10 things you need to know about Google Basic Search

This article, The Google Basic Top 10, is a great, simple, breakdown of ways to make searching with Google easier and more effective.

A few highlights include:

• the word "and" is assumed. You do not need to type it in, Google knows it's supposed to be there.
• use quotes around a search to find only results for that phrase, not each individual word - "Brooklyn Bridge" will get you only results related to the Brooklyn Bridge, not Brooklyn results and bridge results too

All 10 things can be found here:

Ten Items All Should Know When Using Google Basic Search…. Far From Basic! by Michael Gorman TL Advisor Blog - TechLearning.com

Vote for these PS 10 teachers!

Sonic and Donors Choose have partnered fund teacher created projects via a website called Limeades for Learning:

SONIC^® and DonorsChoose.org are working together again to support public school classrooms. Last year, SONIC donated more than $600,000. By October, SONIC customers, friends and fans will have directed more than $1 million dollars to support teachers in local communities across the country.

http://www.limeadesforlearning.com/

There are 2 projects by PS 10 teachers eligible for voting.  Go to http://www.limeadesforlearning.com/ to find the projects.  When doing a search you'll find both projects under the following search criteria:

Location: New York (City)

Location: Brooklyn

Location: P.S. 10

Vote for these projects and help get PS 10 classrooms these additional supplies!
(you can also find direct links to these projects on the Mr. Casal Twitter page)

The big picture...

As we start a new school year I thought it would be nice to step back and look at the big picture, take in the full view so to speak...

New York City from space

NASA Astronaut Douglas H. Wheelock has been photographing the Earth from space and posting the pictures online.

This is a picture of New York City, at night.  It might be a bit confusing at first because it is backwards.  From Astronaut Wheelock's position in space Long Island appears on the left side of the picture. The very bright center of the picture if Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and parts of New Jersey.  If you look very close you can see the tiny sliver of light, surrounded by darkness, that is the island of Manhattan.

Click here http://twitpic.com/2izl9u/full and the picture will be big enough for you to see the dark area that is Central Park as well as the 2 dark areas in Brooklyn, Prospect Park and Greenwood Cemetery.

Follow all of Astronaut Wheelock's pictures from space here:
http://twitter.com/Astro_Wheels

Enjoy the pictures and think about just how much is out there beyond our school, neighborhood, and city.

Welcome back to school...