Thing #7 - Cool Tools from Google

I have spent so much time searching through these tools that I finally had to make myself stop and begin writing this post. I went through Alerts and now email alerts being sent to me along with a calendar of birthdays I need to remember. But what I really took the most time with is my IGoogle Homepage. It was as much fun as putting together the blog. I've always used the default for any homepage, so I really enjoyed learning about all of the gadgets. I'm still trying to figure out how to attach a link to my blog on my IGoogle page. I originally linked my webpage to my blog then realized that isn't a smart idea when my email account is wide open if anyone were to click onto it. I'm definitely still learning what to and what not to link together. As for educational purposes, the alert would be great for English or History students who are researching anything current and doing a paper or project on it to find quick information. Or if a teacher asked a librarian to find current articles/blogs/videos on a specific topic, it would be a nice way to compile them. I wish I'd have had this while my students were writing their research papers. The calendar would be great to have on a library homepage with current events popping up and Google Scholar is a great tool to teach to students along with the online periodicals although I often have a hard time penning down the actual article. I agree with the "23" directions and I would have each student create their own IGoogle homepage asking for specific gadgets to be added in which all of the students can become a community. I envision assignments that call for discussion via IMing or chatting. The possibilities seem endless.