In recent years many innovative schools have begun a shift toward the use of educational technology. Even though your institution may be ready to make a similar transition, it’s not always clear where to start. Without a clear vision and wise counsel, such a shift can be time-consuming as well as costly.
In this guide you’ll find a simple, 5-step approach to deploying a digital education solution – from defining your preliminary goals to fully implementing your online education platform.
Define your goals
Understand what your school hopes to achieve by getting education online
Educators who have led successful change with technology often repeat the mantra: “start with the learning.” Once you’ve established clear goals, your school can select the technology solutions that will improve your likelihood of success. For example, is your emphasis on improving grades and scores on exams? Or is the goal to increase student engagement, both inside and outside of school? Visit other institutions that are role models for you. Spend time with them to understand their goals, and how they got there.
Map your IT needs and consider open technology
Once you understand your educational goals, map the necessary processes and technology requirements. As you map your IT needs, consider open technology to meet your goals. Constant, dependable access to the web can help make teaching and learning much more accessible and collaborative. An open, web-based learning platform differs from traditional closed platforms because it is:
-
Open
Educational resources can easily be published, curated and shared by educators worldwide. This means access to the best content for everyone, on multiple devices. -
Cost-effective
High-quality resources are available globally and at the lowest costs. -
Collaborative
Your students, teachers, parents – and even “digital pen pals” – will be engaged by and enjoy new opportunities to learn from each other.
Align with your stakeholders on the technical requirements and potential solution offerings
It is important to identify who influences, both formally and informally, the decision to improve education for your institution with technology. You might want to meet with the head of your institution, as well as the IT lead and any executive leadership, to discuss the vision and offerings. Schedule follow-up meetings as needed to secure commitment. During your meetings you’ll find it helpful to distribute these resources, which are designed to assist stakeholders in understanding Google for Education’s cloud-based solution:
-
Briefing sheet
The sheet offers a printable overview of getting education online. -
Case studies
Highlight the impact Google for Education has made for schools in your region.
Determine your school’s current capabilities and systems
How does your school stack up at present, with regard to its potential to go online? Before you move forward, you’ll need a clear picture of your:
-
Technical readiness
The school engagement due diligence form is a questionnaire that will help you assess the current status of your school’s Internet access. This document captures the decision-making process, information about all of your users, the status of your existing infrastructure, and your future plans for infrastructure augmentation. -
Staff readiness
Are your teachers excited about improving learning with technology and access? This Hopes and Fears activity from Richland Two School District is a good model for a survey you could send to your staff to gauge how they are feeling, and whether they foresee any challenges with the deployment of a technology solution.
Understand the work required
It’s one thing to say you’re ready to migrate to an online educational solution; it’s another to actually make the move. You’ll find a wealth of helpful resources and shortcuts to success through:
-
Project plan samples
These templates will help you define, plan, and manage your digital transformation, from start to finish.
Invest in access
The most exciting, leading-edge technologies will falter if your school lacks sufficient power under the hood. Is your institution ready to support a 21st-century teaching and learning environment?
This section provides guidance on building a campus-wide Internet infrastructure that will support cloud-based services and other applications. For more details, refer to the Google for Education – access infrastructure guide; here you can learn about the elements of access that need to be considered, the standards required to create a functional network, and simple steps to follow when deploying your new infrastructure.
Understand your infrastructure needs
To assess your needs, it’s helpful to first complete the school engagement due diligence form As you’re doing so, carefully consider:
- Check for existing NRENs in your country that you can leverage.
- Consult with your partners to select the best technologies and equipment for your needs.
Upgrade your Internet connectivity for a better web experience
Improved management of campus networking can create a better experience for all of your users. An Access partner will help optimize your infrastructure through:
-
Bandwidth management
Depending on your needs and network capacity, you can set caps and rules to allocate the best levels for students and teachers (e.g., to allow for email capability, video streaming, or live classroom collaboration).
To determine the minimum bandwidth needed, refer to the Education – access infrastructure guide -
Network access and control
As much as possible, endeavor to balance a strong method of authentication setting that protects the network with a convenient, user-friendly interface to get online.
