Gaggle




 * Introduction and Project Ideas **

Gaggle Blogs are a safe blogging solution to help protect students from the dangers associated with typical blogging sites. They provide a safe place where students can share their thoughts, ideas, and creativity. A blog, in its simplest form, is an online journal. Gaggle Blogs are safer than other blogging sites because the teachers are in control. Teachers can decide if access to the student blogs is restricted to just the class, school or district, or opened to the outside world. Teachers can restrict who can comment on the blogs, hide full names and email addresses, prevent pictures, and more. Students are not the only people who will benefit from Gaggle Blogs. Educators all over the country are finding new and innovative ways to incorporate this emerging technology into their classrooms and daily curriculum. The following are some of the project ideas we have seen from other teachers. Teachers can use blogs as free journals for students by requiring them to create daily or weekly journal entries. This activity helps students learn how to properly convey their thoughts in writing. This also provides a good outlet for young authors to share their creative writings and poetry. Blogs can be used as a place for students to submit responses to writing prompts given to them by their teachers. For instance, this is a great way for English and Literature teachers to have their students post responses to different stories and books they are reading in class. Since the students can read each other's responses, they can easily read their classmates' thoughts on the responses and learn from one another's feedback. Writing prompts can help the students better prepare for class discussions. Students can use their blogs to post their literature reviews or book reports. Using blogs for book reports puts a new twist on this traditional assignment. Blogs can help promote literacy among students by allowing them to recommend and review books for their peers. Students can post a weekly blog entry on a current event from their local community, the country, or the world. They can write a short paragraph about the event and post a related picture in their blog. This activity helps students develop their writing and reading comprehension skills and increases their knowledge of current events. An e-portfolio is an online archive of a student's work. This is a great way for students to keep a record of all of their papers, research projects, and other assignments throughout their school career. High school students can use e-portfolios to submit college applications online. Blogs can be used as another type of message board. Since students have the ability to post comments to other students' blog entries, a blog can become an elaborate online discussion with many different participants. Students and teachers can share interesting research findings and statistics on their blogs. These research findings and statistics can be used to help educate others or for collaboration with other classmates on group projects and assignments.
 * Free Journaling/Creative Writing **
 * Writing Prompts **
 * Literature Reviews **
 * Current Event Log **
 * E-Portfolio **
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Message Board **
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Research Findings **
 * <span style="color: navy; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Creating a Blog Entry **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">It is very simple for users to create new entries in their Gaggle Blog. The following steps will demonstrate how to create a new blog entry. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Once a blog entry is submitted, a user has the option of editing or deleting the blog entry. Below each blog entry are two different links: **Delete Blog Entry** and **Edit Blog Entry**. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">If a user clicks **Edit Blog Entry**, the entry will open in the same text box where it was created. The user will be able to edit the entry and re-submit it by clicking **Update Blog** when finished. By clicking **Delete Blog Entry** link, the current blog entry will automatically be deleted. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Educators have the option of editing or deleting blog entries from their students' blogs as well. When an educator is viewing a student's blog, he or she will have the option to view all of the deleted entries. A deleted entry consists of any blog entry that was deleted or edited by the owner of the blog or the educator. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">In order to view the deleted entries, an educator can put a check mark in the box labeled **Show Deleted Entries** underneath the blog name. Each deleted entry will show the original entry and will display the word DELETED next to the title. To hide the deleted entries, uncheck the box at the top. To permanently hide a deleted entry, click on **Permanently Delete Blog Entry**. These entries will no longer appear, even when the Show Deleted Entries box is checked.
 * 1) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Open the **Applications** menu on the left and select **My Blog**.
 * 2) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Click Create **New Blog Entry** at the top of the main blog page.
 * 3) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Select a title for the entry and type it in the "Title" box provided.
 * 4) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Type the desired text in the box provided. If HTML is allowed, users can change the style, font, size, and color of the text. Users can also make their text bold, italic, or underlined, and can create numbered and bulleted lists.
 * 5) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">To insert a picture, click **Add Image** from the tool bar. If images are turned off, this button will not appear. Another window will open displaying the digital locker contents for that user, where he or she can select which picture file they wish to add.
 * 6) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">When finished, click **Submit New Blog Entry** to post the blog entry.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Deleting Entries **


 * <span style="color: navy; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Creating Chat Rooms **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Any user with a School Teacher access level or higher can create a Chat Room. The following steps describe how to create a chat room:
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Open the **Admin** menu on the left and select **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Edit Chat Rooms **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Click **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Add **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> in the top left and enter the chat room name in the text box.
 * 3) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Select an owner for the chat room from the drop down menu.
 * 4) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Specify the Allowed Users who may access the room. Various choices are listed in the drop down menu.
 * 5) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Set the District Wide drop down to **True** if this room should be accessible to other users within the district.
 * 6) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Click **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Create New Room **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">.


