Google Alert

I got my first Google Alert! I didn't hear anything for a couple of days, and I thought I might have stumped them with the subject of knitting, but there they were this morning.

This Saturday, June 14 is World Wide Knit in Public Day. I didn't know that this existed, and I also didn't know that some people had trouble knitting in public.

Another exciting thing is that there is an article about a third grade class that is knitting projects for cancer patients. This wasn't the class in Houston that I wanted more information about that was knitting baby caps, but it is the same idea. They also gave an address to contact them, so I will send something to them today.

There is a Knitting Cafe that provides equipment and classes for beginners. How cool. I wish it was in Houston. There is also a musical group named Knitting Factory. Who knew?

There was an article about how knitting is undergoing a renaissance and details about another knitting circle that is sending hats, scarves and sweaters to familes in need. Maybe I can get some ideas or find my baby cap pattern from this group.

And---there were 3 more blogs that I can add to my Google Reader. Most of the ones I found the other day were on hold, but these 3 are going strong and they were beginners like me. Just what I needed--more to read. Anyway, I am excited about it. Every article had something that I was interested in and didn't know about.

So, if any of you are knitters, go out and knit something in public on Saturday.

Thing #7 Cool Google Tools

I have always loved the word google--very clever. It just sounds like fun and it is. Mention trying to find out something about almost anything and most people will ask you if you have "googled" it.

I enjoyed all of the Google tools on Thing #7. I registered for Google Alerts about knitting. It will be interesting to see if I get any information. I taught myself how to knit last year, and I am really enjoying it. A teacher and I have talked about starting a knitting group at school and making baby caps. There was an article in the paper about a year ago featuring a third grade classroom in a Houston school that was making baby caps for newborn babies. We thought it sounded interesting, and searched for a pattern, but didn't find one. I have to admit that we both got very busy and dropped the ball on the project. Maybe this alert will direct me to the pattern. Also, some of my library volunteer moms wanted to start a knitting club this summer so we could stay in touch with each other. We have our first meeting next week.

I think the Google Advanced Search was one of the most helpful sites as far as lesson planning. I stayed with the Texas State Symbols theme and searched for PowerPoint presentations (thanks for the hint). The teachers at my school love PowerPoint presentations and there were two good ones when I did a Google Advanced Search. The one from Pasadena ISD even included the cowboy hat as a state symbol, and it was very well done. I am hoping to gently "push" some of our teachers into other types of projects this year. There should be plenty of things to show them after this course.

I loved Google Earth, and I probably did what most people do--I googled my home address. It took me straight to my house, and it was fun to see everything in the neighborhood. I liked the fact that you could tag landmarks, and I could see this tool being used in many Social Studies lessons. I loved that it showed you the exact latitude and longitude of a location. For some reason, that was always one of my favorite things to teach.