May, 2014 | Google Data

Archive for May, 2014

Analytics & AdWords Bulk Account Linking

May 7th, 2014 | by Rob Newton | published in Google Adwords

To maximize marketing investment and return, advertisers need insights into the effectiveness of their ads. However, gaining such insights is often overly cumbersome. This is why we’re pleased to announce that in the coming weeks, the Google Analytics and AdWords account linking process is becoming even more streamlined, making it easier for advertisers to quickly gain rich insights. The new linking process allows you to link multiple AdWords accounts all at once. This enables more tightly controlled linking access for each Google Analytics property.

Enable Bulk AdWords Account Linking

Many Google Analytics users have multiple AdWords accounts. Until now, each AdWords account had to be individually linked. The new account linking wizard allows you to select any of the AdWords accounts in which you have Administrative access. The following screenshot shows what the wizard looks like for a user who has access to an AdWords MCC containing many AdWords accounts. Note that you can select multiple accounts:

Discover Unlinked Accounts

Many users want to quickly find unlinked AdWords accounts and link to them, and the new wizard makes this easy. A quick glance at the AdWords account list in the screenshot above shows which accounts are and aren’t linked. To link additional accounts, just mark the “X” in front of each account, and then continue.

Gain More Granular Control

With this launch, linking to AdWords now takes place at the Analytics property level instead of the account level. This is a benefit for those with many properties in a single Analytics account; if you have different teams of people managing each property, you no longer need to give them access to the full Analytics account in order to link to AdWords. Now, you can simply give that team access to only the appropriate property, and they can manage AdWords links. All it takes is property-level Edit permission to create and update AdWords links. This is another Analytics feature enabling large-scale Analytics customers to better control access to their Analytics accounts.

Visit The New AdWords Linking Section

Once the new linking process has launched to your account, you’ll be able to see all these features. Log in to your Analytics account, click the Admin button in the header, and you’ll see a new AdWords Linking section in the Property column.

Log into your Analytics account soon to update your AdWords account links and gain rich marketing insights.

Posted by Dan Fielder and Matt Matyas, Google Analytics Team

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Atlanta Police Department makes city streets safer with Google Maps and Google Search Appliance

May 7th, 2014 | by Jane Smith | published in Google Enterprise, Google Maps

Posted by LeAnne Browning, Lieutenant and Video Integration Center Project Director, Atlanta Police Department

Editor’s note: Today’s guest blogger is Lieutenant LeAnne Browning from the Atlanta Police Department (APD). She and her colleagues have incorporated search and mapping data into police operations to make the department more efficient. See what other organizations that have gone Google have to say.

At the Atlanta Police Department, our 2,000-plus sworn officers are devoted to working with the community to develop innovative problem-solving strategies. Thanks to these efforts, the crime rate dropped by 44% between 2000 and 2012. We’re proud of our strong reputation among Atlanta residents and law enforcement agencies around the world.

But we know we can always do better, which is why we started Operation Shield back in 2007. The goal is to further prevent crime and improve emergency preparedness with cutting-edge technology and private sector partnerships. One major component is our Video Integration Center (VIC), a surveillance hub and physical security information management platform built with Google Maps technology that gives us instant access to 2,500 cameras throughout the city. When a 911 call comes in, it’s automatically plotted in Google Maps and paired with the nearest live camera images. That way, operators can give real-time information to responding officers rushing to the scene.

Now we’re using Google Search Appliance (GSA) to make the VIC even more powerful. Our partner, Edge360, helped us develop Search360, a search and investigative tool built with GSA that allows operators to search across multiple databases for details like prior incidents at the same address, license plate numbers or descriptions of subjects. Since the system is integrated with Google Maps, it runs automated searches based on geocoding to give analysts fast visual representation of search results. This helps them generate a photographic lineup to send to the responding detective’s mobile data terminal, smartphone or tablet before he or she reaches the crime scene.

Gathering information for investigations used to be slow and tedious. As a detective seven years ago, I had to travel to the scene, interview victims and witnesses, then spend hours or even days back in the office running searches in multiple databases, such as our mugshots database or our report management system. With help from Edge360 and Google, that process is almost instantaneous.

When I joined the department 19 years ago, I never imagined how technology could work in tandem with the traditional tools police officers rely on—our instinct and experience. But that’s exactly what’s happening with Operation Shield. We’re hoping it will improve the quality of life for Atlanta residents by making our streets, parks and neighborhoods safer and more prepared than ever before.

