Sharing with Your Class -- Google Groups and Google Communities

Sharing with Google:Plus vs. Groups

Sharon Huston

9/26/2014

Viewing tips

Following each point, you will see examples and (occasionally) instructions. Instruction slides always feature a horizontal banner and a logo to indicate which product is under discussion.

The presentation is organized around points of comparison for the two products. Each point of comparison has a slide.

Throughout the presentation, BLUE indicates Google Groups, while RED indicates Google Plus (Communities)

Viewing tips

This presentation contains detailed speaker’s notes. To view the notes, open this document in PowerPoint, select the View tab and then press the Notes option.

The default note area is only a couple of lines high. You can increase the size by dragging the top bar of the slide note area.

Close-up of dragging the slide note area bar.

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What we want – engaged students.

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You, preparing to find or create new content

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You after a long night of work. You’re tired, but there is still one more step to take.

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The handoff. How do you get content to your students?

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Which leads to more questions.

How do I do this?

What are the problem spots?

What tool will meet my needs?

Google Plus Google GroupsIt’s important to realize many schools use Google Apps for Education, which has some advantages over the standard Google “consumer” apps that anyone can access. When you sign in to Google using your school email address, you’ll have access to all the advantages Apps for Education provides.

Google Plus Google Groups

Within the Google-verse (consumer and Apps for Education) there are two different ways to share – using Google Plus (aka Google+) or using Google Groups. This presentation will examine the tradeoffs between the two, and will also briefly discuss how to display your Google+ and Groups content within Blackboard.

You can use both!!

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You can use both!!

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It’s worth mentioning you can use BOTH solutions. You don’t have to make a difficult choice. The two sharing mechanisms have different features, and you may need both feature sets to accomplish your goals.

Separate App

Available since 2001

Circles and Communities

are part of Google+

What are they?

PLUS GROUPS

Circles Logo

CommunitiesLogo

Old-School Email Discussion GroupOriginally for Usenet posts.

Social SharingLike Facebook.

No, really -- what are they?

PLUS GROUPS

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Large lectures have unique challenges

UnlimitedNumber of people in a group, using Google Apps for Education.

UnlimitedNumber of people in a community.

Membership limits

PLUS GROUPS

The consumer version of Google Groups only allows 200 participants.

Creating a CommunityPrivacy options for your community are very important – you can’t change these options later, so it’s important to know what you want before you start the creation process. Google has a very helpful document on privacy settings. I’ve included two of Google’s tables for your edification, one on Apps for Education Communities, and one on public communities.

For Apps

Creating a Community

Now that you’ve read the information, you have probably made a decision on the community you want. Let’s continue with the creation process.

For public communities

Creating a Community

1. Log into Google+

2. Open the Home menu and select Communities. The Community page will open.

3. Select the Create community button located near the top of the screen.

Creating a Community4. Optionally use the

change link if you want a public Community.

5. Additional options (like moderation and private communities) will appear as you make your privacy selections. You’ll also be prompted to name your Community.

Creating a Community

6. Next walk through the setup wizard. You’ll need to add a tagline and a representative photo. You’ll also need to fill out the About section, and (optionally) add discussion categories to guide conversation.

7. When you’re finished, Google will prompt you to add people to your Community. We’ll cover how to complete that task later in the presentation.

In many schools, creating Google Apps for Education Groups is a process managed by IT. Contact your school’s IT department for assistance.

Creating a Group

Zero effortIT adds your students to your community when they set up your group.

Time -intensiveStudents will have to join Google+, and you’ll have to add one student at a time.

How hard is it to add students?

PLUS GROUPS

Add students to a Community

1. Access Communities through the Google+ menu.

2. Select the community you would like to work with.

Add students to a Community

1. On the Community page, select the Invite People option.

2. Type a welcome message in the Add a comment space, and enter the students’ email addresses in the To: space.

3. Press the Send option.

Special caution: If your Community is an Apps for Education community, you’ll need to use the students’ official Google email address.

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Sharing content

Easy.

Easy.

Sharing

PLUS GROUPS

Share in Google+

2. The field will expand so you can upload your content (if needed).

3. Specify the Community, Circle, individuals you want to share the content with. Depending on the chosen Circle or Community, your content may be restricted to Apps for Education users, and can’t be shared outside the domain unless you change the option.

1. Type in a message and choose what you want to share – text, photo, link, etc.

Share with Google GroupsOption A: The Web Interface

1. Go to your Groups page, and press the New Topic option. A form will appear.

2. Compose your message in the form, adding links, attachments, and formatting as needed.

Share with Google Groups

Option B: Using the Email Address

All Groups have an email address, which you can find by managing your group and examining the Email options. Using your Gmail account, you can email anything to your group.

Share with Google Groups

Option B continued:

Once you know the Group’s email address, sharing content like Drive files, Google Sites, and other Google resources is a snap. All you need to do is invite the Group address, and grant group members the appropriate permissions.

Delegating responsibility

Multipleroles to use

Owners, managers, users, and custom roles.

One community manager:

You.

Delegating responsibility

PLUS GROUPS

Set custom role privileges

Privileges can be set for each role. For example, you might give your TA the ability to add new users or approve messages.

What do students see?

Emailor website only depending on settings

App or website

and optional email notification

How are students notified?

PLUS GROUPS

Importance of Visual Appeal

Not so pretty

Pretty

Visual appeal

PLUS GROUPS

Threaded discussionsEasier to see threading but not a great interface.

CommentsNo indentation, so it’s hard to tell who is replying to what.

Conversation formats

PLUS GROUPS

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Communication patterns

Everyone to everyone

--or--

Teacher to studentBoth easy.

Everyone to everyone

Communication patterns

PLUS GROUPS

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By default, Groups allows anyone in the group to share (via email) with the entire group. If you want to restrict participation there are some helpful settings you should know about.

To access Group options, open your group and choose the Manage link on the right.

The management area has its own sidebar menu, which we’ll refer to on the next few slides.

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The sidebar menu’s Settings > Email Options menu is useful.

If you do not want students sending email to the group, it’s a good idea to tweak the email footer section. You can also control how replies are managed.

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The sidebar menu’s Permissions > Basic Permissions menu allows you to control which roles can post and view topics. The defaults allow everyone to post and view topics.

This area also allows you to control who can join your Group.

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The sidebar menu’s Permissions > Posting Permissions menu controls a variety of settings, including the ability to post attachments.

You’ll notice this menu has a Post drop-down box that is identical to the one on the Basic Permissions screen. They are linked – if you change it on this screen it will also change on the Basic Permissions screen.

Closing the Circle: eCampus Integration

Embed Groups websiteSee all the action.

Embed single postsShow the best content.

eCampus integration

PLUS GROUPS

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Em

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Entire Groups sites can be embedded in eCampus.

Embed a post in eCampus

2. Copy the embed code.

1. Choose a public post and select the option to embed the post.

Embed a post in eCampus

3. In eCampus, navigate to the content area where you want the post to appear and create a new item.

4. Select the HTML icon in the Text box.

Embed a post in eCampus

5. Paste the code, and Update the item.

6. You will not be able to see your shared post. You’ll have to click Submit and return to the content area to see the finished product.

Embed Groups in eCampus

1. Open your group settings.

2. Find and copy the embed code.

Embed Groups in eCampus

3. In eCampus, navigate to the content area where you want the post to appear and create a new item.

4. Select the HTML icon in the Text box.

Embed Groups in eCampus

5. Paste the code, and Update the item.

6. A yellow box serves as a placeholder. You’ll be able to view the group page after pressing Submit.

Thank you!

Enjoy using your Groups and Communities.