Google Books

You probably are familiar with Google Books, but perhaps don't know about all of the terrific tools which Google continues to add.

Did you know:

• When you perform a general Google search, you can click on "Show options" and you will be given an option to see all the Google Books search results.
• Many Google Books are available in FULL PREVIEW which means you can look through the entire book, page by page, or by selecting pages from the Table of Contents.
• You can search for words or terms throughout a Google Book and it will take you to the page with that keyword.
• In the Preview section, you can embed the book into your website.

You or your students can submit a book review into Google Books for others to see.

In the Overview section, Google Books provides a Wordle which shows the most commonly used words and phrases in the book.

• If any geographical places are mentioned in a book, pinpoints are shown on a Google map with reference to where in the book the place is mentioned.

• You can see where there are references to the book from both Google Books and from Google Scholar.
• Books which are available to preview can be added to your own library - your library can be shared, searched or followed with an RSS feed.
• Hyperlinked subjects of books allow you to find similar books to the one you are viewing.

For complete information on Google Book searches, check out Lucy Gray's presentation which she shared at the Google Teacher Academy in Washington D.C.

Without a doubt, Google Books is something which will continue to be developed, as well as debated. Just today, MSNBC reported that Google was being sued in Paris for copyright violation. Here in the United States, a fairness hearing is scheduled for February 18 for an amended settlement to a lawsuit from the Author's Guild and publishers.

What Should I Read Next?

• What Should I Read Next?

  Enter a book you like and the site will analyse our database of real readers' favourite books (over 65,000 and growing) to suggest what you could read next.

  tags: books, book club, reading

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Google has been improving their search options almost daily and the improvements are exciting! I experienced Google's new Flight Tracker for myself when I needed to check on my husband's flight yesterday. All I needed to do is enter the airline abbreviation and the flight number, and there were all the details I needed: I didn't even need to hit return!

Need to check the weather for a certain city? Simple enter weather: "name of city". Without even hitting return, you will have a list of weather options with the weather outlook at the bottom of the search options.

Have a question? Type in the beginning of a statement followed by an asterisk.

Want the latest score of your hometown team? Type in the team name for the latest game info and a link for more details.

And the list of info goes on: stocks, conversions, zip codes, and more. Visit Explore Google Search for a complete list of searching options.

Google Teacher Academy -Washington DC

I've just returned from the Google Teacher Academy where I learned an amazing amount of information. I was honored to be among 50 accepted educators out of 340 applicants from all across the country. Sharing what I learned in one blog post would be impossible: I learned so much that my head is still spinning with ideas and action plans. To be sure, I will be blogging more on each individual application.

Going into the academy, I was most expecting to learn about all the cool, new apps such as Google Wave. What surprised me is the extent of information which I learned about apps which I knew well (or, should I say I thought I knew well)!

Such as:

• Google spreadsheets has Magic Fill - automatically completes a list by filling in related items you enter. "Strawberries", "bananas", "peaches"... think quick! 20 more fruits!"
• With the feature "View Together", Google Presentation allows a back channel of information during the slideshow presentation.
• Using Google Books, you can embed certain ebooks onto your website.
• Google Docs not only displays word count, but reading level

One of the highlights of my Google experience was listening to Jerome Burg talk about his Google Lit Trips. Once again, I thought this was a tool which I knew well and needed no further instruction. However, hearing Jerome's passion and his philosophy on motivating students was so inspirational! And when I told him about my idea of using Google Lit Trips for our Read the World even next year on Latin America, he said he would love to be involved! How awesome.

So -as I mentioned, more blogging to come on the wonderful world of Google!

Book Review: Have a Little Faith

When Mitch Albom’s Rabbi asks him to write his eulogy, he feels both humbled and uneasy about honoring a “man of God” who has touched and inspired so many people. Although Albom has known “the Reb” since he was a child, he wants to be sure he captures the true character of the Rabbi, Albert Lewis. Thus begins the treasured relationship which Albom has with Rabbi Lewis for eight years. As he interviews and spends time with him, Albom realizes that the Rabbi is an incredibly giving and forgiving person who has a tremendous amount of love for people and life. Paralleling his visits with Rabbi Lewis, Albom befriends Henry Convington, a Detroit pastor who is a former drug addict and criminal. As Albom witnesses Convington’s unselfishness and devotion to helping the homeless and needy, Albom clearly sees that faith can be found in all religions. This is a wonderfully inspiring true story which stresses the importance of community and of the power of tolerance.

Mitch Albom speaks with Katie Couric about "Have a Little Faith":

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New MacBooks Have Arrived!

Great news! On Friday we had 30 new MacBooks delivered to our library! Are you a "PC" kind of person? No worries: these are dual-boot which means that you can boot-up in either the Windows or Mac platform with the click of your touchpad.

Since there has been some confusion about how to save to the network on a Mac, I've provided a mini-tutorial below which guides you through the steps. You can also find this tutorial on our library website.Saving On Macs

View more presentations from mschwander.

Review: Picking Cotton

Picking Cotton is the true story of Ronald Cotton, a black man accused of raping a white, college-aged woman in the 1980’s. The victim, Jennifer Thompson, picks Cotton out of a line-up and has no question in her mind that this was the man who broke into her apartment and raped her as she lay in bed. Eleven years after Cotton is sentenced to life in prison, new DNA evidence proves that, without a doubt, Cotton could not have been the man who committed the crime.

The book is jointly written by Cotton and Thompson, with the help of writer, Erin Torneo. In alternating chapters, we hear about both Thompson’s mental anguish and Cotton’s denial to freedom. The reader can easily sympathize with both “victims” and can’t help but feel that the system has failed them both. The positive side of the story is that after Cotton is released from prison, Thompson gets in touch with Cotton, and they both form an alliance towards changing the way in which suspects are identified. In fact, you may have seen the two of them on TV as they spread their message across the nation. (See the 60 minutes clip below).
The website for Picking Cotton has a lot of interesting information as well, including the actual case files, a book trailer, and an eye-witness test to see how well you do at identifying suspects (I failed miserably!) Ronald Cotton and Jennifer Thompson have a compelling story which everyone must hear!


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