Gmail as a classroom tool

I am a substitute teacher, so I will not be using Gmail in the classroom like a regular instructor, however, the understanding of the capacities and tools from Google Apps will greatly facilitate my confidence and effectiveness overall by understanding more about classroom communication tools and techniques. I have gone through setting up the Gmail account and really like it in comparison to the other server I am using for my personal email. In addition, the Gmail account capabilities will be very practical in helping me with the afterschool programs which I direct several afternoons a week. This is a great tool for communicating easily with parents and volunteers about our yearly calendar of activities, special events, deadlines and other information sharing which can be very time consuming. I am enthusiastic about the many ways apps can be useful. I also have parents who prefer to communicate in their 1st language and I have used Google translate which appears to do an excellent job. I am also looking forward to using chat to see if we can communicate with some of my international friends and further my students interest and understanding of geography and other cultures. What an awesome potential for our programs and our students!