Thing #12

Google has come a long way since I first started using the internet.  What was a popular search engine supported by ads has become a dominant multi-media player supported by ads in Web 2.0-world.

            One of my favorite tools is Google Translate.  This is in part because I often find myself at a loss for what a word left in its original language means on a website or need to find some clever way to make fun of someone without their knowing. Though, perhaps the crowning achievement of this technology is that it allows for the translation of entire websites, creating a more universally-friendly webspace.

            For my second tool examined for this “thing” I looked into the Google Calendar system. I was a little disappointed in this system given the point-and-click style of other Google system.  Though, it is worth noting that this may be because it took me more than ten seconds to figure out what I was doing wrong when I entered the date range for an event (putting in the correct month helps, for those who may be struggling here as I was). For my money, I think I will always prefer a good paper calendar or personal planner but, can see the appeal of the Google Calendar for spreading a schedule of events to a large number of people such as letting students and parents know the itinerary for a field trip, or keeping the class aware of when assignments are due.

            My Google Calendar , for anyone interested in my class schedule for the next few weeks.