Let me Google that for you...

This is a great example of Google's sense of humor. I stumbled upon this through a post by Tony Vincent. A word of caution. You might want to make sure you have a nice relationship with the recipient before you send them this message. But here's how it works. Ever get a question from someone that easily could have been answered with a quick Google search? I haven't, but I'm sure some of you have. Well, here's a way to send a message, so to speak. 

Go to letmegooglethatforyou.com. Once you are there, type in the search that the questioner could have done. Then press "Google Search". You will be given a URL to copy and send. Here's what it could look like for you:

Sample LMGTFY

That's about it. Have fun!

Keeping up with Google

Google is a fabulous place for educators to access free, useful tools for teaching. From Docs to Earth, Blogger to Picassa, there are a ton of applications that I encourage teachers to use. I think that Google has been one of our most popular training topics from this past school year. However, one thing about Google can be a bit frustrating: they make great improvements, but don't always announce them. So here are some ways that you can keep up with Google.

Follow these blogs:
Google Apps Update Alerts
Google LatLong
Google Today

The best way to get good timely content is to follow blogs. Use an app like Google Reader to subscribe to your favorite blogs. That way, they'll send you information when it's released instead of causing you to go out and look.

Follow these Twitter feeds:
@googlenews - breaking news from Google
@google - news and updates
@googlechrome - all about Chrome
@googleatwork - info on how people are using Google

Wait, you haven't created a Twitter account yet? Then you need to. Twitter is one of the best ways to get current, relevant information about your teaching profession. It's not just for the Kardashians anymore!

Ken's QR Codes

I've found the upside to being officeless this summer. I have the opportunity to see trainings from my colleagues. So while I was blogging about our iPad Whitelisting this morning, I listened in to Ken's training on how to use QR Codes in the classroom. I have just started to use QR codes to easily send teachers to links during presentations. The more I use them, the more I wish I could use them in my classroom.

Ken does a great job of giving teachers concrete ideas to use in their classrooms. I love the idea of using QR codes to "hide" tips for answering questions, for links to informational videos, or posting messages around the school building. And because it's free and SO easy to use, there's just no excuse for not getting started with QR codes.

If you are new to QR, check out Ken's presentation here:
QR Codes in the Classroom