The Center for Teaching and Learning 480.461.7331 http://ctl.mesacc.edu
[email protected]
GOOGLE GROUPS, SERVICE ACCOUNTS Google Groups is the area within Google where you can ‘Manage’ and ‘Personalize’ and ‘Participate’ in Maricopa Email Service Accounts that are designed to allow functional groups to manage and respond to issues, tasks and questions as a collaborative team. Through this tutorial you will learn to: ● Access your Service Account ● Update and manage membership and account settings ● Perform basic Group Inbox functions such as assigning/taking tasks, adding tags, creating topics ● Manage the flow of information to and from the Group
Accessing Google Groups ● Where do I login? Login into your Maricopa
Gmail using your browser through MyMCC https://orion.mesacc.edu/portal/ (select Employee Gmail) or https://accounts.maricopa.edu ● Select the Groups link at the top of the Google Menu ● Click on My groups
Your Groups Service Accounts that you own, mange, or are a member of will be displayed with the college abbreviation and service account name (i.e. MCC
[email protected]). Review your Groups. Groups will include both Distribution Lists and Email Service Accounts. Note: Distribution lists will start with ‘DL’ or ‘DEPT’, while Service Accounts will typically be the name of the department or service. If you are the owner or a manager of a service account, you will see this role in parentheses to the right of the group. Click on the name of a group to access it.
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The Center for Teaching and Learning 480.461.7331 http://ctl.mesacc.edu
[email protected]
Service Account Workflow So how should I use the Service Account? There are two main ways you can access and use your service account depending on your Group’s settings and your personal preferences: 1) from the Group Inbox (known as the Topics area) or 2) from your own work Gmail Inbox. What method you use may be a function of many factors including the size of your Group and the topics being managed. You can also setup your Group to be flexible, allowing members to decide how they want to manage their responses to Group topics.
Using Service Accounts from the Group Inbox Members will access and manage topics from within the Group from the Group Inbox. Here is a workflow for this model: Members login to the Service Account Group Inbox to access and respond to topics. | The Manager/Owner can assign topics to Members within the Group. | Members can take/drop topics and tag them to keep them organized to avoid duplication. | Manager/Owner can delete messages as topics are resolved or keep them for archival purposes. | Manager/Owner can sort through topics not replied to and assign them to members using assign and tags.
Using Service Accounts from Gmail Members will access and manage topics from within the Group from their Gmail. Here is the workflow for this model: Manager/Owner sets up Service Account Group to notify Members of new topics in Gmail. | All Members login to their Gmail to access and respond to topics. | The Manager/Owner can assign topics to Members through Gmail. | Members would copy the Group on topic responses to avoid duplication and update the Group Inbox. | Manager/Owner can use tags to mark resolved issues in the Group Inbox. | Manager/Owner can sort through topics not replied to and assign them to members via Gmail. Agria 6/12/2012
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The Center for Teaching and Learning 480.461.7331 http://ctl.mesacc.edu
[email protected]
Membership Settings The first time you access a group, you can modify your basic profile information (how you appear to others in the Group). You can access the detailed settings area, including your profile information, at any time by selecting My membership.
Members can....Personalize How They Receive Messages from the Group Members of a Service Account can access and personalize their options under ‘My Membership’ and can view other members in the group under ‘Members’
My Membership Access your settings for a Service Account for which you are a member by clicking on My membership. Change settings as desired: ● Leave Group ● Email Frequency: No Email, Abridged, Digest, Immediately
Note: You can choose to view messages to the Group in your email and/or login to the Group to see messages. ● Preferred email address ● Profile/Nickname Click on Update settings if you made changes. Agria 6/12/2012
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The Center for Teaching and Learning 480.461.7331 http://ctl.mesacc.edu
[email protected]
Managers & Owners can...Change the Service Account Settings & Manage Membership Select Group settings from the gray Gear icon
.
Change the following settings based on your Service Account preferences: 1. From the Information > Advanced area ● Under Reset group, and Select a group type in the dropdown menu. Group types are preconfigured settings for your Group that will make setup easier. Choose Collaborative Inbox. 2. From Settings > Email options area ● Change the Subject prefix field to the group name in brackets (i.e. {MCCAdvisement}) (this helps filter items from the Group). ● Under Post replies, select “Users decide where their replies are sent” from the drop down. 3. From the Settings > Tags area ● Enable tags (gives members a way to mark messages in the inbox for organization). 4. From the Permissions > Posting permissions area ● Under Post, select “Anyone can post messages to the forum” from the drop down. 5. From the Information > General information area ● For Topic types, select Discussions and questions. ● For Posting option select Allow posting by email and Allow users to post to the group on the web (this will give your members the option to manage the group functions via email). 6. From Information > Content control area ● Select Archive message to the group (messages with otherwise be purged).
