Gaggle Net

www.gaggle.net is a safe, free website that I used with all my classes last year. Its use had to be approved by Central Office, but once we got it, I used it!

Gaggle allows the teacher to set up accounts for students. The teacher sets the amount of access the students have to other classes or students throughout the school. Students can send email, chat, blog, and use the message board (which is similar to our Blackboard discussion board.) Another wonderful feature is that parents can use Gaggle to view the teacher's blog.

Students could set up profiles and blogs using their own photos. All photos were sent to the teacher's email for approval, so very few inappropriate photos were submitted. Any questionable language used on a blog, in an email, or in a chat was sent to the teacher. Many students lost their chat privileges because of the language they used.

I set up a profile and blog on Gaggle net for parents and students. I used my blog to post homework assignments, projects, rubrics, and as a means of communicating with parents. My blog had a few thousand hits over the course of the school year.

In the message board, I assigned literature discussion questions and writing assignments. Students could email their assignments and post their writing assignments to their digital lockers provided by Gaggle. The digital locker provides students with a place to save and store their work for any class.

Once one teacher sets up accounts for students, the students could use that account for any and all classes. Teachers have full access to each student's account, so if any problems arise, teachers can suspend student privileges.

Just wanted to share information about Gaggle net. Teachers liked it, students and parents loved it!