Gmail in the classroom.

I have used Gmail for my personal email for several years now and I never knew all of the great things it has built into it. I am in the process of setting up a separate Gmail account for school use only. Since I teach at an Alternative High School where attendance is a problem. The students will have their own Chromebooks assigned to them this year so they will all have access to a computer. All of them may not have internet at home but 99% of them do have phones with data. They can set up their Gmail accounts and have access to messages on their Chromebook or phone. Thus I can use Gmail to let students know about assignments an upcoming test in a group email format. I can also assign send individual assignments to students that are at home sick.