 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Specified Users Chat Rooms **
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Open the **Admin** menu on the left and select **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Edit Chat Rooms **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">.
 * 2) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Select the desired chat room from the list.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Select **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Specified Users **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> from the **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Access Level **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> drop down and click **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Save **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Select the **Specified Users** tab and click the **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Add Members **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">icon.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Check the specific users from the user list. Click **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Add Selected Users **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">.


 * <span style="color: navy; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Starting Chat **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">The following are step-by-step instructions for reading and posting to the Chat Rooms:
 * 1) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Open the **Applications** menu on the left and select **Chat**.
 * 2) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Choose a category such as **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Gaggle Wide Chat Rooms **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">. Click on the **+** sign to view all chat rooms in this category.
 * 3) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Click on a chat room from the list.
 * 4) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">While in the chat room, names of other users logged in are listed on the right-hand side of the screen. Users can choose the style, color, and size of their chat font. The **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Alert **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">, **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Warn, **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> and **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Block **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> buttons are located on this screen as well.
 * 5) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Type the chat message in the Chat Here box and click **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Send **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">. The entire chat discussion will appear in the large white box above.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Block button **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> - Users should highlight the name of the person they wish to block and click the **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Block **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> button. Users will no longer see chat from this person, and a line will appear through the user's name on the chat list. To unblock them, highlight the user's name and click the **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Block **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> button again.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Warn button **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> - Users should highlight the name of the person they wish to warn and click the **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Warn **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> button. They will be prompted to make sure they wish to continue. If so, click **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">OK **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">. The person who is warned will see a message in the chat window that says, 'You have been warned by another user.'
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Alert button **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> - Users should highlight the name of the person they wish to alert and click the **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Alert **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> button. Again, they will be asked if they wish to continue. The **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Alert **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> button offers an anonymous way for students to police the rooms themselves by reporting other users who are sending offensive messages. When users click on the **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Alert **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> button, a screen will appear asking them to type what occurred in the chat room. When finished, users should click the **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Report Abuse **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> button. An email notification which includes several lines of the chat session is sent to both the administrator of the student who made the offensive post and to the educator who is the owner of the Chat Room.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Kick Off button **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> - This button is only available to users with School Teacher access and above. If a teacher observes a student behaving inappropriately in a chat room, this function gives the teacher the ability to automatically remove a student from the chat room. Teachers should highlight the name of the user they wish to remove and click the **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Kick Off **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> button. By utilizing this feature, the user will automatically be removed from the chat room, have their chat room access turned off, and a notification will be sent to the user's administrator via email.


 * <span style="color: navy; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Chat Logs **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Educators have the ability to view chat logs for chat rooms they own. Users at the School Administrator access level and above can view chat logs for all chat rooms in the school, even if they are not the owner. The chat logs allow a teacher to view all conversations that have taken place in a particular chat room since its creation. This way teachers can monitor the activity of their chat rooms even when they are not participating in the chat rooms with the students. For each entry in the chat room, the chat log shows the date and time of the entry and the user name of the person who sent the message.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">View Chat Log: **
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Open the **Admin** menu on the left and select **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Edit Chat Rooms **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">.
 * 2) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Right click on the desired chat rooms.
 * 3) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Select **View Chat Log**.


