One cool Google App that it would be a shame to miss over the next couple weeks is “InQuotes.” You may have noticed a new band of quotations when searching in Google News for a person in the media buzz. For example:
Notice that the quotation is current and you can access more quotes from the same person by clicking on their name. In this case, 272 quotes are in the database and the first ten are listed.
Also, don’t miss the “search these quotes” field so you can narrow the collection based upon a key word:
If all this doesn’t inspire creative teachers to set their students to a critical reading / thinking exploration, take a look at the first mentioned “InQuotes” app from Google Labs.
Many of the features just highlighted are present as well as links in popular categories which shift to the top of the paired quotes with the click of a mouse. Also note that you can “spin” or toggle through the content for each category.
The default duo is, of course, Obama and McCain, but their names are actually dropdown menus so you can compare quotations from other significant American leaders like Biden and Palin or Rice and Cheney:
Finally, as we might well forget leading up to November 4th, the US is not the only country with dueling leaders. The “Edition” dropdown at the top-right corner presents similar match-ups for Canada, India and the UK.
What interesting uses can you think of for this neat interface?
The InQuote interface is great Tom. If you’re thinking of a good way to use it, I think I’ve got one. You can ask students to pick a quote and develop an essay about it. Some internationally recognized exams like IELTS and TOEFL often require their candidates to do so. I will let you know when I think of more ideas.
Thanks for information mate.