Google In Education

Have you checked out Google in education yet?

Are you aware that Google have a range of free tools available to schools?   Businesses pay $5 per user per month to access the range of tools but schools can use Google in education for free.

Many of you probably already have a Gmail email address; if you don’t it’s time for you to upgrade!  If you have a Gmail address then you already have a Google account and can access these free tools by clicking on the drive link at the top of your screen.

Access your tools by clicking on Drive

There a range of tools you can use with your students.  The most popular are:

• Documents (Like Microsoft Word)
• Spreadsheets (Like Excel)
• Presentation (Like PowerPoint)
• Forms

You can access these tools by clicking on the red create button on the left hand side of the page (see image).

So what’s the difference between Google in education and a personal Google account?

When you set up Google in education in your school there are a number of benefits:

1. You can save thousands of dollars on maintaining email servers.

Google hosts all the email for you so you don’t need to worry about maintaining your server.  Each student and teacher has an account that reflects your school address (eg firstname.lastname@yourschool.com) rather than @gmail.com.  Each account also gets a massive 25Gig worth of storage so you will never run out of capacity.

2. Collaborate globally in real time

This is a real winner.  Your students can be working on the same document at the same time.  Each student can have their own workspace.  This is fantastic for group work as it eliminates the problem of one student doing all the work while all the others watch on.  Depending on your security settings you can allow your students to collaborate with other students outside of your school.  I love watching students collaborate with each other from across the globe in a secure way!

3. Students love it.

Many of your students are already familiar with Google and are going to that site multiple times a day.  Rather than driving students to sites they wouldn’t normally use, you can send them to a site that they are already using.  This greatly increases the engagement of your students and staff.

4. It frees up I.T support to actually support teaching and learning

Now that your I.T support staff have been unchained from maintaining your I.T infrastructure they will be freed to help your teaching staff.  They are able to sort out technical issues, answer questions and make sure the lessons flow smoothly.

5. Easy to deploy

Google in education is easy to set up.  There is no software or hardware needed.  Once you have your parameters set your I.T staff can just keep things ticking over.  The hardest thing they will have to deal with is helping students who have lost their password.

6.  12 million other students are already using it

Google in education has a proven track record.  It is used globally by thousands of schools and universities.

7.  Business are using it

There are an increasing number of major multinational and small businesses using Google.  By using Google in education you are training your students for the real world.

8.  The security is first class

The security of Google in education is second to none.  It has to be.  With Businesses and police departments using it you know that your students information is secure.

9.  Access to great support

There is live support from Google.  If you use Teachers Training International to set up Google for education in your school we are always available to liaise with your I.T and teaching staff

10. You can access your document anywhere any time

Google allows you to access your documents from anywhere in the world.  There is no need to email yourself documents, save your work to thumb drives, persist with Moodle or any of the other frustrating work arounds you have developed.  Simply log into your account and everything is there for you.  In addition to this, your students can share their documents with you. No more pets eating homework, computers crashing and printers running out of ink.  This really is a great solution for both teachers and students!

We have some online training for teachers on how to use Google in education starting on the 27th of August (this training runs at least four times a year).  Go to Student Motivation Seminar to find out more about the next course.

If you would like some advice on how you can implement Google in education, simply fill out the contact form below.

Google have endorsed me as a provider of their services to schools so you can be assured you will get expert advice from a teacher (not a business trainer) who understands the needs of teachers and school environments.