Education Technology

Google+, Google's social network, has some great features that other networks don't have. One of them is Hangouts. Hangouts is a multi-person video conferencing system that is free. You can host virtual meetings, help and study sessions, or just chat with family. Google had added the ability for a limited group of people to be able to broadcast their Hangouts to the world.

Google has just announced that Hangouts On Air is now available to all Google+ users worldwide. It will be a gradual rollout though so the system doesn't get overwhelmed all at once.

With Hangouts on Air, you will be able to broadcast yourself publicly to the entire world, see how many viewers you have, and even record and reshare your broadcast. The public recording will be uploaded to your YouTube channel and to your original Google+ post.

This is a great way hold meetings, study sessions, online conferences (which Google did last week), and much more, and have the Hangout recorded for future replay and use.

Here's a video on getting started with Google+ Hangouts on the Air:





Source: Official Google Blog

Related:

Google Plus - tips for using in education, facts and data infographic

I just read an article entitled "31 Great Ways Universities are Using Google+" and was thinking that K12 could, and should, do many of these. Each way has a link to more information and ideas for that topic.

Google+ is an excellent resource for education, educators and students. It allows for communication, collaboration, sharing and so much more.

Some of the ideas from the article that I think K12 can also use include online meetings, online help sessions with students, increased and improved communication among staff, faculty, admin, students, and parents, student feedback, extracurricular activity communication and collaboration, class conversations, posting of student materials and resources.

Check out the article and see some great ideas for using Google+ in Education.


Related:

Google for Educators Resources, tips, links, lesson ideas, help, and more

Google Plus - tips for using in education, facts and data infographic
Google+ - More Reasons its great for Education

Google+ and Google+ Pages - great for educators and schools

10 Ways to Use Google Plus in the Classroom

Teaching with Google Plus - tips and resources

Twitter, Google Plus, Facebook - a nice comparison

Google Plus now open to Teens, with safety features

Google Plus (Google+) is a great resource for educators. You can connect with other educators and share, learn and collaborate, you can keep up with news and current events, you can connect with friends, and you can have video conferences called Hangouts with colleagues or students.

Google+ allows you to share beyond the 140 character limit of Twitter, but doesn't have as much of the games and junk as Facebook.

Like any Social Media network, part of the success depends on who you connect with. Here is a list of 50 Google Circles for educators to join.



Related:

Social Media in Education - connect, share, learn, communicate and more

Google has announced that Google Docs are now included in Hangouts on Google Plus. When in a Hangout, you just click on the new "Docs" button and you can add an existing document, upload a new one, and switch between and collaboratively edit multiple documents at once.

This is another great feature of Google+ Hangouts for education. Teachers and/or students can hold study groups, help sessions, or work on other projects using Docs in Hangouts.

Related:

Google+ - more reasons it's great for educators

Google Plus - tips for using in education, facts and data infographic

Google for Educators Resources

Google+ and Google+ Pages - great for educators and schools

10 Ways to Use Google Plus in the Classroom

Teaching with Google Plus - tips and resources

Twitter, Google Plus, Facebook - a nice comparison

Google Plus now open to Teens, with safety features

Google Plus (Google+) is Google's Social Networking service. I love it. You can create circles (groups of people) and only share things with the circles you choose, can have Hangouts (video conferences), share resources, have conversations, and much more. Google+ doesn't have all the ads and games that Facebook does and has a cleaner layout. I think it's a great resource for educators to use with colleagues and with students. You can share resources, have discussions and learn from colleagues. With students, you can post resources, have a Hangout as a help session, and much more.

I've written about Google+ in education many times:

Google+ - More Reasons its great for Education

Google+ and Google+ Pages - great for educators and schools

10 Ways to Use Google Plus in the Classroom

Teaching with Google Plus - tips and resources

Twitter, Google Plus, Facebook - a nice comparison

Google Plus now open to Teens, with safety features


Here is an infographic with some interesting facts and statistics about Google+

Google Plus is a great resource for education. Edutopia, a great resource in itself, has a great article "Teaching with Google Plus."

The article goes over some of the features of Google Plus, and how to use Google Plus in the classroom. The Circles can be used for groups or classes, Hangouts can be used for online study groups, and so much more.

I highly recommend the article, and Google Plus, for educators.



Related:
Social Media in Education - connect, share, learn, communicate and more

Waylou has a great article entitled "10 Things You Need to Know About Google Plus". Google Plus is a great resource for education. There are some great functions and it isn't cluttered with apps and games. You can easily create Circles (groups of people) and selectively share what you want with different groups. Hangouts let you have video conferencing (free) which can be used for study groups and more. I really like Google Plus. This article has some great information about the features and uses of Google Plus.

I highly recommend the article, and Google Plus, for educators.



Related:
Social Media in Education - connect, share, learn, communicate and more