Notes from breakout session at TCEA 2011 Google Academy
Scott Floyd (@woscholar on Twitter)
Director of Instructional Technology, White Oak ISD
Presentation: http://tinyurl.com/tceagoogle
White Oak ISD has been using GAFE for four years and only had three brief outages. A couple of them weren't even noticed because Google has so much redundancy.
What about FERPA or CIPA violations? WOISD trusts the professionalism of their staff and has had no problems with these in reference to GAFE.
WOISD uses GAFE all the way down to third grade. They allow high school students to use personal Gmail accounts and Google Apps so they can build a digital footprint of their own without having to export the data from WO GAFE at the end of high school.
YouTube video: Teachers and Principals Talk About Google Docs
Google Apps improves ENGAGEMENT, which in turn improves LEARNING when implemented well by teachers. No tool on its own improves learning.
Example Project: Google form embedded in a blog where students are recording trout hatching in an aquarium over time. Collaborating with an elementary school in Austin who also has an aquarium and keeping track through shared Google docs.
You can now log in to your GAFE domain from the main Google home page. Just use your full email address including your GAFE domain name.
Note: When using Google shared calendar, a Private event means anyone who shares your calendar can still see the event. Public means it can be found by anyone in Google search.
WO ISD no longer uses Microsoft Office. They use Open Office when they need desktop applications.
