Using Google Plus is an excellent way to engage students in the classroom and outside the classroom. You can form circles, upload photos and videos, Google talk, hangouts and many more options. It's crazy right? However, according to 10 ways to use Google plus in the classroom this allows collaboration between students and teachers. You can create circles for announcements, assignments, important links, and class groups. This allows students to keep up with information in the class. Google currently does not have a limit on the number of videos or pictures uploaded to Google Plus. This can allow teachers to put up extra lecture videos or allow the students to lecture on specific topics of their choosing. Google talk is a quick chat method and through this you can set up "office hours" so that if students need help with an assignment or have questions, you are available to them. You can set the settings to available or away so you don't keep students waiting around. Notification methods allows the students to choose which way they want to be notified about announcement via notification, email, test message or all three. This allows the students to keep up with daily information. Since most students have a smart phone, Google plus has an app for androids and iphones so that students can do work on the go. Through the use of circles, group work is now an easy task. Simply just create smaller circles with, only the certain group members and the instructor only. Students within the group can see when each other is online, conduct chats and plan meetings. Another important tool is Hang Out. Hang Out is a video chat option and allows people to video chat in groups. This would work wonders for online group meetings. Video chat is more personal and you can express ideas more clearly. The use of the Avatar is also essential to a students virtual learning. It lets them to establish a virtual identity either using a cartoon or their own pictures. According to this blog this creates connection which leads to community and learning.
So how do teachers keep up with individual learning? Well Google Plus has Google Docs and Calender and Plus 1. Google Docs and Calender allows you to make a check list of sort and and you can see when a student completes an assignment when they check it off. It also allows documents to be shared easily to other students. Plus 1 allows the teacher to know when a student reads an article that you have posted. Allowing a student to +1 a post and helps you keep track of the students progress. This allows you to help a student if you see him falling behind.
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