Yesterday, all of the big tech blogs were buzzing about the release of Google Buzz. TechCrunch, Mashable, and Read Write Web all had live coverage of the announcement and, of course, had follow-up analysis. If you’re interested in the technical aspects of Google Buzz, I recommend visiting those blogs. In a nutshell, Buzz is going to be an integrated element of GMail that will allow you to selectively share links, images, and Tweets with those people already in your GMail contacts. The items you share can be the start of a threaded conversation. On my first impression I likened Buzz to a stripped-down and less chaotic version of Google Wave.

What I’m interested in is how Google Buzz can be leveraged for learning opportunities. In yesterday’s announcement Google stated that Buzz will be an integrated aspect of Gmail which means you won’t have to create a new account or password to use it. This should make Buzz easily accessible to students and teachers that are using GMail through Google Apps for Education. It appears that Buzz could be used to create group discussions with students about a news article. Buzz might also be useful for collaborative planning activities.

What are your thoughts about Google Buzz? Will you try it in your classroom?