Google Apps, a new service from web giant Google, is changing paradigms from the boardroom to the classroom. This collaboration suite is attracting a huge number of K-20 users because it meets a critical decision-making criterion (it's free), but it is also winning over even some corporate environments because it provides most of the key benefits of tools like Microsoft's SharePoint Server product without the need to dedicate a lot of time and hardware resources from the IT department to support it.With the expanding focus on Web 2.0 tools for student collaboration and production, the rapid adoption of Google Apps is not surprising. This suite combines Google Sites, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Google Mail, and GMail (Google's e-mail offering), into one straightforward package that simplifies training and the technical management of users and services.
For many districts, Google Sites is the initial draw as it offers a simple but robust tool for the creation of student and teacher web sites and wikis. To achieve the greatest benefit, the district's technology department must first establish a Google Apps account with Google for the entire district and set the basic parameters for what will be permitted through that district account, but after this basic setup teachers are able to administer their own areas so they have the flexibility to immediately meet changing classroom needs without a dependency on technology department staff support. The fact that this flexibility does not require the teacher, or the district, to sacrifice control of the site's content, is a great advantage over some of the earlier forays into student website production for classrooms using other free website services. This control is especially valuable in determining who is allowed to view the district's sites, as a teacher is able to create a teacher portal area that allows "the world" to see his or her classroom notes, assignments, test schedule, and more, yet have a separate area only accessible to the students to help avoid possible copyright infringements.
Google Docs and Google Calendars are also very powerful tools, allowing for the collaborative creation and editing of student research documents, projects, and calendars ranging from student project meeting times to scheduling a multimedia cart through the building's media center for their classroom presentation. Controls are available to the teacher, or to the student project leader should the teacher decide to delegate these controls, that allow only specific students to access designated resources. Students can even collaboratively work on audio and video projects, if that capability is enabled by the district's technology staff.
Communication is futher enhanced through the availability of GMail and Google Talk, an Instant Messaging (IM) tool. Some K-12 schools, colleges, and universities are moving from school provided and maintained e-mail accounts to GMail accounts for students, and sometimes even staff, to reduce the workload on their own IT departments so they are able to attend to other more critical tasks. Instant messaging has always been a problem for district technology staffs due to the potential for abuse, and despite the fact that although IM does offer educational value when used properly, the only way to control the negatives has been to "turn it off" at the firewall level which makes it unavailable for all users. As with the other Google Apps resources, control of both the e-mail and IM accounts is still retained by the school, allowing individual accounts to be disabled or deleted in response to inappropriate use. This increased level of control is allowing some districts to feel more comfortable in exploring the educational opportunities offered by IM use. These communication tools are enhanced by the offering of an audio and video chat option for GMail, opening the doors for a vast range of rigorous and relevant learning experiences.
Image Source: www.flickr.com/photos/adriarichards/3285777403/ Creative Commons licensed.
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