gmail

= = =Google Accounts & Gmail =


 * Web Site:** [|http://www.gmail.com]
 * 21st Century Skill(s) the tool might address**: Communication


 * Creation of Gmail Account:** [|Gmail Account Creation][|.pdf]


 * What is the tool? How does it work? What's special about it?**
 * It is a free email account.
 * It it web based or POP or IMAP.
 * Tag based email, it allows for threaded discussions, chat is integrated, great mobile client, ever expanding storage,
 * Google's powerful search tool is embedded.
 * Great spam filtering.
 * Automatically archives all GChats.


 * How might this tool be useful to students & teachers?**
 * if you create a Google mail account it allows access to all the other Google Apps
 * Since they are free, they could be used as "utility" addresses so that an entire class could be sharing one account to correspond with outside sources.


 * What else do we want to know about this tool?**
 * How to start using it?
 * How to get school districts to stop blocking it?
 * How I can best use it in the classroom?


 * The super-popular Gmail is full of fun and fast ways to make your life and communications easier. **
 * [|**Use the Tasks as a to-do list**] . Use the Tasks available in Gmail as a way to stay on top of assignments, exams, and project due dates.
 * [|**Use the Archive feature**] . One of the great features of Gmail is that it allows you to archive emails to get them out of your inbox, then you can use the search feature to find them if you need them again.
 * [|**Highlight mail with labels**] . Use labels to mark your messages. You can find them easily while in your inbox and do a search for all the messages with that label after you archive them.
 * [|**Never forget to attach a file**] . By signing up for the Labs, you can select to have the Forgotten Attachment Detector. This feature notices if you have typed something about an attachment in the body, but are sending without actually attaching anything–a great tool to save time and embarrassment.
 * [|**Use keyboard shortcuts**] . Go to Settings and enable keyboard shortcuts so you can perform common tasks at the touch of just one or two keys.
 * [|**Add multiple attachments**] . Use the Control (or Cmd on Macs) and Shift keys to select more than one file to attach to your email at one time.
 * [|**Use the https option**] <span class="textfn12" style="border: 0px initial initial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px;">. Google recommends using this option if you use your Gmail in public places like a dorm or coffee shop to add an extra bit of protection to your Internet activities.
 * <span style="border: 0px initial initial; color: #3c6d95; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px;">[|**Incorporate Google Calendar and Docs on your Gmail page**] <span class="textfn12" style="border: 0px initial initial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px;">. Have access to recent documents used in Google Docs and get an agenda of upcoming activities you have on Google Calendar with small boxes added to your Gmail page. Go to Labs to select this option.
 * <span style="border: 0px initial initial; color: #3c6d95; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px;">[|**Add a "Waiting for Response" label**] <span class="textfn12" style="border: 0px initial initial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px;">. If you have emails in your inbox that you are holding until someone gets back to you, creating this label keeps you from forgetting to follow up on it later.
 * <span style="border: 0px initial initial; color: #3c6d95; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px;">[|**Use Canned Responses**] <span class="textfn12" style="border: 0px initial initial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px;">. If you find yourself writing the same type of email over and over, use the Canned Responses feature in the Labs to create a template that you you can use without having to type out the entire email every time.
 * <span style="border: 0px initial initial; color: #3c6d95; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px;">[|**Consolidate email accounts**] <span class="textfn12" style="border: 0px initial initial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px;">. If you have a Gmail account, an account through school, and any other account you are juggling separately, combine them all into Gmail to cut down on time spent checking all those accounts.
 * <span style="border: 0px initial initial; color: #3c6d95; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px;">[|**Use AIM in Gmail**] <span class="textfn12" style="border: 0px initial initial; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px;">. If you use AIM to IM friends or partners on projects, add it to the chat feature already in Gmail to have access to both