Journal #6

"Google+: The Complete Guide" & "Educators-Google plus is for you"

Parr, B. (2011, July 16). Google+: The complete guide. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2011/07/16/google-plus-guide

Brogan, C. (2011, Sept 30). Educators – Google Plus is for you. Retrieved from http://www.chrisbrogan.com/gpluseducators  


The article Google+: The Complete Guide, talks about the new "hot social network" around, Google+. It goes into great detail about the tremendous competition is has established against Facebook. What appears to differentiate Google+ against competitors is the many features it has. The article contains and extensive guide on Google+' main features as well as an overview of the service and the important things users need to know about it. Some of the features of Google+ are Stream, which is like newsfeed, Sparks, a recommendation engine, Hangouts, a video chat service, Circles, a friend management service, as well as Games and Photos. What the article wants to make sure users know is that Google+ is a project in process, in other words it's far from being complete or finished and that there is still room for improvement.

The article, Educators-Google+ is for you, emphasises on the reason why Google+ is such a great virtual tool for Educators to use and get involved with when it comes to their profession, especially since its free and available to anyone. There are various examples given of how an educator can use certain features within Google+, for example creating circles and sharing lesson plans within these circles. Leaving questions and comments, or creating hangouts among many other features.

Question 1

Do you agree with the statement indicating that Google+ is the new hot social network around? Explain why.

After having read the articles it seems that Google+ does contain many more interesting and useful features than other current social network competitors. I would have to agree that Google+ is the new hot social network around, with what was described within the article it appears to be more accessible and very flexible for users. Although as it was mentioned in the article,a downfall to some extent is that there may be too much within Google+ that perhaps some users will not be able to discover the very many features that exist within Google+.

Question 2

Out the several features that were described within the article Educators-Google+ is for you, which one would you like to include within your classroom and why?

Out of the many features that were described within the articles I am very certain that I will  be using the feature Circles, within my classroom. This feature can help me interact with my students at a more higher level. I can make accessible to them way more information than the one I am limited within classroom hours, also they can also provide the class with information that they may think is relevant to our classroom.