Google has been quite patchy these past few days. Even my wife’s been complaining. So it must be bad. Cos she just uses Google Search.
Well, I’ve just spent three hours trying to sort out a Google Sites account for a community of practice that I’m in using Google Sites, and it’s been really painful. Server error is the message I get. I’d prefer a nicely crafted Google message. Oh well.
Here’s a nifty little tool: http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com
What does it do? Well, if you hit a site that’s doesn’t appear to be working, type the URI into this thing and you can find out if it’s just you.
I just tried it when I couldn’t get into Wikipedia. Here’s what it said:
So it’s not just me! Well now, that’s a relief (I think).
I’m a bit disappointed. Jotspot was great. Google’s replacement for it, Google Sites, is not so hot. Here’s why I think so.
Jotspot was more than a wiki. It was a platform on which developers could build applications. For example, the Jotspot site we use has a blog, an app called a ‘bug reporter’, a discussion forum, a ‘knowledge base’ app and a project management tool. There were many other apps you could choose to add. I was hoping that Google Sites would continue to deliver this great functionality. Sadly, it does not. Read More…
A very useful rss feed reader. It’s free. It’s online. And it’ll work on your mobile phone (if you’ve got a browser and web access on your mobile).
Here are a few tricks you can do with Google that might help in class, or that you could pass on to your learners. I’ve called the symbols you need to use ‘operators’.
There’s lots more you can do, but I think these are the most useful.
Specific group of words in exact order:
Operator: “ … “ (double inverted commas)
e.g. “language learning“
This is great when searching for quotes. Have a go. Who said:
The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder. (paste into the search box in double inverted commas and hit search)
It’s also great for searching for errors that pop up on your PC.
Exclude words:
Operator: - (minus sign)
e.g. “language learning” -britain
Search by document type:
Operator: filetype:
You need to add the file extension (three letters) after the colon.
e.g. “language learning” filetype:ppt
This OR That:
Operator: OR (must be in capitals)
e.g. “language learning” OR “language study”
Definitions:
Operator: define:
e.g. define: weblog
Force words to be included in the search:
Operator: +
e.g. language learning study education +china
Include any other word:
Operator: *
e.g. “tea and *”
Search within a specific site:
Operator: site:
e.g. “language learning” site:www.britishcouncil.org
Numbers:
Google does numbers too. Try these in Google Search:
23 + 22 (hit search or enter)
96 – 15 (hit search or enter)
2 * 6 (hit search or enter)
Etc… you get the idea
Try these in Google search:
Time in Madrid (hit search or enter)
28 Singapore Dollars in UK Pounds (hit search or enter)
Twitter: Markhamster
