Part of the Cool Sites series
On Tuesday, May 18th, Google announced that Google Wave is now available for everyone! Now you may have tried Google Wave in the beginning and felt it was not your cup of tea. Initially, Google Wave did have some annoying problems. However, like most technology, it has improved with time. Google Wave uploads faster, notifies you of updates through your e-mail, has many collaborative features, and now lets anyone join. Some of the collaborative features on the wave include video chat, embedding all sorts of documents within the page (PowerPoints, videos, and text documents), collaborative mindmapping, collaborative drawing, and much more! The video below will show you how to get started and wave.
Why Wave?
Google Wave is best for collaborative projects with a small amount of people. I find that larger Waves of 50 or more educators is overwhelming and difficult to follow. Personally, I prefer to be a part of a Wave of 3 to 15 active participants. I have mostly used Google Wave for organizing various virtual events, but have been part of Waves where educators have their students collaborate on projects. I urge you to try waving as part of a project. You can start with a simple meeting or project with your Personal/Passionate Learning Network to get the feel of how useful Wave is for collaboration. I would advise trying to Wave with someone who knows the ropes. I realize you may not know anyone who has used Wave, therefore, I am listing some resources for you to get started!
Resources and Tips
Educators on Google Wave:
- Google Wave Educators group on the Edu PLN ning– 400 educators actively invite you to participate in their projects and waves. Several members of this group actively help mentor those new to Google Wave. Also, you can propose Wave projects for others to join! Don’t worry that the group will disappear, because the Educator’s PLN ning is not going anywhere!
- List of Educators on Google Wave and their Twitter names– This list by @concretekax will help you see who is already waving on your Twitter network.
Useful tutorials and tips:
- Google Wave Versus the Rest– If you’re not sure which collaboration tool is best for your project, you will love this chart that compares Google Wave features with other collaborative tools!
- The Complete Google Wave Guide– Scroll down to the Table of Contents to see several of the chapters that are free to view. This incredible e-book will let you know about the several gadgets and extensions available!
- Google Wave for Dummies– Read this free e-book to find out how to use Google Wave. You can embed this or download a copy
- Wave Extensions– Learn the difference between robots and gadgets and how to install each in a Wave.
- How to embed a Wave on your blog or wiki
- How to remove participants from a Wave
Youtube video tutorials and tips:
- Getting Started with Google Wave
- How to Integrate Google Wave with Google Apps
- Collaborating on a Prezi Using Google Wave
- Google Wave Conversation Model– some basic listed and a great presentation on how to add bots and how they change the conversation.
What are the best gadgets, extensions, and bots?
- Google Wave Gadgets– A chapter from the Complete Google Wave Guide
- Wave: Best Education Gadgets, Widgets and Extensions– click on the links to visit the Waves. See how several educators test out various gadgets!
- Ten Gadgets to Make Google Wave More Productive and Fun!– A thorough exploration with images of 10 useful gadgets
- Google Wave Extensions by Life Feast blog– This post covers information like how to tweet and drag and drop files.
Google Wave and Education:
- Wave Education Index– A comprehensive site for educational uses of Google Wave
- Wave College– witness how several educators are building a virtual college using Google Wave!
- The Power of Potential: 19 Educational Uses for Google Wave
- 25 Tips for Students and Teachers Using Google Wave
- The Ultimate Google Wave Guide for Students: 100 Tips and Tricks
- Google Wave in Education– several more links listed in this post!
- A Short Presentation on Using Google Wave in the Foreign Language Classroom by TeachPaperless
Challenge:
Try using Google Wave for a collaborative project or have your students try it for a team project.
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What useful tips do you have for collaborating on Google Wave?