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New Chromebooks: in more shapes, sizes and colors

May 6th, 2014 | by Jane Smith | published in Google Enterprise

Posted by Bill Brougher, Director, Chrome OS Partner Engineering

(Cross-posted on the Google Chrome Blog)

Spring has finally arrived in the U.S. And with the new growth the season brings, we’re happy to expand our Chromebook family. Together with Intel, today we’re announcing a new lineup of Chromebooks with Intel inside from leading manufacturers Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, LG and Toshiba—spanning an entire range of shapes, sizes, colors and configurations.

Lenovo’s N20p Chromebook and Thinkpad YOGA 11e Chromebook offer options for touchscreen and hinge designs that enable tablet or tented-angle usage, so they’re just as easy to use at your desk or coffee table, on your lap or at school.

ASUS is following the success of their Chromebox (now the most popular desktop on Amazon.com) by introducing two new laptops: The ASUS C200 Chromebook (11-inch) and ASUS C300 Chromebook (13-inch).

New versions of the Dell Chromebook 11 and the Acer C720 Chromebook will be powered by Intel’s Core i3 processor, which packs the additional performance to help you get things done faster. These new Chromebooks, along with a new 13-inch Toshiba model, a Chromebox from HP, and the LG Chromebase (the first all-in-one computer running Chrome OS), will be available in retail over the next few months.

We hope that you get a chance to try one—or more—of these new Chromebooks soon.

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New Chromebooks: in more shapes, sizes and colors

May 6th, 2014 | by Google Chrome Blog | published in Google Chrome

ASUS is following the success of their Chromebox (now the most popular desktop on Amazon.com) by introducing two new laptops: The ASUS C200 Chromebook (11-inch) and ASUS C300 Chromebook (13-inch).

We hope that you get a chance to try one—or more—of these new Chromebooks soon.

Posted by Bill Brougher, Director, Chrome OS Partner Engineering

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New Research: Location Extends The Relevance of Search Ads

May 6th, 2014 | by Rob Newton | published in Google Adwords

4 out of 5 consumers say they want search ads to be customized to their city, zip code or immediate surroundings.

That’s one of the key findings to come from new research on local search conducted by Ipsos MediaCT and Purchased®. Google commissioned the research to find out more about consumers’ local search behavior — that is, their behavior when they’re trying to find things nearby. 5000+ participants were recruited based on their smartphone usage and purchase behavior, and voluntarily completed an online survey or logged their smartphone search and in-store activities via a mobile diary.

Here’s what we learned: people expect search ads to be relevant to their context and location. If they search for “car rental” or “Mexican restaurant,” they prefer ads that are customized to where they happen to be and that help them take the next steps in their shopping journey. Among the findings:

Consumers search for local information from all kinds of places. On computers and tablets, those places can include home (76%), work (24%) and hotels or motels (18%). On smartphones, those places include home (53%), on the go (51%) and in stores and malls (41%).

More than 60% of consumers say they’ve used ads with location information like address, directions, phone number or a click-to-call button. And, more than 70% of consumers who have used location information in ads say that information is important.

Consumers choose stores close to where they happen to be. 72% of consumers who searched for local information on their smartphone visited a store within 5 miles.

What does this mean for advertisers? In a constantly connected world, advertisers need to think not only about consumers’ intent, but also their context. Consumers are reaching out to brands whenever and wherever it’s convenient for them. Many advertisers still run broad national ads when consumers really want ads that are customized to their city, zip code or immediate surroundings. It’s more important than ever for advertisers to have an ad strategy that accounts for consumers’ context and location.

There’s much more in our full report. Read it now at Think With Google.

Posted by Bao Lam, Performance Ads Product Marketing Manager

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Welcome to the Tech Hub Network family, Capital Factory!

May 6th, 2014 | by Emily Wood | published in Google Blog

Austin is home to some of the best barbecue in the country, a killer live music scene, and an energy that can match any other city in the world. It’s no coincidence, then, that it’s also home to some of the most creative entrepreneurs out there, which is why we’re pleased to welcome Capital Factory, an Austin-based incubator and co-working space for startups, to the Google for Entrepreneurs Tech Hub Network. The city’s thriving startup community and deep bench of engineering talent, combined with its natural creativity and eclecticism, make it the perfect place to expand.

