1. 100+ Google Tricks for Teachers
By: Amber Johnson
It's Google's world, we're just teaching in it.
Now, we can use it a little more easily. With classes, homework, and projects–not to mention your social
life–time is truly at a premium for all teachers, so why not take advantage of the wide world that Google
has to offer?
From super-effective search tricks to Google tools specifically for education to tricks and tips for using
Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Calendar, these tricks will surely save you some precious time.
Search Tricks
These search tricks can save you time when researching online for your next project or just to find out
what time it is across the world, so start using these right away.
1. Convert units. Whether you want to convert currency, American and metric units, or any other unit,
try typing in the known unit and the unknown unit to find your answer (like "how many teaspoons in a
tablespoon" or "10 US dollars in Euros").
2. Do a timeline search. Use "view:timeline" followed by whatever you are researching to get a timeline
for that topic.
3. Get around blocked sites. If you are having problems getting around a blocked site, just type
"cache:website address" with website address being the address of the blocked site to use Google’s
cached copy to get where you are going.

2. 4. Use a tilde. Using a tilde (~) with a search term will bring you results with related search terms.
5. Use the image search. Type in your search word, then select Images to use the image search when
trying to put a picture to your term.
6. Get a definition. If you want a definition without having to track down an online (or a physical)
dictionary, just type "definition:word" to find the definition of the word in your results (i.e.: "definition:
serendipity" will track down the definition of the word "serendipity").
7. Search within a specific website. If you know you want to look up Babe Ruth in Wikipedia, type in
"site:wikipedia.org Babe Ruth" to go directly to the Wikipedia page about Babe Ruth. It works for any
site, not just Wikipedia.
8. Search within a specific kind of site. If you know you only want results from an educational site, try
"site:edu" or for a government site, try "site:gov" and your search term to get results only from sites
with those web addresses.
9. Search for a specific file type. If you know you want a PDF (or maybe an MP3), just type in
"filetype:pdf" and your search term to find results that are only in that file type.
10.Calculate with Google. Type in any normal mathematical expressions to get the answer immediately.
For example, "2*4" will get you the answer "8.
11.Time. Enter "what time is it" and any location to find out the local time.
12.Find a term in a URL. This handy trick is especially useful when searching blogs, where dates are
frequently used in the URL. If you want to know about a topic for that year only and not any other
year, type "inurl:2009" and your keyword to find results with your keyword in URLs with 2009 in them.
13.Use Show Options to refine your search. Click "Show Options" on your search result page to have
access to tools that will help you filter and refine your results.
14.Search for a face. If you are looking for a person and not just their name, type "&imgtype=face" after
the search results to narrow your results to those with images of faces.
Google Specifically for Education
From Google Scholar that returns only results from scholarly literature to learning more about computer
science, these Google items will help you at school.

3. 15.Google Scholar. Use this specialized Google search to get results from scholarly literature such as
peer-reviewed papers, theses, and academic publishers.
16.Use Google Earth’s Sky feature. Take a look at the night sky straight from your computer when you
use this feature.
17.Open your browser with iGoogle. Set up an iGoogle page and make it your homepage to have ready
access to news stories, your Google calendar, blogs you follow in Google Reader, and much more.
18.Stay current with Google News. Like an electronic clearinghouse for news, Google News brings
headlines from news sources around the world to help you stay current without much effort.
19.Create a Google Custom Search Engine. On your own or in collaboration with other students, put
together an awesome project like one of the examples provided that can be used by many.
20.Collect research notes with Google Notebook. Use this simple note-taking tool to collect your
research for a paper or project.
21.Make a study group with Google Groups. Google Groups allows you to communicate and collaborate
in groups, so take this option to set up a study group that doesn’t have to meet face-to-face.
22.Google Code University. Visit this Google site to have access to Creative Commons-licensed content
to help you learn more about computer science.
23.Study the oceans with Google Earth 5. Google Earth 5 provides information on the ocean floor and
surface with data from marine experts, including shipwrecks in 3D.
24.Learn what experts have to say. Explore Knol to find out what experts have to say on a wide range of
topics. If you are an expert, write your own Knol, too.
Google Docs
Google Docs is a great replacement for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, so learn how to use this product even
more efficiently.
25.Use premade templates. Use these 50 pre-made templates to track spending, keep up with your
health, and much more.
26.Collaborate on group projects. Google Docs allows for real-time collaboration, so make easy work for
everyone next time you have a group project due.

