lightningbug.com.au/index.htm

  Math

SumDog - @briandvorak: Classrooms can enter the Sumdog contest: Sumdog - Free math games #edtech #math sumdog.com

• Math Games – can hold class competitions and play against players in other areas.


• Teachers can register for accounts and upload students.   Basic skills are covered, but might be appropriate for intervention classes

Social Studies

iCivics.Org - @PBSLrnMedia: New Free Online Game Lets Students Run a County #edtech http://ow.ly/65BE9

This website has free online games for students to learn how to:

• run a county government


• control the budget of the federal government


• be president for four years


• run a law firm that specialized in constitutional law firm


• Be part of a supreme court decision

An account does need an email, but I was able to use the +1 trick with gmail.

Idea #4 - Concept Mapping with Inspiration

Want to increase brain activity in your students,  encourage active comprehension and step-up dynamic discussions in the classroom?  It all can be done with one simple activity of concept mapping.

Today’s idea uses  the software Inspiration 8 (installed on all teacher machines on campus) and your projector.  The document camera can also be incorporated as student's share the maps they have created.



Why use Inspiration?

1. It's easy and already loaded on all teacher machines on campus.


2. Inspiration provides pre-made templates to get the concept map going for the big screen (choose New - From Template to see the options)


3. Keeps the map organized and easy to read for the class.


4. Circles can be changed to clip art for more of a visual impact.


5. Brainstorming is easy with the lightening bolt icon.


6. Maps and ideas can be easily rearranged without starting over.


7. Finished products can be saved as Word files and placed online for those who missed the class.

Ideas on How to Use Concept Mapping in the Classroom:

As a reading strategy:

1. Pre-reading:  have students brainstorm what they know about the items listed on the skelton concept map.  Add those ideas in and have students record on their own papers.

2. During Reading - Students then read the assigned passage and add in more details as they learn them.

3. Post reading - Compare maps with the class and add in details students might have missed.  (Use the document camera to show student's original maps.)

Extension:

• 
  
  
  
  • Sub-topics can be recorded on note-cards and students can add in more details about that topic as they read/learn more
  
  
  • Cards can then be turned into a paragraphs within a research paper.
  
  
  • Each sub-topic could become a research topic for the class.
  
  
  
  

As a note-taking strategy:

1. Give students a partially filled concept map and have them add to it as you discuss, research, etc. the topic given.


2. Have students create their own map of the story/event with main characters/main events in ech sub-circle and details surrounding from there.

Getting Started:

Download a how-to guide for Inspiration 8:  How to Use Inspiration 8

Watch a quick tutorial on the software here:


Documentation and research on using concept mapping in the classroom is based from "Classroom Instruction that Works" by Robert Marzano and Project Criss.

Idea #3 - Read a Children's Book

Our third idea for using projectors and document cameras in the classroom is incorporating Children's Picture Books into lessons.

The Technical Side:

Before Doc Cameras:  When reading a book to the class you had to stop and hold the picture up as you walked around the room, or panned the room for all to see.   Most of the meanings in the pictures were lost on the students who could not see the image well enough or long enough to derive meaning from it.

With Doc Cameras: When placing the book under the document camera the entire class can see the pictures as you read the story aloud.   Students can look for meaning in the illustrations and how that meaning matches, or does not match with the text.   With the zoom feature you can focus in on details of the pages they would have never seen before.

Why read picture books in middle school?

Research shows that reading aloud to students is an important way to build their vocabulary, reading and comprehension skills.

Here are some of the highlights of an article written in the Middle School Journal on why you should read picture books in middle school:

• Provides students with an opportunity to read a variety of texts


• Increases and enhances the reader's personal connections with the subject matter


• Picture books are now being written to address middle school needs and interests.


• Many picture books can be interpreted on several levels.


• Students are visually oriented and are accustomed to using visual images to assist in learning new concepts


• Good activity for English Language Learners - it reduces the word load for students while keeping a high level of comprehension needed

Things to consider when choosing a Picture Book:

• How enthusiastic are you about it?  The more you like the book and are excited about it, the better reception the students will give it.


• What are your learning objectives?  Books should always be chosen to help meet those objectives.


• What is the quality of the book?
  
  
  
  • Does it have rich information?
  
  
  • Does it meet high literary standards with it's vocabulary and author's style of writing?
  
  
  • Look for awards such as the Caldecott for indications of a good book.
  
  
  
  

A great place to start when choosing a picture book is your library! use the librarians expertise in helping select books that meet the needs of your classroom.



For more details on choosing books for each academic subject area see  A Middle School Teacher's Guide for Selecting Picture Books - Middle School Journal.   Half way through the article they break it down for each academic area to choose books.    You can also search for "picture books in middle school (insert your subject here)."

