BP#9_20091019_R&B_web2.0 tools_Gaggle.net

This week’s top web 2.0 utility is Gaggle. Gaggle is a group of application centered on education and is a must have tool for school districts, like mine, that are locked down behind a very rigid firewall. In my district we cannot log into any type of email account outside of our system, therefore, Gmail, Yahoo mail and Hotmail are all inaccessible from our school’s network. We also have strict policies on the use of USB devices that can connect to Department of Defense computers, so students and teachers may be in a bind if they need to work on materials at home and then transfer them to continue working on them at school; this is where Gaggle comes in.
Gaggle is not just email but a collaboration suite. Gaggle provides filtered email that is administered by the school, a message board that can be setup by the teachers and a digital locker that can be used to store documents, presentations or other files that need to be worked on from multiple areas.

Gaggle mail is filtered by an automated application that searches key words to make sure that abusive, hateful or sexual content is transmitted through the system and the keywords can be updated by teachers as the need arises. This system cannot filter everything, however what is tagged is blocked, a copy is sent to the campus administrator and a message is sent to the recipient that a message was blocked. The reason for this is so that mail that was blocked inadvertently (an anatomy paper with relevant material) may be unblocked with a click of a button. This filtering software will also analyze pictures as well. Gaggle mail also includes message translations for 13 different languages as well as a speech program that can read your messages those in need.

The digital locker is an area that students can upload materials that need to be worked on at home as well as in school and they can give access to this material for collaboration purposes. Each student has a set amount of space that material can be stored and it is associated with their email account, so without explicit permissions, the student does not have to worry about anyone deleting their material.

Finally, there is the message board system that teachers can create. Similar to the FSO question and response/blog activities I used this in my business classes for the past 2 years and found it to be very effective. I would post a question or comment and each student had to respond by a certain time. I would then require them to post a response to a student comment. This was an effective tool for those students that lacked self confidence for oral participation as well as those students that work best when taking time to compose their thoughts on paper.