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Posts tagged school

100 Great Google Docs Tips for Students & Educators | AccreditedOnlineColleges.org

Feb 3rd

Posted by admin in Internet

No comments

For students and teachers, the Google Docs collection provides a streamlined, collaborative solution to writing papers, organizing presentations and putting together spreadsheets and reports. But besides the basic features, there are lots of little tricks and hacks you can use to make your Google Docs experience even more productive. Here are 100 great tips for using the documents, presentations and spreadsheets in Google Docs.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Navigate your documents and screen a lot faster when you use these keyboard shortcuts for formatting and more.

  1. Ctrl+Home: Get back to the top of your doc.
  2. Ctrl+B: Bold.
  3. Ctrl+E: Center alignment
  4. Ctrl+L: Back to left alignment.
  5. Ctrl+M: Insert comment.
  6. Ctrl+H: Replace.
  7. Ctrl+End: Go to last cell in data region.
  8. Ctrl+Home: Go to first cell in data region.
  9. Shift+spacebar: Select entire row.
  10. Ctrl+Z: Undo.
  11. Ctrl+Y: Redo.
  12. Ctrl+spacebar: Select entire column.
  13. Ctrl+J: Full justify.
  14. Ctrl+Shift+L: Bulleted list.
  15. Ctrl+Shift+Space: Insert non-breaking space.
  16. Page Down: Move down one screen.
  17. Ctrl+K: Inset link.
  18. Ctrl+Shift+F: Full screen.
  19. Page Up: Move up one screen.
  20. Ctrl+Space: Remove formatting.
  21. Ctrl+: Heading style 1. Change the “1″ to any number 1-6 and get the corresponding header.

Productivity Hacks

These hacks will make your Google Docs experience even more efficient and streamlined.

  1. Templates: Use Docs’ 300 templates to get started on different types of documents.
  2. Work offline: View and edit documents even when you don’t have access to an Internet connection.
  3. Create shortcuts: Create shortcuts and bookmarks for new documents, Google Docs home and more frequently visited pages.
  4. Save as different file types: Instead of converting docs to different file types, you can simply change it to HTML, RTF, PDG, ODT and more whenever you save it.

Features and Tools

Make use of features and tools like Docs Translation or CSS Editing to customize your docs and make them work for you.

  1. Polyline: Draw shapes and lines in Google docs to make graphs, images and examples.
  2. Docs Translation: Find the docs translator under Tools.
  3. Snap to Guides: With this Edit feature, you can line up shapes in your doc automatically.
  4. Reference tools: Google docs comes with access to a dictionary, thesaurus and encyclopedia that you can use within the document.
  5. CSS Editing: Change the display of your doc by manually plugging in your CSS text.
  6. HTML tags: Docs supports, or partially supports, some HTML tags, shown here.

Collaboration

One of the best things about Google Docs is that you get to share and collaborate on projects with others. Learn how to make the most of these features here.

  1. Shared foldersCreate shared folders and drag-and-drop items from other folders.
  2. Privacy: You can choose to have documents published publicly or privately.
  3. Share, don’t email: Instead of emailing docs back and forth, type in email addresses of people you’d like to share your Google document with, and they’ll be sent an editable, web copy.
  4. Make changes at the same time: You and your classmates can log into the same document at the same time to make edits.
  5. Share a folder: Share entire groups of documents saved in a single file with coworkers and students.
  6. Invite mailing lists as collaborators: You can share a document with all members of your email mailing lists with this function.
  7. Make a presentation in real-time: Invite others to view a presentation you’ve made as you see it too.
  8. Data validation: Make sure everyone is entering data into the spreadsheet the same way by controlling data validation settings.
  9. Allow people to edit without signing in: This means anyone, even if they don’t have a Google account, can sign in and edit your piece.
  10. Remove collaborators: If you want to take someone off a project, click None next to the name of the person you want to remove.
  11. Forum: If you get stuck with a docs problem, you can head over to the forums and find help from other users.
  12. Change ownership: Switch ownership of Google docs as project leaders change.