Capital Factory is the eighth space to join the Network, a group of partner organizations across the U.S. that does everything from hosting accelerator programs for talented developers to providing desks for entrepreneurs. Google for Entrepreneurs provides funding to all the hubs and give them access to mentorship opportunities and Google products.

In just over six months, the Tech Hub Network is already having a dramatic effect on entrepreneurs around North America. Seventy-one percent of startups say their hub is having a significant impact on their growth, and companies from the Network have raised more than $50 million and created 1,200 jobs since becoming members. Just last month, we hosted a Demo Day for these hubs, where 10 startups raised millions of dollars to help grow their businesses.

To give these entrepreneurs an even greater boost going forward, starting today anyone who works in one of the eight tech hubs or Google’s Campus London and Tel Aviv will be able to work for free from the other member spaces when traveling. This will give startups a home base when they’re on the road, and the chance to spread and exchange ideas from city to city.

Not too long ago, Google was just a small startup in a garage. Now that we’ve grown up a bit, we want to give others a place where they can work on their ideas, and feed off each other’s creativity and ingenuity. Capital Factory is no exception. So, get your boots on, Austin entrepreneurs—we can’t wait to see how your growing startup community plays its part in keeping Austin weird.

Posted by John Lyman, Head of Partnerships, Google for Entrepreneurs

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Previewing a new Classroom

May 6th, 2014 | by Jane Smith | published in Google Enterprise

Posted by Zach Yeskel, Product Manager, Classroom

(Cross-posted on the Official Google Blog)

As a former high school math teacher, I know all too well that teachers spend a ton of valuable time doing things other than teaching—waking up early to grade quizzes, collecting and returning piles of paper assignments, and battling copy machine paper jams. But with today’s technology it doesn’t have to be this way. Many teachers and professors have found ways to use technology to be better educators and avoid busy work. We spent the past year working closely with many educators to understand the systems they use to simplify their workloads, so they can get back to doing what they love—teaching.

Today, in honor of Teacher Appreciation Day, we’re announcing a preview of Classroom, a new, free tool in the Google Apps for Education suite. It helps teachers create and organize assignments quickly, provide feedback efficiently, and communicate with their classes with ease. Classroom is based on the principle that educational tools should be simple and easy to use, and is designed to give teachers more time to teach and students more time to learn.

With Classroom, you’ll be able to:

Create and collect assignments: Classroom weaves together Google Docs, Drive and Gmail to help teachers create and collect assignments paperlessly. They can quickly see who has or hasn’t completed the work, and provide direct, real-time feedback to individual students.
Improve class communications: Teachers can make announcements, ask questions and comment with students in real time—improving communication inside and outside of class.
Stay organized: Classroom automatically creates Drive folders for each assignment and for each student. Students can easily see what’s due on their Assignments page.

We know that protecting your students’ privacy is critical. Like the rest of our Apps for Education services, Classroom contains no ads, never uses your content or student data for advertising purposes, and is free for schools.

Starting today, teachers and professors can apply for a preview of Classroom. Based on the requests we receive, we’ll be inviting a limited number of educators to try Classroom in about a month. By September, Classroom will be available to any school using Google Apps for Education. Since we want to make sure Classroom plays well with others, if you’re a developer or partner, sign up to learn more about integrating with Classroom.

We’ve been working with more than a dozen pilot schools and universities to try out Classroom and provide feedback—and we can’t thank them enough. We can’t wait to hear your feedback, and to work together to make Classroom even better.

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Previewing a new Classroom

May 6th, 2014 | by Emily Wood | published in Google Blog

With Classroom, you’ll be able to:

Create and collect assignments: Classroom weaves together Google Docs, Drive and Gmail to help teachers create and collect assignments paperlessly. They can quickly see who has or hasn’t completed the work, and provide direct, real-time feedback to individual students.
Improve class communications: Teachers can make announcements, ask questions and comment with students in real time—improving communication inside and outside of class.
Stay organized: Classroom automatically creates Drive folders for each assignment and for each student. Students can easily see what’s due on their Assignments page.

Posted by Zach Yeskel, Product Manager, Classroom

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We’ve Got You Covered with Our New Guide to Keywords

May 6th, 2014 | by Rob Newton | published in Google Adwords

As people search for things on Google, advertisers target those searches, or queries, using keywords. The relationship between queries and keywords is at the heart of search advertising with AdWords.

