Gmail in the Classroom

I am a substitute teacher, so I will not be using gmail to communicate with students or parents but I can see myself using gmail to communicate with the classroom teacher.  Gmail can be a confidential way of letting the classroom teacher know how the day went and if there were any issues that he/she needs to be made aware of.

In addition, using google calendar and its notifications will keep me aware of upcoming substitute assignments.

On a personal note, I sponsor a child in Haiti and by turning on the translation feature in gmail, I will be able to communicate with the student in his native language.