Files, Folders and Filters

Find out how to use files, folders and filters for optimum organization and a clearer display.

  1. View and unviewed: You can mark new shared documents as viewed or unviewed, like an inbox.
  2. Create subfolders: Make subfolders for better organization. Create, then choose to move it wherever you want.
  3. Drag-and-drop folders: Drag-and-drop folders and docs to spreadsheets, documents and presentations.
  4. Tag: Tag items with certain keywords instead of going to the trouble of moving them to a folder.
  5. Star: You can also star documents, like you would in Gmail.
  6. Upload multiple files: Click “select more files” to upload multiple files in Google Docs.

Organization

These hacks are designed to organize your Google Docs, from starting a new assignment to sharing and publishing.

  1. Color code folders: Color-code the names of folders.
  2. Insert bookmarks: Insert a link to another part of your document, like in a table of contents.
  3. Zip archive: Export Google docs, spreadsheets and presentations in a single ZIP archive.
  4. Block quote: Use this setting to automatically indent and set aside a long quote in your document.
  5. Minimize: Star only the docs you want to see at one time, and minimize everything in the left pane for a minimized view.
  6. Annotate with footnotes: Insert annotations as footnotes to your document easily.
  7. Preview templates: Preview a template before committing to it.

Edits

With these editing tools, you’ll track comments, save editing history and more.

  1. Color-code comments: You can color-code live comments in Google Docs.
  2. Revision pruning: When you have too many revisions, they’ll automatically collapse, or prune, but can still be viewed in revision history.
  3. Track edits and changes: In Google Docs you can go back and forth between edits that you or collaborators made.
  4. Revision history: View older versions of your document, and choose to “revert to this one” if you choose.
  5. Find and replace: This version of find and replace lets you match cases, match whole words, find previous words, and more.

Synchronization

Make your Google Docs work with other tools too.

  1. Preview docs in Gmail: You can preview Google docs attachments in Gmail.
  2. Google Finance: Enter information from Google Finance into spreadsheets with this formula Syntax: =GoogleFinance(“symbol”; “attribute”).
  3. Sync with Office Documents: With Syncplicity, you can sync Google Docs with Microsoft Office.
  4. Sync with your server: To work offline, your documents will have to be synced to your server.
  5. Google Mobile: Use Google Mobile to access docs on your phone.

Search

Google Docs uses Google search to find documents and more.

  1. Search PDFs: There’s a search box in the upper right corner of your PDF document.
  2. Search for docs using keywords: If you don’t remember the title of a doc, type in keywords from the document instead.
  3. Advanced search: Find documents by selecting who you’ve shared with, keyword, title, and more.
  4. Search the web: Highlight a word and search the web for matching websites and images.
  5. Search operators: Search operators will help you find starred, hidden and other documents quickly. Example: [is:starred]

Presentations

Learn how to make and present projects with videos, images and more.

  1. Embed a presentation in a website: Add your class presentations to your website or blog by publishing and pasting the HTML code that is revealed.
  2. Insert tables: You can insert tables into Google Presentations, too.
  3. Sequentially reveal objects on a slide: Bullets and text boxes will be revealed one at a time if you select this option.
  4. Custom colors: You can choose custom colors to add to your presentation.
  5. Hide the gray bar: In presentation view, click on the icon in the upper-right corner of the gray bar at the bottom of your screen to make it disappear.
  6. Chat: Chat with your audience in view presentation mode. You’ll need Adobe Flash Player 8 or above.
  7. Insert videos: You can add videos to your presentation, minimize and maximize it, and move it around your screen.
  8. Hide chat: Keep everyone quiet during your presentation by clicking the left side of the chat module.
  9. Organize slides: You can reorder slides, make duplicate slides, and insert new slides wherever you want.
  10. Replace image and video placeholders: Depending on your presentation’s template, you can replace placeholders with an actual image or video.

Spreadsheets

With spreadsheets, you can create forms, reports, invoices, portfolios, and other docs that solve problems, save email addresses and more.

