Google+Groups

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= = =Communication Tool:= Group Members: Abbi Springer, Arica Turoff, Katie Breen

Brief introduction of the tool
Google Groups is an easy and useful tool that everyone can use. This tool allows people to not only search as if they were on the internet, but also they can make a group of their own, join a group, start discussions within their group, create webpages and personalize a page based on their group's interests. This allows for narrowed searches in specified areas, helping people get more out of their time researching online.


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Enhancement: This tool allows people the opportunity to befriend others who have the same interests as them by joining the same groups. Effectiveness:This is effective because it allows people to narrow their searches and look through information pertaining to their search, not information that has fallen into the search through non-important key words. Efficiency: This saves the time it takes to meet with people one on one, trying to find when everyone's schedules match up. Google groups allows people to go onto their group when it is convenient for them.

Although this tool is great for conducting very specialized searches, it may exclude some useful, yet less topical resources. For example, if you join a group all about education but for a particular search you want to know about budgeting in education. The specialized search may exclude this element of education and you may have to join an economics group or government funding group. In addition to this, google groups doesn't allow any synchronized communication between the group members. There is an email function, but nothing like a chatroom. Also, if a member leaves the group, they will lose all access to the information in that group if the group is set to private. They will be unable to access the information they may desire until they rejoin the group. Another disadvantage is that this tool is not selective, meaning that it cannot stop people from joining groups as a joke or messing with a groups resources, since every member has access to the tools. This could prove to be very frustrating.
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Application of the tool in your subject area
Teachers can create a google page for their own class. They can post homework assignments and class news, as well as having students collaborate on a project such as a class news paper. Essentially, the group will act as a homepage for the classroom that allows teacher and student interaction even outside of the classroom. This includes one to one communication along with one to many and many to many. Kids have access to communicate with one another, and the teacher can also talk to the class as a whole.

Find a tutorial video on YouTube
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This video is helpful because it gives an overview of the Google Groups application as well as providing a tutorial. The video shows you how to make your own group and how to use all of the different functions of that group, like inviting members, editing content, and privacy settings.

Useful Resources
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