 * <span style="color: navy; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Starting Chat **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">The following are step-by-step instructions for reading and posting to the Chat Rooms:
 * 1) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Open the **Applications** tab on the left and select **Chat**.
 * 2) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Choose a category such as **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Gaggle Wide Chat Rooms **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">.
 * 3) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Click on a chat room from the list.
 * 4) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">While in the chat room, names of other users logged in are listed on the right-hand side of the screen. Users can choose the style, color, and size of their chat font. The **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Alert **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">, **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Warn, **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> and **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Block **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> buttons are located on this screen as well.
 * 5) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Type the chat message in the Chat Here box and click **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Send **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">. The entire chat discussion will appear in the large white box above.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Block button **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> - Users should highlight the name of the person they wish to block and click the **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Block **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> button. Users will no longer see chat from this person, and a line will appear through the user's name on the chat list. To unblock them, highlight the user's name and click the **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Block **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> button again.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Warn button **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> - Users should highlight the name of the person they wish to warn and click the **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Warn **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> button. They will be prompted to make sure they wish to continue. If so, click **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">OK **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">. The person who is warned will see a message in the chat window that says, 'You have been warned by another user.'
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Alert button **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> - Users should highlight the name of the person they wish to alert and click the **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Alert **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> button. Again, they will be asked if they wish to continue. The **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Alert **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> button offers an anonymous way for students to police the rooms themselves by reporting other users who are sending offensive messages. When users click on the **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Alert **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> button, a screen will appear asking them to type what occurred in the chat room. When finished, users should click the **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Report Abuse **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> button. An email notification which includes several lines of the chat session is sent to both the administrator of the student who made the offensive post and to the educator who is the owner of the Chat Room.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Kick Off button **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> - This button is only available to users with School Teacher access and above. If a teacher observes a student behaving inappropriately in a chat room, this function gives the teacher the ability to automatically remove a student from the chat room. Teachers should highlight the name of the user they wish to remove and click the **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Kick Off **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> button. By utilizing this feature, the user will automatically be removed from the chat room, have their chat room access turned off, and a notification will be sent to the user's administrator via email.
 * <span style="color: navy; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Overview **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">The Digital Locker is an online file storage system for each user, similar to a network drive. Users can store files on the Gaggle servers and can access them from anywhere there is an internet connection. For example, students can upload a word document at school and download the file at home to finish as homework. There is no need for jump drives and the risk of viruses is greatly reduced. All files are checked for viruses when they are uploaded and again before they are downloaded from the servers. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">The Digital Lockers are also a great way for teachers to store class notes, permission slips, and school information or function as an online homework portfolio. Teachers can share files with students and give them access to view or edit them. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">The subscription version of Gaggle includes 7 gigabytes of storage for email and files, while the free version includes 2.5 megabytes of storage.


 * <span style="color: navy; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Uploading Files **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">To access the Digital Locker, open the **Applications** menu on the left and select **Digital Locker.** The following steps describe how to upload a file to the Digital Locker. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">*Educators can view all files for any user with an access level below their own. For example, a School Administrator can view all files of a School Teacher. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">If a user's access level is School Teacher or higher, the student lockers can be accessed from the User List. A locker link is clickable for each user in the list. The Locker is also accessible on the **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">More Settings **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> menu at the top of an individual user's data page. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">As a safety feature on Gaggle, students cannot actually delete files from the Digital Locker. Students can only mark files for deletion. Files marked for deletion will no longer appear in the file list when students view their locker. Users at the School Teacher access level and higher will continue to see the deleted files in the file list for 30 days. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Deleted files can be restored by teachers. To permanently remove a file from the system, delete the file a second time.
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Clicking the **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Add File **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> icon will bring up a browse window. Double click on the desired file to upload the file into the Digital Locker.
 * 2) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Uploaded files will not be shared by default. Click the **Not Shared** link to share a file.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Users may also organize their files by adding folders. To create a file folder, click on **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Add Folder **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> and type in the name of the new folder. When finished, click enter. To add files into the folder, drag and drop files into the folder using the mouse.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Deleting Files from the Locker **


 * <span style="color: navy; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">GaggleTube **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">GaggleTube offers a filtered version of YouTube. Teachers can find, preview, and play videos for their students even if YouTube is blocked at the school. Educational videos and tutorials can be accessed and shared with out the inappropriate content being made available.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">If a video has already been saved, it can be viewed be selecting the links under the **My Videos** heading in the top left. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Click the **Share** link to share a GaggleTube video with another user. Select the **To:** button or enter an address to share the video via email. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Click the **Link/Embed** Video tab to view the video link or the Embed code for the video. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Videos can be tagged and saved after a search is performed. Tagging allows you to group videos together in specific categories. The Tags will be displayed on the left under **My Videos**.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Viewing and Playing Videos **
 * 1) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Select **GaggleTube** from the **Applications** menu on the left.
 * 2) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">The GaggleTube window will open. Enter your search criteria in the text field and click **Search**.
 * 3) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Double click on the desired video to play it.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Sharing Videos **
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Saving and Tagging videos **
 * 1) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Select **GaggleTube** from the **Applications** menu on the left.
 * 2) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">The GaggleTube window will open. Enter your search criteria in the text field and click **Search**.
 * 3) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">After the results display, click the **Add To My Videos** button to the right of the video. The video can now be accessed from the **My Videos** links in the top left.
 * 4) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Selecting the **Tag** link to the right of a video will also save it to **My Videos**. After selecting the Tag link you will have the option of selecting an existing tag or creating a new one.