Do you have the right strategies in place in your account to cultivate all of that potential demand? Our new guide, Keywords to the Wise, details keyword best practices to take your account to the next level.

Do you target the meaning of a user’s search, in addition to the language a user may or may not be using?
Are your long tail keywords too long?
What opportunities for expansion are you missing out on in your account?
How diligent are you with your negative keywords, and do you understand the ways in which their matching behavior differs from positive keywords?

Download our latest best practices white paper — Keywords to the Wise — to ensure that you’ve got keyword coverage covered.

Posted by Matt Lawson, Director, Performance Ads Marketing

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Get on the road, go off the grid, or plan the perfect weekend with the Google Maps app

May 6th, 2014 | by Lat Long | published in Google Earth

When your life is moving fast, you need tools to keep up with your pace. Google Maps for mobile is the perfect travel companion for your daily commute, weekend errands, and (much-needed) vacations. Starting today, you now have even more ways to avoid life’s everyday hiccups with Google Maps for Android and iPhone/iPad:

Don’t miss your next turn or exit. The Google Maps app now shows you which lane to stay in or move to so you’ll never find yourself driving for miles down the wrong road. You’ll also have easy access to alternate routes while you’re navigating, so you can choose the best drive for you. To learn more about lane guidance availability, click here.

Don’t worry if you’re not online. Before setting off on your next vacation, hike, or roadtrip, search for an area and tap on its place info sheet, then when available, you can select “Save map to use offline,” and give your map a custom name, like “Toronto Vacation.” To find your offline maps, sign-in, tap the profile icon next to the search box in the top right corner, and scroll to see “Toronto Vacation” and other saved maps.

Don’t be late for last call. With new filters, you can browse through restaurants, bars and hotels by opening hours, rating, price, and more—where available—to find just what you’re looking for, right when you need it.

Don’t limit your options. Frequent Uber rider? If you have the Uber app installed, you can now compare your ride with transit and walking directions right from Google Maps in some cities. And if you choose the Uber option, you’ll jump right into the Uber app with just one click.

Don’t miss that train. With more than a million public transit stops on Google Maps, you’ll get reliable information to help you get where you’re going. Next time you’re in Chicago, search for directions to Lincoln Park Zoo, tap the train icon, and select “Depart at” to choose the time and day you want to leave—or even “last train home” for those night owls—so you get the most accurate transit information for your needs.

Don’t forget the park you wanted to visit. See places you’ve saved on Google Maps across all your devices when you’re signed in. And if you find a place you want to save on the go, search for the location you’re interested in, tap on the place card, and hit the star icon to save the location for later.

Don’t wait to explore your next vacation spot. Search for your ideal destination—anywhere from the Gateway Arch to the Taj Mahal—then tap on the place card to dive into Street View where available. You might even get a peek inside some hotels, restaurants, and more.

So, next time you’re caught up in a whirlwind of activity, make navigating your world a little easier. Take a moment to grab your phone, open up the Google Maps app, and find all you need to search, navigate and explore the world around you. Don’t worry—we’ve got you covered.

Posted by Jeffrey Hightower, Software Engineering Manager

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Insights at your fingertips, for more effective campaigns

May 6th, 2014 | by Melissa Horwitz | published in Google DoubleClick

Today we are excited to announce Insights, a brand new, beautiful reporting tool that provides marketers and agencies with auto-generated insights about campaign performance across channels to help optimize future campaigns.

To ensure their messages are seen by the right users, today, advertisers spend hours analyzing data, or digging through spreadsheets to find meaningful campaign insights. It shouldn’t be this way. In today’s constantly connected world, where we reach consumers across many screens and channels, real-time, actionable insights are more critical than ever. However, fragmented tools and reporting are major pain points that prevent this, according to a study conducted with the Boston Consulting Group.

Actionable insights at a glance

The Insights tool allows advertisers to view campaign performance at a glance, without having to dig through data or build complex reports manually. You can learn about campaign factors that you undervalued, or ones you may have overlooked. This new tool helps you answer questions like:

Which publisher had the lowest cost-per-action (CPA) in previous campaigns for the same advertiser?
What time of day generates the highest cost-per-click (CPC)?
How does campaign performance vary by mobile platform?
Do certain creatives perform better on certain browsers?
Am I maximizing exposure on high-performing placements?