Review (and remove) any potential restrictions to the physical access of your computer labs, thereby ensuring that your school can offer an optimal experience to students and teachers alike. -
Network monitoring
Freeware tools, such as Cacti and SmokePing MRTG, can be used for network visibility, and to notify your IT admins if problems arise with any networking equipment. This will ensure a quality experience for all users. Implement LAN and WiFi solutions to promote online learning anytime, anywhere
Implement LAN and WiFi solutions to promote online learning anytime, anywhere
Use the Google for Education – access infrastructure guide to determine whether a wired LAN or WiFi solution is right for your school, and to assess your Internet bandwidth needs. Then manage your bandwidth investment with the right network management software and infrastructure, such as proxy and cache servers.
Build your team
Getting education online will require a dedicated team at your school. Who are the best candidates, who will bring energy as well as expertise to the task? Here’s a shortcut to identifying your campus "dream team".
Create an internal support team
This group will provide guidance and drive the ongoing success of the solution after your deployment –
-
The decision maker
The decision maker provides high-level support, guidance, and sign-off on key decisions and major purchases for your school. This is typically your IT director, your school’s president, or the leader of a sponsoring institution. -
The budget holder
The budget holder is an internal or external financial sponsor of the project. -
Administradores
Administrators are typically members of your school’s ICT department, and are responsible for managing your solution once it’s been deployed. -
Advocates
Advocates will mostly be your teachers and staff, but may include some students. They will own the process of helping new users adopt the solution, and integrate it into their daily activities. Advocates also will be responsible for conducting user training.
Assemble a deployment team:
The deployment team provides technical expertise, and will drive the implementation of your solution. Many schools have successfully recruited a mix of internal staff and external partners to assist with everything from conducting the initial evaluation to setting up and managing the transition.
At a number of schools, the following deployment team structure has proved successful:
-
Project Manager
Project Manager manages the stakeholders and oversees the project from start to finish. -
Change Manager
Change Manager drives adoption within the organization. -
Access Partners
Access Partners install or upgrade infrastructure to provide Internet access for schools, and help manage their bandwidth and WiFi efficiently. They also provide LAN and WiFi expertise to help clients get the most from their wireless networks. Access partners may include ISPs when schools need a “last-mile” bandwidth setup. -
Tools Partners
Tools Partners help schools with the deployment of web tools. Apps deployment specialists – typically experienced IT service companies – assist with the initial diagnostic evaluation, manage the setup of Apps and the transition process, and then provide ongoing support. -
Skills Partners
Skills Partners provide training in online skills and Google for Education tools. Additionally, they develop a customized professional development plan to meet your school’s needs.
It’s equally critical (and often more challenging) to identify the right external partners. To ensure you’ll be collaborating with those who bring the right blend of skills to the table, and have your school’s best interests at heart, you should:
-
Understand the skills and qualifications you need for your deployment team
Guide to onboarding partners – Here you’ll find helpful tips on how to bring Google for Education partners onboard. -
Carefully assess the capabilities of potential candidates
Partner criteria assessment form template – You can use this sample form to determine if your prospective partner has the capabilities needed to provide your solution. -
Sign off on the specific services the partner will provide
Sample SOW for G Suite deployment services – This sample Statement of Work clearly defines the scope of work, and what your expectations are for your partners.
Offer web tools
Today’s students are increasingly showing a preference for an always-on, always connected environment for work and play. Ideally, your delivery of educational content should reflect that growing preference, with an engaging, digital curriculum.
Your new web tools should be directly relevant to each user’s needs, and practical (as well as hassle-free) for them to employ. The tools should also align with the school’s core processes and existing systems. By working with teachers and staff, including the ICT director, you can address some of your school’s challenges – including the need to perform time-consuming administrative tasks, and grade tests and papers by hand – and show how they can be overcome with automated, efficient web tools.
In many countries, a wide range of local content and resources are already available to universities and schools. By leveraging these web-enabled instructional tools, you can reduce IT costs, help overcome physical barriers to education, and better engage all of your students.
Unlocking the potential of web-based learning
Some considerations during deployment:
-
Deploy web tools in phases
You don’t have to dive into the deep end immediately; it’s easiest (and wisest) to plan your digital deployment in smaller, more manageable steps. For more information, refer to the technical transition guide -
Set up a portal for distributing accounts/password
The distribution of accounts/passwords should be automated and seamless. Many schools create a portal where users can quickly and easily sign up for an Apps account and receive a temporary password. -
Develop an automated password reset policy
Users – especially overworked, stressed-out students – can (and do) forget their passwords. The simplest solution is to have all users provide a password recovery email and phone number during the initial activation of their account, so that password reset requests need not be directed to a helpdesk. You can further reduce your helpdesk’s workload by routing the password retrieval process through the portal set up to distribute accounts and passwords (described above).