 * <span style="color: navy; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Homework Drop Box Overview **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Gaggle's Homework Drop Boxes were created for teachers so they can easily collect assignments from their students. A drop box can be created for each class or period with sub folders for specific assignments and all communication on the assignment can then be viewed in one location. Teachers can not only post assignments, but they can reply to their students submissions within the drop box. Submissions to the drop boxes do not count towards storage limits and bypass the safety filters because students can only submit information to their teachers. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Most teachers will want to create a drop box for each class or period they teach. For example, Mrs. Keith might create Keith's Period 1 Lit, Keith's Period 2 English, and so on. Within each drop box, a folder for each assignment will be created. We recommend creating a Class or User Group for each class prior to creating Drop Boxes, because the they can be selected as the Specified Members when the box is created.
 * <span style="color: navy; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Creating Homework Drop Boxes **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">If you create a new Class group from the User List, the Gaggle system can automatically create a new drop box for those specified users. Drop boxes can be created manually as well. Both methods are described below.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Automatic Creation: **
 * 1) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Navigate to the **User List** and click **Classes**. Click **New Class**.
 * 2) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Edit the class name.
 * 3) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Add yourself as a member of the class.
 * 4) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">A prompt will appear: Do you want to create a Home Work drop box for this class? Select **Yes**.
 * 5) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">This will automatically create a **Specified Users** drop box for this class. The class name and users will be automatically populated for the drop box. **The Notify you when a student submits an assignment?** check box will be selected by default.
 * 6) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">You will now need to drag and drop the appropriate users into this class.


 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Manual Creation: **
 * 1) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Open the **School/District Admin** panel on the left and select **Edit HW Drop Boxes**
 * 2) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Click **Add** in the top center.
 * 3) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Name the drop box and check the corresponding check box if you would like to be notified by email of new student submissions.
 * 4) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Choose who can access this drop box.
 * 5) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Click **Save**.


 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Specified User Drop Boxes **
 * 1) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">If you chose the Specified User access, click on the drop box name in the list. You can either add individual members with the Specified Users tab, or you can add entire User Groups with the Specified User Groups tab.
 * 2) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">On the Specified Users tab, click **Add Members** to bring up a list of users. Use the View button to bring up a subset like a User Group or work from the entire school list.
 * 3) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Select the users allowed to access that box by clicking on the check box to the left of the name. Click **Add Selected Users**.
 * 4) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">On the Specified User Group tab, click **Add User Group** to bring up a list of the User Groups. Click on the User Group(s) you wish to add. They should now be highlighted. Click **Add Selected Groups**.


 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Setting Up Assignment Folders **
 * 1) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Open the **Applications** menu on the left and select **Homework Drop Boxes** under the Community section. Double click the desired Drop Box Name.
 * 2) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">An Assignment Folder must be created first to receive any student submissions. Click **New Assignment Folder** to create one.
 * 3) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Fill in assignment name in the subject field. You can select a Due Date and specify whether you would like to accept assignments after this date. Type in the assignment in the text box and/or attach a file if necessary.
 * 4) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Click **Submit** to save the folder to the Drop Box.
 * 5) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">View submitted assignments in a box by clicking the + next to the folder, and then clicking a submission.
 * 6) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">An email message notifying students of a new or revised assignment can be sent by right-clicking the folder name. Choose either **Email Drop Box Members** to send to all members or **Email Assignment Responders** to send to only those who have already submitted an assignment. You can also **Email Student Responder** to send an email to an individual student.
 * 7) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">By right clicking on the assignment folder, you also have the option to **Show students other student’s assignments**, if you would like to make all collected assignments available to all of the drop box members.
 * 8) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">You can **Delete** or **Rename** an assignment by right clicking on the folder as well. This will also give you the option to **Change Due Date** for an assignment.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">You can right click on an existing assignment folder in a drop box to select additional functionality.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Right Click Options for Assignment Folders **
 * 1) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">An email message to the drop box members can be sent by right-clicking on the assignment folder. Choose either **Email Drop Box Members** to send to all members or **Email Assignment Responders** to send to only those who have already submitted an assignment. You can also **Email Student Responder** to send an email to an individual student.
 * 2) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">By right clicking on the assignment folder, you also have the option to **Show students other student’s assignments**. This will allow you to make all collected assignments in that folder available to all drop box members.
 * 3) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">You can **Delete** or **Rename** an assignment by right clicking on the folder as well. This will also give you the option to **Change Due Date** or to **Change Distribution Date** for an assignment.
 * 4) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">You can also select to **Edit Assignment** with a right click.
 * 5) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">You can choose to **Duplicate Assignment** by right clicking on an assignment folder. This will give you the option to duplicate this folder in any of your drop boxes. You will need to select the appropriate box and then click **Duplicate Assignment** again. This will create a new copy of the assignment in edit mode in the specified box.

