Thing 3 - iGoogle and Google Suite

 Google has developed a suite of tools that are free.  To use most of them, you have to first have a Google email account.  So, why would you want another email account?  Some people have found that having separate emails for different types of involvements helps separate out the groups (e.g. email for school, email for home, email for college, etc. kind of like we have different buildings for different functions).  Google email allows you the flexibility of reading email or having every email forwarded on to a central email account.  Or you can create a Google email account and never use it. 

In this series of activities, you will set up a number of Google tools.  Some of the tools will be obvious, while others will become more important later on.  Since you’ll be in the “Google suite”, you’ll create several different accounts for different tools – always using your Google email account information.

In this section, you will be creating the following: email address, customized home page, calendar, document storage area.

In case you want to see some reasons/tutorials for doing this, here are some:

• Building an iGoogle page - http://www.scribd.com/doc/231808/Using-iGoogle
• What iGoogle can do for you - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbf0dlESX8E
• More about iGoogle - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEFMGAbhuew

DISCOVERY ACTIVITIES 

1. Create a Google email account at http://gmail.google.com. (Think about what you want to name this email account, as well as your password.  Now, just a word about passwords.  For all of these tools, figure out a standard password you use and use the same password with everything or slightly modify it using a street number as needed).  Once you’ve created your Google email account, you’re ready to create some other useful tools.
2. Create an iGoogle personalized web page at:  http://google.com/ig  

·        Once your iGoogle page is created, customize the look by clicking on “change theme” in the upper right side of the iGoogle page. 

·        Then, add some gadgets by clicking on the “add stuff” link in the upper right side of the page. (See diagram below).

·        Add other “gadgets”.  Add your gmail account.  Use the “gadget search” to search for other things you may like such as “sports” or “education” or “animals” or “history”…

·        Add blog postings to your iGoogle page.  As one example, let’s say you want to follow the progress of the Clovis Online School.  Click on “add stuff”. Look on the left side, half way down the page, where it says “add feed.”  Click on “add feed.” Paste in the Clovis Online School blog web address (http://clovisonlineschool.wordpress.com).  You will now see the latest postings from this blog on your iGoogle page.  (And, you can add any other blogs you’d like to read on your iGoogle page, but there’s another way to read lots of blog postings that is next).

3. Create a Google Reader account (this allows you to read “feeds” from many blogs which we’ll discuss later).  From your iGoogle page, on the top of the page, click on “more” and select “Reader.”   Once you’re in your Google reader, you’ll want to add blogs that you like to read.  You can do this by either typing in a blog or you can search and find blogs based on topics of interest (see diagram below).  Add in at least 10 blogs.  Some of the top education – technology – library blogs are as follows (just copy and paste these addresses into your blog reader):

·        Blue Skunk Blog - http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/atom.xml

·        2 Cents Worth - http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?feed=rss2

·        Apophenia - http://feeds.feedburner.com/zephoria/thoughts

·        Web-logged - http://weblogg-ed.com/feed/

·        Free Technology for Teachers - http://www.freetech4teachers.com/feeds/posts/default

·        Librarian in black -  http://librarianinblack.typepad.com/librarianinblack/atom.xml

4. Create a Google documents.  This allows you the ability to share and collaborate on projects with others.  Go to “more” and select “document.”  Add a document to your Google document account.

5. Add a calendar.  And then add the calendar, Google docs, and Google reader to your iGoogle page.

6. Now, take a minute to read the article, “Flip this library (classroom)“ and think about your classroom.  The article discusses how iGoogle can be used in a classroom or an online course or the library.  You’ll notice this page has sticky note annotations and page highlights that I put there to emphasize certain parts.  You’ll learn more about this in Thing 10. 

Article is here:   http://www.diigo.com/04qah .

Blog Post #3, “Thing 3, iGoogle Suite”:  How can the Google suite of tools help you to organize information and how can the Google suite of tools be used for education?  What is the “paradigm flip” that the article suggests should occur in classrooms and school libraries?