What Is Google? - Google Essentials Educational Resources K12 Learning, Technology, Technology Lesson Plans, Activities, Experiments, Homeschool Help

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Google … what a funny word! Did you know that according to Google, it is a made-up word that comes from "googol, a mathematical term for the number represented by the numeral 1 followed by 100 zeros." Let’s explore what Google is, and how we can use all that it has to offer!

"Google" is not only a noun (person, place, or thing), but it is a verb (action word).

You can GOOGLE something, meaning you can type any question you want into google.com, and it will give you an answer. You can type any word into google.com and see an image of it. You can find out how to drive to any location on earth. No, Google isn't a genie that pops out of a lamp, but Google is pretty magical!

Google was created as a search engine, a program that helps people explore and find information on the Internet. Google was also a way to organize information on the Internet by keeping everything people needed in one place.

It was invented by two guys in a garage who wanted to make the Internet easy to search, and an easy place to keep the information you wanted once you found it. Google started to grow — from a small search engine in 1997 — to include email, document sharing, and SO much more as the Google we know today!

This lesson will explore the basic features of Google and how to use them.

You have probably used Google before because it is hard to be online and not use one of its many services. Google is ingrained in our lives in more ways than you even know! There are over 151 Google services available from the Internet giant. The top 10 list includes Google.com, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Play Store for Androids, and the list goes on and on.

In this series of Related Lessons, found in the right-hand sidebar, you will explore a few of the many things Google has to offer.

View the What is Google? - Google Essentials slideshow below. When you have finished, we'll move forward with your new gmail account and explore in the Got It? section!