4. 27.Use keyboard shortcuts. Use this handy list of keyboard shortcuts to save lots of time while using
Google Docs.
28.Create online surveys for research projects. Quickly and easily create online surveys for any
research project that requires feedback from others. The answers are saved to your Google Docs
account.
29.Add video to your presentation. Learn how to seamlessly add video to your Google Docs page to
really give your presentation or project a boost.
30.Use the school year calendar template. Have an easy to use school year calendar through Google
Docs by following these instructions.
31.Create graphs from spreadsheets. Once you have populated a spreadsheet with data, you can easily
create a graph. Google Docs allows for pie, bar, line, and scatter graphs.
32.Create a new document with shortcuts. Learn two ways to open a new Google Docs page with these
tricks.
33.Right click to use save-as. Use the right click save-as option to save a Google Docs document on
your computer.
34.Send invitations. School shouldn’t be all about work. Find out how to send party invitations using
Google Docs.
Gmail
The super-popular Gmail is full of fun and fast ways to make your life and communications easier.
35.Use the Tasks as a to-do list. Use the Tasks available in Gmail as a way to stay on top of
assignments, exams, and project due dates.
36.Use the Archive feature. One of the great features of Gmail is that it allows you to archive emails to
get them out of your inbox, then you can use the search feature to find them if you need them again.
37.Highlight mail with labels. Use labels to mark your messages. You can find them easily while in your
inbox and do a search for all the messages with that label after you archive them.
38.Never forget to attach a file. By signing up for the Labs, you can select to have the Forgotten
Attachment Detector. This feature notices if you have typed something about an attachment in the

5. body, but are sending without actually attaching anything–a great tool to save time and
embarrassment.
39.Use keyboard shortcuts. Go to Settings and enable keyboard shortcuts so you can perform common
tasks at the touch of just one or two keys.
40.Add multiple attachments. Use the Control (or Cmd on Macs) and Shift keys to select more than one
file to attach to your email at one time.
41.Use the https option. Google recommends using this option if you use your Gmail in public places
like a dorm or coffee shop to add an extra bit of protection to your Internet activities.
42.Incorporate Google Calendar and Docs on your Gmail page. Have access to recent documents used
in Google Docs and get an agenda of upcoming activities you have on Google Calendar with small
boxes added to your Gmail page. Go to Labs to select this option.
43.Add a "Waiting for Response" label. If you have emails in your inbox that you are holding until
someone gets back to you, creating this label keeps you from forgetting to follow up on it later.
44.Use Canned Responses. If you find yourself writing the same type of email over and over, use the
Canned Responses feature in the Labs to create a template that you you can use without having to
type out the entire email every time.
45.Consolidate email accounts. If you have a Gmail account, an account through school, and any other
account you are juggling separately, combine them all into Gmail to cut down on time spent checking
all those accounts.
46.Use AIM in Gmail. If you use AIM to IM friends or partners on projects, add it to the chat feature
already in Gmail to have access to both.
Google Calendar
Save yourself some time by keeping track of appointments, assignments, and more with Google Calendar.
47.Sync up with others using iCal or Sunbird. Google lets you sync your calendar with others using
Apple iCal or Mozilla Sunbird.
48.Customize reminders. Set reminders in your Google Calendar so that you never forget an
appointment again. Choose from email, pop-up, or SMS reminders and even set when the reminder
comes.

6. 49.Learn some basic keyboard shortcuts. Change from daily to weekly to monthly view, compose a new
event, and more with these simple shortcuts.
50.Use Quick Add. Click on Quick Add and type the day and time and what you are doing to have the
calendar create the event with the correct time and date.
51.Use multiple calendars. Create separate calendars for school work, personal information, important
due dates, and more to stay ultra-organized.
52.Get a text message with your daily agenda. Keep up with all that you need to do for the day without
ever having to log on to your Google Calendar.
53.Set weekly repeats for any day. The drop-down menu only offers M/W/F or T/Th options for
repeating events. Go to "Every Week" and customize which days you want the event to repeat.
54.Get upcoming events while away from the computer. Check out #8 in this list to learn how to access
your upcoming events via your phone.
55.Add events from Gmail. If you receive an email with event time and date information, you can easily
add this event to your calendar by clicking "Add to calendar."
56.Invite others. If you have events on your calendar that you want to invite others to join, just add their
email address under Add Guests within the event.
Google Mobile
Whether riding the bus or walking to class, use Google Mobile to stay productive while away from your
computer.
57.Sync your calendar. Never be far from your Google Calendar when you sync it to your phone.
58.Check your email. Keep your email right at your fingertips with Gmail for mobile.
59.Access your blog subscriptions. Keep up with your blogs and news feeds that you subscribe to
through Reader right on your phone.
60.Use Google Voice to consolidate phone numbers. If you have a phone in your dorm or apartment, a
cell phone, and any other phone numbers, consolidate them into one number with Google Voice.