  1. Google search inside your spreadsheet: Highlight a word, right click, and select Search the web.
  2. Print as PDF: Choose to print your spreadsheet as a PDF if you want all formatting to stay intact.
  3. Live lookup: Use the following formula in a cell to ask Google to look up quantitative information: Syntax: =GoogleLookup(“entity”; “attribute”).
  4. Roman function: Have numbers displayed as Roman numerals with this formula =ROMAN(number, form).
  5. Create forms: Google Spreadsheets has various templates for forms you can create and have people fill out.
  6. Edit forms: Add section headers to make it easier to divide up forms and make them easier to fill out.
  7. List view: Select list view to load spreadsheets faster, view from your mobile phone and access basic editing features.
  8. Protect sheet: Select Protect sheet to prevent certain collaborators from editing it.
  9. Automatically add email addresses: If you have Google Apps, the email addresses of the people who fill out the form will automatically be saved.
  10. Scientific notation: Adjust spreadsheets so that cells display in scientific notation.
  11. Solve: Maximize and minimize values when you solve problems in your cells.
  12. Add and delete comments: You can add, delete and edit comments in spreadsheets too.
  13. Freeze columns and rows: Freeze rows and columns to stop editing.

Tasks

These tasks, from printing to tracking tournaments, are examples of other ways you can use Google Docs.

  1. Print as a webpage: You can print your doc so that it displays as a web page.
  2. Insert mathematical equations: Insert Equation makes an equation editor dialog box appear to add an equation to your doc.
  3. GoogleTournament: Create brackets, and let Google automatically update data according to the Men’s and Women’s NCAA Division I Basketball Championship.
  4. Enable offline access: You can install offline access for Google Docs to edit existing documents anywhere.
  5. Track analytics: Track visits to published documents.
  6. Update posts: You can republish posts that are already on your web page if you want to make edits and support an updated version.

via 100 Great Google Docs Tips for Students & Educators | AccreditedOnlineColleges.org.

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100 Little Ways You Can Dramatically Improve Your Writing | Online Colleges

Feb 3rd

Posted by admin in Work & Study

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Solid writing skills open up career-boosting opportunities for professional writers and for those with aspirations beyond their basic job description. Journalists, fiction writers, scientists, teachers, business professionals, law students and other professionals can all get ahead by inspiring and influencing others with their writing. Whether you’re an undergraduate wanting tips to organize your papers; a novelist who needs help with character development; or a technical writer in search of tips to write more engaging copy, here are 100 little ways all of you can dramatically improve your writing.

General

These writing tips will help you work on your writing habits and style each day.

  1. Keep a notebook handy: Carry around a little notebook so that you can write down ideas, great words, characters, observations and inspirations, whether you’re a fiction writer or nonfiction writer.
  2. Read more: Read authors, journalists and other writers you admire and notice the way they use language.
  3. Become a better listener: Understand what really motivates people by listening to them more and imitating their dialog and speech patterns in your writing.
  4. Simplify things for the reader: Instead of making concepts or events seem more complicated for your reader, aim to make them more simple through your writing.
  5. Remember your audience: Always have a very clear of who your audience is before writing.
  6. Write all the time: Write whenever you can, whether it’s a short story, a poem, an analysis of a play, or a column you send into the newspaper. Practice makes perfect.
  7. Trim everything down: Good writing is concise writing, so weed out wordy phrases whenever you can.
  8. Treat writing like it’s your job: Even if it is technically your job, the odd hours and free schedule can turn real writers into procrastinators. Treat it seriously, or you’ll never get anything done.
  9. Keep it fun: At the same time, you shouldn’t take yourself or your skill too seriously: it’s okay to make mistakes during your brainstorming session or generate silly story ideas as practice.
  10. Tell a story: Even journalists can use the right kind of language and style to make a fact-based event read more like a story.
  11. Think before you write: Sometimes, just writing things down arbitrarily can help with brainstorming, but it also helps to have an organized idea of what you aim to communicate through your writing.
  12. Write on the go: Being able to write anywhere at any time if a valuable skill.

Grammar and Spelling

Tighten up your writing by paying careful attention to grammatical nuances, spelling errors and word usage.

