PC Magazine, by Chloe Albanesius, 04.28.2010
Schools in Oregon will soon have the option to embrace homework, lessons plans, and lectures in the cloud. The state is the first to adopt Google Apps for Education in all of its public schools, Google announced Wednesday.
Starting today, all school districts in the state will offer access to Google Apps – including Docs, Sites, Video, and Groups – to all teachers, staff, and students. The suite will also include e-mail filtering and protection from Postini, shared contacts via Google Contacts, Google Calendar, private online discussion groups via Google Groups, Google Talk, and iGoogle.
"School funding has been hit hard over the past couple of years, and Oregon is no exception," Jaime Casap, Google Apps education manager, wrote in a blog post. "This move is going to save the Department of Education $1.5 million per year — big bucks for a hurting budget."
Google and Oregon schools signed a five-year deal for program, though the agreement says that the customer has no obligation to use Google Apps and can stop using it at any time, for whatever reason.
Google said Apps will let students build Web sites or e-mail teachers about a project, access work from any location, or get help on a project in real-time. It will also help students prepare for a more tech-centric workplace, Casap said.
"It's critical that students learn how to use the kind of productivity technology they'll need throughout their lives, and Oregon is helping students across the state do just that," she wrote.
Participation will be on a voluntary basis, according to Susan Castillo, state schools superintendent. School districts can apply for a Google Apps for Education account online.
"Educators and students now have access to the same cutting-edge technology used in the business world with added federal student privacy and confidentiality protections," Castillo said in a statement. "In a time of dwindling resources, I am grateful for Google's partnership. Our students have a wonderful opportunity to prepare for the workplace by using workplace technology in the classroom."
Google worked with Oregon to develop a program that meets legal requirements regarding federal student records and safety precautions, Castillo said. Districts must obtain parental consent for all student participation. The default setting on Google Apps for Education, meanwhile, does not serve up ads, though Oregon schools could opt to turn on advertisements if they wished.
"This public-private partnership with Google is more than exciting," said Vickie Fleming, Redmond school superintendent. "As public education strains to keep up with digital content and applications, this partnership is critical to students, parents and classroom teachers."
Google is a member of Accelerate Oregon, a public-private partnership dedicated to providing Oregon schools with the tech-based tools. Members also include Intel and Cisco.
Google offers Apps for Education at the K-12 level, as well as for colleges and universities like Northwestern University, Abilene Christian University, the University of Notre Dame, and George Washington University.
Also involved are New York City Intermediate School 339, Maine Township High School District, and Prince George County Public Schools in Maryland.
Case studies for these and other schools are available on Google's site, Google said.
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