Martha Sperry will teach “Everything Google – Using Free & Cheap Tools To Ease Your Workload And Budget” at Solo Practice University®.

Martha Sperry, Esq. has been an attorney for more than twenty years, serving the domestic and foreign insurance industry in a variety of capacities. She is admitted to practice in Illinois and Massachusetts. She currently is in-house counsel for the claims department of a national specialty lines insurance company located in Massachusetts. Martha also has a consulting practice offering assistance to professional clients on new media, technology, branding, and professional development. She has assisted major insurance agencies with the creation of white papers and marketing pieces, leveraging technology to provide the best possible product. An avid follower of new media and technology trends, Martha has been approached by the press for her views on these subjects, as well as on modern search techniques and mobile tools. She writes on issues of law, technology, research and writing at her blog, Advocate’s Studio.

Martha graduated from the New England School of Law in 1990, summa cum laude, after serving as Executive Lead Articles editor for her school’s Law Review. She started her legal writing career with a published article on hostile environment sexual harassment that was cited twice in the Worth Reading column of the National Law Journal. She hasn’t stopped writing since.

Martha’s experience has run the gamut from a top 100 law firm, to a corporate legal department, to a small firm managing the insurance coverage practice, to her own business as a consultant. This breadth of professional experience gives her perspective on the different ways one can practice law. One idea holds true no matter the position: the more one becomes acquainted with the tools of the trade, the easier it is to master the job. The tools of the legal trade these days are rooted firmly in technology.

Martha’s views expressed here are her personal views and do not represent the view of her current employer. You can learn more about Martha at her website AdvantageAdvocates. Or check out her profile on LinkedIn.

Syllabus

“Everything Google – Using Free & Cheap Tools To Ease Your Workload And Budget“

Introduction to Google

• What is Google
  • First Product
  • History
  • Current Crop of Applications
• What’s In It for Google
• What’s In It For You
  • Free Tools
  • Cheap Storage
  • Website Hosting
  • Social Networking
• Issues to Be Aware Of
  • Free Has A Price
  • Security
  • Privacy
  • Data Ownership
• Web Applications
• The Google Cloud
• Desktop Applications

Gmail & Google Calendar

• Gmail
  • What is it?
  • Why Use it?
    • Features & Benefits
  • How Does It Work?
    • On The Web
    • On The Desktop
    • On the Mobile Device
  • Tweaking Your Gmail with Google Labs
  • Modding Your Gmail with Extensions and Apps

• Google Calendar
  • What is it?
  • Why Use It?
    • Features & Benefits
  • How Does it Work?
    • On The Web
    • On The Desktop
    • On The Mobile Device
  • Tweaking Google Calendar
  • Modding Your Calendar

Google Docs, Spreadsheets & Presentations

• Google Docs
  • What is it?
  • Why use it?
  • How does it work?
• Google Spreadsheets
  • What is it?
  • Why use it?
  • How does it work?
• Google Presentations
  • What is it?
  • Why use it?
  • How does it work?

Google Search

• What is it?
• How does it work?
• What can it do for you?
  • Advanced Search & Limiters
  • Google Scholar
  • Google Custom Search Engines
  • Google Social Search
  • Google Alerts
  • Google Maps
  • Google Earth
  • Google Data
  • Google Books
  • Google Local
  • Google Trip Planning
  • Miscellaneous

Google +

• What is it?
• Why use it?
• How does it work?
  • Profiles
  • Circles
  • Sharing
  • Search
  • Hangouts
  • Huddle
  • Photos
  • Chat
  • Where + Is Going
• Incorporation of Google properties or the Plus-ification of Everything Google
• Data ownership – It’s Not Facebook

Google Sites and Apps

• What is it?
• Why use it?
• How do they work?
  • Free versus Paid and What You Get
  • Suite of Tools
  • App Store

Google Chrome

• What is it?
• Why use it?
• How does it work?
  • Speed, Speed and More Speed
  • Extensify Your Experience
  • Chrome Apps Store

Android – Your Mobile Operating System

• What is it?
• Why use it?
• How does it work?
  • Smartphones
  • Tablets
  • Integration with Other Google Products
  • The App Market