What are you doing with Google Books?

Create your own Library in Google Books. Add books to your digital footprint. Find relevant information about your favorite book in the book overview, with book reviews, common terms and phrases, web references, maps, and other information associated with the book.

College students - Add the textbooks for courses. Save $$ if the textbook you need for the course is available online. Document all of the textbooks required for course work. Easy access to all references used in assignments. You can view My Library.

Avid readers - Add the books you read. Your Library becomes a quick reference point whether you are at the library or the bookstore.

Summer readers - Keep track of all the books you read during the summer.

Students - Keep track of all the books read during a school year, a favorite subject, or create a reference point for the books you have read.

Parents - Keep track of all those bedtime stories you read.

Employers - Share your reading list with others.

Educators - Add the textbooks your students are assigned to read, create supplemental reading lists to share, and/or subscribe to other educators' libraries through RSS.

Check the history of Google Books.

Search for book and magazine content using Advanced Search options.

Read about the future of Google Book Search in the groundbreaking agreement with authors and publishers.

Your Library is associated with your Google profile. So as you are discovered through your digital footprint, future employers, college recruiters, parents, future educators will see the books associated with your Google profile.

You can follow Google Books on Twitter @googlebooks and/or subscribe to the Google Books blog.

Share your Google Books library link or share your method of using Google Books.

Thanks Google

I am a Google girl, a Googler, or whatever Google jargon you apply to those of us who do everything Google. I don't preach Google, I just incorporate it into everything I do...including today during the massive block of all USB connections on the army.mil domain (NIPR and SIPR). The network admins were/are on massive random scans, my materials were readily available. So again I have to say "Thanks Google" for allowing me to continue supporting our service members.

From Teyana Taylor's song and her Google Me Official Music Video on YouTube to the many school assignments created on how to implement Google products, Google labs, the Google blogs to share information, to teach a computer skill, to teach others how to communicate using gmail to chat to gmail video chat to the available products through the Google Store from wearables to accessories. There are many more items to be thankful for as Google has been a source for demonstrations and writing assignments during my online schoolwork.

As we move into the week before Thanksgiving (in the US) and we take stock in what we are thankful for...don't forget the Google Docs holiday templates for your holiday documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. As Google celebrated 10 years this year I am thankful for Google, the Google philanthropy, Google's corporate philosophy, the Google blogs, the products and labs that allow me to share knowledge with others as we bridge the digital divide, one person, one group, one net, collaboratively, individually, and all the other ly words we use.

So as you prepare your annual Thanksgiving Gmail, with the newly added Themes and emoticons, send thanks, be thankful, and make the most of The Dash between your date of birth and your date of expiration.

From the many Google Doodles and Logos

From the titles of Google products: Search, Explore and innovate, Communicate, show & share and Go Mobile. Take the time to say "Thank You"...you will be surprised how 2 little words can make a person's day.

Thank You for taking a moment to read the blog post!!!

Paradigm Paralysis

This topic is part of my weekly assignment. One of the books for the course is Windows on the Future Education in the Age of Technology by Ted McCain and Ian Jukes (2001). The book can also be found in Google Book Search with limited preview (http://books.google.com/) where you can build your own library.

I discussed the paradigm paralysis with my daughter and asked her about possible solutions. Her first response to the paradigm paralysis referenced the difference between her and her friends using digital gadgets to teachers who do not even read email. I applauded her intuitiveness and reviewed the paradigm paralysis self checklist with her which proved both of us grow with our changes. Whether it is due to the multiple moves with the military, her curiosity coupled with my support of her exploring the world, we accept change as part of life and learn to adapt, implement, and overcome.

I read to her some of the historical references where teachers and principals worried about students as they transformed from using bark to calculate and migrating to slates to forgetting how to sharpen a pencil with a knife to using ballpoint pens and forgetting how to make ink. While my mother can remember using slates and ink bottles during her school days she has migrated into the digital world. It took her a few years to finally purchase a computer, but now she loves her laptop and we successfully weaned her off of AOL in less than a week.

How do you overcome paradigm paralysis? How do you help others overcome their paradigm paralysis?

Do you volunteer at a local library to teach computer skills? Blog about the issues? Experiment with digital tools? Make a commitment to learn something new every day? Share knowledge with others so they may overcome a personal paradigm paralysis? Incorporate an "insist and assist" method of delving into the world of digital gadgets?

Feel free to share your ideas...the Google search for paradigm paralysis and education produces many results.