Google Groups has been around for a while, but sometimes gets overshadowed by things like Twitter, Facebook, Edmodo, and other social/learning networks. Google Groups is free, very easy to use and a great way to connect with people, access information and communicate. Teachers can set up a group for each of their classes, schools can have a whole school group, student groups, parents, faculty, and even groups by department.
You can create a group just by picking a name for it and inviting members. That's it. Share information, have discussions, share files, and much more. Groups can be made private so only members can see. A teacher could set up a group for their class and share files, links, and information and have the class hold discussions on the group site. Discussions can be held online or through email - your choice.
Another nice feature is the ability to get a digest email of activity on a group. It makes it easy to keep up with what's going on in multiple groups.
You can also search and browse for information in public groups.
I've used it with classes and I belong to a few groups, including the DEN LC, Blogger Users, CR-48 Chromebook users, and the Google for Educators groups.
Google Groups is a great, easy way to participate in an online group, or create your own.
Get started using Google Groups here: http://groups.google.com/googlegroups/overview.html
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