In this week’s #OneNewThing, I am excited to share about A Google a Day. I was introduced to this game by Kate Petty while helping with a bootcamp earlier this week. It was one of those times where I thought, “Wait – how have I never heard of this?!”
A Google a Day is an online game where three questions are posted and the Google search engine must be used to answer these questions. Well, I guess you don’t have to use the Google search engine but I can say with complete certainty that I would not know the answer to these questions without Google.
Click on the image below to try it out!
How did you do?! As you can see, this is a simple concept that could be easily incorporated into the classroom. Here are some ideas:
- Warm-Ups – If you need a quick warm-up or bell ringer activity, challenge students to answer the “A Google a Day” questions. They can work individually or in groups.
- Google Search Lesson – It’s becoming critical for students to understand how to search for information on the internet. The questions from “A Google a Day” are not easily guessed and must be searched. This could prove to be a great opportunity for teaching students how to search for answers online.
- Class Competition – When students finish answering the questions, they will receive a score based on how quickly they answered them. Students love competition – challenge them to see who can answer the fastest!
Have you used “A Google a Day” in your classroom? What other ways could this simple game be used to engage learners? Share in the comments below!
Question, Is this is a daily set of questions posed by Google? The teacher is not creating this correct?
Exactly! No work on the part of the teacher – just share the link!
Why might my school block access to this amazing tool? They say it’s not part of google therefore it is not covered by the “safe search” they’ve set up for all students and teachers. I’m amazed by this, but curious if that is, in fact, correct. It seems to be part of google, in my opinion. And could students really search “pornography” from this site? (because apparently that is what they’re afraid of) ????