Google Apps taking commercial vendors to school — from blogs.wsj.com by Michael Hickins
The Google Apps for Education application set is gaining traction among school districts across the country, in many cases replacing commercial vendors like Microsoft. Google signed up Oregon and Iowa for its suite of Web-based email and collaboration applications last May and June, respectively, and three other states have joined since then, most recently New York State, according to Shan Sinha, group product manager for Google Apps.
There are now more than 10 million students using Google Apps, including many of New York State’s 3.1 million student population, said Sinha. In addition to the applications used to do things like send email or edit documents collaboratively in real time, the suite includes access to third-party applications like Endgrade Gradebook and lesson plan software for teachers, and administration applications like Class.io or Thinkwave for IT administrators. The apps are available through the EDU category of the Google Apps marketplace.
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From DSC:
- A note to Google — don’t pull any of these applications like you did with Google Wave. If you persuade people to go to your tools, you can’t pull the rug out from under peoples’ feet.
- With that said, I appreciate your constant pursuit of innovation.