Thing #7

The search engine Google is fascinating and I am extremely dependent upon it in many areas of my life. I have been aware of the "extras" that are available to users, but I have not had the time to investigate them. All of them are interesting, but I took the most time with setting up an iGoogle site with two pages--one for current news, weather, etc. for me to enjoy and one for biology. The latter one I will use to quickly become aware of current research in various fields under the general heading of life sciences. As I set it up, I wanted to include instructional sites that I might use in class. I located several animations that students might use to enhance their understanding of topics covered. I quickly realized that I could make these sites available by setting up a notebook. At this point I am not sure that I want to enable all students access into my iGoogle page and the notebook idea solved the situation temporarily. I have not added much to the notebook at this point, but I will by the time school begins. The website address for this notebook is http://www.google.com/notebook/public/09939402928693244871/BDSelIwoQ8OvqlLcj

I am very excited about Google Earth. The possibilities for the use of this site in the classroom are endless. In the study of ecology, students have to "imagine" the interactions of organisms with the environment whereas with the ability to zoom into a geographical region and note the topography and climate, a reality level is heightened. As I was searching through the site, I focused on the Los Angeles area and was able to get some real time views of the seismic events that have taken place in that part of California over the last few days. Earthquakes are a density independent event that all biology students study. Surely, being able to focus on the location where these events are actually occurring will enhance understanding.