Resources:

• Great Picture Books for Middle School - Amazon


• A Middle School Teacher's Guide for Selecting Picture Books - Middle School Journal


• Teaching with Picture Books

Wallwisher in the Classroom

I started to title this blog post - A New Way to Brainstorm - but then I realized that Wall Wisher offers so much more than that.

Wallwisher is a free internet application that allows you to build a wall that then you or you and others can post notes on.   To build a wall you will need to log in with an email account but an email account is not needed to post notes on that wall.  Good news for those of us working with students under the age of 14.    Privacy levels can be set for each wall and posts can be moderated.

Once a wall is built there are a number of ways to distribute or share your wall.  Walls can be embedded into a webpage, blog or wiki.  You can link directly to the wall for users to go straight there.  It also provides an RSS feed so walls can be monitored through your RSS readers, such as iGoogle.

As I started looking for how others were using this tool I found the ideas fit into a few categories.  (This was easy to do as I took the ideas that were posted on the wall and started moving them around to create the groups!)

• Brainstorming/ Idea Gathering


• Homepages - a place to gather resources, post announcements, leave messages, provide homework help, etc.


• Skill building - note-taking, vocabulary, sorting and summarization work wonderfully on this.


• Portfolios of Student Work - either as a class or an individual.

I created a wall with all the ideas of classroom use I have found by searching the web and have embedded the wall below.  Please feel free to add to it!

Get Started:

The best way to learn to use this tool is to jump in and get started!

Go to my wallwisher sandbox and make your first post: http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/RobinySandbox

Or go to: http://www.wallwisher.com - log in and build your first wall.

Please share your ideas for wallwisher or the walls you build!

Olympic Lessons

The Winter Olympics are 10 days away.  Soon the TV airwaves will be full ofwinter sports, some of which we only get to see every 4 years.  So how can you incorporate this historic event into your classroom?  I've gone through several websites (listed at the bottom of this post) and grouped some ideas into different subject areas to get us started thinking about it.

History:

• Research the history of the Olympics


• Compare and contrast the ancient Olympics with the modern day ones


• Research the customs of different teams at the Olympics or of the Host Country


• Tie Black History month in with the Olympics by researching African American Athletes - such as Jesse Owen and Muhamed Ali


• Character Education lessons

Science:

• Explore the engineering of a sport and the equipment that is used in the sport.


• Anatomy of an Athlete - what makes some people "super" athletes?  Scientists study the human body to understand how it works and how  athletes can be better


• Weather - track the weather throughout the area.  What influences the weather in that region?  What about the weather in that area makes it ideal for the Winter Olympics to be held there?


• Check out - http://www.lessonopoly.org/svef/?q=node/9086

Math:

• Chart the results of the games


• Use statistics from the games to work math problems.


• Measurement - How far is it to travel to the games?  How much would it cost?

Language Arts:

• Write biographies of Olympic Athletes (past and/or present)


• Summarize the events of the game or the results of an event.


• Research a sport and how it has developed over the years.


• Cover an Olympic Event as a sports reporter

Art -

• create posters to illustrate the history of the game.


• Design icons for each event


• Design a tickets to events to represent Canada and the sporting event.

Resources:

• Education World - Countdown to Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games - great collection of lessons and links to complete the lessons


• EdGate Summer Games Ideas - Ideas can be transferred the the Winter events very easily.  Many of the resources are not specific to the summer time


• Collection of Lessons Compiled by the Saskatoon Public School Systems - http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/resources/olympics/


• TeacherVision - Olympic Games - Resources for Teachers


• teAchnology - Winter Olympics Teaching Theme

More resources will be added here as I find them.  Be sure to check this Diigo account as we get closer to the games for more ideas.

Diigo Account: http://www.diigo.com/user/robiny/olympics

More Super Bowl Lesson Ideas

I've found a few more resources/lessons that use the Super Bowl or football as the jumping point for the lessons and wanted to pass them on:

• Education World  - http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson096.shtml - lessons for art, social studies, math and science based on football and the SuperBowl


• Lesson Planet - http://www.lessonplanet.com/search?media=lesson&keywords=football&commit=Search&grade=All+Grades&rating=3&gclid=CIGYpP73tZ8CFQUhDQodKC2r4Q  - Football lesson plans


• Football Math - http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/3150

Super Bowl Commercials in the Classroom

It's almost Super Bowl time! Appointment television at it's best with the thrill of the game and the fun of the commercials!   Why not use this important social event in American culture to pull students into learning? 

What has caught my attention the most right now is the use of commercials in the classroom.  Several websites have collected the "Best of the Best" of Superbowl commercials from over the years.  You can search by year or by product to choose attention grabbing hooks to your classroom.

