Explore the world, learn without boundaries with Google

MANILA, Philippines - Explore some interesting, educational and fun online sites and tools that’ll give you a head start on your education, without the boring lectures.

1. Step inside the world’s most acclaimed museums. Learn to appreciate world famous artworks such as Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus” in Uffizi Gallery and van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” in the Museum of Modern Art. Become your own critic by analyzing brush strokes and use of color in artworks by zooming in. Try it at googleartproject.com

2. Tour famous landmarks and learn about history. Touring world famous sites such as The Colosseum in Rome or Tokyo Tower in Japan need not be expensive. Google Maps provide Street View images for historic Italy; UNESCO World Heritage sites; landmarks of the USA, and even South Africa soccer stadiums where the World Cup was held. Marvel at these sites, and learn a bit more about the contexts in which they were built on maps.google.com/help/maps/streetview/index.html

3. Explore the world in images. Google Image Swirl lets you search for something you’re interested in, like “fifa world cup 2010.” You’ll see images of the world cup trophy, action shots of famous players, or photos of the venues in South Africa, with similar images branching off the original one — as you click each one, new images swirl into place. It’s a quick, visual way for students to explore what most fascinates them, whether it’s Da Vinci drawings, the holocaust, or sailing ships at image-swirl.googlelabs.com

4. Read the original texts. If you’re learning about evolution, Google Books lets you leaf through the original copy of Darwin’s 1859 Origin of Species. Curious about the 1969 moon landings? The astronauts wrote their experience themselves in LIFE Magazine. Do you want to get immersed in the culture around the Wattstax concert? They can read JET Magazine’s original story from 1972. Explore more at books.google.com

5. Learn about the world as you walk through it. Who built that monument? No need to hire a tour guide; point your Android or iPhone’s camera at it using Google Goggles, and find out relevant details in a matter of seconds. See who created it, when, and why. It works especially well for famous landmarks, artwork, and books – google.com/mobile/goggles

6. Visualize big trends. Learn about major world issues like how Africa’s life expectancy has changed with the advent of AIDS, or how CO2 emissions have changed around the globe. Google Public Data Explorer can visualize these data in vivid moving graphs, which they can create themselves. They’re beautiful enough to embed in a class project website or on a blog, or even to print out at google.com/publicdata

7. Fly around the world... and dive under the ocean. Google Earth lets you navigate the world in 3D — you can zoom in from space to the streets of cities from Hong Kong to San Francisco to Johannesberg, watch the changing rainforests over time, and dive underwater to explore the Marianas Trench, tropical reefs, or shipwrecks. Endless hours of exploration and learning for free at earth.google.com

8. Access scholarly literature from top journals worldwide. Looking for credible references online? Research articles, patents, legal opinions, and journals are indexed and easily searchable at scholar.google.com. References can be filtered by year, and could even include the number of citations, related articles, and summaries.

9. Search oneboxes as a prime resource for answers. Looking for a tool to convert metrics, solve simple math problems, locate earthquakes around the world, or obtain public data? All of these are easily accessible in Search oneboxes, which Google has integrated in google.com.ph. Simply enter a query such as “convert 50 feet to meters” or “GDP of the Philippines” to get the information you need for your paper.

10. Build your dream skyscraper. Google Sketchup lets budding architects design sophisticated 3D structures — be it a concert hall, starship, or floating garden — without any real technical knowledge. Build something impressive, and blow the rest of your classmates away on sketchup.google.com