iGoogle, do you?

In last week's post - To Thinkfinity and Beyond, I provided you with two search directories specifically for teachers to use instead of Google when searching for activities to support curriculum. Today I'm back to Google - but not as a search engine - as an organizational tool for teachers.

As a lower school we already use Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and now many teachers have added Google Bookmarks to their Google collection of super powers. Why not organize all of these super powers in one place? If you have not yet done this - here's how to get started.

___You might want to print these directions....

1. Log into your Google account - and then look at the top of the Google page for the word "more" click on it and then slide your cursor down to "even more" and then locate the iGoogle link. Click on it to get started.

2. You should be prompted for some information and possibly to select a theme. Just follow the prompts.

3. By default, there are many gadgets pre-selected for you. You can delete the pre-selected gadgets and then search for the ones you want to see on your home page. I assume you'll want to see the Calendar, GMail, Bookmarks, Documents, and maybe something fun like a Bible verse of the day or a virtual fish tank...

4. To make this your HOME page (meaning its the first thing you see when you open your Internet browser), go to your Browser tool bar and locate the menu option "Tools" then slide your cursor down to Internet Options (the last choice).

5. Now you should see a General Tab which helps you decide which page becomes the home page. If your iGoogle page is the top window, select the button "Use Current" and then click OK at the bottom of the page. You can also copy and paste the address/URL of your new iGoogle home page into the little box.

6. Watch the mini-tutorial below. It's short and worth viewing.

Congratulations - you now have an iGoogle home page :-)

The fun continues next week. Happy iGoogling.