Interactive design for faster and more efficient media planning

Real-time visualizations and graphs replace manual spreadsheets, showing you detailed information faster. The new Insights tool in reporting is highly interactive, with the ability to drill down based on the following:

Dimensions
- Publisher; Placement; Creative; Geo; Platform type; Browser
Goals
- Click-through rate; Cost per click; Conversions per impression; Conversions per click; Cost per activity; Rich media interaction rate; Rich media click rate; Video completion rate

Over the coming weeks and months, you will see more and more dimensions added into the tool that will help you surface key insights for smarter campaign management.

Insights across channels

This new tool includes data across both reservations and programmatic buys. Today, the data is presented together across channels, and in the coming months, we will provide data that is broken out between your reservations and programmatic buys.

Matthew McIntyre, Senior Media Manager at Unique Digital, told us about the benefits they are seeing with the new tool:

“The new Insights tool is really exciting for us as an agency because it lets us see where and how we can make improvements in our campaigns almost immediately. The customizable goals and visualizations allow us to tailor the dashboard for every campaign and instantly make decisions which will drive better results for our clients. The insight provided on performance gives our planners more time and clearer data to make future media plans faster and with more clarity on how to drive the best performance.”

Our goal with DoubleClick Digital Marketing is to integrate your digital marketing efforts seamlessly, so your teams can effectively manage your cross-channel campaigns. With data that is fresh, de-duplicated, and auto-generated, the Insights tool takes us a step closer to this goal.

Insights is available to all DoubleClick Campaign Manager customers, globally, so if you’re still using DoubleClick for Advertisers, ask your account manager about upgrading to DoubleClick Campaign Manager.

You can stay on top of new updates by subscribing to our newsletter and following us on our Google+ page.

Posted by Oren Mor, Product Manager, DoubleClick

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What’s new in Google Apps newsletter – April 2014

May 5th, 2014 | by Jane Smith | published in Google Apps

Check out this month’s “What’s New in Google Apps” newsletter for a roundup of all Apps launches from April 2014.whatsnew.googleapps.comGet these product update alerts by emailSubscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

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My road to Google Summer of Code

May 5th, 2014 | by Mary Radomile | published in Google Open Source

As part of our celebration of the 10th instance of Google Summer of Code, we are highlighting some of our student participants on the Open Source blog. Today’s story comes from Hesham AL-Matary, a GSoC student for RTEMS for the past three years. Student participants have already been announced for GSoC 2014, but Hesham provides some great tips for those who may be interested in participating in the future.

In 2012, I learned about a program called Google Summer of Code (GSoC) that Google organizes for students to work on open source software projects. Like most Computer Engineering students, I knew GSoC was a great opportunity — if only I could have the chance to participate! My expectations of being accepted were very low. But I figured, why not give it a try? What could I lose? I decided to take the first step.

I scanned the GSoC program website and searched for the keywords that matched my interests: embedded systems, operating systems, RTOS, and C. It was great to see that’s exactly what RTEMS tags included in their organization profile. I clicked on the link to the RTEMS website, read more about the organization, and searched for open projects. Not surprisingly, there was an open project that appealed to me. I completed some additional research, read more of RTEMS’ documentation, and finally felt ready to submit a proposal. I submitted my proposal early on in the program period and quickly realized this was a smart move; I was able to get lots of valuable and detailed comments and feedback from the folks in the RTEMS community.

Their comments made me believe that what I was proposing was something important and needed by users; a feeling that I never had before. After a few more weeks of discussions and project modifications, my proposal was ready. Once I submitted my proposal, I was comfortable with what I did and I knew I could not have done any better. A few weeks later, the projects were announced and I had been accepted! Without a doubt, that moment was a turning point in my life.

Participating in GSoC that first year with RTEMS allowed me to learn more about software engineering than I ever would have imagined. Specifically, I now know how important the design phase is, the benefits of feedback and discussions, and of course, why it’s useful to interact with the community via mailing list and IRC on a regular basis. My technical expertise has been enriched in a variety of areas including C programming, RTOS, gdb, gcc, simulators, hardware, embedded systems, git, source control, documentation and so much more. Last but not least, making connections with some great mentors at RTEMS was one of the best aspects of participating in GSoC for me.

You may be surprised to know that I actually enjoyed having deadlines, challenges and troubles. I feel that’s what GSoC is partially about (aside from encouraging students to work with open source software): a real world work experience. People in RTEMS, and any other organization, want you to complete your project successfully. They are thrilled to help you with the challenges you face. Thanks to my mentor at RTEMS I was able to pass both the midterm and final evaluations — I could finally brag that I was a former GSoC participant!