7. 61.Easily find friends. Find out where your friends are and even get a map with directions for how to get
there with Google Latitudes.
62.Find out information easily while on the go. Whether you are looking for a great place to eat dinner,
wondering what the weather is like, or want to know what the Spanish word for "bathroom" is, just
text your information to Google (466453–spells Google on your phone) to get the answer texted back
right away.
63.Access iGoogle. Get your iGoogle page formatted just for the smaller screen size of your phone.
64.Read your Google Docs. Have access to all your Google Docs items right on your phone.
65.Keep a to-do list on your phone. Use Google Tasks for mobile so you can access your to-do list any
time–and check off what you’ve finished, too.
66.Never get lost again. Google Maps is an interactive program for most smart phones that offers tons
of features so you will never have to be lost again.
67.Do a quick search anywhere. Find information with a Google search from your phone to impress
your professors and your friends.
68.Access Google Books. Android and iPhone users can access Google Books on their phones.
69.Post to your blog. Use your mobile to post to your Blogger blog.
Google Chrome Tips and Extensions
If you are using the Google Chrome browser, then you will love these time-saving tips and extensions.
70.Use a "Pin Tab". If you have multiple tabs open, use a "Pin Tab" to make the tabs the size of the little
icon on the left side.
71.Don’t overlook Paste and Search and Paste and Go. These two features are available when you
right-click to add a word or URL to Chrome and will save you an extra step.
72.Reopen a closed tab. Oops! If you didn’t mean to close that tab, just press Ctrl+Shift+T to reopen it.
73.Use the Chrome shortcuts. Open a new tab, see your history, maximize your window, and much
more with these shortcuts.

8. 74.Take advantage of the address bar. With Google Chrome, you can use the address bar to perform a
Google search, quickly access pages you’ve already visited, and get recommendations for places to
go.
75.Go incognito. If you don’t want to leave traces of where you were browsing, use incognito mode
instead of having to go back and delete your history and cookies.
76.Use the bookmarks manager. Stay organized, rearrange bookmarks, search for bookmarks, add
folders, and much more with the bookmark manager.
77.ChromePass. This tool will give you a list of all the password information stored in Google Chrome.
78.Save as PDF. Save any page as a PDF with this bookmarklet.
79.ChromeMailer. If you’ve lost valuable time when having to manually enter email information from a
website because Google Chrome doesn’t support the mailto: function, then you will love this
extension.
80.Google Chrome Backup. Back up your personal data, bookmarks, and more with this simple tool.
Google Books
Learn how Google Books can save you time and trips to the library with these tricks.
81.Search full text. Google Books offers full text for over 10,000 books, so look here the next time you
are researching something at the last minute.
82.Use "About this book". At the top left of the page of a book, clicking this link will give you helpful
information such as the table of contents, related books, and a map of places mentioned in the book.
83.Create a personalized library. Click on "Add to my shared library" to start your own personalized
library where you can label books to keep them organized for each class or project.
84.Find books in your college library. Each book in Google Books has a link to find the book in a library.
It can tell you exactly where to look at your own school.
85.Use the Advanced Book Search. If you can’t find the book you are looking for, try the advanced
search, which provides you with many more detailed options.

9. 86.Access text books. Many text books are available on Google Books, so see if you can save a trip to
the bookstore next semester.
87.Search for magazine content. Select Magazines in the Advanced Book Search to locate information
from magazines.
88.Read the blog. Google Books is constantly evolving, so stay on top of all the latest news with the
Inside Google Books blog.
89.Find books to supplement your assigned texts. Search by subject to see what books you may be
able to read to get the extra leg up in your classes.
Handy Google Services and Apps
These other Google products will help you save time by offering you everything from alerts to online
collaboration to help working with data sets.
90.Google Alerts. Sign up to get email notifications any time a topic you designate shows up in Google
search results. This is a great way to stay current with a project or news story.
91.Google Desktop. Keep a clock, weather, news stories, Google search box, and more all within easy
reach when you use Google Desktop.
92.Google SketchUp. If you need to draw 3D figures for class, use Google SketchUp to do so easily and
free of charge.
93.Google Talk. This versatile app is more than just for IMs. You can switch to voice, do a video chat,
and send texts, too.
94.Google Images. Google has an incredible image search feature that will provide you with tons of
high-quality images you can use in presentations.
95.Google Translate. Don’t spend time looking up stuff in books, use Google Translate to get foreign
words translated right away.
96.Google Wave. This brand new Google product shows great promise for anyone collaborating, but
especially for those in school. Communicate, create documents, and more–all in real-time.
97.Google Finance. Business students can keep track of markets, news, portfolios, and more in one
place.

10. 98.Google Toolbar. Have easy access to Gmail, Google search, bookmarks, and more with this toolbar
available for Internet Explorer and Firefox.
99.Picasa. Manage your photos and even incorporate them into your blogs and emails with Google’s
streamlines photo manager.
100.Google Squared. Find facts and organize them with this search feature from Google Labs.
101.Google Fusion Tables. If you are working with data sets, then you will love this program that will
allow you to upload data, create visual representations, and take part in discussions about the data.
102.Blogger. Create a blog as a part of a project or just to stay in touch with friends and family in an
easy way.
How do you use Google in the classroom?
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Document from : http://www.teachhub.com/100-google-tricks-teachers
Original source : http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2009/10/25/100-google-tricks-that-will-save-you-
time-in-school/