More and more schools are enabling web-based learning through G Suite. Here are a few case studies highlighting the challenges several schools have faced recently, as well as some of the benefits they have enjoyed:
- In Bangkok, Thailand, Mattayomwatnairong Schools adopted G Suite for Education to enable web-based learning for their K-12 students. As a result, students were able to continue their education with fewer disruptions, even when schools were closed during such crisis situations as floods or protests. Watch video
- The Municipality of Vicente López (MVL) is a school district in Buenos Aires, Argentina that provides educational instruction to more than 3,600 students. Prior to adopting a web-based solution, access to content was restricted to on-site computer labs. But now with G Suite, students and teachers can access content anywhere, on any device, enabling them to become active content consumers (and producers). The improved quality of instructional content – combined with more channels for collaboration – engages students, facilitates self-directed study, and makes students more receptive to feedback from their teachers and classmates. Watch video
- At India’s Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) in Pilani, administrators observed several immediate benefits following the university-wide deployment of G Suite. Their old server had limited storage capacity, which frequently caused emails to bounce back and made communication difficult. But post-deployment of Apps, the university’s enhanced storage capabilities enabled increased academic collaboration while delivering savings in both capital and operational expenditures. University users – especially off-campus students – have benefited from using Apps to facilitate collaboration, particularly the tools that allow them to share video files, record lectures, and present slides. Read case study (PDF)
- Petra Christian University in Indonesia reduced time and money spent on valuable IT resources with a stable communication platform: G Suite. Their legacy server-based systems had been costly, insecure, and unstable. With every power outage, the on-premise mail servers crashed and required excessive maintenance. Now these resources are deployed by developing internal apps that will continue to improve education at Petra. Read case study (PDF)
For more information on deploying G Suite for Education, refer to the G Suite for Education deployment guide – a step-by-step outline for completing the technical aspects of your deployment. This guide also includes relevant help-center articles and videos.
Integrate your solution
It’s not enough to simply deploy web-based tools. You must make sure they are relevant by integrating them with your school’s day-to-day activities, as well as your third-party software and existing legacy systems. Use Section B of the school engagement due diligence form to help identify core processes to integrate. We recommend connecting G Suite to a Single Sign-On server, so that users can access all internal tools with a single username and password. Many schools also integrate G Suite with learning platforms such as Moodle and Blackbird. For more details, refer to G Suite integration with third-party systems.
These universities have successfully integrated G Suite for Education into their existing educational systems and processes:
- Université Cadi Ayyad, Morocco, deployed G Suite accounts as their main authentication platform. Students and staff use their Google accounts to access the Internet over the university WiFi. They also use their accounts to access the university intranet, which was built using Google sites and G Suite scripts. Now students can easily access course material, request transcripts, receive their grades, and log onto the university’s eLearning platform.
- Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenya, transformed their university services by using Mail, Calendar and Drive to post lecture schedules, course materials, tutorials and research. They also managed user requests and authorizations with Google Forms. Read case study (PDF)
- Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Nigeria, streamlined all administrative tasks, including payroll, course registration, and the delivery of test results with Apps. Additionally, the university transitioned to a “paperless administration” model, in which all operations, activities and outputs are now completely digital. Online learning is now possible as well through Apps integration. Read case study (PDF)
Our process integration with G Suite for Education document outlines other ways in which Apps have been used successfully. For custom integration of your solution with our APIs, please visit the G Suite API website.
Manage change
Develop skills
Moving content to the web isn’t the sole purview of your IT team. All school stakeholders should be comfortable and conversant with the digital tools that make that shift possible.
-
Administradores
Administrators should be actively involved in the initial setup of the web tools, so they’ll have the ability to troubleshoot any problems that may arise. Once the solution has been deployed, this group should receive training on provisioning and managing accounts. Visit the G Suite Support Site for more details. -
Users/trainers
Users/Trainers will build excitement by demonstrating how the products can be used (and the advantages of doing so). As dedicated trainers, they will drive the adoption of the new solution. Check out the Google for Education Learning Center for training resources. -
All other constituents
All Other Constituents can be ready to offer training on basic web skills as needed with Google Web Academy, a program that provides educational resources and certifications to students and professionals.