  1. Always have perfect grammar: As Christopher Meeks points out, spelling and grammar mistakes are “the first things people will notice…Even if your writing is brilliant, if it has a lot of errors (not uncommon on the Web), then people think less of you.”
  2. Worry about spelling and grammar in your second draft: It’s okay to work with your natural flow and worry about spelling and grammar after you’ve gotten the ideas down on paper.
  3. Learn new words: Writing consultant Judy Rose encourages writers to check out all the synonyms when looking up a word in the dictionary.
  4. Never mistake sound-alike words: “Your” and “you’re;” “whose” and “who’s” are all sound-alike words that will make you look like an amateur if you confuse them.
  5. Review punctuation rules: Don’t know when to use a semi-colon or dash? Use this guide to help you straighten it out.
  6. Keep a dictionary handy: Keep an online dictionary or hard copy next to you when you write.
  7. Use the thesaurus: Some writers believe that if they couldn’t think up the word themselves, it’s cheating. But think of a thesaurus as a vocabulary lesson and an opportunity to explore new words.
  8. Don’t rely on spell-check: You may be using a correctly spelled word, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right one for the sentence.
  9. Use niche dictionaries and glossaries: Science dictionaries, medical glossaries, foreign language dictionaries and slang dictionaries will help your writing appear more accurate and authoritative.

Creative Writing

Fiction writers will find tips for better character development, scene writing, and story ideas here.

  1. Understand the four types of conflict: The four types of conflict are man vs. man; man vs. himself; man vs. society; and man vs. face, nature or circumstances of life. Identify the one that will be the center for your story.
  2. Use examples: Clarify an emotion or event by using tangible examples that readers can relate to.
  3. Don’t mix up your point-of-view: Your story’s point-of-view should remain consistent, so make sure you know all the nuances of perspective and point-of-view before you get lost in the story.
  4. Have a backstory: All of your characters need a backstory, and you need to have a specific outline written out to keep you straight all through your primary story.
  5. Reinvent old ideas: Just because a tragic story between star-crossed lovers has been written before doesn’t mean you can’t reinvent it based on your experiences and perspective.
  6. Research setting: Setting is extremely important to your story, so be prepared to visit a real-life version of what you’d like to write about, especially if you’ve never actually been there.
  7. “Show, don’t tell: Remembering this tip should help you create visual stories instead of dried-out narration.
  8. Identify the purpose of each scene: Write down in a clear sentence what needs to happen in a scene for the story to move forward, and then generate specific details like location, time and starting and end points, before filling in the middle parts.
  9. Use dialogue labels: Let dialogue propel the story, not your explanation of every thing that happens or the characters say.
  10. Work from prompts: Tools like this one can help you come up with an entire story or refine a scene.

Business and Technical Writing

Business and technical writers should remember to keep up with industry publications and news, use charts and bullets, and write simplistic articles and guides for a range of audiences.

  1. Be curious: Curious writers commit to finding out everything they can about a particular subject, which strengthens their writing and reporting.
  2. Use bullet points: In technical writing, it’s okay to use bullets if you need to clarify a list or idea. Just make sure you use them only when necessary.
  3. Keep up with changing words: Word meaning changes over time, especially in technical and business settings, so make sure you’re keeping up.
  4. Write like a reporter: Stressing the “who,what, when, where and why” is most important to customers.
  5. Write for an international audience: When writing for international audiences, use simpler language and avoid idioms and other figurative language.
  6. Be careful with titles: Technical titles may be unfamiliar to you, but it’s very important to address people correctly.
  7. Use tangible examples: Help readers — especially if they are not experts in the field — understand what you’re writing by detailing tangible examples.
  8. Know the difference between being professional and formal: Keep your correspondence and your writings professional, but you don’t need to write as if you were generating a legal document.
  9. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes: Consider what your readers are looking for when they turn to your article, manual or outline.
  10. Stay on top of trends: Read other publications and blogs to stay updated on the newest emerging trends, concepts, people and standards in your industry.
  11. Organize sources: Use proper documentation, and save links to or copies of your sources for back up.

