Google Groups

Google Groups

http://www.googletutor.com/2007/03/29/using-google-groups-to-backup-gmail/
http://innovate-educate.pbworks.com/f/Crib_Groups.pdf

Google groups are an effective way for teachers, students and parents to
communicate outside of the classroom. It is a safe place to post important
documents, host online discussions and give out contact information so
everyone has the ability to communicate with each others. Google groups can
be made private or public for everyone to see. When I'm a teacher I would
require my students to have a way to access it with their own information
because I will keep it private and only allow students and parents allowed to
join. I will post homework assignments with due dates on there, make
announcement for parents to be aware of, have a calendar with all upcoming
events within the classroom and the school and use it as a tool when I'm not
able to attend class.
Another way I will use this tool in the classroom will be for my students to
communicate with students within another school or state. They will be put
into groups and assigned to another group within another classroom. They
will be required to post documents, carry on discussion groups, upload files
and each create their own page. They can also use this tool to communicate
with classmates when at home if working on a group project or confused
on an assignment.
Another way you can use google groups is to backup all documents I want
to save. It would be a good place to store them to make sure if they are lost
in other programs I have them placed in google groups as well as several
other places to ensure they are never lost. I'll have students do this same
thing with important assignments that we start in the classroom and want
them to either finish at home or continue working on the next day.
Google groups have many pros as I have listed but I have found a few
cons. Google groups is very open for alot of people to see so information
might not seem to be very confidential if desired. But other than that I have
found it to be a very effective tool.