To find a certified trainer for in-person training, visit the Education Trainer Directory. To learn how to become a Google Educator and/or Education Trainer, visit the Learning Center.
Spread the word
Success breeds success – and your school’s will continue to inspire your faculty and staff, as well as other teams at other schools. Don’t be shy about sharing what worked (and what didn’t).
Here’s how innovative schools have promoted their move to a cloud-based education:
-
Hosting a rollout event
Many schools that launched G Suite for Education have hosted a “Go Google” event. Designed to encourage student sign-ups and continued use, the itinerary consists of discussions highlighting why the school decided to go Google, and the benefits the school expects to see post-transition.
To get you started, here’s a sample schedule of an event. - Promoting the change through various school communication channels, such as press releases and email blasts.
Visit our change management guide for logos and communication templates to help promote Google on your campus, and throughout your community.
Manage the solution
Congratulations! You’ve successfully begun the shift to an online educational environment...no small feat. But a significant challenge still lies ahead, in ensuring that the path you’ve charted is clear and accessible to others. You can continue to enable dynamic teaching and learning by:
-
Identifying new ways to integrate web-based tools into your school’s systems, both to maintain momentum and to maximize benefits:
- Tailor KPIs to your school’s specific requirements and goals
- Continually monitor usage
- Conduct ongoing trainings for your IT team, staff, faculty and students
- Ensure that users can find and track local content online
-
Creating user communities and forums for peer-to-peer learning and skills exchange:
- Host offline community events for neighboring schools, parents, and others to understand the benefits of web-based education, and acquire some of the basic skills
- Build online forums for sharing and discussions
- Identifica los canales y los recursos de la comunidad para aumentar la adopción de las herramientas web y ampliar la comunidad de Google for Education. Obtén más información sobre los programas comunitarios de Google for Education en edu.google.com/resources/programs/.
-
Monitoring performance to ensure long-term success:
- To increase usage frequency, determine your percentage of active users.
- For G Suite, look at the total number of Apps licenses vs. the number of 30-day active Apps licenses. An analysis is available on the “user behavior reports” of the admin console dashboard.
- Carefully assess the impact of your online tools on exam results and overall academic success. And again – be sure to share the good word!
Overview
In recent years many innovative schools have begun a shift toward the use of educational technology. Even though your institution may be ready to make a similar transition, it’s not always clear where to start. Without a clear vision and wise counsel, such a shift can be time-consuming as well as costly.
In this guide you’ll find a simple, 5-step approach to deploying a digital education solution – from defining your preliminary goals to fully implementing your online education platform.
Define your goals
Define your goals
Understand what your school hopes to achieve by getting education online
Educators who have led successful change with technology often repeat the mantra: “start with the learning.” Once you’ve established clear goals, your school can select the technology solutions that will improve your likelihood of success. For example, is your emphasis on improving grades and scores on exams? Or is the goal to increase student engagement, both inside and outside of school? Visit other institutions that are role models for you. Spend time with them to understand their goals, and how they got there.
Map your IT needs and consider open technology
Once you understand your educational goals, map the necessary processes and technology requirements. As you map your IT needs, consider open technology to meet your goals. Constant, dependable access to the web can help make teaching and learning much more accessible and collaborative. An open, web-based learning platform differs from traditional closed platforms because it is:
-
Open
Educational resources can easily be published, curated and shared by educators worldwide. This means access to the best content for everyone, on multiple devices. -
Cost-effective
High-quality resources are available globally and at the lowest costs. -
Collaborative
Your students, teachers, parents – and even “digital pen pals” – will be engaged by and enjoy new opportunities to learn from each other.
Align with your stakeholders on the technical requirements and potential solution offerings
It is important to identify who influences, both formally and informally, the decision to improve education for your institution with technology. You might want to meet with the head of your institution, as well as the IT lead and any executive leadership, to discuss the vision and offerings. Schedule follow-up meetings as needed to secure commitment. During your meetings you’ll find it helpful to distribute these resources, which are designed to assist stakeholders in understanding Google for Education’s cloud-based solution:
-
Briefing sheet
The sheet offers a printable overview of getting education online. -
Case studies
Highlight the impact Google for Education has made for schools in your region.