Journalism

Whether you’re a rookie Jschool graduate or a veteran reporter, here are tips for strengthening your writing.

  1. Use smart headlines and titles: The better your headlines and titles, the more likely people will want to read them.
  2. Don’t make absolute predictions: Avoid absolute predictions, and remember that even if you’re confident in the outcome, “anything can happen” and “nothing has to happen.”
  3. Stop hedging: Copyblogger asks readers to stop hedging, or make allowances for every possible exception. It weakens your writing.
  4. Get off the Internet: It’s very important for journalists — even web reporters — to talk to actual people when conducting research.
  5. Learn shorthand: Shorthand is still around and can be especially helpful for journalists.
  6. Work with multimedia producers: Strengthen your writing by working with photo, video and online journalists.
  7. Start with meaning in your sentences: This guide recommends starting sentences with subjects and verbs, and then letting “weaker elements branch to the right.”
  8. Milk weird names: Weird names attract the reader and work for you by spicing up your sentences with minimal effort.
  9. Don’t ignore Twitter: Some journalists have a love-hate (or just hate-hate) relationship with Twitter, but it can be a useful tool for story ideas, finding sources, and staying on top of trending topics.

Writer’s Block and Inspiration

Get over writer’s block with these ideas for brainstorming, scheduling, organizing and more.

  1. Just start: When you feel overwhelmed or dried up, just start writing anything that comes into your head, and you’ll have a good starting point.
  2. Don’t wait for motivation: You can’t always sit around and wait for motivation to come to you. Write and revise every day.
  3. Take breaks: Sometimes, the only thing you need for a fresher start is a short break.
  4. Identify your purpose: Figure out why you’re writing, and start by explaining to the reader what your purpose is (ie: setting up an argument or asking for something).
  5. Set a personal deadline: If you procrastinate when you know your deadline is far off, set a personal one for yourself that makes you write on time.
  6. Don’t save ideas for later: Whenever you’re suddenly inspired, write down as much as you can to accurately capture the experience or emotions.
  7. Give each brainstorming session a theme: Focus your brainstorming and organizing sessions by giving each one a specific theme and goal.
  8. Try the 3-day writing method: On the first day, write in a stream of consciousness; on the second, refine your writing and fix grammar errors; on the third day, polish your writing with better adjectives and clearer sentences.
  9. Use the news and blogs as inspiration: To write about current topics that people want to read about, watch the news and read blogs for inspiration.
  10. Set up a writing routine: If you don’t make yourself write, you’ll always have an excuse ready. Pick a time every day to sit and write for a half hour at least.

Style

From simple sentences to cliches to experimentation, these style tips will turn you into the kind of writer that readers love.

  1. Write simply: Use the best words for communicating what you mean, and don’t pick words based on how long they are or how smart they sound.
  2. Don’t back into sentences: Johnny Kramer asks writers to be more direct early in the sentence instead of “backing into” their words.
  3. Avoid cliches: Here you’ll find a list of cliches and “worn-out” phrases to avoid in your writing.
  4. Play around with style: Even if you’ve already pin pointed your personal style, don’t be afraid to try new techniques with your writing.
  5. Avoid all caps: Use italics sparingly, and if you want your story to be more dramatic, work on word usage and sentence structure.
  6. Use active voice: Active voice makes your writing more direct and powerful.
  7. Know how to use repetition: When used correctly, repetition can add to your writing, but if overused, it’s irritating.
  8. Leave out adjectives: Adjectives can add a lot to a story, but for clearer writing, leave out unnecessary modifiers.
  9. Try to be conversational: Lifehack.org suggests adopting a more conversational tone when you write if you want to engage your readers.
  10. Be original: You can emulate others’ style up to a point, but a copied style is boring and borders on plagiarism.
  11. Use original similes and metaphors: This list of writing rules from George Orwell cautions writers against using figures of speech that have already been tried.

Composition and Organization

Get tips for outlining and understanding organizational structure here.

