Thing #7 - Cool Google Tools

I feel like I keep saying this, but COOL STUFF! Seriously though, what will they think of next? After viewing the various Google tools, I set up an iGoogle page and checked out all the gadgets, and I downloaded and explored Google Earth. WOW! The iGoogle page is so very cool. I particularly love how YouTube is right there, as well as access to the movie theater we go to. Then there's everything a Houston local needs to know (news, airport info, professional sports teams ,gas prices -- and the list goes on). I like a lot of the gadgets. My favorite is the desktop clock. I am always wishing the date was sitting at the bottom of my computer screen next to the time (why isn't it?), and I am always digging in my purse for my check register so that I can see a 12-month calendar. That is very useful to me. The calorie counter... not so much! :) I am also very "computer game illiterate" and spent a few minutes trying to figure out how to play one of the color games. I finally gave up after reading the directions four times! Oh well, I have better things to do anyway (and Solitaire - which I do know how to play - is always waiting in the wings). As far as educational purposes go, I would say that for a librarian it makes a good ready reference resource, and some of the gadgets can help one become a little more efficient. On a different note, Google Earth is pretty darn amazing! I located my current house, the house I grew up in, New York City, Santa Fe, and Dallas. I didn't know how many of my neighbors had pools in their backyards! The educational uses here are countless -- what with the sight seeing tours of the world, pictures of landmarks, restaurants, 3-D buildings, roads, etc., etc., etc. My students would have a ball with this one!