"Google Search Tips for Teachers and Educators" is a fantastic resource to learn about the Google search features. I have been instructing the high school students on using the advanced search form with Google to improve the search results. Limiting the results to a .pdf file retrieves documents that have been published and greatly improves the quality of the search results.

Mohamed Kharbach's presentation below should be a part of every student's education, as it brings the students much closer to becoming an informed 21st Century Learner and power searcher. Librarians, teachers and technology educators need to integrate these Google tips into research lessons.


The Entire Google Search Features for Teachers and Students



Five Ways that eBooks are Better than Paper Books

Richard MacManus does a great job discussing some ways that ebooks beat paper books http://bit.ly/dnxLdT. I really like the idea of having my "collection of books" with me in one small reader that I can easily take with me.  When I am reading a non-fiction or reference book,  I often use the "search" feature to quickly hone in on the topc that interests me most. I do miss that capability when I am using a print book.

Looking up the definition of a word quickly and easily is a great benefit. Richard MacManus discusses "social highlighting"which I had not even considered. He even provides the most highlighted passages of all time.  Maybe I will see a use for "social highlighting, just as I do for "social bookmarking", but I still need to figure this out. Any thoughts on how to use "social highlighting" for personal use or in the clasroom?

First Reflections about the iPad

This summer I have been using our family iPad to experiment with reading ebooks, newspapers and magazines on Apple’s iBook application. I have also downloaded the Amazon reader for the iPad and the B&N ereader for the iPad. I have experience with reading and using ebooks on my tablet PC many times. However, I am not an experienced Apple user, so the user interface was new to me. It is fairly intuitive, but not as simple as I thought it would be. I am so used to having several windows open and flipping between several applications, and that has been a big adjustment for me. Some of my first impressions:

• The iPad keypad is easy to use, but I find it sometimes tricky to touch the correct links with the tip of my big fingers.
• The Amazon and B&N ereaders for the iPad seem to be very “bare bones”, with the minimum tools included in the ereaders. It was slick, though, how the books I had already downloaded onto my tablet PC automatically downloaded into these readers.
• The highlighting and notes tool on the iBooks app is very cool, automatically adding the date I wrote the note next to the text.
• The free Wall Street Journal sample is just a “tease” and frustrating, but the USA Today provides real content!
• The iPad is a comfortable size and weight and I find it awesome and convenient to carry with me and use around the house or while I’m waiting at appointments.
• The idea of having a collection of readings with me all the time, with a device that bookmarks where I am within the publication, appeals to me.
• There are so many applications to try on the iPad, and we’ve had it only a week. I can see that there are so many possibilities.

I will continue to reflect on my experiences and observations of the iPad as an ereader in the coming weeks.