by AJ George 
I wrote an article about Google releasing an app called Google Goggles for Android nearly two years ago. I wondered if it could be the next big app, and how it could positively impact the eLearning community. My feeling at the time was that in the right environment, Google Goggles could be used to scan images in real time and receive just-in-time learning on the go.
Now that it's had some time to develop and work out the kinks, Google has improved Google Goggles with its 1.7 update. Google has added a continuous shooting mode to its repertoire. This means you can scan the room for objects and get instant Google searches on them without actually having to press the shutter button. Additionally, Google has added text recognition to search, which I think is even more valuable for the eLearning community.
Imagine you are given a handout in a class/meeting/convention with an excerpt from a magazine or other printed publication. You would like to share the excerpt with your students/colleagues/twitter followers but you don't want to take a low-res image of the excerpt and have everyone go blind trying to read it. You also don't want to manually retype the whole thing. With Google Goggles, just scan part of the text and, if there is an online version, Google will find it, allowing you to link to it for all to see. Technology!
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About the author: AJ George is IconLogic's lead Technical Communicator and author of both "PowerPoint 2007: The Essentials" and "PowerPoint 2008 for the Macintosh: The Essentials."