1. Sharing with Google:
Plus vs. Groups
Sharon Huston
9/26/2014

2. Viewing tips
Following each point, you will see examples and
(occasionally) instructions. Instruction slides
always feature a horizontal banner and a logo to
indicate which product is under discussion.
The presentation is organized around points of
comparison for the two products. Each point of
comparison has a slide.
Throughout the presentation, BLUE indicates Google Groups, while RED indicates
Google Plus (Communities)

3. Viewing tips
This presentation contains detailed speaker’s
notes. To view the notes, open this document in
PowerPoint, select the View tab and then press
the Notes option.
The default note area
is only a couple of
lines high. You can
increase the size by
dragging the top bar
of the slide note area.
Close-up of dragging the slide note area bar.

4. https://www.flickr.com/photos/blackberryimages/7690862192

5. https://www.flickr.com/photos/guest_family/5455428633

6. https://https://www.flickr.com/photos/sundazed/3255048526

7. https://www.flickr.com/photos/acaben/1307980635

8. https://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/6792109514/in/photostream/

9. Google Plus Google GroupsIt’s important to realize many schools use Google Apps for Education,
which has some advantages over the standard Google “consumer”
apps that anyone can access. When you sign in to Google using your
school email address, you’ll have access to all the advantages Apps for
Education provides.

10. Google Plus Google Groups
Within the Google-verse (consumer and Apps for Education) there are two
different ways to share – using Google Plus (aka Google+) or using Google
Groups. This presentation will examine the tradeoffs between the two, and
will also briefly discuss how to display your Google+ and Groups content
within Blackboard.

11. https://www.flickr.com/photos/dlee13/14072309735

12. https://www.flickr.com/photos/dlee13/14072309735
It’s worth mentioning you can
use BOTH solutions. You don’t
have to make a difficult choice.
The two sharing mechanisms
have different features, and you
may need both feature sets to
accomplish your goals.

13. Separate App
Available since
2001
Circles and
Communities
are part of Google+
What are they?
PLUS GROUPS
Circles
Logo
Communities
Logo

14. Old-School
Email
Discussion
Group
Originally for
Usenet posts.
Social
Sharing
Like Facebook.
No, really -- what are they?
PLUS GROUPS

15. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ian_ruotsala/117769533

16. Unlimited
Number of people
in a group, using
Google Apps for
Education.
Unlimited
Number of people in
a community.
Membership limits
PLUS GROUPS
The consumer version
of Google Groups only
allows 200
participants.

17. Creating a Community
Privacy options for your community are very important – you can’t change these
options later, so it’s important to know what you want before you start the creation
process. Google has a very helpful document on privacy settings. I’ve included two
of Google’s tables for your edification, one on Apps for Education Communities, and
one on public communities.
For Apps

18. Creating a Community
Now that you’ve read the information, you have probably made a
decision on the community you want. Let’s continue with the creation
process.
For public
communities

19. Creating a Community
1. Log into Google+
2. Open the Home menu and select Communities.
The Community page will open.
3. Select the Create community button located
near the top of the screen.

20. Creating a Community
4. Optionally use the
change link if you
want a public
Community.
5. Additional options
(like moderation and
private communities)
will appear as you
make your privacy
selections. You’ll also
be prompted to name
your Community.

21. Creating a Community
6. Next walk through the setup wizard. You’ll need to add
a tagline and a representative photo. You’ll also need to
fill out the About section, and (optionally) add
discussion categories to guide conversation.
7. When you’re finished, Google will prompt you to add
people to your Community. We’ll cover how to
complete that task later in the presentation.

22. In many schools, creating Google Apps for Education
Groups is a process managed by IT. Contact your
school’s IT department for assistance.
Creating a Group

24. Zero
effort
IT adds your students
to your community
when they set up your
group.
Time -
intensive
Students will have to join
Google+, and you’ll have
to add one student at a
time.
How hard is it to add students?
PLUS GROUPS

25. Add students to a Community
1. Access Communities through the Google+
menu.
2. Select the community you would like to work
with.

26. Add students to a Community
1. On the Community page, select the Invite People option.
2. Type a welcome message in the Add a comment space, and
enter the students’ email addresses in the To: space.
3. Press the Send option.
Special caution: If your Community is an Apps for Education
community, you’ll need to use the students’ official Google email
address.