Commercials can be hooks into your assignment, examples of what students can create themselves, or elements of it can be analyzed to illustrate what is happening in the classroom.

Take this Coca-Cola Commercial:


Science teachers could the laws of physics that were involved in moving the bottle and the insects that were used and what natural characteristics of that insect made it useful for each step of the heist.

Watch a propoganda ad to discuss what techniques were used to make their point.

Look for persuasiveness in an ad to see how you could use those techniques in your writing.

Any subject can have students make their own commercials based on what they are studying.   A few ideas are:

• Ad for why the Constitution is important today


• Show an M&M commercial and talk about the personification of the candy.    Apply that to the study of chemical elements.  Give your element a personality and it's own commercial.


• Persuade people to read your book

Any other ideas?

To find superbowl ads check out these resources:

• http://www.spike.com/superbowl - Ads that can be sorted based on year, product and popularity.


• http://www.superbowl-ads.com/index.html - Also based on year, the display of these ads are smaller and they cannot be embedded, but they do not have the related videos at the end of each one.


• http://www.frankwbaker.com/super_bowl.htm - has links to ads and facts and figures from throughout the years.

Some of these ads may not be appropriate for all grade levels.   Please preview all sites before using in the classroom.

Google Earth: Ruler Tool

Google Earth is a great resource for engaging students in learning by using real world places and great visuals.  This is the first in a series of tutorial videos in using Google Earth in the classroom.

The ruler tool allows teachers/students to measure distances of real world objects without leaving their classroom.  You can measure the distance around an object, between point A to Point B or find diameter and radius.

You could also use this in Social Studies when discussing where things happened and how far things are from each other.  What did it mean to cross the Atlantic Ocean as a pilgrim?  How far did Santa Anna travel from Mexico City to San Jacinto?

Webcams - An Update

Back in the fall I spent the morning with the 7th grade math teachers on campus.  The focus of our training was how to use webcams in the math classrooms.  Mainly with the idea that a webcam costs under $100 and a document camera costs well over $700.  Our tech ed teacher built stands for the cameras and the teachers were sent back to their rooms to see what they could do with them. (See Original post: http://www.robinstechtips.com/?tag=webcam)

So what ever happened with those web cams?  The teachers are using them as  document cameras to show how to work problems and as a clear way to model the use of manipulatives.  They have also taken advantage of the video capabilities.  Natalie Ortega has led the way with establishing her own YouTube channel to organize the videos for quick reference:

http://www.youtube.com/user/nsvolley28

Here is one of the latest videos to be posted:

These videos are being created as she teaches the class.  What a great resource for those who are absent, or need to see it again once they get home!  Parents who are trying to help their students can see how they were taught to tackle the problems.

Blogs - A Campus Update

I watch the news and they refer to their blogs and read reader's comments on the air.  I listen to the radio and hear about the blogs available there and what listeners have to say about the goings on with the music.  The Entertainment industry is full of blogs, I was tracking down past American Idol participants and found many have blogs now to keep their fans informed.   Blogs have infiltrated our everyday lives, but still research suggests many people still don't understand what blogs are.

So how are we reaching our students to get them informed?  I started thinking about all the teachers who are introducing blogging this year (or have been blogging for several years) on campus now.  I wanted to share those examples so maybe other people will get ideas on how blogs can be used in their classrooms.

Blogs at Ridgeview:

1. Mrs. Hazen, 6th grade math, is using a blog as a web page to communicate with parents and students about class happenings as well as providing reteaching and more information about class topics.  http://ridgeviewms.org/hazen/


2. Mrs. McLinden, TAG Math has been using blogs for several years to get her students talking about math.  She has 3 blogs, one for each subject.  At the end of the year she asks students to leave advice for the incoming group.  This is a great example of building relationships with students:
   
   
   
   • http://geometry8th.blogspot.com/
   
   
   • http://algebra7th.blogspot.com/
   
   
   • http://tagmath6th.blogspot.com/
   
   
   
   


3. 7th Grade Science teachers, Mrs. Dausses, Mrs. Stegall, Mrs. Mayen and Mrs. Prescott are using blogs to ask students to think about the science topics they are learning about in class as well as to give more information to extend learning.
   
   
   
   • http://sciencethoughts.edublogs.org/
   
   
   • http://mrsdausses.edublogs.org/
   
   
   • http://mrsstegall.edublogs.org/
   
   
   • http://mrsprescott.edublogs.org/
   
   
   
   

What do the students get out of this?  They are learning how to interact in our ever changing world.  They are learning how to respond appropraitely on blogs and how to stay safe online by not sharing too much about themselves.  They are learning how to become part of the global conversation.

