So iGoogle is a start page for Google account users which can aggregate all of the Google apps into simple little widgets, plus many, many more. I have been thinking carefully about how the children in my year group may be able to use this iGoogle page.
The page itself can be highly personalised through themes and the choice of a variety of different widgets, so it would be useful to have a mandatory set of widgets that the class need to add – for example widgets for:
- Google Docs/Spreadsheets
- Class Google Reader account
- Google Mail
- Class Google Calendar
- Google Notebook
- Class del.icio.us links
All of these would be a click away from the home page so easily navigable – there would possibly be a mixture of individual and class use of these tools. I like the way that every child’s page could look different giving them a sense of ownership for this bit of online space – yet maintaining a sense of consistency with the above list of class widgets they need to add. Perhaps this would be the first sort of task the children can undertake when exploring their page and learning about how to add different content.
There is a vast array of widgets available for the iGoogle page, naturally ranging in quality. But within this variety are some real gems. For example Brain Tuner (just search for this on the content page) for primary age children is just what they need – a simple dose of regular mental maths right there on their home page.
I have found two version, the first is a mixture of multiplication and addition; the second being just multiplication. Every time they take the quick challenge records how quickly they have completed it adding a nice little slice of competition to keep them motivated. This may seem a leap straight out of the Nintendo DS book but it is great for keeping primary age kids sharp with their mental maths. I imagine children completing a task may nip and get one of our laptops and just have a quick play on Brain Tuner on their homepage (or even search for maths tagged sites via the del.icio.us widget and get stuck in somewhere else – who knows!)
Then of course there may well be a widget that supports a particular topic of work that you are doing in your class during the year. For example when we are doing work on space we might add the NASA Image of the day widget. During our RE work this year the Photos of Sacred Places widget could develop some discussion.
As I use it more and more I think that it would be a great place for children to start their online session. It just depends now on how the accounts are managed. (Just signed up for Google Apps on a domain) It looks like Notebook is not available via a domain type use of Google Apps, including no iGoogle page – but one that is shared.
Just realised that the iGoogle page (via Google Apps for a domain) is a combination of shared content and personal choices. Good news!
End users of the page still have the ability to incorporate any content from the web, or any Google Gadget, enabling them a degree of customization over the content of the page.