What's my title have to do with Thing #12? Well, a 1 followed by a hundred zeros, expressed as 10 to the 100th, is known as a googol (from which our beloved search engine's name is derived). How about that? And I must say, this might be my favorite activity undertaken so far. I mean, I knew Google was more than just a search engine (I do have Gmail), but I didn't quite realize how many different applications have surfaced on the site over time.
I was extremely pleased with iGoogle. Let me explain. I have had Yahoo! set as my homepage for as long as I can remember. I like to log on, get a smattering of news and entertainment, then move on to whatever it is I'm online to do or see. Often, the very next site I visit is Google (for some unknown reason, I love the Yahoo! homepage but hate the search engine) I didn't even realize that I could customize the Google page to include all the gadgets (news, movies, art, etc.) I like, and without all the superfluous stuff. Needless to say, I now have a new homepage (sorry Yahoo!, you're just not cutting it anymore). As far as educational or teaching implications are concerned, I certainly think that by sticking with one website for just about everything I do (check the news, do web searches, keep up with my RSS feeds and blogs, and of course, email) I can stay quite organized and connected, even without the use of social media.
I also had a bit of fun with Google Translate. I've seen similar apps before, but had never really played with one. I really like the whole concept, being able to instantly translate whatever you type. I can see this being really useful for communicating with people around the world, and could, like Skype, aid students in experiencing or interacting with students in foreign classrooms. Here's an example of something I typed in English, and translated into Latin:
Why teach history? Because those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. Not lucky to repeat it; doomed.
Quid docere historia? Quae ab historia alieno dubio referre. Non felix repetere; debitos.
Such an application might also have uses in an English class when discussing the origins of different words, or could be used in an ELL class to help students and teachers both. With an app like this, the language barrier just got substantially easier to overcome. Major shout-out to Google on these ones.
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