Agria 6/12/2012
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The Center for Teaching and Learning 480.461.7331 http://ctl.mesacc.edu
[email protected]
Removing members 1. Select Group settings from the gray Gear icon . 2. When you select Members > All members you will see a list of active members of the Service Account. 3. Click on the box next to the Member name and from the dropdown Actions menu, select Remove from Group.
Adding members 1. Select Group settings from the gray Gear icon
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2. Click Members > Direct add members at the top to add new members to the group. 3. Enter the Email addresses. 4. Write an optional welcome message. 5. Select the default email delivery settings . 6. Click the Add button. Note: All individuals are immediately added to the Group and an email is sent to their mail account.
User Roles Members can have roles assigned to them that give them certain privileges in the Group. Owners can add and delete members, change the Group settings and delete the Group. Managers can add and delete members and change the Group settings. They cannot delete the Group. Members can view, send, and reply to discussions and email messages.
Changing a User Role Once a member has been added, the owner or manager of the Service Account can change the role of the member by selecting Members > All members. Click on the box next to the Member name and from the dropdown Actions menu, select Add to role or Remove from role.
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The Center for Teaching and Learning 480.461.7331 http://ctl.mesacc.edu
[email protected]
Group Inbox Functions Create a New Topic (Message) Members, Managers and Owners can create new Topics. 1. From the left pane, select your Group. 2. Across the Group navigation bar at the top, select New Topic or Post a Question depending on the type of Group. 3. Enter the subject and text in the fields provided. 4. Attach a file if necessary. 5. Select a tag if necessary. Depending on your settings anyone (members and nonmembers) can post a topic by emailing the Group Inbox (available in Maricopa directory) at
[email protected].
Tag a Topic (Message) You can add tags to your topic to clarify the content of the message or to mark the topic with functional directions such as ownership (like a “member name” tag) or status (like a “complete” tag). Using tags can help your Service Account Group visually manage the messages received by the Group in the Inbox. 1. Select a topic from the Topic Inbox. 2. When the topic opens, select add tags next to the topic name. 3. Add your tags, separated by commas and select Save Changes. Note: You can change the tags on a topic at any time by using the same method above. Tip: Using tags effectively is key to helping your Group avoid duplication of work in your Group Inbox.
Assign or Take a Topic 1. Select a topic from the Topic Inbox. 2. In the Topic window select Take (if you are a member) or Assign (if you are a manager/owner). 3. You can Drop a topic if you want to make it available for reassignment. Agria 6/12/2012
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The Center for Teaching and Learning 480.461.7331 http://ctl.mesacc.edu
[email protected]
Replying to a Topic in the Group Inbox Based on the settings for the Group, members can choose to Post a reply to the (visible to the Group with a copy the author [optional]) or the author of the Topic (visible to the author only) from the Group Inbox. You can also choose to forward the topic from the Group Inbox to email. To reply to a Topic: 1. Select the Topic from the Group Inbox. 2. Choose the part of the conversation and select an action from the response drop down box. 3. Type your response and attach files if necessary. 4. Select who the response is By (you or the Group). 5. Review the recipients of the response and modify as needed. 6. Select the action button below the response, “Post”, “Reply” or “Forward”.
Replying to a Topic from Gmail If your Group is setup to allow posting by email, then members can both view and respond to Topics from their own Gmail. To reply to a Topic in Gmail: 1. Select the Email Message/Conversation 2. Choose the part of the conversation and select an action from the response drop down box. 3. Type your response and attach files if necessary. 4. Select who the response is from (see information below about sending on behalf of the Group). 5. Review the recipients of the response and modify as needed. 6. Select Send. Note: If you want a record of your response in the Group Inbox, make sure you select Reply all or Copy the Group Inbox address in your reply. To have the option to respond on behalf of the Group from your Gmail, you will first need to setup your account to include the Group Account. Visit the Mesa Help Center at: http://wiki.mesacc.edu/groups/technologysupportservices/wiki/11f1d/Google_Apps__Using_Mail_with_G roups_Service_Accounts.html.
Additional Resources Mesa Resources: http://www.mesacc.edu/googleapps/ District Resources: https://sites.google.com/a/maricopa.edu/googleappsformaricopa/gmail Agria 6/12/2012
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