27. https://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/3677038384

28. Easy.Easy.
Sharing
PLUS GROUPS

29. Share in Google+
2. The field will expand so you can
upload your content (if needed).
3. Specify the Community, Circle,
individuals you want to share
the content with. Depending on
the chosen Circle or Community,
your content may be restricted
to Apps for Education users, and
can’t be shared outside the
domain unless you change the
option.
1. Type in a message and choose what you want to
share – text, photo, link, etc.

30. Share with Google Groups
Option A: The Web Interface
1. Go to your Groups page, and press the
New Topic option. A form will appear.
2. Compose your
message in the
form, adding links,
attachments, and
formatting as
needed.

31. Share with Google Groups
Option B: Using the Email Address
All Groups have an email address, which you can find by
managing your group and examining the Email options.
Using your Gmail account, you can email anything to your group.

32. Share with Google Groups
Option B continued:
Once you know the Group’s
email address, sharing content
like Drive files, Google Sites,
and other Google resources is a
snap. All you need to do is
invite the Group address, and
grant group members the
appropriate permissions.

34. Multiple
roles to use
Owners, managers,
users, and custom
roles.
One
community
manager:
You.
Delegating responsibility
PLUS GROUPS

35. Set custom role privileges
Privileges can be set for each role. For example, you
might give your TA the ability to add new users or approve
messages.

37. Email
or website only
depending on
settings
App
or website
and optional email
notification
How are students notified?
PLUS GROUPS

39. Not so
pretty
Pretty
Visual appeal
PLUS GROUPS

42. Threaded
discussions
Easier to see threading
but not a great
interface.
Comments
No indentation, so it’s
hard to tell who is
replying to what.
Conversation formats
PLUS GROUPS

45. https://www.flickr.com/photos/dhammza/2891991931

46. Everyone to
everyone
--or--
Teacher to
student
Both easy.
Everyone
to
everyone
Communication patterns
PLUS GROUPS

47. Groupssharing
By default, Groups allows anyone in the group to share (via
email) with the entire group. If you want to restrict
participation there are some helpful settings you should
know about.
To access Group
options, open
your group and
choose the
Manage link on
the right.
The management area has its own sidebar
menu, which we’ll refer to on the next few
slides.

48. Groupssharing
The sidebar menu’s
Settings > Email Options
menu is useful.
If you do not want
students sending email to
the group, it’s a good idea
to tweak the email footer
section. You can also
control how replies are
managed.

49. Groupssharing
The sidebar menu’s Permissions > Basic Permissions menu
allows you to control which roles can post and view topics.
The defaults allow everyone to post and view topics.
This area also allows you to control who can join your Group.

50. Groupssharing
The sidebar menu’s
Permissions >
Posting Permissions
menu controls a
variety of settings,
including the ability
to post attachments.
You’ll notice this
menu has a Post
drop-down box that
is identical to the
one on the Basic
Permissions screen.
They are linked – if
you change it on this
screen it will also
change on the Basic
Permissions screen.

52. Embed
Groups
website
See all the
action.
Embed
single
posts
Show the best
content.
eCampus integration
PLUS GROUPS

53. eCampusintegrationforGoogle+posts
•Limited to
single posts
•Posts must
be shared
publically

54. EmbeddingGroupsineCampus
Entire Groups
sites can be
embedded in
eCampus.

55. Embed a post in eCampus
2. Copy the embed code.
1. Choose a public post and select the
option to embed the post.

56. Embed a post in eCampus
3. In eCampus, navigate to the content area
where you want the post to appear and
create a new item.
4. Select the HTML icon in the Text box.

57. Embed a post in eCampus
5. Paste the code, and
Update the item.
6. You will not be able
to see your shared
post. You’ll have to
click Submit and
return to the
content area to see
the finished
product.

58. Embed Groups in eCampus
1. Open your group settings.
2. Find and copy the embed code.

59. Embed Groups in eCampus
3. In eCampus, navigate to the content area
where you want the post to appear and
create a new item.
4. Select the HTML icon in the Text box.

60. Embed Groups in eCampus
5. Paste the code, and
Update the item.
6. A yellow box serves
as a placeholder.
You’ll be able to
view the group page
after pressing
Submit.

61. Thank you!
Enjoy using your Groups and Communities.