Edutopia Article- An Educator's Letter about Google

When we find something in the ever-changing web world that works, we want to keep it and never let it go! This happens all too often with Facebook and Twitter with the constant updates and changes to the home screen or options...Users complain because it is "new" and they don't get it, but hey, at least they still have their beloved websites to use! The article I read from Edutopia discusses a feature of Google that was completely wiped out and was something she used in her classroom that her students loved. In, "An Educator's Letter: What Happened, Google?", Heather Wolpert Gawron is devastated about the lose of Google's feature known as, "Search Story Video Creator". She states, "The enthusiasm for the Google Search Story was astronomical. Civilians, non-Googleites, from all over immediately embraced it as a different kind of scrapbook, one that focused on keywords and life stories." People loved this tool, and instead of getting an "annoying" update, they got an error page and were never able to use it again. I understand her frustration and I think, all of us, go through this with something on the internet. We find a site or source that works wonderfully, and out of the blue, it is gone. I am with her in trying to figure out why? What causes this? She states that she understands the money issue, but that this tool was so special that she guarantees that she and others would be willing to pay a fee. We are a dedicated group, us teachers! We want to keep what works and what is best for students! That said, I don't understand why Google Reader is going buh-bye either, as I am a new user and finding it enjoyable and easy to use. What about us, internet Gods?!

Wolpert-Gawron, Heather. "An Educator's Letter: What Happened, Google?" Edutopia. N.p., 31 May 2013. Web. 01 June 2013.