Lessons, Webinars, and More From Google!

I doubt any teacher exists who does not use Google.  Whether basic searching, using Google Docs, Google Earth, or any of their many other tools, Google definitely helps us in education.

So now Google released Google | Search Education.  Here you can access a variety of lesson plans, all tied to the new Common Core standards.  They divided the lessons up between primary and intermediate and also by topic.  Of course the field, or some may say art, of searching, is a large topic, so really Google did well to just focus on this.  For example, in Intermediate 1: Picking the right search terms, you will see how you can help students apply specific and unique terms.  Definitely a good lesson for students to narrow down the massive amounts of returns from a search, say on researching the death penalty or abortion, some of the favorite search terms in my district.  For instance, looking for maps and diagrams tied to a search term.

Google also released a series of webinars or trainings on similar topics, and also other Google topics including Maps, Google Scholar, and Creative Commons.  Hopefully this is just the beginning of these.  I would really like to see a wide variety of videos, including ones on Android and using that mobile OS in the classroom.

Just a small little beginning, but hopefully Google will continue to release more content for educators.  I cannot find anyone who does not use Google Docs for Education, or Earth, or Maps these days, so the audience is definitely present.  Lets hope Google realizes this and continues to supplement this new resource.