Making Sense of Gmail

Trying to write a blog post about Gmail is actually harder than it turns out--who knew!  Gmail does so many things that I could never adequately explain the service in a single blog post, and there are already thousands of other sites, blogs, and tutorials floating in the either of the internet.  To try to do what so many others have done would be to reinvent the wheel, but instead of a fluid and useful tool, mine would look like a disproportionate pentagon that was neither comfortable or useful for anyone.  So I decided to delete everything that I had drafted and do something different with my Gmail post.  I want to collect a few great resources for those trying to find answers on how to use Gmail (and all of its extra features) to the best of its abilities.

Google's Own Resources

Google has a really comprehensive web-based class for all of its products.  They are free to access and will systematically walk you through all they have to offer in their core apps.  I have included for you here links to their three part lessons on Gmail

Gmail Level 1:  The Basics

Gmail Level 2:  Classroom Application

Gmail Level 3:  Advanced Gmail

The Blogs

I know it is hard to believe, but my blog is not the only technology blog out there for teachers.  Mine is, however, the best technology blog for teachers out there wearing a beard and glasses.  Here are some worth checking out.

Gmail's Official Blog

Gmail Plugins

The News Articles

A quick Google search for Gmail tips and tricks will reward you with a little over 15 million responses, but these two will cover just about all the tricks you would ever care to know.

9 Gmail Basics

30 More Advanced Gmail Tricks

The Videos

I don't want to leave out the strictly visual learners so I have included a few videos that have much the same information as the other links I have provided.

The Ultimate Guide (of so they say)

Gmail Tips and Tricks

The Gmail How-to Video to Watch When you Have an Hour to Burn

Well, compared to my other posts that have embedded videos or pictures, this post looks kind of boring.  So to spice it up here is a picture of a man dressed as a rooster.

And a video of a teenage boy that can't handle laughing gas.

Hope you found this post both helpful and enjoyable.

Cody