The ten ‘Golden Rules’ of Google Apps for Education

Google Apps, and cloud solutions in general, are revolutionizing the way educators teach and students learn.

Using the power of interactive, cloud-based technology, school administrators and teachers can connect with students in a meaningful way, enhancing the overall learning experience. That said, first approaching these platforms can be overwhelming.

For those of you embarking on the Google Apps journey, here are ten Golden Rules to consider:

1. Energize everyone in your school community with a compelling internal marketing plan. Help lead the charge to have everyone be a part of this exciting new technology. Get everyone on board.

2. Expand your knowledge by taking advantage of the training that Google offers. You cannot fully utilize the program if you’re not aware of what it can do. Check out the list of Google in Education Global Summits and see when sessions are going on near you.

3. Protect your data with a reliable third-party backup partner. Google is secure, but you never know when it will have an outage or when a student might accidently delete important data. You would rather be safe than sorry when it comes to safeguarding all the information you’ll be pouring into Google Apps.

4. Invite parents to participate through interactive components like Gmail, Calendar, Spreadsheet, and Sites. Make it easy for them to be part of their students’ educational experience.

5. Collaborate with other teachers in your school or district with Google Docs. Share lesson plans and notes from meetings quickly and easily.

(Next page: Rules 6-10)