Diane Lazarus – Special to The Southern News
As music flowed through Brownell Hall’s first floor, students learned more about the monopoly Google website. Whitney Jordan, resident advisor and senior at SCSU, talked about the famous search engine.
Jordan taught students how to search Google effectively when doing research or writing papers for school.
“A lot of college students, especially upperclassman are doing research papers and thesis statements, and narrowing information down can be hard,” said Jordan. “So I decided to provide tips and tricks on how to use Google effectively,”
“It’s interesting to see how much Google offers students,” said Breyenna Best, sociology major here at SCSU.
Jordan provided quick questions that Brownell residents could quickly answer. A tip sheet uniquely named “Google like a Boss” was given as well as a PowerPoint instructing students how to use Google search to their advantage.
“Google offers such a wide variety of different websites but it’s more so of knowing how to search so you know how to get down to the specifics,” said Jordan.
Jordan recommended using symbols such as quotation marks, dashes, etc. in between keywords for more specific results. There are shortcuts available if someone wished to adjust the display on Google.
Moreover, Jordan encourages students to use ‘Google Scholar,’ a search tool used for academic-related websites only. Over the years, Google has been trying to become more student friendly, said Jordan.
According to Readwrite.com, over 10 million students use Google Apps for education. Students use Google Calendar, Docs, and Wallet, to name a few. Colleges that have transferred over to Google Apps are Morehouse University, Georgetown School of Business, Pace University and 13 of SUNY schools.
Between Google Apps, Plus, Gmail, Docs and Drive, Google has designed thus programs with businesses in mind, said Mark Hachman of pcworld.com Companies such as Whirlpool, Amtrak and BuzzFeed all use Google Apps as an assistance to building their business. It’s portable, secure and professional.
“Whirlpool moves to Google Apps to build its “winning workplace,” said Mike Heim, CIO of Whirlpool Corporation.
Nonetheless in order for Southern students to build a “winning workplace” one has to learn how to effectively use Google. Best said that she absolutely learned how to use google to her advantage when researching for a paper.
“The shortcuts that Jordan provided I did not know about as well as the mobile payments,” said Best.
“Google just released Google Chromebook which is very affordable and convenient for college students, and they have ways to win scholarships for school,” said Jordan.
Audrey Watters of Readwrite.com said, “School districts that are thinking about moving to cloud-based offerings like Google Apps for Education continues to increase. Moving to the cloud can provide these colleges and school districts with significant savings.”
Photo Credit: keso s
