Category Archives: Google Apps

Sync Multiple Google Calendars to your iPhone/iPad

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**NOTE** Your Gmail account must already be synced to your phone before you can sync multiple calendars.

 Directions for setting up your CFCC Gmail to your iPhone or iPad.

After the myCFCC gmail account has been synced to the iPhone or iPad, use a computer or  your mobile device to setup syncing multiple calendars to the iPhone/iPad.

Computer Instructions

Using a desktop or laptop computer, login into myCFCC at my.cfcc.edu

Select the Mail icon to access the myCFCC gmail account

The mail account will open in a separate tab.

Open an new tab in the web browser and visit the calendar select page

https://www.google.com/calendar/iphoneselect

Select from calendars owned or shared with the user to sync to the iDevice’s native calendar app. Click Save to finish.

Mobile Device Instructions


Use the iPhone’s web browser to login into myCFCC at my.cfcc.edu

Select the Mail icon to access the myCFCC gmail account. The mail account will open in a separate tab.

Open an new tab in the web browser and visit the calendar select page

https://www.google.com/calendar/iphoneselect

Select from calendars owned or shared with the user to sync to the iDevice’s native calendar app. Click Save to finish.

Link a Google Doc in Blackboard

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PROBLEM: Every time you make a change to a syllabus you have to delete the old syllabus in Blackboard and upload the newest version into every section.  This is very time consuming.

SOLUTION: Convert a course syllabus to a Google Doc, link to it in Blackboard.   When a Google Doc is edited it shows your changes in real time.  If you make changes to the Google Doc, it shows updates immediately wherever it is linked.

 Example: Your course syllabus is a Google Doc and you have it linked to 3 course sections in Blackboard.  When you make changes to the Google Doc (the syllabus), it is also updating in your 3 course sections all at once.

HERE’S HOW

Step 1: Open your Google Docs
Step 2: Convert your syllabus to a Google Doc
Step 3: Get the URL for your Google Doc
Step 4: Create a link to your Google Doc URL in your Blackboard course
Step 5: Happy instructor :)

There will be workshop on this topic in September. Be on the lookout. Feel free to call me with any questions at ext. 7038.

Google Security & Privacy Concerns

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In Fall 2011, CFCC acquired and implemented Google Apps for Education.  The primary  application utilized is the email accounts that serve as the school email for students.  However, all faculty, staff, and students not only have access to its email service but other Google Applications such as Google Docs (the productivity suite), Calendar, and Sites.

A reoccurring theme seems to pop up whenever discussions begin in regards to the benefits of storing files and information in the “cloud”.   Security and Privacy.  With some legitimate concern, Google has long been plagued with the Big Brother syndrome.  They are watching our every move and selling our information to advertisers.

This is not the case when we refer to Google Apps for Education.  Google’s Security Privacy Policy clearly states in reference to its users:

  • It’s your content, not ours. Your Apps content belongs to your school, or individual users at your school. Not Google.
  • We don’t look at your content. Google employees will only access content that you store on Apps when an administrator from your domain grants Google employees explicit permission to do so for troubleshooting.
  • We don’t share your content. Google does not share personal information with advertisers or other 3rd parties without your consent.
  • We sometimes scan content. And for very good reasons, like spam filtering, anti-virus protection, or malware detection. Our systems scan content to make Apps work better for users, enabling unique functionality like powerful search in Gmail and Google Docs. This is completely automated and involves no humans.

As far as security goes, Google goes to great lengths to protect our information.  Law firms, Fortune 500 companies, and other higher ed institutions use Google Apps to store their files and information.

Google Apps Security Whitepaper

Another thing to consider- to access your Google Apps associated with CFCC, you have to be logged into the MyCFCC portal. Think about it…

Still not convinced?  Take a virtual tour of one of Google’s Data Centers

Or, for the more “interactive” approach, visit the Story of Send where Google takes through the entire process of sending an email.

Give Google a chance, it might just change your life–for the better.

 

Google Apps are here!

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It’s a Google world and I’m a Google girl.  Which is why I have been so excited to see that our latest changes to the CFCC information highway (MyCFCC portal) brought with it Google Apps.

The search engine giant has seemlessly woven its strategic influx of  new ‘apps’ into my life over the past few years.  So much that, sadly, I can  state with confirmation, ”I do not know what I would do in a world without Google.”

Why I’m a fan (and you should be too)

  1. Google it- When I have a question, I Google it. Answered. 
  2. One size fits all- There’s an app for everyone. All lifestyles, all digital skill levels, all languages. 
  3. Doesn’t discriminate- Google Docs made word processing, spreadsheets and presentation software accessible.  For free.  Better yet you can convert your Google docs to other file formats, including Microsoft.  Better still, your google docs are stored in the almighty cloud.  Meaning; if there’s internet, there’s your docs.
  4. Gone Mobile- While I am still lagging in the world of mobile computing (ahem, texting only), Google has managed to surpass Apple and Nokia.  Leading in the word in smart phone sales.  Why?  Android and Google are working hard to get your heart’s desire into your phone.
  5.  iGoogle  (image above).  My daily operation headquarters.  From here live news and blog feeds, access to my bookmarks, documents, weather, email, calendar, EVERYTHING.  All conviently bundled into one spot.

Still not convinced?

Drop by one of my two sessions during In Service Training on August 11th.   We’ll play around with the new CFCC Apps (operated by Google). Before you know it you’ll be as Google dependent the rest of us. ;)

Update:  I failed to mention the soft release of Google + the new social media site (not open to the public until the end of the month).   You may start to hear buzzwords like ‘Hangout’ and ‘Circles’. Currently, the site is only open to 250,000 of the world’s elite geeks one of them being Facebook star and founder, Mark Zuckerberg (btw has the largest following in Google + ahead of Google founder, Larry Page) .

 It’s no secret that Google and Facebook sweat each other.  Facebook publicly released today its merger with Skype (both blocked at CFCC) which now enables you to video chat with your friends. The ante is up. It will be interesting to see who takes the pot. Does Google have what it takes to reign champion in social media? Or should they just stick with what they’re good at…organizing.

**With Facebook and Skype both filtered on our college campus, it makes me wonder if Google + might be the future for Sea Devils.