I will begin by saying like I have commented in other blogs, I like that this course has given me the opportunities to check things that I most likely would not on my own. Google + is one of these 'things' that I would not have taken the time to look at on my own because I've been using other social media like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and I felt like I didn't need one more 'thing' to figure out how to use and consume any free part of my day.
My first impressions with Google + is that it is pretty overwhelming to use without watching videos/tutorials on how it works. I don't feel like I would have taken the time to figure out all the 'ins & outs' on my own, like creating circles and joining communities. The videos and other links that I discovered on my own definitely have helped me figure out how to use Google + a little more effectively. With that being said I could see myself using Google + more in my professional life than in my personal life. I really don't know any of my family or friends that use Google +.
I can see how building circles is a nice way to connect with other people that I know. I started my circle with the people in this class, and built another circle with other colleagues in our district that are on Google +. Because few of my colleagues are on Google +, I feel that I a majority of my 'electronic' sharing will be through email.
I think that the communities is a cool idea, but I don't see it being much different than Twitter (other than not limiting you to 140 characters, which is nice). I joined our class community, GEG Chicagoland, Mathematics Education (K-12), Mystery Hangout, as well as Boston Red Sox Talk and New England Patriots. I can see that the educational communities will be valuable learning tools, but the personal ones that I joined (Red Sox & Patriots) have the same information that I can get on other websites. One thing that I like about the communities is the ability to filter the thread options instead of reading through all the posts. It is a faster way to find what you are looking for.
As for Hangouts, I haven't been able to attend one yet with my BUSY summer schedule, but I will write more about it when I'm able to.
I agree with you about Google + fitting more into the professional life than the personal. Most of the people I know don't use Gmail, and I'm not sure I could ever convince them to do so! But I like it for the potential it has for colleague work. Unfortunately, most of my colleagues aren't really using it yet. I'm hoping we can get into it a little this year as a way to share ideas with one another and show what's going on in our classrooms...
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