  1. Keep it short: To help you write simply and clearly, make a point to keep sentences and paragraphs short.
  2. Make — and remake — outlines: You can make outlines for every kind of story, report or column you’re writing. Revise your outlines as you add to your piece to make it easier on yourself.
  3. Clearly identify your theme: Before you start writing, give yourself 15 seconds to write down the main purpose of your piece, and stick to that theme.
  4. Use a template: Online article templates help you get started and avoid forgetting important elements.
  5. Make use of the writing process: Brainstorm, organize, support, rough draft, revise, rewrite, final draft: those are the steps in the writing process.
  6. Write a real conclusion: Your conclusion should depend on your purpose for writing: they can summarize, reinforce an idea, or tell a reader what to think.
  7. Pick an organizational structure: Different pieces use different organizational structure. Review this table to identify which one you’ll need to develop.
  8. Check for coherence: Each part of your piece should flow logically and in sequential order.

Revising and Editing

All writers need to revise their work, even if they have an editor. Here you’ll find tips for drafting, stripping, editing your work.

  1. Revise everything: No matter how terrific you think your writing is the first time, everyone’s writing improves after editing.
  2. Write the first draft for yourself: No one is going to see the first draft, so feel free to experiment, make mistakes, and really push yourself.
  3. Watch out for redundancy: While editing, highlight any words, phrases or paragraphs that are redundant, and delete them.
  4. Sleep on it: Don’t turn something in the second you finish the last sentence. Sleep on it, and check it for mistakes in the morning.
  5. Read your work out loud: It’s easier to catch mistakes when you read out loud.
  6. Eliminate everything that doesn’t have a purpose: Each word and punctuation mark should have a specific purpose for appearing in your piece.
  7. Ask someone else to read your work: If you don’t have a professional editor, ask a friend, teacher or fellow writer to read over your work before pitching or publishing it.
  8. Don’t be afraid to tackle large “out-of-control” projects: Read this guide to learn how to trim down sprawling, 700-page novels in just 20 steps.
  9. Don’t add to your piece: Unless you forgot an important piece of information, avoid adding words. It’s best to shorten your pieces.
  10. Know when to stop: Edit your work until it’s error-free, clear and seamless. Then stop and turn it in.

Computer and Web Tips

Web writers have a different type of audience to write for, and therefore, a unique set of standards to adhere to.

  1. Save: Some web applications save your work automatically, but it’s best to be in the habit of manually saving your work too.
  2. Use a headline formula: This guide highlights 10 headline formulas that will attract easily distracted readers.
  3. Write for active readers: The Internet is an active medium, so be sure to write for readers who are actively pursuing information.
  4. Use lists: Using lists in your posts draw readers in and let them know ahead of time how much time they need to invest in reading your piece.
  5. Write with the goal of engaging others in discussion: You may have to write with more edge and a well-defined opinion, but getting readers to respond and take over the discussion is your ultimate goal.
  6. Write for scanners: Web readers are scanners, so use short, simple sentences.
  7. Stick to one idea per paragraph: This technique makes it easy for readers to find information quickly.
  8. Use the inverted pyramid: Write what you’d normally save for the conclusion first, and stress the main point early on.
  9. Optimize your subtitles: If you’re worried about dumbing down your writing for the sake of SEO, focus on optimizing your subtitles, and then sparingly add in keywords to your text.
  10. Writer reader-centric posts: Web readers are selfish and expect pieces to help them directly. Write about yourself as infrequently as possible, and focus on what they want.

via 100 Little Ways You Can Dramatically Improve Your Writing | Online Colleges.

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100+ Google Tricks That Will Save You Time in School | Online Colleges

Feb 3rd

Posted by admin in Internet

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With classes, homework, and projects–not to mention your social life–time is truly at a premium for you, so why not latch onto the wide world that Google has to offer? From super-effective search tricks to Google hacks specifically for education to tricks and tips for using Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Calendar, these tricks will surely save you some precious time.

  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.
  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.

  1. Google Scholar. Use this specialized Google search to get results from scholarly literature such as peer-reviewed papers, theses, and academic publishers.
  2. Use Google Earth’s Sky feature. Take a look at the night sky straight from your computer when you use this feature.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Collect research notes with Google Notebook. Use this simple note-taking tool to collect your research for a paper or project.
  7. 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.
  8. Google Code University. Visit this Google site to have access to Creative Commons-licensed content to help you learn more about computer science.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.

