Before we start, please take this quick survey.

Google loves teachers, so they've created a whole section just for educators.

http://www.google.com/educators/tools.html

iGoogle

Personalize your desktop and add gadgets to make it interesting/educational.  Keep visiting the gadget page- new stuff is added every day.  Just be sure to use it for a few days before rolling it out to the class.

Google's Directions for Personalizing your Google Page

http://www.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=25551&topic=13919

Another version, with educational applications

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1PyOtL94XRNWoUnUPy-v_cSXEtUBSyrRkXeScOFQFbfA

Some good Google gadgets for the classroom:

Bookmarks- This is a great way to give students a list of the sites you want them to visit, or sites you frequently use.

http://www.google.com/ig/directory?q=bookmarks&hl=en&root=%2Fig&dpos=top&url=www.google.com/ig/modules/bookmarks.xml

Timeout!- This is a timer that counts down and makes a little noise when time's up. Great if, like me, you tell the kids there are 5 minutes, and then you get sidetracked...

http://www.google.com/ig/directory?q=timeout&hl=en&root=%2Fig&dpos=top&url=tverbrugge.googlepages.com/timeout.xml

Phases of the Moon- Shows the phases of the moon, with pictures.

http://www.google.com/ig/directory?q=moon+phases&hl=en&root=%2Fig&dpos=top&url=www.calculatorcat.com/gmodules/current_moon.xml

Earthquake Watch- USGS earthquake map showing recent earthquakes.

http://www.google.com/ig/directory?q=earthquakes&hl=en&root=%2Fig&dpos=top&url=www.robogear.biz/earthquake/earthquake.xml

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day- Aimed towards high school or older, but interesting nonetheless.

http://www.google.com/ig/directory?q=Yahoo+word+of+the+day&hl=en&root=%2Fig&dpos=top&start=14&url=www.merriam-webster.com/word/index.xml

Yahoo! Education Word of the Day- A little more approachable.

http://www.google.com/ig/directory?q=Yahoo+word+of+the+day&hl=en&root=%2Fig&dpos=top&start=35&url=xml.education.yahoo.com/rss/wotd/

Scholastic News

http://www.google.com/ig/directory?hl=en&type=gadgets&url=hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/112305497702599843697/bvescholastic.xml

Picture of the Day- There are hundreds of "Picture of the Day" widgets. Choose one based on what you are studying. I would recommend screening it for a few days just to make sure that it works reliably and doesn't pop up with anything unexpected.  Most will have some sort of ad underneath, but it's free, so I won't complain. This is a link for National Geographic Picture of the Day.

http://www.google.com/ig/directory?q=picture+of+the+day&hl=en&root=%2Fig&dpos=top&url=xyz220.googlepages.com/nationalgadget.xml

Quote of the Day- Again, there are hundreds to choose from, and you can select one based on what you are studying.  These can be a starting point for class discussions or writing prompts.  I'd recommend screening each for a while to make sure it works reliably and doesn't pop up with any surprises. I've seen Shakespeare, Churchill, and tons of others.  A few examples...

Motivational Quotes

http://www.google.com/ig/directory?q=quote+of+the+day&hl=en&root=%2Fig&dpos=top&url=www.quotationspage.com/data/mqotd.rss

Humorous Quotes

http://www.google.com/ig/directory?q=quote+of+the+day&hl=en&root=%2Fig&dpos=top&url=www.quotationspage.com/data/qotd.rss 

Literary Quote of the Day

http://www.google.com/ig/directory?q=shakespeare+quote+of+the+day&hl=en&root=%2Fig&dpos=top&url=www.moderoom.com/mode-ig/daily-quote/daily_literary_quote.xml

Google Search Tips

Quick Search Tips- http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/features.html

A list of all of the Google Shortcuts

Want to practice? Or have your students practice?

Scavenger Hunt Using Quick Searching Tricks http://docs.google.com/View?id=dg4p3b28_27g2xd6mhr

Want to take advantage of even more detailed search features?

Google Advanced Search.doc

A Google a Day- A daily knowledge quest to test your searching skills!

http://agoogleaday.com/#date=2011-11-10

Search Tips Poster- post by the computers to help your students

http://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/www.google.com/en/us/educators/downloads/Tips_Tricks_85x11.pdf

Google Docs

This is a great way to cut down on paperwork. Students can work collaboratively on documents and presentations. You can share assignments with students. You can create quizzes or tests. You can survey the class or the parents. And it's all done with a minimum of paper.

Presentations

https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dfht3275_48c9kvn8hs

Forms- The survey we did at the beginning

Docs- Setting up an iGoogle page

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1PyOtL94XRNWoUnUPy-v_cSXEtUBSyrRkXeScOFQFbfA

Spreadsheets- the data from the survey

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0AtnMs_CADNoBdFV3QjBWT0Jabm5KMHVFdEFjOHd4Nmc&output=html

Wrap up Survey

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&pli=1&formkey=dFlxNEdKNDFXSXJ5YU9MQ3VhSDI4bUE6MQ#gid=0

View the ideas

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0AtnMs_CADNoBdFlxNEdKNDFXSXJ5YU9MQ3VhSDI4bUE&output=html