2. Send invitations @ http://www.brighttub.com Students need to have fun while learning, which is precisely why I chose this tip. Students can create their own party invitations or invitations for other events, yet still be learning shortcuts and making google docs more effective for work and play. Tip #10 Send Invitations:
3. Use premade templates @ http://www.techradar.com This is an excellent site to use in teaching students daily living skills. There are 50 premade templates available that cover a broad spectrum of daily living needs. Those needs include, but are not limited to banking, health, leisure, life planning, as well as organizing. Tip # 9 Use Premade Templates
4. SketchUp 7.1 @ http://sketchup.google.com/index.html Many students have a love for drawing, which can enhance a student’s ability to learn. I have worked with several students with autism for the past 13 years. Drawing was an excellent way for those students to express their thoughts and the content they learned. Students are able to create, modify and share 3D models through sketchup. Tip #8 Google SketchUp
5. Add video to your presentations @ http://www.brighttub.com I chose this tip because students really connect to videos, whether creating them, editing them, or simply watching them. Videos add character to presentations and allow students to express some ideas that they may not be able to get across through words. Tip #7 Add Video
6. Google images @ http://images.google.com/ This tip is very useful for adding to presentations and sometimes just for fun. Pictures can express emotions and create a visual connection to the presented material. Students in my class love looking at pictures on the internet. Google images just makes searching for images a simple task. Tip #6 Google Images
7. Find a term in a URL @ http://techtracer.com If you want to find out about a topic for a specific year, you can type “inurl:2009” and your key word. The example was for 2009, but you can type in any year. That will give you the topic you chose just for the year 2009. This deletes the issue of finding information that is outdated. Tip #5 Find A Term In A URL
8. Use show options @ http://www.google.com/landing/studytips Use show options to refine your search results. You are able to search full text of books, scholarly articles, search options to find what you are looking for faster, find sources in other languages, and add color to your work. Tip #4 Use Show Options
9. Use keyboard shortcuts @ http://docs.google.com/ Use keyboard shortcuts to save time when working on google docs. I would make a hard copy of these shortcuts and have them posted by each computer. The students will get accustomed to using them, which will save them time on future assignments. Tip #3 Use Keyboard Shortcuts
10. Search within a specific website @ http://blog.hubspot.com Search within a specific website to cut back on your search time. When educators plan ahead, they can direct students to a specific site to locate information about their topic. This will save time and possible confusion during searching. Tip #2 Search Within a Specific Site
11. Create a google custom search engine @ http://www.google.com/educators This is my number one pick because the site allows you to set up your own page with links to the sites you would like your students to visit. This is not only a time saver, but is very effective in ensuring that your students don’t wander off to other sites, distracting them from their topics. Tip #1 Create a Google Custom Search Engine
