The last two tools will break from the freshman English theme and move into science. I chose to explore Google Health because I had no idea it even existed. This tool allows you to keep track of your own health records, including conditions, medications, doctors info, immunizations, and more. The feature they market the most is the “wellness” section, which gives you the ability to track weight, steps taken, miles walked, caloric intake, etc. Just about anything you’d want to track regarding your health, you can track it.
While Google Health definitely has more uses for families and individuals than in an education setting, there actually is quite a bit you could do with it in your classroom (PE teachers, I’m looking at you). If you visit the “About Google Health” page, there are three short videos that explain possible uses for Health. One significant feature is that there are several third-party products that link directly into Google Health, including a scale, a pedometer, and even iPod apps for diabetics to track blood sugar levels over time. With these devices, students can monitor their own health over the course of a quarter or semester, and write reports along the way and a summary of what they learned.
As a personal observation/tip, I recommend setting this up for yourself and your family and share it with your spouse so that you both can have constant access to this type of information. My wife has several Google Docs that collect most of this information in different ways, but having everything in one place for each member of the family is incredibly useful.