Statement of accomplishment – GSoC 2012

I am now in my third year of participating in Google Summer of Code with RTEMS. I also was able to participate as a mentor in Google Code-in, an open source contest that targets 13-17 year old students.This summer I’ll be working on my most challenging project yet!

GSoC helped me achieve the following:

I learned a ton about open source software.
I am hooked on open source and RTEMS.
I got hands-on experience with real world software.
I made connections with great developers.
I completed great projects (and got a nice stipend doing so).

If you are a student and considering applying to GSoC, here is my advice:

Don’t worry about your modest experience, you’re bound to learn more as you go along in the program. Basics are enough.
Submit a proposal and get in touch with the organization community via IRC or their mailing list. Do both early!
Ensure your proposal is well structured and detailed. It should explain how you will work on the project and give a clear and reasonable timeline as well as deliverables. Most organizations provide a template for writing proposals.
Choose a project that appeals to the organization and its users while also matching your interests.

By Hesham AL-Matary, Google Summer of Code Student, 2012-2014

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Through the Google lens: search trends April 25-May 1

May 2nd, 2014 | by Emily Wood | published in Google Blog

From matters of the heart to matters off the court, join us on a trip to a galaxy far, far away for our look back at this week’s search trends.

Searching for romance
It’s the end of George as we know him. Saturday, word got out that longtime bachelor George Clooney was engaged to his girlfriend, Amal Alamuddin. Alamuddin is a respected human rights lawyer in Britain, but she’s not—or wasn’t—a household name, and many people turned to search to learn more about the woman who captured Clooney’s heart. While they were at it, they looked for information on actress Talia Balsam, who was married to George in the early 90’s (for those of you paying attention, that’s pre-Doug Ross!). In other celebrity couple news, Prince Harry and Cressida Bonas have reportedly broken up. So, if you’re disappointed that George is off the market, there’s still hope for women around the world wishing to marry a royal.

A historic week for the NBA
NBA commissioner Adam Silver made league history this week when he fined Clippers owner Donald Sterling and banned him from the league for recent comments. Millions of searches followed, and terms like [adam silver comments], [adam silver sterling], [adam sterling clippers] immediately climbed more than 1,000 percent.

The fetch is strong with this one
On Wednesday, we wore pink in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Tina Fey’s “Mean Girls.” The movie that gave us “fetch” was the subject of so many searches, quizzes (searches for [mean girls quiz] were up 350 percent) and retrospectives that even Cady Heron might have trouble adding them up. And though rumors of a [mean girls reunion] (up 850 percent) are apparently false, that can’t exactly be said of another movie on searchers’ minds this week: “Star Wars.” A photo revealing the cast of J.J. Abrams’ “Episode VII” showed original stars Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and more seated alongside new faces like John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver. The new cast members were on the top of the search charts quicker than the Millennium Falcon could make the Kessel Run. (Fun fact: searches for [bill weasley] were also on the rise; “Episode VII”’s Domhnall Gleeson played him in the “Harry Potter” movies.).

Wordplay
Actress Emma Stone made headlines this week when she faced off against Late Night’s Jimmy Fallon in an epic lip syncing battle; searches for [emma stone fallon] climbed 2,200 percent. But while we can’t deny Emma’s spoken-word skills, we’ve got a soft spot for two other playful phrases that made the zeitgeist this week. On Saturday, searchers learned that [zonkey] was not an adjective for how you feel after a red-eye, but actually a rare zebra/donkey cross born last week in Mexico. And [it’s gonna be May] was trending Wednesday after Organizing for Action’s Barack Obama Facebook page used the meme-y caption on a photo showing POTUS with Justin Timberlake. Just to bring this week full circle, the Know Your Meme entry on “It’s gonna be May” includes a reference to… “Mean Girls.”

Happy Friday, and we’ll see you next week.

Posted by Emily Wood, Google Blog Editor, who searched this week for [derby day history] and [andre movie]

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Advice from educators at Hillsborough Township School District: realizing impact with Google for Education

May 2nd, 2014 | by Jane Smith | published in Google Enterprise

Editor’s note: Earlier today we shared a story about Hillsborough School District in New Jersey, the first district to adopt the complete Google for Education solution. Today, we continue their story with an interview between Cristin Frodella, Head of Education Marketing at Google, with a few educators from the district — Todd MacDonald and Cara Flash (Technology Integration Specialists), Susan Fajen (4th grade teacher), and Jennifer Tuller and Carrie Sanchez (5th grade teachers).

