Google Apps for Education: A Solution

Recently, Google has been branching out even more with the apps it offers.  Now available is Google Apps for Education, also known as Google for Educators.  Google Apps for Education is a whole range of apps catered specifically for teacher use to improve student knowledge.  The aim of Google Apps is to simplify the technical side of education for teachers and administrators.

One of the most neat things about the Google Apps for Education package is that the service is available for free.  Teachers and administrators can take full advantage of these Google apps for no charge:

• Gmail: undoubtedly the most widely used email server
• Google Talk: calling and instant messaging to any contact
• Google Calendar: with sharing, synchronization, and simultaneous viewing capabilities
• Google Docs: with sharing, synchronization, and simultaneous viewing capabilities
• Google Sites: simple building and collaboration tools

Google’s approach to the broad array of apps that teachers can use is to organize apps by grade level and subject matter.  Apps range from dealing with maps to news to computer science.  Besides the apps themselves, Google for Educators offers content to help teachers learn the appropriate way to help students with Google’s tools.  According to Google, Apps for Education can help schools:

• save money with so many easily implemented services in one place
• maintain administrative privacy with creditable protection
• ability to work with others across the globe
• prepare students for dealing with current technology as well as the technology of the future

Additionally, Google offers customer service and support for any questions, concerns, or bumps in the road that customers may experience.  It’s also pretty cool to remember that Google uses their own apps to support their site…so Google Apps must be pretty reliable, wouldn’t you think?!
To add on to our earlier comment concerning “the technology of the future,” Google Apps for Education has also taken the important step in website design to make services available on mobile devices.
Now that we have given you a little background on Google Apps for Education, let’s take a look at Google Apps Marketplace.  Besides just offering tools for educators, the marketplace showcases apps for government, non-profits, and other organizations as well.  Google Apps Marketplace can picked through with keywords.  Searching “education” alone brings up 240 apps!  Here are a few examples we found interesting:

• Weespr: for online magazine and newsletter publishing (and it’s free for basic usage!)
• Free Gradebook and Lesson Plan software: pretty self-explanatory (and surely extremely useful for teachers)
• SlideRocket: in lieu of Microsoft Powerpoint
• OpenClass: for a different, more open way of teaching
• Digitcation E-Portfolio: just as it sounds, a way for students and teachers to upload and share work online
• ChemVantage: an app for the basic concepts of chemistry

…And the list goes on.

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