Student Submissions to Drop Boxes

 * 1) Students can submit assignments by clicking Homework Drop Boxes from the **Applications** Panel. Only drop boxes that the student has access to will be visible. These will be categorized by District, School, and Specified Drop Boxes. Click the **+** to view the Boxes in that category.
 * 2) To submit an assignment, double click the drop box, and click the appropriate assignment folder to highlight it. The assignment information and any attachments will display in the reading pane.
 * 3) Click **Submit Assignment** to bring up the message screen. Click **Attach** to attach a file and/or type a message in the text box.
 * 4) Click **Submit** . An email confirmation will be sent to the student confirming receipt of the assignment.
 * 5) Any assignments attached to a student drop box submission can also be found in the student’s Digital Locker under the **Submitted Assignments** folder. This is a Read Only folder that does not count against the student’s storage allocation.
 * 6) Open the **Admin** panel on the left and select **Edit Homework Drop Boxes** under the Community section.
 * 7) Select the drop box you would like to modify. Choose either the **Specified Users** of **Specified User Groups** tab.
 * 8) Click on the user or User Group you would like to remove. Click **Remove Selected**.
 * 9) A popup box will display stating that users were removed. Click **OK** **.**

Editing Student Assignments with Zoho
If a student submits an attachment through the Homework Drop Box, you can use the Zoho feature to edit the file, assuming it is a file type recognized by Zoho. (doc, txt, ppt, etc.)
 * 1) Right click on the attachment in the student’s submission. There are three choices for editing.
 * 2) **Edit & Save to (student’s) Locker:** This choice will allow you to edit the document and save it to the student’s locker. The file will be shared to you from the student’s locker.
 * 3) **Edit & Save as New to (student’s) Locker:** This choice will allow you to rename the document. You can then edit the document and save it to the student’s locker. The file will be shared to you from the student’s locker.
 * 4) **Edit & Save as New to my Locker:** This will allow you to rename the document. You can then edit the document and save it to your locker. The file is not shared with the student.

Embedding Files and Videos in Homework Drop Boxes
Digital Locker files or GaggleTube videos can be embedded into a Homework Drop Box assignment folder or submission.
 * Embedding Digital Locker Files**
 * 1) On the assignment compose screen, select the Digital Locker icon which looks like a **Blue Lock**.
 * 2) This will pop-up a screen showing the contents of your Digital Locker. Select a file from your locker. A link will be embedded in the compose screen.
 * Embedding GaggleTube Videos**
 * 1) On the assignment compose screen, select the GaggleTube icon which looks like a **Blue TV**.
 * 2) This will pop-up a screen showing the **My Videos** saved to your account. Click **Select Video** to embed the video in the compose screen.


 * <span style="color: navy; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Message Board Project Ideas **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">The Gaggle message boards are an overlooked gem that can be used for many great projects. Teachers can create individual boards accessible to the entire school or district or just to specific groups of students like their own class or differentiated student groups. There are also Gaggle Wide message boards that are shared by all students and teachers on Gaggle. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">The message boards can eliminate the physical walls of the classroom and enable learning to take place outside normal school hours. The boards also have the Auditory Feedback System and the Translator tools available for those students who would benefit from this extra support. Below are some project ideas we have seen from some of our Gaggle educators.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Content Discussions **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">A message board can be used as an online discussion forum to promote higher-level thinking. Unlike a verbal class discussion, participation can be required, measured, and assessed. Students have time to formulate their responses, and are often more comfortable sharing their ideas in a protected environment. Discussions on the boards also provide writing opportunities, thus promoting literacy in the content areas.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Homework Centers **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">The message boards are a great way to communicate with students. They can be used as a homework center where teachers post assignments and due dates. Students can post questions and help each other with assignments, creating your own set of class FAQ's.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Differentiated Instruction **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Because message boards can be created for specific users to access, they are a perfect tool for discreet differentiation. Teachers can post differentiated assignments rather than having to pull aside a group of students during class. Specialized instruction, alternate reading material, and small group discussions can all happen on the privacy of the message board.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Character Impersonations **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Some teachers have used the boards for character impersonations. The teacher posts information and answers students' questions as a famous character. A similar project could be done by creating a board for students to moderate as a character or answer questions about a research topic. A form of “Who Am I” is a popular variation of this kind of board activity.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Professional Development/Committee Work **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Many school districts take advantage of the Gaggle's district wide message boards for professional development, teacher book studies, and for special committees. It's a great way to have cross-district discussions without fighting traffic!