Want to learn more about blogging?

Check out these previous posts:

• What is a Blog?


• Students Who blog


• Blogging in History

Blogs in Plain English:

Webcams in the Classroom

Recently I heard about people using webcams as document cameras.  We decided to give it a shot on campus in the 7th grade math classrooms.

We purchased the Logitech 9000 webcam and the Tech Ed teacher is building a stand for the camera so it can be stationary wherever the teacher wants to place it (within reach of the USB cord of course).  The teachers and I participated in a half-day hands-on training/brainstorming session.  Here is the results of that time.

The teachers took a comp test that they gave and solved each problem for the students so they can study to retake the test for a higher grade.  They also used the avatar feature of the webcam to film an introduction to the video.  Movie maker was used to bring the entire product together.

Special thanks to Rich Thomas, Natalie Ortega, Patrice Barlow and Siri Ralph for sharing their work!  (The video below is only part of the final product.)





I have gathered all ideas I could find online for other uses of webcams in the classroom and have placed them on my wiki: http://teachwiki.wikispaces.com/Webcams.  Please feel free to add any ideas on the wiki or in the comment section below.

Web Wandering Wednesdays - May 7 -Math

Math Web Sites:

Math Tips - They have taken the most missed TAKS questions from last year's 8th grade test and created teaching videos to show how to work those type of problems.

Decatur Intermediate Math Videos - Decatur teachers took the 5th and 6th grade released math TAKS and posted short videos on how to complete each problem.  These videos are available for anyone to use free of charge.

 Math Solutions - This web site contains math lessons broken into grade areas.  Each lesson contains step by step directions and student samples.  Good ideas when looking for a different way to teach.  Not all lessons are for all grade levels so be sure to verify this info.

Tulyn - Math Video Help - you have to create a free account to see the videos uninterrupted, but the site does contain short video clips on all sorts of math problems at all levels.  Might be a great resource for kids working at home to include a link to a similar problem.

 Math Interactives - lessons for 6-12 grade

Just for Fun:  Don't you wish all students took math this seriously:

 

Google Search Tricks

Google is a powerful search engine and can do so much more than just return websites that have the info you are looking for.  I thought I would find a few of those tricks and pass them along.

 8 Google Search Tricks:

1. Specialized Information Searches:

• Definitions: You can get a word defined in by using "define:warriors"


• Want to find food in a hurry?  Type in the type of food and the zip code or city and the closest business are returned in the results.  ex.  pizza 78664


• Weather:  find local weather by typing in weather and the city or zip code.

2. Restrict Information:

• Search Within a WebSite: If you put a word/term and then "site:" and then the domain name  you can conduct a search within that web site.  For example if you put "podcast site:robinstechtips.com"  you would be searching for podcasts within this website only.


• Search within a range of numbers.  Ex  BIll Cosby parenting 2007 2008  will return anything posted from Bill Cosby on parenting between 2007 and 2008

3. Calculator - Basic Math Operations: Type in a equation and google will do the math for you  ex. 12 + 34 - 56 * 7 / 8. 

• Functions include: + – * /


• Percentages  - % of


• Raise to the power of ^ or **  ex. 2^5 or 2**5


• Convert currency:  Enter the conversion you want Google to preform:  ex: currency of Mexico in USD or 40 USD in Euros

4. Filetype - Want to find pdf files, or just have powerpoints returned?  type in the search terms and add "filetype:ppt"

5. What Time is it?  Find out the time anywhere by asking "what time is it in Zimbobwe"

6. Track Flight Status:  No need to go to the airlines page - just type in the airline + Flight + flight number.  ex. Southwest Flight 805

7. Search for Related Terms - adding a ~ will opens results to terms that are related to the search word. ~education returns results with schools, universites, teachers, etc.

8. Phone Book - type in the name and city, state to return phone numbers

Not a Search Trick  - But did you know:  Google Maps now contains 360° views at the street level - Type in your address and look around your street. 

Do you have any favorite tricks in Google to share?

Resources used to prepare this list:

• http://www.googleguide.com/advanced_operators_reference.html


• http://lifehacker.com/339474/top-10-obscure-google-search-tricks


• http://www.google.com/help/features.html#calculator

Math Acces Quick Start Guide

The EduAide software - "Acces" has been upgraded to a much friendlier format.  You no longer have to have the manual and enter codes, you can browse the questions through the program itself.  This updated program was recently added on all the math teacher computers on campus.   Look for this icon on your desktop to access the program.

Instead of trying to schedule a time with everyone to show how it works, I created  a short video tutorial to help get you started.   



Math Acces Video Tutorial

 For more information and tutorials please see: http://www.educaide.com/support/howto.html