A Google+ community is a digital space for groups to share information and engage in discussions, which can be either private or public. It is useful for organizing online communities, such as teaching groups, where members can share resources, collaborate on assignments, and communicate easily. The document provides a step-by-step guide for creating and managing a Google+ community, focusing on essential features and best practices.

2. Introduction

3. What is a Google+
Community?
• This is an online space within Google+ to
gather groups of people, share information
and easily keep in touch, or even have face-to-
face discussions using Hangouts.
• These communities can be private or public.
• You can also stay connected to your
communities on the go from your mobile
phone.

4. Why use a Google+
Community?• If you are getting together an online
community of teachers for example, or
running course with students, a Google+
community is an excellent free tool to use.
• Use it to share links, photos and videos;
announce events; discuss and commenting on
topics; speak face-to-face via Hangouts, give
reminders of deadlines etc. It can even be
used to complete assignments.

5. Let’s get started!

6. Step 1: Join Google+
• If you have a Gmail account you have a Google+
account! (Just update your profile)
• Go to http://plus.google.com to sign in to Google+.
Use your organization's email address if your
institution uses Google Apps and has Google+
enabled, or otherwise use your own personal Google
account.

7. Step 2: Login to Google+ to create
your Community
Log in to Google+. (An alternative way is to just
go to your Gmail account and click on your
Google + sign.
Google+
sign

8. Step 3: Click on Home
Once you're logged in to Google+, click on the
down arrow next to Home (left menu) and then
on Communities.

9. In Google+ click on Home and then
go to Communities
1
2

10. Step 4: Create your
community

11. Step 5: Decide on public vs
private
You'll then need to choose whether to make
your Community public or private. I
recommend you make the Community
"private". This will let you restrict
membership to your students or co-workers,
etc.

12. Public or Private?

13. Step 6: Name your
community

14. Step 7: Do you want it to be
searchable?

15. Step 8: Fill in the required
details

16. Step 9: Invite others…
…when creating the community

17. Step 10: OR invite
others…
… by asking them to search and apply
to join

18. Use a community for
running an online
course

19. a) Invite the students to join the community
b) Turn notifications on to receive updates by
email
c) Create categories down the left hand side for
the various class activities
d) Let your students introduce themselves and
add a photo
e) Get your students submitting via Google
Documents and let them add the links to
their submissions via a community post

20. Create categories for your
activities
• A community works very much like a
website or wiki where you have
categories down the side and the
members post their activities within the
categories
• You can search for individual members or
activities as you manage the community

21. Each category here has its own
page where the entries are
made
Members and activities are
searchable
All the posts appear on the
opening page of the
community as well as in their
specific category

22. Further reading
1. Quick Tip: Set up a Google+ Community
2. Google+ Communities: A Beginner's Guide