Classroom assistance at the tip of your tongue

The presents are opened, the gift cards are empty, and someone, or yourself, got a you a Google Nest Home for the holidays. As you look at this small dot you wonder "now what do I do with it?". Here are some great ways to use it in the classroom when you return.

You can use it:

1. As a timer

This is a great way to keep yourself on time and task without having to project a computer timer or watch the clock rather than focusing on your students.

2. To answer student questions

In our era of information at your fingertips the need for teachers to be the keepers of knowledge is antiquated. Thanks to your new Google Assistant answers to all, OK most, of your questions are just a "Hey Google" away.

Serious Examples:

- Who was the General at the battle of Brandywine?

- What is 13% of 3786

-  What is the weather?

- How long would it take to get to the White House?

 Fun Examples:

- Tell me a joke

- Sing Happy Birthday (great when it is a students birthday.)

3. As a story teller

With the simple command of "Hey Google, tell me a story" Google will find a random story or fairy tale to share with the students. You can even ask it to read you a poem or if you have a Disney golden book you can have Google read it along with you.

4. As a random selector tool

This is very useful when you want to call on random students without the appearance of picking favorites or picking on students. By providing each student, group, computer, etc. a number you simply ask Google to "pick a number between 1 and x." If a student complains, you can blame Google!😃

5. To play music

By making the request to play classical music or other genre of music or a specific song or artist you can provide mood music for your classroom. You can even use it for ice breaker activities as a musical chairs type activity.

6. To make basic calculations
You can perform basic math functions for student questions or to assist with grading assignments.

7. To play education focused games
Google Assistant has a number of games to play with your students to encourage engagement and creativity:
- Mad Libs - Play the classic word game with your students and learn the hilarious story together
- Time Machine - Give Google a date and it will tell you that days top stories
- Choose your Adventure - Allow your students to control the story just like the Choose your own adventure series.

8. To convert measurements and currencies
When you need to convert measurements or currencies a simple "Hey Google, convert x to y" will get you the answer you are looking for.

9. As a real-time translator
A newer feature added to the Google Nest Home in 2019 is the ability to use this device as real-time translator. This can be used when working with ELL students or their parents to be able to hold a conversation without needing a human translator. It is recommended that you use this feature with caution as it is not 100% perfect in translation but it can at least start a conversation. To activate this feature simply say "Hey, Google, be my <language> translator."

Languages available:

Czech	Danish	Dutch	English	Finnish
French	German	Greek	Hindi	Japanese
Hungarian	Indonesian	Italian	Korean	Mandarin
Polish	Portuguese	Romanian	Russian	Slovak
Spanish	Swedish	Thai	Turkish	Ukrainian
Vietnamese

We can joke that Google is taking over the world but in reality it is opening it up in ways many of us could not fathom as we grew up. You may not use this new tool everyday but on the days you do, it can change your classroom.