Google Books: More Than Just for English Teachers

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Google Books is more than a library. Google Books is a free database Google created where people can search for digital copies of books. Users can simply search for a book through Google Books and Google will provide results for any number of the thousands of books on file. Once users search for a book, there are many features for them to browse.

When a person searches for a book in Google Books, the search takes them to a list of search results. From here, the viewer can select the result that matches their search. This takes them to the Google Books book page. The first page is the ‘Overview’. This page is long list of all the features available on Google Books. Viewers can read a promotion for the book, learn about the author, create a citation, find a place to purchase the book, discover a library near them where they can check the book out, read reviews, find other editions, discover other books in the publisher’s collection, find other books in the series, and find other books by the author. Each of these features has its own page, providing more detail on the topic.

There are many benefits to using Google Books in the classroom. Teachers can use it to pull up the same summary for all students to read. Students can read the book and write a book review in Google Books as an assignment. Google Books automatically cites the books in multiple citation forms for students to use in reports. Another nice feature is Google Books lists other books in the series, if there is a series, and other books by the author. If a teacher is teaching an author study, then the class can use Google Books to find books by the author of the book they finished reading.

Google Books also redirects teachers to where they can purchase a book. According to Google, if a teacher finds a book they would like to either purchase or borrow from a local library, they can “click on the "Buy this book" and "Borrow this book" links to see where you can buy or borrow the print book. You can now also buy the ebook from the Google Play Store.” ("About Google Books – Google Books", 2020)

One downside to Google Books is not every book is available to read for free. Teachers can download most books that are public domain, but not all books are available. Also, while Google Books provides opportunity to purchase the book, not every book will be available at the local library to borrow.

I highly recommend teachers use Google Books. While there are obvious uses for English teachers, I believe all teachers can find uses in Google Books. There is an almost endless database of books on Google Books, so teachers from any subject can find something of value. Teachers can be hard-pressed to find books for their classroom. Google Books provides a valuable solution for teachers needs for books.

 

 

 

References:

About Google Books – Google Books. Google.com. (2020). Retrieved 23 July 2020, from

https://www.google.com/googlebooks/about/.


Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 24, 2020 at 11:49 AM

    Great tool! I like the citing feature - giving students a great example of good writing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Deborah DiernbachJuly 26, 2020 at 2:46 PM

    Hey Dean,
    Thank you for sharing this resource! I have never used it before. I love that it has the option for places to buy it and borrow it. I think that finding if it is a series could be very helpful especially to students who are reluctant to read. Once they find a series they like, this could be a great way for them to explore more. Thank you for sharing.
    Deborah

    ReplyDelete

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