Journal #6: Google+

"Google+: The Complete Guide"

Parr, B. (2011, July 16). Google : the complete guide. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2011/07/16/google-plus-guide/

Summary: The article begins by simply explaining what Google+ is. I found it interesting that Ben Parr made the point to say that he is not trying to pitch Google+ to us, instead he selected eight followers who  explained why they had chose Google+. The responses included Google+ is more "grown-up", it looks clean and organized, Google+ doesn't have the distracting games and apps that Facebook offers, and a follower even said that Google+ is Facebook and Twitter's baby. After reading these responses the social network seems a lot appealing to me. I like the way Google+ uses social grouping. Through Facebook I can group my friends together, by going through all my friends and labeling them. The task of simply grouping friends has become a long and tedious task with Facebook. Google+ has the Circles and it's an easy task of dragging and dropping friends into specific Circles. I also think that it was brilliant of Google+ creators to make it so that users can post specific content to certain Circles; that way your boss doesn't see the pictures of the party you just had. Another feature that I find very beneficial that there is an option to "mute" certain stories that come up on the Google+ news feed. So many times my news feed is clogged with stories that don't really interest me and I have no way of hiding them without completely deleting that friend from view. Even better Google+ has the feature called "Hangouts". You have the option to video chat with an individual or a whole Circle. Talk about beneficial; this could be used for group projects, group discussions and meetings! Google+ has definitely taken a big step from Facebook and Twitter; it just may be their new and improved baby in the social networking world.

Question: How would Google+ be helpful in my classroom?
Well, Google+ definitely has lots to offer. First off, the students can all form a Circle strictly for my class, we can have class discussions within the program. I can have the students interact using the program and create group projects that the students do together. They can use that program to communicate and to create the project at home, at school, or anywhere they are with a computer. It also provides an easy way for students to get in touch with me as well as allow me to monitor their activity online. The real question is: Why wouldn't I use it!?


"Educators-Google Plus is For You"

Brogan, C. (2011, September 30). Educators - google plus is for you. Retrieved from http://www.chrisbrogan.com/gpluseducators/

Summary: Chris Brogan begins by instructing to make Circles on your Google+ account. An interesting thing I hadn't realized was that you can "publish" a specific Circle to the people in it so they can then add each other! What an easy way to make sure that my students are all in each others Circles. Chris then explained that I can share things such as lesson plans, YouTube videos, links, photos, etc. to Circles of my choice. From reading the article by Parr I already knew that I could do that and I think it's brilliant! Similar to Facebook, Google+ allows users to comment on others' posts and I could make sure that my students are interacting with others on the site. I already read about Hangouts, but something that I hadn't realized is Google+ allows users to not only video chat, but also share documents and draw collaboratively on a white board. Although, Brogan touched on some features that Parr had already mentioned I learned some more interesting features that Google+ offers!

Question: Do I agree with Chris about Google+ being a good resource for teachers?
I definitely do! Students can interact a whole new way now! I love that Google+ offers so much more than Twitter and Facebook. Also it doesn't have that somewhat dangerous reputation that Facebook and MySpace have. It offers so much more than just games and status updates. Google+ can allow group projects to be a lot easier for students and teachers! I haven't even begun using it and I'm already in love!