Hello and welcome to the fourth edition of the Google Teacher Newsletter,

Depending on where you live, the leaves have probably started to change
color and fall from their trees and your school year is way past being in
fullswing.  We've had a little bit of a break here at Google for Educators (
www.google.com/educators) but we are excited to reach out with some exciting
new projects and an exciting new partner to help inject your lessons with
the collaborative spirit - just in time for the holidays!

Do you find that your students work harder if their work is transparent to
each other?  If they can all see what one another is working on and show off
just a teeny bit?  We've heard that this is a trend from many of you, and
we've also heard that kids respond to assignments that seem fun - who woulda
thunk it?  Google for Educators has buddied up with the good folks from the
Weekly Reader to bring you a lesson on Revision Writing - With a Buddy (
www.google.com/educators/weeklyreader.html).  The talented writers at Weekly
Reader have worked with teachers all over the country to come up with tips
and checklists for incorporating buddy writing in the classroom.  And Google
Docs allows your students to create their first drafts, brainstorm with and
inspire their peers, all while keeping track of each and every comma change,
word replacement and new stroke of genius along the way.

We'd also like to share a story that inspired everyone who heard it.   A
couple of years back, Google's Boulder office was contacted by a number of
parents.  Parents who told us that their children were having great fun and
success with Google SketchUp, our 3D modeling software.  What makes this
story special, you may ask?  The children using the tool were on the autism
spectrum.  Since stumbling across this bit of information, we have worked
with parents, educators and kids to learn how SketchUp plays to the visual
and spatial strengths often possessed by those on the autism spectrum.
Thanks to the combined efforts of families, schools, our local autism
society, the University of Colorado and a dedicated team of Googlers, we are
proud to launch Project Spectrum.  With Project Spectrum, we want to "open
the door into minds full of pictures."  Visit (
www.google.com/educators/spectrum.html) to check out a video about these
kids and download the Project Spectrum Manual of Lesson Plans.

We know you're busy teaching and haven't got all day to keep your head in
email, so we won't keep you much longer.  But we promise you'll be hearing
from us sooner than later this time.  Please keep your eyes open for our
next newsletter in the New Year, where we'll be telling you about our series
of online module training - on Google Search, both simple and advanced -
delivered by one of our very own search gurus, Dan Russell.

Till then,
Cristin Frodella
Product Manager, Google Education