Google's Toolbox

 As Technology Continues to Grow...

    What tools do you wish you had in your toolkit? As a graduate student in my early 20's, you'd think I would know all the latest and greatest tech tools out there. Apparently I still have much to learn. While I can confidently say that I'm proficient in most technology, and I would argue that applications in Microsoft Office are better than Google's equivalents, I have been humbled by some nifty tools and resources that the professionals at Google have come up with. Allow me to share.

Google Docs: 

    If you open up a Google document and press on your keyboard simultaneously: Command+Option+Shift+I, then you will pop open an "Explore" feature in Google Docs which allows you to search for and embed links to pages, images, and media from your own Google drive:

Once you embed a link, Google's going to go ahead and do you a huge favor by allowing you to cite the page directly into a footnote! Just click the little quotation marks when you hover over the link on the Explore feature:

But wait, there's more! Not only will Google cite for you, but you can also choose between MLA, APA, and Chicago formatting! Just click on the three little dots next to the results:

This is just one example of literally hundreds of ways Google has implemented tools just for making our lives in academia that much easier. Hey, thanks Google!

Google Search Filters:

    I'm sure you've noticed by now that Google and other companies such as Facebook and Instagram have tailored the advertisements you see to the things you've been wanting most. But how does it know? Google collects user data from multiple sources, including search queries, websites visited, videos watched on YouTube, apps used, and interactions with Google services like Gmail or Google Maps. This data helps build a profile of users' interests, demographics, and preferences. 

    Why does this matter? In case you didn't already know, this personalization is also happening when you use Google's search bar. As soon as you begin typing your thought or question, Google knows what you're looking for. This can be an issue if you're searching for specific information such as for academic research. But don't worry, there's a way to break this algorithm and force Google to give you what you want. For example, let's say I'm writing an essay about supernovae. This is what pops up in an initial basic search:

I notice that a lot of .com options pop up. Do I trust these sites? Should I? The choice is up to the individual, but in this case I want to narrow it down to educational sites from universities. How can I do this? I'll add at the end of my search "site:edu" to tell Google that I want results from .edu sites only. Here's what that looks like:

See how different that is? We love to see it. In fact, this "site:" feature works with all kinds of different perspectives. You can add site:edu.au to get pages from universities in Australia, for example. Why? Because it's helpful to get perspectives and observations from other parts of the world. I can see what China (site:edu.cn) is up to if I'd like. I encourage you to interact with this feature and see what kinds of incredible new information you can access.

Google Newspapers:

    At the end of my list we have a much lesser-known feature of Google, which acts as an archive for old newspapers. Why is this helpful? Well, because the internet wasn't a thing until the 80's! But I want to learn about the Space Race of the 60's and 70's. So I'll use my handy dandy tool by going to news.google.com/newspapers. Now I can search in the archive: "Space Race." Boom! Now I've got some sick articles from the past (check out those headlines):

As we can see, Google has a lot of great features to offer, and this is only scratching the surface. Don't mind me, I'll just be on YouTube for the rest of my life trying to catch up.

On a final note, Microsoft's Excel is still a million times better than Google Sheets. I said what I said.