Google announced yesterday that Google Plus (Google+) is now available for edu domains.The announcement I received said:

Today, November 15th, we announced that Google+ is available to be enabled as an additional service for all Google Apps for Education domains, including K12 (primary/secondary).

By default Google+ is set to off for all EDU domains.You can enable Google+ for all or some of your organizational units by following the instructions in our Google Help Center article on how to turn on/off services. Please review important considerations before enabling Google+ in our Google Help Center. Please note that as Google+ is an additional service (like Blogger and Reader) it is not subject to the same terms and conditions as core services such as Gmail and Google Drive. Please review the Google Apps for Education Agreementwhich includes a link to the Additional Terms for Use of Additional Services.

This is great news but with it came a bunch of questions. Here are some answers to FAQ's from Google:

• As stated in the admin panel when you try to turn it on: "Users must meet the minimum age requirements for a Google Account (13 years old in most countries) to use Google+. Underaged users will have their entire account suspended.Learn more"
• Here is a link to the age requirements for Google+
• Anyone under 13 that attempts to use Google+ will have their Google Apps account will be suspended. If a student account is suspended, please file a ticket through your administrator control panel and someone from the team will get back to you to help you recover the account.
• There are minor restrictions related to Hangouts. Details can be found in the Google Help Center article on minor controls in Hangouts.

I had been working on training materials and videos on Google+ for the Midwest Google Apps Summit and I have put together a Google Site on Google+ here: Google+ for Professional Development and Collaboration

My favorite video that I made was on how to use "On the Air" hangouts to record demos or even flip your classroom.

What are you doing with Google Plus? How do you see it impacting the classroom and schools?

cross-posted at http://henrythiele.blogspot.com/

Each year when staff return to school I send out a review (through email) and sign-off form (using Google forms) related to our district acceptable use policy (AUP). This is something I do to help my staff clearly understand what responsible use of technology is, and it helps protect the district when someone acts inappropriately. Just in case you are doing something similar, follow this link to read the email and gain access to our FAQ's regarding our AUP.

After I sent this out last week, no more than five people followed up with questions. Most of them had to do with copyright and accessing personal email. In the past week two-thirds of the staff have followed up and have signed off on the agreement. I will continue to follow up with every last staff member until their questions are answered and everyone is comfortable signing off on the form. Having an AUP only protects the organization if people understand how to follow it.

cross-posted at To Learn Twice

This POST IS HENRY THIELE'S PERSONAL OPINION AND DOES NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF HIS EMPLOYERS OR THEIR CLIENTS

Although many of our teachers have been back for a few days, today kicked off the opening events in our district. By all accounts it was a great morning, and the room was electric with the energy of a new school year. In each of the past four years there has been an announcement about the changes we have made, or the cool new tools available. I actually covered this in a big email to the staff the other day.

What is striking about today is that it was different because it wasn’t about stuff and nobody talked directly about technology. What happened this morning was remarkable. We had several speakers and the morning culminated with a panel of teachers discussing the work they have done as a PLC. Throughout these discussions there were all kinds of indications to the advances in technology in our district. Statements like: “check our blog for information on this topic” (from the Union President), and “everything you need is available from the website” (from the Educational Foundation), and “we are making great progress in staff development through our many programs, like the Google Apps for Teachers' workshops this summer” (from the Superintendent). No talk of tools, just talk of how our organization works, all things that would have never been mentioned as boring or basic in past years.

I was sitting in the front row thinking “WOW, this is an interesting change,” when we moved into the panel discussion with our teachers. They were incredible in describing their dedication to the craft and to their students. As they talked, they dropped in snippets that mentioned how being able to collaborate on Google Docs, or using Google Forms to gather data, or using data analysis software to understand student progress, or how sharing lessons via Google Sites has made what they do possible. Here is an example of an actual exchange:

Teacher in the audience: “How does your team manage time, how do you communicate with other members of the team, and how do you document that you are actually getting work done when you are given time to collaborate as a team?”

Panelist: “That is easy. We just have a member of the team take notes on Google Docs and the whole team can see the notes. People who are on another team that need the information can see the information too. At the same time our department chair can see the work we are getting done.”

Here was a key exchange about how the team gets work done, with a process that totally relies on technology, yet nobody talked about how to use the tool, or why, or where to get instructions. They talked about it just like talking about writing on a chalkboard or on a piece of paper. Everyone in the room, the entire district staff, just absorbed and understood that this was how this team gets business done.

All morning there was talk of technology, but it was integrated into the discussion. Technology never stood alone; it was a key component of accomplishing what was do around here. My hope as we go into the school year is that what I saw this morning continues into each of our classrooms. That we don’t work to integrate technology; it just becomes part of the way that we get work (learning) done.

Cross-posted at http://henrythiele.blogspot.com