Sometimes you want to send an email to a group of students for them to be able to communicate with one another. Google Groups provide a really convenient way to create online groups and email distribution lists. This is a great way for a High School class or a Higher Education class to communicate.
Depending on the group settings, you can send a message to all members using a single email address, create a question and answer forum or post a message to the group via a web interface. After this you and the others in your group can post messages to one another, upload files for review and collaborate on a a document etc. All your discussions can be seen by everyone in the group.
How to create a Google group
I have created a Slideshare to take you through the stages of creating a Google group.
Create a Google Group from Fiona Beal
Create a Google group for your classroom (video)
This YouTube video by Marc Dubeau takes you through the steps of creating a Google group. and how to set it up to share documents and create a paperless classroom http://goo.gl/00gmXX