Unit B: Expanding Your Productivity Page: 24 to 37

Communicating with Gmail  Gmail is a web-based client. This means you can use it from any computer with an internet connection.  You can open Gmail in two ways:  Click on Gmail on the Google Menu Bar  Pointing to: mail.google.com  With Gmail, you can create, send, receive messages

Gmail Screen

 Indicate using the pervious figure the following: 1. Create a message 2. Number of unread messages 3. Triangle to collapse a section 4. Labels used to organize the messages 5. Total number of messages 6. Informational Google Messages

Compose A Message  The Add Cc link is used to create a “carbon copy” to another recipient who is not directly involved with the subject.  The Add Bcc link is used to send “blind carbon copy” to a recipient who will be invisible to all the other recipients.

Compose Message

Messages  A message can be deleted whether it was read or not by clicking the Delete button.  You can create a new message by clicking the Compose button.  You can organize the messages by using the “Labels” feature to create categories.  To delete a label, click on “Edit Label” link.

Contacts  Use the contact list to record: name, address, phone numbers and address.  Click “Edit” to add or change a contact information.

Contacts

New Contact

Quick Quiz  Which feature sends a copy to a recipient, but hides the recipient’s name from all but the sender?  Is it possible to delete a message without reading it ?  What do you use to organize the messages received into categories?

Chatting with Google Talk  Google Talk is a instant messaging service that is downloadable.  You can get Google talk by pointing your browser to: then clicking Download Google Talk or Launch Google Talk Gadget

Chat Instantly with Users

Chat With Users

Google Groups  Google Groups are a collection of public online forums in which you participate  You can either join an existing group or start one on your own  Joining Google Groups allows to share files and get information about several topics  To access Google Groups: groups.google.com

Google Groups

 You can use Google Groups to stay in touch with people of the same interest  Groups are organized in categories  In addition to being organized by topic, the directory lists groups by region, language, activity and membership  If you can find a group of your own interest, you can start your own group

Google Groups

Google Groups Tour

Google Blogs  A blog is an online journal  Google Blogs in an online service that lets you maintain your own blogs  You can open Blogger by:  Clicking More from the Google Menu Bar  then logging In to your account.

Google Blogger

Google Blogs  You can create your own Blog  You can read others’ blogs  You can search for blogs

Creating Your Blog

Composing Blog Text

A Blog

Quick Quiz Which Google program access public online forums? Which Google program shows you the number of forums by topic? Which Google Program lets you communicate instantly with other users?

Enhancing Your Blog  When you log in to with your account, all the blogs that you have created will be displayed in the Dashboard.

Control the Content of the Blog  The four tabs seen at the top of the screen (Posting, Settings, layout, and view Blog) lets you control the content of the blog.

Settings  Basic: to display your blog and allow search engines to view your blog  Publishing: Change the address of your blog  Formatting: change the number of posts that are displayed and the date and time stamp format. In addition to the language  Comments: determine who can comment (Fig. 8-14, page 35)  setup an that automatically notifies you when someone posts.  Permission: determine who can post to the blog and who is the Administrator.

Layout Tab  With the Layout Tab, you can modify and arrange the elements on your page. You can change the colors of the font used.  Page Elements Tab: lets you add and arrange elements on your page  Fonts and Colors tab: change the colors used in the blog page  Upper Pane Tab: controls to change the colors of the page  View blog tab: to see how will the blog look like after the changes are done.

Layout Tab Page 35: Fig. (B-14,15,16)

Google Calendar  Google Calendar lets you keep track of appointments that we call events and you can include others in these events.  You can open Google Calendar by:  Pointing to:  Clicking Calendar link from Gmail  Click More link on the Google search page then clicking Calendar.

Google Calendar

Schedule Events  You can use Google Calendar for important tasks that you don’t want to forget.  When you open the calendar, you can advance to any date.  By default, the calendar displays the days of the week as well as monthly calendar. (Fig B-17, page 37)  The calendar view can be changed by clicking a tab for Day, Week or Month, etc..

Calendar Monthly View

Google Calendar Day View

Calendar Events  Calendar events can be viewed as a list using the Agenda Tab.  When you create an event, the information is entered on the dates and times you specify.  The people you invite are sent messages notifying them about the event that they can accept, decline or propose a new time line.  For each response, you will receive an acknowledge of the response for the event.  You can create an event by clicking the Create Event link (Figure B-18, page 37)

Create a New Event

Keep Track of Appointments  You can choose to have multiple reminds for each event (either by message or pop up message 10 minutes prior to an event)  To do this, click on Add Reminder link then set the reminding type  Check Figures B-19,20.  When you are done and have saved the changes, the event will appear in the calendar.  Page 37, Figures: B-17,18,19

Event in Google Calendar

Multiple Calendars  You may want to have more than one calendar to manage events that are personal vs. those that are professional.  A calendar can be shared by everyone or with specific ones that you decide to share the calendar with.  When you create a new calendar, click the Create new calendar link and decide who can share your calendar.  A public calendar is one that contains information from an outside source

Picasa  Picasa, sometimes called Picasa 2 is a photo organizing software that allows you to organize and edit digital images.  Picasa must be downloaded and installed on your computer.  With Picasa, you can make image corrections for colors, straightening, shadows and color effects.  Picasa Web Album is a companion web-based program that sllows you to post and share and organize phots on the web

Picasa Access  Access the Picasa download by  Pointing the browser to: picasa.google.com  Then clicking Try Picasa Now link  And following the download instructions  Access the Web Picasa Album:  Point your browser to picasaweb.google.com

Picasa

Picasa

Web Picasa Album

Organizing Images on Your Computer  With Picasa, you can organize your images into multiple albums containing any number of images.  These images can be displayed on your computer as a slideshow,on a CD or posted on a website.  Picasa can also find images that are already on your computer or import them from a camera or external device.

Edit Your Images  You can use Picasa to make basic edits to your image such as cropping, straightening, removing red eye, and adjusting contrast.  After double clicking the image, you can use the basic fixes  Table B-1, Page 43.

Use Picasa Web Album  After the album is ready to be displayed online, click the Web Album button, sign in using your Gmail account information, complete the Send photos to a Picasa Web Album dislog box then click OK.  To create a new Album, go to Picasa Web Album then click on Create Album link.  Click Upload photo link, then choose your pictures to be postefd. Once done, click on Share album shown in Figure B-28.  Those that you invite to view your album will receive an invitation containing a link that they can follow to view and open your photo album.

Quick Quiz  With Picasa, there is a definite number of photos in each album. True/false  What is the default view for the Google Calendar?  Where should you point your browser to access picasa?  Where should you point your browser to access Google Calendar?  You can only create one calendar as it is imposisble to have multiple calendars. True/False