  1. Use premade templates. Use these 50 pre-made templates to track spending, keep up with your health, and much more.
  2. 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.
  3. Use keyboard shortcuts. Use this handy list of keyboard shortcuts to save lots of time while using Google Docs.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Use the school year calendar template. Have an easy to use school year calendar through Google Docs by following these instructions.
  7. 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.
  8. Create a new document with shortcuts. Learn two ways to open a new Google Docs page with these tricks.
  9. Right click to use save-as. Use the right click save-as option to save a Google Docs document on your computer.
  10. 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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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 body, but are sending without actually attaching anything–a great tool to save time and embarrassment.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.

  1. Sync up with others using iCal or Sunbird. Google lets you sync your calendar with others using Apple iCal or Mozilla Sunbird.
  2. 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.
  3. Learn some basic keyboard shortcuts. Change from daily to weekly to monthly view, compose a new event, and more with these simple shortcuts.
  4. 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.
  5. Use multiple calendars. Create separate calendars for school work, personal information, important due dates, and more to stay ultra-organized.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.”
  10. 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.

  1. Sync your calendar. Never be far from your Google Calendar when you sync it to your phone.
  2. Check your email. Keep your email right at your fingertips with Gmail for mobile.
  3. Access your blog subscriptions. Keep up with your blogs and news feeds that you subscribe to through Reader right on your phone.
  4. 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.
  5. Easily find friends. Find out where your friends are and even get a map with directions for how to get there with Google Latitudes.
  6. 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.
  7. Access iGoogle. Get your iGoogle page formatted just for the smaller screen size of your phone.
  8. Read your Google Docs. Have access to all your Google Docs items right on your phone.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. Do a quick search anywhere. Find information with a Google search from your phone to impress your professors and your friends.
  12. Access Google Books. Android and iPhone users can access Google Books on their phones.
  13. 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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Reopen a closed tab. Oops! If you didn’t mean to close that tab, just press Ctrl+Shift+T to reopen it.
  4. Use the Chrome shortcuts. Open a new tab, see your history, maximize your window, and much more with these shortcuts.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Use the bookmarks manager. Stay organized, rearrange bookmarks, search for bookmarks, add folders, and much more with the bookmark manager.
  8. ChromePass. This tool will give you a list of all the password information stored in Google Chrome.
  9. Save as PDF. Save any page as a PDF with this bookmarklet.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Access text books. Many text books are available on Google Books, so see if you can save a trip to the bookstore next semester.
  7. Search for magazine content. Select Magazines in the Advanced Book Search to locate information from magazines.
  8. Read the blog. Google Books is constantly evolving, so stay on top of all the latest news with the Inside Google Books blog.
  9. 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.

  1. 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.
  2. Google Desktop. Keep a clock, weather, news stories, Google search box, and more all within easy reach when you use Google Desktop.
  3. Google SketchUp. If you need to draw 3D figures for class, use Google SketchUp to do so easily and free of charge.
  4. Google Talk. This versatile app is more than just for IMs. You can switch to voice, do a video chat, and send texts, too.
  5. Google Images. Google has an incredible image search feature that will provide you with tons of high-quality images you can use in presentations.
  6. Google Translate. Don’t spend time looking up stuff in books, use Google Translate to get foreign words translated right away.
  7. 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.
  8. Google Finance. Business students can keep track of markets, news, portfolios, and more in one place.
  9. Google Toolbar. Have easy access to Gmail, Google search, bookmarks, and more with this toolbar available for Internet Explorer and Firefox.
  10. Picasa. Manage your photos and even incorporate them into your blogs and emails with Google’s streamlines photo manager.
  11. Google Squared. Find facts and organize them with this search feature from Google Labs.
  12. 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.
  13. Blogger. Create a blog as a part of a project or just to stay in touch with friends and family in an easy way.

via 100+ Google Tricks That Will Save You Time in School | Online Colleges.

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