Determine your school’s current capabilities and systems
How does your school stack up at present, with regard to its potential to go online? Before you move forward, you’ll need a clear picture of your:
-
Technical readiness
The school engagement due diligence form is a questionnaire that will help you assess the current status of your school’s Internet access. This document captures the decision-making process, information about all of your users, the status of your existing infrastructure, and your future plans for infrastructure augmentation. -
Staff readiness
Are your teachers excited about improving learning with technology and access? This Hopes and Fears activity from Richland Two School District is a good model for a survey you could send to your staff to gauge how they are feeling, and whether they foresee any challenges with the deployment of a technology solution.
Understand the work required
It’s one thing to say you’re ready to migrate to an online educational solution; it’s another to actually make the move. You’ll find a wealth of helpful resources and shortcuts to success through:
-
Project plan samples
These templates will help you define, plan, and manage your digital transformation, from start to finish.
Invest in access
Invest in access
The most exciting, leading-edge technologies will falter if your school lacks sufficient power under the hood. Is your institution ready to support a 21st-century teaching and learning environment?
This section provides guidance on building a campus-wide Internet infrastructure that will support cloud-based services and other applications. For more details, refer to the Google for Education – access infrastructure guide; here you can learn about the elements of access that need to be considered, the standards required to create a functional network, and simple steps to follow when deploying your new infrastructure.
Understand your infrastructure needs
To assess your needs, it’s helpful to first complete the school engagement due diligence form As you’re doing so, carefully consider:
- Check for existing NRENs in your country that you can leverage.
- Consult with your partners to select the best technologies and equipment for your needs.
Upgrade your Internet connectivity for a better web experience
Improved management of campus networking can create a better experience for all of your users. An Access partner will help optimize your infrastructure through:
-
Bandwidth management
Depending on your needs and network capacity, you can set caps and rules to allocate the best levels for students and teachers (e.g., to allow for email capability, video streaming, or live classroom collaboration).
To determine the minimum bandwidth needed, refer to the Education – access infrastructure guide -
Network access and control
As much as possible, endeavor to balance a strong method of authentication setting that protects the network with a convenient, user-friendly interface to get online.
Review (and remove) any potential restrictions to the physical access of your computer labs, thereby ensuring that your school can offer an optimal experience to students and teachers alike. -
Network monitoring
Freeware tools, such as Cacti and SmokePing MRTG, can be used for network visibility, and to notify your IT admins if problems arise with any networking equipment. This will ensure a quality experience for all users. Implement LAN and WiFi solutions to promote online learning anytime, anywhere
Implement LAN and WiFi solutions to promote online learning anytime, anywhere
Use the Google for Education – access infrastructure guide to determine whether a wired LAN or WiFi solution is right for your school, and to assess your Internet bandwidth needs. Then manage your bandwidth investment with the right network management software and infrastructure, such as proxy and cache servers.
Build your team
Build your team
Getting education online will require a dedicated team at your school. Who are the best candidates, who will bring energy as well as expertise to the task? Here’s a shortcut to identifying your campus "dream team".
Create an internal support team
This group will provide guidance and drive the ongoing success of the solution after your deployment –
-
The decision maker
The decision maker provides high-level support, guidance, and sign-off on key decisions and major purchases for your school. This is typically your IT director, your school’s president, or the leader of a sponsoring institution. -
The budget holder
The budget holder is an internal or external financial sponsor of the project. -
Administradores
Administrators are typically members of your school’s ICT department, and are responsible for managing your solution once it’s been deployed. -
Advocates
Advocates will mostly be your teachers and staff, but may include some students. They will own the process of helping new users adopt the solution, and integrate it into their daily activities. Advocates also will be responsible for conducting user training.
Assemble a deployment team:
The deployment team provides technical expertise, and will drive the implementation of your solution. Many schools have successfully recruited a mix of internal staff and external partners to assist with everything from conducting the initial evaluation to setting up and managing the transition.
At a number of schools, the following deployment team structure has proved successful:
-
Project Manager
Project Manager manages the stakeholders and oversees the project from start to finish. -
Change Manager
Change Manager drives adoption within the organization. -
Access Partners
Access Partners install or upgrade infrastructure to provide Internet access for schools, and help manage their bandwidth and WiFi efficiently. They also provide LAN and WiFi expertise to help clients get the most from their wireless networks. Access partners may include ISPs when schools need a “last-mile” bandwidth setup. -
Tools Partners
Tools Partners help schools with the deployment of web tools. Apps deployment specialists – typically experienced IT service companies – assist with the initial diagnostic evaluation, manage the setup of Apps and the transition process, and then provide ongoing support. -
Skills Partners
Skills Partners provide training in online skills and Google for Education tools. Additionally, they develop a customized professional development plan to meet your school’s needs.