 * <span style="color: navy; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Creating Message Boards **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Any user with School Teacher access level or higher can create message boards. The steps below describe how to create a message board:
 * 1) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Open the **Admin** menu on the left and select **Edit** **Message Boards.**
 * 2) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Click **Add** to create a new Message Board.
 * 3) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Name the Message Board and select a moderator.
 * 4) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">To make the Message Board District Wide or Read only, select **True**.
 * 5) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Select the desired access level.
 * 6) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Click **Save** to activate the Message Board.


 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Creating Specified User Boards: **
 * 1) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Open the **Admin** menu on the left and select **Edit** **Message Boards.**
 * 2) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Click **Add** to create a new Message Board.
 * 3) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Name the Message Board and select a moderator.
 * 4) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Select **Specified Users** from the **Access Level** drop down.
 * 5) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Click **Save**.
 * 6) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">After the Message Board is saved, select the Specified Users tab to assign the users. Specific User Groups or Classes can be added as well.


 * <span style="color: navy; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Reading and Posting to Boards **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Below are step-by-step instructions for reading and posting to the message boards: <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">School Administrator level and higher can delete any post from the message boards set up in a school. Users with Administrator level access can delete posts from the message boards for which they are listed as the owner. Posts can be deleted by highlighting the post title in the list and clicking the **Delete** link in the top tool bar. Student users cannot delete message board posts.
 * 1) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Open the **Applications** menu on the left and select **Message Boards.**
 * 2) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Choose a category, such as Gaggle Wide Message Boards by clicking the + sign.
 * 3) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">By default, the posts are organized by date with the most recent post at the top. Teachers and students can view the posts by topic, email address of the poster, date posted, and latest reply. Click on selected sub header to have the message board sorted by your preference.
 * 4) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Double click one of the subjects to view the post. This screen will display the message board posts with topics listed as folders. Click the + sign to the left of the folder to view the threaded replies to that topic.
 * 5) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Click a specific post in the thread to display it in the reading pane.
 * 6) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Clicking the **Reply** button will bring up the reply form. Users can alter the subject and type their message. The text editor Tool Bar is available on each reply and allows users to post images, conduct a spell check, change the font, text color, etc. When finished, click the **Submit** button.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Deleting Posts **


 * <span style="color: navy; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Social Wall Overview **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">The Gaggle Social Wall feature is a social networking page that allows users to stay in touch with friends and safely share information.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Profile: **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> The profile link is a home page for each user. This is where the user goes to update their account status, add photos, and view or create groups.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Wall of Friends: **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> This link shows all recent post(s) from your Gaggle Friends.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Friends: **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> This link allows you to manage your Gaggle friends. A user can Add or Remove friends from here. He/she can also click the Friend Requests tab to view any pending friend invitations.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Settings: **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> From the Settings tab a user can upload a personal profile picture and according to their access level he/she may even be able to specify their Wall Access, which determines who can be a friend. If the district has SMS Texting enabled this is also where the user would go to set all configurations.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Admin: **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;"> This tab is only viewable for School Teachers and above. Educators can restrict wall access for their users, lookup and view the wall of any user, and monitor all blocked posts and users.


 * <span style="color: navy; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Set up Social wall: **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">If you've never visited your Social Wall page, a setup link will display in the Social Wall widget in the Home Tab. Your wall can also be accessed by selecting **Social Wall** from the **Applications** panel.
 * 1) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Click the **Set up Your Profile** link in the Social Wall gadget. If your wall has already been added, select the **Settings** link in the top pane.
 * 2) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">From the **Max Email Notifications Per Day** drop down you can set the max number of messages you receive regarding Wall updates.
 * 3) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Click the **Upload Photo** link to add a Profile picture.
 * 4) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Select **Save Settings**.