Google Apps for Education
A very frequently asked question in schools is this:
How is a Google Account different from a Google Apps account?
And the answer comes from Google's own Help pages, and you can read much more by clicking here
Although Google Apps and Google Accounts allow you to access several of the same Google products, they're different types of accounts. A Google Account is a unified sign-in system that provides access to a variety of free Google consumer products -- such as Gmail, Google Groups, Google Shopping List, Picasa, Web History, iGoogle, and Google Checkout -- administered by Google. Google Apps provides access to products powered by Google but administered by a your organization.
My thoughts:
Public Google Accounts provide all the goodies of Google with one simple sign in BUT
The Account is completely under the control and ownership of the account holder
There is a legal age issue around signing up
A major implication for schools is that the teacher relies totally on the students' good will to have access to the content of the account if students sign up to individual accounts
Google Apps for Education provide a limited set of Google Apps - the school management make the decision about what is included/excluded - and because it is all administered by your own school, the student content is accessible to teachers
Particularly if schools take advantage of the
Teacher Dashboard
Designed for schools and management by
Jan Zawadski