I just finished my first real interaction with Google Plus. I know it has been an option for sharing for quite some time. I see the little icon floating around my "waffle" of applications, but I haven't really explored it much. I can say after a few frustrating minutes of learning the navigation the light bulb went off in my head. At first I approached it like Pintrest, my first social networking adventure. I quickly learned that it isn't exactly a pinning site that you grab pins and categorize them. When I made a collection it asked me what I was doing, so I thought it must be like Twitter. Well that is partially right. The value for me, I think I will find, is in it is being able to directly collect websites, kind of like Diigo. Another advantage for me is the pictures that are associated to the posts. I am a visual learner so a picture goes a long way with me remembering, and learning.
I am very glad Dr. Dell gave me a purpose in my new tool, looking for ways to help diverse students. I decided to focus on struggling readers as a focal point for my collection. I immediately found a few collections to follow on dyslexia. When I searched Google for articles and blogs I was thrilled to see the little share via Google Plus icon. It was as simple as a click. It even let me decide where to, and who to share it with.
My thoughts about Google Plus are it is valuable. I think it could very useful if a all the educators in a building or grade level used it together. I believe there is a great potential to network with other educators outside the school also. It is a great tool. Another one I am amazed I was not using until now. I'm excited to learn more about how to use it to it's fullest potential.
Here are some more resources for Google Plus specifically for school librarians.
http://www.onlinecollege.org/50-great-google+-tips-for-school-librarians/
http://joemurphylibraryfuture.com/google-pages-for-libraries/
http://www.thedaringlibrarian.com/2011/07/google-plus-cheat-sheet-and-cool-guy.html
When I explored Google Plus, I did not have the same opinions as you. I found it frustrating and wanted to go back to using Twitter! After reading your post, I think I will give it another shot. You found so many valuable resources! I think I will give Google Plus another shot. The article you found titled 50 Great Google+ Tips for School Librarians was interesting and offered applicable tips for teachers as well. I found some videos about how teachers could use Google+ for assignments and I initially thought that Google Classroom would be easier. One of the tips from the article says that you can use Google+ as a way to communicate with students and their families; a connection I believe Google Classroom is missing. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and findings, as well as inspiring me to dig even deeper to Google+!
ReplyDeleteI had a similar experience as Christine. I was so excited when Google+ launched and I swore it would be bigger than Facebook and Twitter but I was unimpressed. I guess I'll give it another shot with the information that you provided.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
I am the same way about Google+. There is some uselfulness there...if you can find it. There were many pages and communities that I went to that had not had anything posted for 2 years or longer. I am afraid that there isn't enough users within it to make it a go to place like Twitter or Facebook.
ReplyDeleteElfie,
ReplyDeleteAs you found, there is useful information being shared there. Also,as others have noted, it is not as straightforward as Twitter and it leaves many with a "Meh" feeling. When it first came out, it was believed that it would surpass Twitter. It has not. I do like the ability to put your followers in "Circles" allowing you to share selected items with different groups. I also find the community features to be excellent.
Dr. Dell