VIDEO+PARODY: Google Search Stories

[Ryan Goble]

What follows nicely links to a past post: "CARTOON: Google Magazine"

These two clips seem ripe for all kinds of lessons, eh?

With new search engines taking on Google (think Bing), they've started advertising using "search stories"

a sample....




A parody from Will Ferrell's Funny or Die website...

Surprise Party - watch more funny videos

You don't have to use the parody (a bit Fargoesque and lends itself to the 10th Grade and above set) but it seems like there are a lot of lesson possibilities to be had with these videos and maybe even the cartoon.

How would you teach with these texts?

[Katherine Schulten]

Great idea! We did a lesson on the Learning Network on several years ago in which kids make a list of famous historical people's (or literary character's) web searches and other kids guess who they are, so this would fit in in that same way. I love the parody, though. The "wood chipper" was when I actually LOLed here at my desk.

[Ryan Goble]

Katherine,

This is great - If you don't mind I will share the LP in the History and Lit groups?

I can see it now "LESSON PLAN: Creating Google Search History for Literary / Historical Characters!"

There are some funny related posts/resources including..

Project Idea: Civil War Facebook Page
US Constitutional Convention of 1787 day by day Twitter!
and of course the Mindblue Album Cover Project

PLEASSSEEE keep sharing your related resources - you all have wonderful materials!!

[Katherine Schulten]

Share away, and thanks!

[Wisdom]

I might use these clips to show students how easily they decode, follow a story, draw conclusions, make assumptions--in short, think critically! Sometimes I feel as though they don't know that they do it all the time and very well. The same strategies carry over into reading any text, actually, although they need to build their attention spans and annotating skills to track themes and narratives over time and length.

Actually, I might have them create a Google stream of their own for a text they are currently reading...for "Their Eyes Were Watching God," they may start out with "dealing with hormones," then, "surviving a loveless marriage," etc....could be fun! What do you guys think?

[Ryan Goble]

Nice - sounds like the NYTimes lesson above will give you some sweet scaffolding. If you DO this - please post some sample search histories on the site so we can all enjoy them!!

Ry:)