It’s equally critical (and often more challenging) to identify the right external partners. To ensure you’ll be collaborating with those who bring the right blend of skills to the table, and have your school’s best interests at heart, you should:
-
Understand the skills and qualifications you need for your deployment team
Guide to onboarding partners – Here you’ll find helpful tips on how to bring Google for Education partners onboard. -
Carefully assess the capabilities of potential candidates
Partner criteria assessment form template – You can use this sample form to determine if your prospective partner has the capabilities needed to provide your solution. -
Sign off on the specific services the partner will provide
Sample SOW for G Suite deployment services – This sample Statement of Work clearly defines the scope of work, and what your expectations are for your partners.
Offer web tools
Offer web tools
Today’s students are increasingly showing a preference for an always-on, always connected environment for work and play. Ideally, your delivery of educational content should reflect that growing preference, with an engaging, digital curriculum.
Your new web tools should be directly relevant to each user’s needs, and practical (as well as hassle-free) for them to employ. The tools should also align with the school’s core processes and existing systems. By working with teachers and staff, including the ICT director, you can address some of your school’s challenges – including the need to perform time-consuming administrative tasks, and grade tests and papers by hand – and show how they can be overcome with automated, efficient web tools.
In many countries, a wide range of local content and resources are already available to universities and schools. By leveraging these web-enabled instructional tools, you can reduce IT costs, help overcome physical barriers to education, and better engage all of your students.
Unlocking the potential of web-based learning
Some considerations during deployment:
-
Deploy web tools in phases
You don’t have to dive into the deep end immediately; it’s easiest (and wisest) to plan your digital deployment in smaller, more manageable steps. For more information, refer to the technical transition guide -
Set up a portal for distributing accounts/password
The distribution of accounts/passwords should be automated and seamless. Many schools create a portal where users can quickly and easily sign up for an Apps account and receive a temporary password. -
Develop an automated password reset policy
Users – especially overworked, stressed-out students – can (and do) forget their passwords. The simplest solution is to have all users provide a password recovery email and phone number during the initial activation of their account, so that password reset requests need not be directed to a helpdesk. You can further reduce your helpdesk’s workload by routing the password retrieval process through the portal set up to distribute accounts and passwords (described above).
More and more schools are enabling web-based learning through G Suite. Here are a few case studies highlighting the challenges several schools have faced recently, as well as some of the benefits they have enjoyed:
- In Bangkok, Thailand, Mattayomwatnairong Schools adopted G Suite for Education to enable web-based learning for their K-12 students. As a result, students were able to continue their education with fewer disruptions, even when schools were closed during such crisis situations as floods or protests. Watch video
- The Municipality of Vicente López (MVL) is a school district in Buenos Aires, Argentina that provides educational instruction to more than 3,600 students. Prior to adopting a web-based solution, access to content was restricted to on-site computer labs. But now with G Suite, students and teachers can access content anywhere, on any device, enabling them to become active content consumers (and producers). The improved quality of instructional content – combined with more channels for collaboration – engages students, facilitates self-directed study, and makes students more receptive to feedback from their teachers and classmates. Watch video
- At India’s Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) in Pilani, administrators observed several immediate benefits following the university-wide deployment of G Suite. Their old server had limited storage capacity, which frequently caused emails to bounce back and made communication difficult. But post-deployment of Apps, the university’s enhanced storage capabilities enabled increased academic collaboration while delivering savings in both capital and operational expenditures. University users – especially off-campus students – have benefited from using Apps to facilitate collaboration, particularly the tools that allow them to share video files, record lectures, and present slides. Read case study (PDF)
- Petra Christian University in Indonesia reduced time and money spent on valuable IT resources with a stable communication platform: G Suite. Their legacy server-based systems had been costly, insecure, and unstable. With every power outage, the on-premise mail servers crashed and required excessive maintenance. Now these resources are deployed by developing internal apps that will continue to improve education at Petra. Read case study (PDF)
For more information on deploying G Suite for Education, refer to the G Suite for Education deployment guide – a step-by-step outline for completing the technical aspects of your deployment. This guide also includes relevant help-center articles and videos.
