District Administration - September 2010 - (Page 62)

and go to school Austin says Google could have increased e-mail capacity just as well as Microsoft, and the collaborative features both offered were “a wash.” He adds, “They both have some really mature, robust offerings in that space.” A key factor in Microsoft’s favor was that the Kentucky state education agency already was using Microsoft Exchange, and its active directory is a Microsoft product. “We already had an investment in Microsoft infrastructure,” Austin says. Free at Last But perhaps most appealing for both states, the powerful applications they chose to implement are free. Nelson estimates that using Google will save the Oregon DOE some $1.5 million in hardware and software licensing and purchasing fees. Austin says Kentucky expects to save $6.3 million in operational costs over four years by using Live@edu. The cost savings are appealing to other states as well: in late June, Colorado and Iowa announced similar statewide agreements with Google to make the company’s applications available to the states’ combined 3,000 schools. The Google Apps Education Edition is the same suite that Google offers universities and businesses and that the company uses internally, according to Jaime Casap, Google Apps education manager. The applications in the suite include Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Video and Google Sites, as well as administrative tools, customer support and access to APIs to integrate Google Apps with existing IT systems. But while businesses have to pay for these products, Google doesn’t charge education users. The tools come with no ads, and K12 users get free message security, enabling districts to provide stronger e-mail filters for students, Casap says. The Education Edition is free to districts, he says, because Google cares about education, but also because the company wants to create future customers. “Google has always had an education look and feel to it,” he says, citing the company’s start as a research project by two Ph.D. students at Stanford University. “Our core values are around making sure we organize the world of information and make it accessible and useful, so it makes sense to make these tools free in education,” Casap declares. He is hopeful that K12 students who get used to Google Apps will continue to use it. “We are building users for life,” he explains. Features of Google Apps for education include 7 GB of e-mail storage per user and an integrated calendar that can schedule use of resources like lab rooms or laptop carts, and because all applications are Web-based and accessible from any computer with an Internet connection, students can work outside the classroom. “Because we sell to industries and commercial entities, we’re able to offer Live@edu free for education.” –Anthony Salcito, Microsoft’s vice president of worldwide education “Our core values are around making sure we organize the world of information and make it accessible and useful, so it makes sense to make these tools free in education.” –Jaime Casap, Google Apps education manager Similarly, Anthony Salcito, Microsoft’s vice president of worldwide education, cites the company’s “rich commitment to education” that starts with founder Bill Gates, who “had a dream when he started Microsoft to enable everyone to use technology,” Salcito says. The company’s core philosophy is to “help individuals reach their potential. That’s what classroom teachers do every day,” he adds. “Because we sell to industries and commercial entities, we’re able to offer Live@edu free for education.” Accessible through popular Web browsers for Windows, Mac or Linux operating systems, Live@edu features e-mail with a 10 GB inbox per user, calendars, 25 GB of additional file storage per user, document sharing, instant messaging, video chat and mobile e-mail. “Some of the largest companies in the world use this platform,” says Salcito. Saving Money Casap cannot provide a count of districts that are using Google Apps but says he is working with “a ton.” Salcito says more than 10,000 schools in more than 130 countries have enrolled with Live@ District Administration 62 September 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - September 2010

District Administration - September 2010
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Inside the Law
Conversations
District Profile
Administrator Profile
A Salary Recession for School Administrators?
Working Hard in the Big Easy
School Safety Gets the Ax
Keeping Schools Safe during Challenging times
Google and Microsoft Go to School
A Bull Market for Financial Literacy
Problem/ Solution
Tech Disruptions
Student Counsel
Product Focus
New Products
Superintendent’s Insights

District Administration - September 2010