Cristin: What impact have you have seen from using Google for Education that you couldn’t get with other products?

Susan: Google tools offer more possibilities for addressing a variety of student learning styles, which puts the kids in the “driver’s seat” as far as engagement goes. Whatever you did before technology — packets, worksheets, notes, dry erase boards — you can do on a tablet or Chromebook. It’s all inside.

Todd: In many of our Chromebook classes we’ve seen a big shift towards collaborative, student-centered learning. In these classrooms, you’ll find students that are self-directed, working at their own pace, switching between tasks with ease, and constantly working with their peers, both virtually and face-to-face. And in classes that use Nexus tablets, we’ve seen teachers finding new ways to differentiate instruction, giving students access to different apps, books and videos based on each student’s different needs.

Jennifer: Not only do I see the students engaged more, but they take ownership of their learning. They have the world at their fingertips at all times and can find out the answer to anything at any moment. They even email me resources that they find at all hours to help them and their peers understand and study the concepts that we are learning in class.

Cristin: Was there anything particularly surprising about the impact of Google for Education at your schools?

Todd: There were concerns that increased technology usage would take away personal interactions, but we actually found that the majority of students and teachers in our programs feel closer. They take advantage of the technology tools to stay connected whenever and wherever they choose. Teachers spend more time working with individuals and small groups, because the new technology has allowed them to monitor what each student is doing at any given time and adjust instruction on the fly.

Cristin: What’s your advice for teachers getting started with Google Apps for Education?

Carrie: Take full advantage of Google Apps to encourage teamwork. The most unexpected impact I’ve seen has to be the camaraderie between the students — and myself. There’s a willingness to problem-solve and help one another when working within the technology. These technologies foster teamwork otherwise not possible in the traditional classroom.

Susan: Ease into it and let the kids help. They catch on quickly. It’s always good to have a few kids in the classroom who can be the experts and roam around the room to help you and the other students.

Cristin: What’s your advice for educators whose students will have Chromebooks in their classrooms?

Todd: Learn the basics before doing anything in the classroom. This goes for teachers and students — everybody should know how to use Gmail (for sending, receiving, and organizing mail), Google Drive (for creating, naming, sharing documents and folders), and Calendar (for organizing agendas and tasks).

Jennifer: Yes — start with the Google Apps basics, but also join online professional communities, such as Edutopia, to learn about how other teachers are finding success with Chromebooks in the classroom. The Chromebook is your paper and pencil — you can do pretty much anything on it that you did before, but with newer, exciting tools.

Cristin: Finally, what advice do you have for teachers getting started with tablets with Google Play for Education?

Cara: Tablets with Google Play for Education help teachers search for tools and apps by grade level, content or curriculum standards. Take your time to look through what is available and test out the app yourself or with a small group of students before rolling it out to everyone.

Susan: Encourage students to stay organized from the start using some simple tools. They can try Google’s app Keep. It’s great for organizing & note taking, and everything can be saved on Drive. Also AnyDo is a great organizational tool to help students accomplish all their tasks.

Todd: I would also advise that teachers not put pressure on themselves to become masters of the technology. There is too much to learn, too little time to do it, and once you learn it, everything changes anyway! Teachers should continue to be the experts in their subject matter, learn enough to facilitate the technology, and design learning experiences where students are the ones working hardest in the classroom.

ddd

Google Data

Archive for May, 2014

Analytics & AdWords Bulk Account Linking

Atlanta Police Department makes city streets safer with Google Maps and Google Search Appliance

New Chromebooks: in more shapes, sizes and colors

New Chromebooks: in more shapes, sizes and colors

New Research: Location Extends The Relevance of Search Ads

Welcome to the Tech Hub Network family, Capital Factory!

Previewing a new Classroom

Previewing a new Classroom

We’ve Got You Covered with Our New Guide to Keywords

Get on the road, go off the grid, or plan the perfect weekend with the Google Maps app

Insights at your fingertips, for more effective campaigns

What’s new in Google Apps newsletter – April 2014

My road to Google Summer of Code

Through the Google lens: search trends April 25-May 1

Advice from educators at Hillsborough Township School District: realizing impact with Google for Education

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