Integrate your solution
It’s not enough to simply deploy web-based tools. You must make sure they are relevant by integrating them with your school’s day-to-day activities, as well as your third-party software and existing legacy systems. Use Section B of the school engagement due diligence form to help identify core processes to integrate. We recommend connecting G Suite to a Single Sign-On server, so that users can access all internal tools with a single username and password. Many schools also integrate G Suite with learning platforms such as Moodle and Blackbird. For more details, refer to G Suite integration with third-party systems.
These universities have successfully integrated G Suite for Education into their existing educational systems and processes:
- Université Cadi Ayyad, Morocco, deployed G Suite accounts as their main authentication platform. Students and staff use their Google accounts to access the Internet over the university WiFi. They also use their accounts to access the university intranet, which was built using Google sites and G Suite scripts. Now students can easily access course material, request transcripts, receive their grades, and log onto the university’s eLearning platform.
- Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenya, transformed their university services by using Mail, Calendar and Drive to post lecture schedules, course materials, tutorials and research. They also managed user requests and authorizations with Google Forms. Read case study (PDF)
- Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Nigeria, streamlined all administrative tasks, including payroll, course registration, and the delivery of test results with Apps. Additionally, the university transitioned to a “paperless administration” model, in which all operations, activities and outputs are now completely digital. Online learning is now possible as well through Apps integration. Read case study (PDF)
Our process integration with G Suite for Education document outlines other ways in which Apps have been used successfully. For custom integration of your solution with our APIs, please visit the G Suite API website.
Manage change
Manage change
Develop skills
Moving content to the web isn’t the sole purview of your IT team. All school stakeholders should be comfortable and conversant with the digital tools that make that shift possible.
-
Administradores
Administrators should be actively involved in the initial setup of the web tools, so they’ll have the ability to troubleshoot any problems that may arise. Once the solution has been deployed, this group should receive training on provisioning and managing accounts. Visit the G Suite Support Site for more details. -
Users/trainers
Users/Trainers will build excitement by demonstrating how the products can be used (and the advantages of doing so). As dedicated trainers, they will drive the adoption of the new solution. Check out the Google for Education Learning Center for training resources. -
All other constituents
All Other Constituents can be ready to offer training on basic web skills as needed with Google Web Academy, a program that provides educational resources and certifications to students and professionals.
To find a certified trainer for in-person training, visit the Education Trainer Directory. To learn how to become a Google Educator and/or Education Trainer, visit the Learning Center.
Spread the word
Success breeds success – and your school’s will continue to inspire your faculty and staff, as well as other teams at other schools. Don’t be shy about sharing what worked (and what didn’t).
Here’s how innovative schools have promoted their move to a cloud-based education:
-
Hosting a rollout event
Many schools that launched G Suite for Education have hosted a “Go Google” event. Designed to encourage student sign-ups and continued use, the itinerary consists of discussions highlighting why the school decided to go Google, and the benefits the school expects to see post-transition.
To get you started, here’s a sample schedule of an event. - Promoting the change through various school communication channels, such as press releases and email blasts.
Visit our change management guide for logos and communication templates to help promote Google on your campus, and throughout your community.
Manage the solution
Congratulations! You’ve successfully begun the shift to an online educational environment...no small feat. But a significant challenge still lies ahead, in ensuring that the path you’ve charted is clear and accessible to others. You can continue to enable dynamic teaching and learning by:
-
Identifying new ways to integrate web-based tools into your school’s systems, both to maintain momentum and to maximize benefits:
- Tailor KPIs to your school’s specific requirements and goals
- Continually monitor usage
- Conduct ongoing trainings for your IT team, staff, faculty and students
- Ensure that users can find and track local content online
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Creating user communities and forums for peer-to-peer learning and skills exchange:
- Host offline community events for neighboring schools, parents, and others to understand the benefits of web-based education, and acquire some of the basic skills
- Build online forums for sharing and discussions
- Identifica los canales y los recursos de la comunidad para aumentar la adopción de las herramientas web y ampliar la comunidad de Google for Education. Obtén más información sobre los programas comunitarios de Google for Education en edu.google.com/resources/programs/.
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Monitoring performance to ensure long-term success:
- To increase usage frequency, determine your percentage of active users.
- For G Suite, look at the total number of Apps licenses vs. the number of 30-day active Apps licenses. An analysis is available on the “user behavior reports” of the admin console dashboard.
- Carefully assess the impact of your online tools on exam results and overall academic success. And again – be sure to share the good word!