Today we are starting a three part blog series on Google+. Google+ is Google's social networking service that is integrated into many Google Apps. Every staff member in JCS that has a Google account, has access to Google+. It is a very useful tool for communication within your school staff and with other staff members of JCS. While many of us use social networking for personal use, this blog series will focus on the professional use of social networking. For specific school social network policy, please contact your school site administration team for guidance.
Part I of this series will focus on setting up your Google+ account and the differences that Google+ offers over other social networking services. Part II of this series will focus on social networking best practices. Part III will focus on advanced features and app integration.
To create your Google+ account, sign-in to your gmail and click on the +Your Name symbol on the black bar across the top of the page (on the far left):
If this is your first time accessing Google+ you will be asked to create an account, simply follow the directions until you reach your homepage:
Your homepage should look similar to mine, you will have a box at the top of the page to add an update that includes text, photos, links, videos, or an event. You will also have a suggestion box of people you may know. Below these two boxes are updates from people in your circles. We will explain "circles" in a minute, for now, click on the Home button in the top left corner and click on Profile.
Your profile will look plain when you first join. To add a cover photo (this will always be a public photo) click on change cover. You do have access to a gallery of stock photos for your cover photo or you can upload your own. My recommendation is to chose a stock photo for your cover photo or a photo that you have that is not personally identifiable (maybe a picture of your favorite team or a pretty landscape).
To change your profile picture, hover your cursor over the circle space next to your name on the top of your profile. You can then upload or select your desired photo (of yourself looking your professional best, of course!).
On your profile, you can view people in your circles as well as those who have you in their circles. Circles are groups of people that you can customize. To quickly add and manage your circles, click on the Home button on the top left side of the page and click People.
Along the bottom of the screen, you will see your circles. To add a new circle, click on the plus icon. You can have people in multiple circles. For example, your sister-in-law also works for JCS, you may want to add her to both the family circle and a circle for work. You can drag icons for people you have already added to different circles. You can also type in a person's name to add a new person to your circle. Circles are useful for sharing information and events to those people to whom it is relevant. You can also share different levels of access to your profile with those in different circles.
You are now ready to share your first update. Click on the Home button and start typing your first update in the share what's new box:
By default, your update will be visible to everyone within JCS. You can select different circles to see the update. Maybe you want to share a great article with your team on classroom management, you can just select their circle or type individual names if desired. Once your update is ready, click on the green Share button to post your update.
Congratulations, you now have a live Google+ account! Join us next week as we discuss social networking best practices!
Questions or comments?
Please email me at pamelabatchelor@johnston.k12.nc.us
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