Techie Tuesday is coming to you a day early, because I’ll be spending the rest of the week at the lake. It is my second favorite place to relax; the beach is number one!

Google is so much more than a search engine! There are numerous tools you could use daily, some of which will save you time. A gmail account IS NOT required for a Google account.  You can register with Google using any email address!

If Google is one of your favorite search engines, you have probably been to the site numerous times, but have you looked at more than the search engine?  Though we wont cover ALL things Google, look along the top bar and follow the “more” and then “even more” link.  WOW and this list doesn’t even touch all the tools in the lab!

The full Geaux Google online professional development is located at eTechie.  For this blog post we will just look at a few highlights from the PD:  Advanced Search, Books, iGoogle, Scholar, and Voice.

The Advanced Search option can tremendously cut down flipping through pages of Google results.  When I search “digital citizenship,” I get over 1.5 million results, but I’m actually looking for a PowerPoint.  By using the advanced feature, I can just view the PowerPoint files, and I quickly get my list narrowed down to less than 1000.  Believe it or not, I can narrow it down further by only looking at .edu domains.  Now I have right at 100 results!

Google Books is basically a huge source to preview books/magazines or even access full books/magazines. When you search for a topic, you will get the results similar to a typical Google Search. On the left nav bar you can limit your findings such as Full View and time period! Do a sample search and see what you find!  Would you believe there are over 10,000 free full view algebra books on Google Books? I could take up a small manuscript with ways to incorporate this into your classroom, so I better stop here;)

iGoogle is our next stop! take a look at the introduction video.

How is your Voice? Do you have friends trying to track you down on different phone numbers between home, work, and your cell? How about annoying phone calls that you answer on accident? Google Voice is now open for everyone for free (other than international calls)!

Scholar is a great option to search for professional articles. One of the best features is the advanced search in which you can really narrow down your results. Most of these articles are free and you can even sign up for an email alert when new items are added on your search topic.

I searched what would be a relatively new topic, “iPads in the Classroom” and still found over 400 results. When searching “IPads in Education,” there were over 10,000 results. This is a very powerful tool that most of us would have loved when writing research papers.

If you want to access the full Geaux Google online professional development just follow the Geaux Google PD link!

What are some of your favorite Google Tools?

As an educator,  it is often hard to narrow down favorite websites much less find new one’s to test-out.  So, this week Techie Tuesday is bringing you ten favorite sites to check-out.

To select sites, I simply sent out a quick tweet to my Twitter PLN, Personal Learning Network, and as always within a few minutes my top ten list was formed.  Humm, was this just a quick way for me to get this week’s blog post out?

Well I must admit, the post and subsequent message board are usually completed on Monday night, but no, this was a great way for me to get other people’s website ideas.  This blog wouldn’t be as fun if you just listened to me!

Let’s get right to it.  Here are ten sites for you to check out including a brief description:
1.  Blabberize blabberize.com

Any picture can be turned into a blabbering picture.  Just select a picture, pick a mouth, record sound, and your picture is blabbering! What could students blabber about for your class?  How about that book you had them read or maybe last week’s report.  They could even give you current events from the news or review for a test.

2.  Trailfire  trailfire.com

Do you have a list of favorite websites for a particular lesson or unit?  With Trailfire you can place a sticky note on each website.  These notes can be questions or other dialogue for your students.  Each note connects to the next webpage you want them to visit thus making a trail.  Need a variation?  Maybe your student could make the trail and add notes for key facts.

3.  Lesson Writer lessonwriter.com

Are you reading across the curriculum?  This is your one-stop-shop:)  You simply find a text you would like to use, copy and paste into Lesson Writer and it creates vocabulary, grammar, comprehension questions, and graphic organizers for you from the text.  Maybe you need help differentiating.  Yes you can even differentiate instruction!

4.  VoiceThread  voicethread.com

VoiceThread allows you to group conversations in one place from anywhere in the world.  Load documents, images, videos about a topic and share!  Comments can be left via telephone, websites, audio file, video, or voice text.

5.  Posterous posterous.com

Have you wanted a class website or maybe even a blog, but thought you weren’t tech savy enough?  Can you email?  Then Posterous is the site for you!  With a simple email you add to the site.  YES, really!  The subject is the title of the latest post, and what you type is the body of information. You can add pictures straight off the internet with a simple drag drop of you mouse onto your Share on Posterous toolbar. You can see where I checked out posterous here.

6.  SlideShare slideshare.net

Have you been wanting to use slideshows in your class, but just don’t have the time to make them?  SlideShare is the place where people all over the world share their slideshows.  You simply search for the topic for which you are searching.

7.  Wikispaces www.wikispaces.com

A great wiki site with the option of an educator site, so you don’t have ads appear.  Check out last week’s post for more wiki information.

8.  Diigo  www.diigo.com

A great social bookmarking site that allows you to not only organize your bookmarks but also to share with others, post stickies, and more. Here’s another previous post for more Diigo information.

9.  Ning  www.ning.com

Have you ever wanted your own social network? Nings can be used by students or teachers. When you make a Ning it is focused on a particular topic such as a unit or subject.  Members are then allowed to join the Ning.  Together everyone adds information through posts and message boards.

10.  Twitter twitter.com

Now what top ten would be complete without a mention of Twitter especially since these suggestions came via tweet.  A special thanks @kimwoodard @sheasmith @ericcole @teachntech00 and @wavewash

What is your favorite site?