Thing 12: The Wonderful World of Google!

Thing 12:  The Wonderful World of Google!

Before this entry, I was already pretty familiar with the myriad functions and uses of Google beyond its normal search engine capabilities.  So, this activity did not take very long for me, as I have already been using these features for years now.

However, I will focus on these two:

Google Scholar:  This feature is quite handy in finding articles and essays that pertain to whatever particular topic you are researching.  Though the availability of full-text articles is limited at times, it does help you supplement your research by maybe giving sources that you can try and find in other databases, libraries, bookstores, etc.  I have used Google Scholar numerous times before in my research papers, not so much as my main source of information, but as a helpful add-on and starter for my research. 

Google Books:  There are numerous books I have bought (or NOT bought) because of Google Books.  It is VERY helpful when you can read a few (or many) pages of a given book to finally decide if you wish to purchase it or not.  At times, Google Books provides a larger preview selection of a book than other book sites, and that can make all the difference in a decision.  I usually review a book from three different sites and read the reviews before I ever buy it, so another resource with which to gauge the quality of a book is always beneficial. 

These tools can be helpful with education in many ways.  Google Scholar is obviously useful for researching material, and providing students another avenue to pursue their own research.  Google Books can also be useful, moreso in providing students books they could search for in a given topic; serving as a "Google Scholar," but of suggested books that may be interesting and related to a research topic.

In conclusion, Google has numerous features beyond its search engine, and I have fortunately been using them for years to assist in many different tasks and assignments.