Google+ is a social network like Facebook and twitter.
To get started you need a Google account. Click here to get a Google account. If you have Gmail you already have an account.
Note: you are not advised to use the Gmail account given to by the school. First, if may not have enabled Google+ yet, and secondly, when you leave school to go elsewhere you will no longer have the account. Therefore, create a Google account or a personal Gmail account.
Sign in to your Google account or to your Gmail. When you do, you will get a black menu at the top of your screen like this:
Click the leftmost menu option (mine is +Jan) and you are in Google+.
In Google+ you can write posts or read what others have written. Here is a video that gives you an introduction.
And here is more of a tutorial:
Google+ is about five months old and new features and improvements are added all the time. Here is a list of 100 improvements made since the start.
When you start Google+ you have to add people to follow. Obviously you want to follow people who writes stuff you find of interest. Here are some ways to find interesting people.
- Search by topic and add to your circles (i.e. follow) those who write or comment about the topic.
- Ask someone who shares your interests to share one or more of their circles. That is a fast way to follow let’s say 250 math educators.
- Check if the bloggers you follow also write on Google+. If they do, add them one of your circles.
- Look at who someone you like follows (it is in their profile page), or who follows them. If you find their posts interesting follow them.
- Search by name.
Famous people use Google+. Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu is one example. Here is his talk with his friend Dalai Lama.
What you get out of Google+ depends on two things: who you follow and who follows you, or, to put it differently who you read and who reads you.
Many use Google+ as an advertisement for their blog. This morning I found this interesting post which led to this blog. I am not an art teacher, but the idea explained can be used in various ways in a school.
This was just scratching the surface of Google+. Please use the comment section for questions and queries.
By the way, my Google+ posts are here.