Google Enterprise Blog: Maine Township High Schools feel secure with Google Apps for Education, plus 2 more |  |
- Maine Township High Schools feel secure with Google Apps for Education
- New mobile apps for Docs, Sheets and Slides—work offline and on the go
- Protecting Students with Google Apps for Education
| Maine Township High Schools feel secure with Google Apps for Education Posted: 30 Apr 2014 01:13 PM PDT Editor's note: Maine Township High School District near Chicago has used Google Apps for Education (GAFE) since 2007 and was one of the first K-12 districts to use the productivity suite. Now the three schools in the district are using Chromebooks as part of their 1:1 program. We talked with Hank Thiele, Assistant Superintendent for Technology & Learning, about how the district's 6,800 students are using the tools and why he is confident that GAFE is the best tool for his district. For more information, read the case study. How much money have you saved by using Google Apps for Education? We've saved more than $784,000 over six years. Those are dollars that would been listed directly in the budget. That number doesn't even include productivity or factor in that Google Apps for Education is a better tool than anything else out there. The key differentiation between Google and the others is how easy it is to collaborate and share in the same space. There are projects we've done here where people say "we just couldn't have done this without the Google tools." People routinely say "throw that on a site" or "put a calendar invite together." The way the whole team works with the tools — it's so seamless it's scary, in a good way.  How important is security to you? How does that play into your use of Google Apps for Education? Extremely important. I'm also realistic about my resources and my team's resources compared to Google. Google has proven that they're a secure company. They provide the same level of security that they use to protect their own data. I don't know of any school district that has passed the same rigor of security testings that Google has. I might have a few people on my staff who are experts in Internet security and privacy, but Google has hundreds. There is no way that I can drum up the man hours within my walls to spend on security as Google has in their own walls. So, to me it's much safer with Google in the long run, especially since the data is in the cloud and not sitting on someone's laptop on their desk or on a USB drive. Has Google Apps for Education been helpful from the perspective of disaster recovery and regulatory compliance? We're not concerned with disaster recovery because there is continuous backup. We've seen more of a benefit from regulatory compliance with legal review and discovery. The biggest thing is the knowledge that there is no losing data — you know it is going to be there. You know that if a lawyer or state's attorney comes knocking on your door, you can open the Google Apps interface and find it. There's no fear you will have to produce something that has been lost. The more stuff our teachers put into Google Drive the better things are for regulatory compliance and legal discovery for us. When it comes to using a service that's purely cloud-based, what are the benefits? No matter what happens within our walls, the Google tools are available when the Web is available. A couple of years ago we lost all power for three days at the main data center that provided Internet to our schools. We called the Internet service provider and they said, "Well, we'd love to help you out, but the switches that feed your school are under four feet of water now." While that was going on, we were working offsite and our Gmail there was fine. If we were hosting email on premise we would have been dark. The last thing you want is to be cut off from the rest of the world and being in the cloud prevented that from happening. What was the biggest concern when you first moved to Google, and how has it since been addressed? The top concern was that the price was too good to be true. People worried there would be a bait and switch. I know Google Apps for Education won't start charging because the public pressure would be daunting if Google did that. I take comfort in that. The other thing that makes me confident in Google is their program Google Takeout. Google constantly gives me tools to move information into the the system, but it's also easy to take it back out if I were ever to want to leave. Other companies have not been that forthright. How is the support for Google Apps for Education? Google support is as good or better than support for any product I pay for. It's rare that I have to use support, but when I do I typically get an email response back within hours. On the rare occasions when I do need help, I can send an email or make a quick phone call and, either way, we get help immediately.    |
| New mobile apps for Docs, Sheets and Slides—work offline and on the go Posted: 30 Apr 2014 09:55 AM PDT (Cross-posted on the Official Google Blog.) Every year, phones and tablets get better, and more of you are starting to use your mobile devices not just to view, but also to create and edit content. And while the Drive app is a convenient place to store your stuff, we want to make it easier for you to quickly find, edit and create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations on the go. Starting today, you can download new, standalone mobile apps for Docs and Sheets—with Slides coming soon. Need to find a spreadsheet? Go to the Sheets app. Need to create a document? Go to the Docs app. They're all right there at your fingertips. When you open the new apps, you'll see your most recently edited files, which means less time searching and scrolling.  The apps also come with offline support built in, so you can easily view, edit and create files without an Internet connection. Now, if you have a brilliant idea for a best-selling novel while traipsing through the Amazonian rainforest (or you know, something more probable, like during flight takeoff)...no problem. You can jot down your idea in the Docs app on your phone, even when you're offline. You can get the apps on Google Play [Docs] [Sheets] and in the App Store [Docs] [Sheets]. If you don't have time now, over the next few days you'll be prompted to download the apps when you go to edit or create a document or spreadsheet in your Drive app. And of course, you'll still be able to use the Drive app to view and organize all of your documents, spreadsheets, presentations, photos and more. So enjoy the Amazon—we're looking forward to buying that novel someday. And in the meantime, just remember: even if a crocodile eats your phone, your files are safe in the cloud!   |
| Protecting Students with Google Apps for Education Posted: 30 Apr 2014 03:00 AM PDT Today more than 30 million students, teachers and administrators globally rely on Google Apps for Education. Earning and keeping their trust drives our business forward. We know that trust is earned through protecting their privacy and providing the best security measures. This is why, from day one, we turned off ads by default in Apps for Education services. Last year, we removed ads from Google Search for signed-in K-12 users altogether. So, if you're a student logging in to your Apps for Education account at school or at home, when you navigate to Google.com, you will not see ads. Of course, good privacy requires strong security. We have more than 400 full-time engineers — the world's foremost experts in security — working to protect your information. We always use an encrypted HTTPS connection when you check or send email in Gmail, which means no one can listen in on your messages as they go back and forth between your laptop, phone or tablet and Gmail's servers — even if you're using public WiFi. Today, we're taking additional steps to enhance the educational experience for Apps for Education customers:
Users who have chosen to show AdSense ads on their Google Sites will still have the ability to display those existing ads on their websites. However, it will no longer be possible to edit or add new AdSense ads to existing sites or to new pages. We're also making similar changes for all our Google Apps customers, including Business, Government and for legacy users of the free version, and we'll provide an update when the rollout is complete. On Thursday, May 1 at 9:00 am PT, we'll be hosting a Hangout on Air on our Google for Education G+ page with myself; Jonathan Rochelle, Director of Product Management for Docs and Drive and Hank Thiele, Chief Technology Officer for District 207 in Park Ridge, IL who uses Google Apps. We'll be discussing these changes and answering your questions. We look forward to hearing from you. For more information about student privacy in Google Apps for Education, please visit our website.   |
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