To participate in collaborative learning, it is necessary to be able to use technology for group work. This includes the ability to talk and see one another, share screens, and share and edit files. We use the Google+ set of tools to do these things. Google+ is free and available to anyone.

To complete this task…

Here are the steps you must complete in order to use Google+ for this learning experience:

1. If you don’t already have one, Open a Google Account
2. Configure your Google+ profile.
3. Install the Google Chrome web browser. Google services run best on Google’s web browser.
4. Test your ability to access and edit the shared worksheet for the cohort. The worksheet is stored on Google Drive. Cohort members are the only ones who are authorized to view it. The shared worksheet includes contact information for all of the learners in your cohort.
5. Add the learning coordinator and other learners to your Google+ circles. You may want to do this by creating a circle for the cohort members.
6. Test that posts about this project are showing up in your Google+ stream, and reply to some of them to test your ability to comment on posts.
7. Test your ability to participate in a Google Hangout. This includes learning how to use a headset to improve audio quality. A webcam is not required, but is recommended.
8. As an optional activity, check out some of these video tutorials that explain various Google+ features.

After finishing Task 1 move on to Task 2: Set goals for your site.