The Google Debate Rages On!
Ice Breaker Idea – Give us this day our daily Google
I recommend highly this discussion for an ice breaker topic with students in the classroom or faculty development round table sessions. Most everyone knows about Google and has opinions on Google. Start by having participants list the ways they use Google and the Google applications they have tried. Have the participants stand. Ask those to sit down if they use Google more than 10 times a day. Ask the remaining to sit down if they use Google daily. Next, progress down the line of questioning with a few times a week, a couple times a month, now and then. See if any of the participants remain standing. Have them share why they don’t use Google. Keep it light and fun, so no one feels as if they are put on the spot. You can do that same by asking them about their use of Google applications. Open the floor for discussion on Google in education and in our daily lives. Provide resources on using Goggle applications in the classroom. Read the following articles for references and topic ideas:
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Is Google Making Us Stupid?
A few months ago we featured the article, Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains, by Nicholas Carr. http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google, The Atlantic.Com.
Read the responses in our What Google is Doing to Our Brains in the Web 2.0 Epsilen forum (please join and contribute) and on my Web 2.0 blog entry, “The Big Bad Google Monster” at http://nancywozniak.wordpress.com/from-the-mind-of-woz/the-big-bad-google-monster/
NOTE: Don’t get upset with my use of the term Luddite. I don’t like the label, but for my review of Carr’s article, I made an exception. Here is my opinion on the label Luddite – http://nancywozniak.wordpress.com/from-the-mind-of-woz/visionaries-vs-luddites/

Give Us This Day Our Daily Google:
NPR’s, Sarah Handel remarks about Google in her life, “– it’s just so darn useful, that I tend to think of it as more of a utility, like water and electricity, than a commercial product… “ – http://www.npr.org/blogs/talk/2008/09/i_cant_quit_you_google.html. Here another take on how Google has become part of our daily sustenance by Rob Dubbin of the Colbert Report (warning: might not be an article for K-12).
Can You Go A Day Without Google?
Google marked its 10th birthday on Sunday. In honor of the day, writer Rob Dubbin decided to see if he could go 24 hours without using the search engine. His article
“Just Let Me Check One Last Thing”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/05/AR2008090502654.html
appeared Sunday in the Washington Post.

Blog of the Nation – I Can’t Quit You, Google
All Things Considered, September 7, 2008
It’s not often that a product or service becomes so pervasive that people start using it as a verb. On the 10th anniversary of Google, take a look back on its influence through the lens of popular culture.
Listen to the NPR broadcast at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94392120
and join the read the blog entries at
http://www.npr.org/blogs/talk/2008/09/i_cant_quit_you_google.html
VERY INTERESTING TOPIC!
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Google Chrome Reviews
Nicole, a colleague at work, and I were discussing Michael Piotrowski’s (University of Toledo) announcement post in our Web 2.0 Epsilen Group about the use of Google Chrome for research papers. We both agreed that it’s too new … the jury is still out. I’m creating a forum and a wiki on Google Chrome in the Epsilen Group.

Michael posts, “I wondered if anyone had any inside opinions about the new Google Chrome. Will it make it easier for students to write research papers for my college courses?”

Our Epsilen colleagues, Bob Harbort, Melanie Reed, Mike Pouraryan have responded and I am posting their responses in the Give us this day our daily Google Web 2.0 Epsilen forum. Whether you plan to use Google or not, please join and contribute.

What is it?
Some of you may be asking, “What is Google Chrome?” It’s a browser in its baby (beta) stages. Here’s Wikipedia’s entry – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome
I’ve been listening to NPR reviews of Chrome on Morning Edition, Talk of the Nation and All things Considered. NPR is a good place to start. Try these sources:

Google’s ‘Shiny’ New Web Browser
NPR.org, September 2, 2008 by Joshua Brockman (RBW – Recommended by Woz)
When Google unveiled its new browser on Tuesday, it was touted as a faster and more reliable experience for those using the Web for everything from e-mail and word processing, to music and video. Go to http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94211079

Google’s Chrome Taps Browsers’ Cash Potential
Morning Edition, September 9, 2008 • Google is taking on Microsoft’s ubiquitous Internet Explorer with a new browser called Chrome. Technology commentator Mario Armstrong says it’s an easy to use, open-source browser that has a long way to go before it could oust Explorer as the No. 1 browser. Listen at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94407506

Google Launches ‘Chrome’ Web Browser
Talk of the Nation, September 5, 2008
Internet search giant Google unveiled Chrome, a new piece of Web browser software on Tuesday. Danny Sullivan, editor-in-chief of SearchEngineLand.com, explains what Google’s open-source browser can do, and why a search engine leader wants to get into the Web software market.
Listen at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94299337

Visit the Google Chrome download page and introduction in comic book and video form at
http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/features.html

I.E. is Still #1! Let’s see how long it will take Google to overtake them.
Top Five Web Browsers By Market Share
Internet Explorer – 72.2 %
Firefox – 19.7 %
Safari – 6.4 %
Opera – 0.74 %
Netscape- 0.72 %

Source: Net Applications