Groups: Collaborate with members you select - teachers & students, students & peers, classroom to classroom! Share information, work together online, post ideas, exchange files, conduct discussions.

Docs:

  1) Docs & Spreadsheets: Online word processor & spreadsheet editors that allow you to create, store, share, and collaborate.
       Students can work together on assignments. They can even import docs they are working on. Teachers can upload assignments
       too!
  2) Presentation: Publish presentations on the WEB. Use Google's presentation creator, or import existing Power Point
       presentations from you computer. Allow "real time" viewing of presentations in browsers.

Blogger: Start a class blog with this tool. Blogs are simple WEB pages of frequently updated posts. Use it to have students post ideas, thoughts, reactions to units you are studying. They can discuss novels, political events, and have ongoing discussions about class assignments. You can even post pictures. Start generating feedback in minutes!

Sites: Create and publish WEB pages.. No need to know html. See how your page will look as you type right in the browser window. No need to download software, and Google hosts your page on its server. You can add text, links, images, videos, gadgets, calendars, and more.


iGoogle: Personalize your Google homepage. Edit your settings, add gadgets, and design the look of your page. View information in a single place, from any computer. Sample content includes gmail, news headlines, weather, maps, documents, groups, blogger, and more. Note: You must create a Google Account to use all its features.

Book Search: Search the full text of books. Google will find content that contains a match for your search terms. You will be able to see everything from a few short excerpts to the entire book. The books come from two sources: publishers and libraries. Once you find a book, you browse online, search within the book, buy the book, or find it in a library.

Scholar: This allows you to search for scholarly literature from across many disciplines. Examples include peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles from academic publishers, professional societies, universities and other scholarly organizations.

Sketch Up: A modeling software that allows you to create 3D designs. Students can construct models of buildings, trees, cars, etc. It can be used as a stand alone tool or with Google Earth and the 3D Warehouse.

Translate: Translate WEB pages or pieces of text. Copy and paste the text into the browser window or add a url for an entire page. Choose the language, and click the "translate" button. You can even add a browser button that translates with a single click.

Maps: Google provides dynamic, interactive maps that are draggable. You can choose between "map view" and "satellite view," which uses satellite imagery. No need to click and wait for graphics to reload. View maps and get driving directions. Search "within" areas, even neighboorhoods; locate a business, or type in a generic word like "pizza" and get a listing of pizza places in that area.

Picasa: Post photos and videos online that you can share with your students, other educators, and other classes. Create albums and upload photos that others can view and download. You can edit, organize, and even add captions and comments to photos. Use with Google's Picasa software. (Currently for PC's, not Mac's; PC's should be running Internet Explorer 5.01 or higher; 6.0 is better)

    New Features:

• post your photos to public albums and search Picasa community photos
• Picasa "uploader" - use as a "stand alone" application
• "Map Your Photos" - lets you show people "where" you took the photos. Click on photos and see a map that locates the exact  place the photos were taken.

    Mac Users:

• Picasa is not currently available for Macs
• Picasa Exporter - offered for Macs with iPhoto; allows user to create Picasa WEB albums; exporter "lives" inside iPhoto; it's a plug-in that uploads photos to a Picasa WEB Album
• allows users quickly post and share photos on the WEB
• does not have the full features of Picasa
  
  

Google Earth: Uses satellite imagery to zoom to any place on Earth. Explore every country, see famous landmarks and locations, "fly" over the Grand Canyon, create your own virtual tours or use ones created on interesting educational topics. Choose to show boundaries, bodies of water, roads, geographic features, etc.

    Features:

• "Fly" to your own home; type in your address and go directly to your street
• Get driving directions; search for businesses, parks, schools, landmarks, etc.
• See 3D terrain and buildings
• Tilt and rotate the Earth to get different views

    Featured Content:

• National Geographic Magazine
• You Tube
• NASA
• Discovery Network World Tour
• Rumsey Historical Maps
• Tracks 4 Africa
• European Space Agency
• Volcanoes
• Earthquakes
  
  

    Special Feature!

Podcasts offer overviews of the Lit Trips, with invitations for teachers and students to join
Slide shows give teachers an overview of the novel
How-to's are posted to download and use
Step guides are attached for learning how to use Google Earth
Endorsements are listed from authors, notable speakers, journals, etc.

Podcast Overview (Need Quick Time Player)

Google Sky: Allows users to explore the sky, constellations, and planets. Click the "star" button in Google Earth (click the "star" button in the menu bar). The sky above the current location of Google Earth will appear. Navigate through the heavens; use navigate controls to rotate, pan, and zoom. The "Layers" feature contains additional content to display. Look at constellations, learn about galaxies, see images from the Hubble Telescope, and read about the objects you are looking at. You can even animate the orbits of the planets.

Other tools will be added . . . .