1. GOOGLE GROUPS TRAINING How to use the internet to make the Own It! project teams as efficient and successful as possible.

2. Signing In Point your internet browser to www.groups.google.com Click here to Sign in

3. Signing In New users click here to create a google account Enter your email and password

4. Groups Index Page Once you’ve signed in to the groups page you’ll see a master list of your groups. It will also show the number of new items, members and your last visit. Click on the group name to get to the group page.

5. Visible Changes Main Page This is your navigation bar. you can get to all the different sections of the group from these links.

6. Main Page You can see recently uploaded files and pages on the main group page. Here are the current discussions for this group. You can see who posted the last response and when. You can also see how many replies have been posted. Click on the name to read all posts for that topic.

7. Discussions When replying to discussions you can reply to the whole team or just the author. Here is the title of the discussion thread. When starting a new discussion make sure your title is specific and explains what you’re discussing

8. Discussions You can read all the individual posts by clicking on the discussions link on the navigation bar. You can click on the subject to read other posts in that thread.

9. Pages You can also post pages on the google group – pages are like a word document that everyone can edit. Add a new page

10. Pages Make changes to the page You can see recent pages and files for your group on the navigation bar. Make changes to the page

11. Pages You can add images and links Bold, Italicize, change the font, size and color Make any changes and then click save and publish. Here is the page’s title.

12. Pages Once you’ve published, you have the opportunity to send out a message letting everyone know about the new page. You can use the default subject and text, or create your own. You can also skip this step.

13. Files If you don’t want to create an editable page, you can upload files to the google group by clicking on the upload file button The Files page shows the name of the file, who uploaded it, and the size and date.

14. Files Click Browse and then select the file you want to upload.

15. Members You can view a list of team members. Click on any member to get their email address, a list of groups they belong to and their posting activity.

16. Tips and Tricks Reply to discussions rather than starting your own thread. you can reply via email or click reply underneath the last person’s post when you’re on the actual google page. This keeps the discussions organized and ensures that when people are reading later, they see every post on that topic. If you do start a discussion, be very specific with the title. something general like "dress code" isn't going to tell what the post is really about. Only start a new discussion if your post doesn’t relate to any of the previous discussions.

17. Tips and Tricks You can respond to discussions from inside your email by just replying to the message you receive. The reply will be posted on the group page and emailed out to all members. You can start a discussion by sending an email to your group email address. Google will automatically create a new discussion using your subject line and text. Talk to your team facilitator or Allyson Mabry to get your groups email address. Only members can post on group pages. You can read the archives of groups you don’t belong to, but you won’t be able to post until you’ve joined the team.

18. Tips and Tricks Speak your mind. Don't feel like you have to say things like "this is only my opinion" or “I don't know what everyone else thinks but" - your actual point gets lost behind all of the qualifying and apologizing. We understand that everyone is speaking his or her opinion. Say what you think and don’t worry that it is going to come across as unkind or domineering. Be informal, not sloppy. Take the time to poofread your document before you sent it. Rub the document thru the spell checker and/or the grammer checker. Even simpl tipos will make you look sloppie and damage you’re proffessional credubility.