Thing # 12

     I have had a Google account for a while, however, I have not been using the account to its maximal potential. I played around with Google Alerts and really liked the easiness of navigating around. I decided to have alerts sent on the Green Bay Packers as an example of how Google Alerts can be used for leisure news and I set an alert up for classroom management to be an example of how Google Alerts can be used in an educational standing for more professional news; any type of profession could benefit from having updated news that is specific to the individual sent to him/her on a regular basis. Google Alerts can also be used for a class activity; a class could get involved in topics in their community and then follow updates using a Google Alert that would provide them with updates. In setting up an alert one should be careful of how often an alert is going to be sent. At first I had the Green Bay Packers set up to update every time there was new news, which on a Sunday with my e-mail being synced to my phone caused my phone to go slightly psychotic. I decided to change the Green Bay Packer updates to weekly; one must decide how often he/she wants to check their phone if their email is linked to their phone. I already use Google calendar to keep up with important dates, but setting up a classroom calendar for parents and students to follow is a great way to get Web 2.0 activities into the classroom.
     Also check out the iGoogle page I created with my account. I have used Google for a while now, and for many different things; I never knew that all the different online gadgets I used could be interconnected. It is so great to be able to go to one page an view what is important and specific to me and my life. Out of playing with these all I would view the iGoogle as the one that would be least beneficial educationally speaking and the calendar would have to be the most beneficial.