Google Apps
A Google Apps for Education (GAFE) account is created for all students in grades 1-12. Depending on the grade level, students have access to different services. All students have access to calendar, classroom, drive, and sites.
Grades 1 - 2 - Use in these grades is fairly limited and students do not have an email account. Students use their accounts to log in to Chromebooks and may use drive to create basic documents or presentations.
Grades 3 - 5 - Grade 3 is the first time students have email accounts, and these are limited to internal communication only, within the wfbschools.com domain to email teachers and other students. At these grades, students are doing much more with drive; creating and collaborating on documents and presentations.
Grades 6-12 - Students gain access to external mail in grade 6 so that they can communicate with peers in other districts, experts, and other adults. Teachers and students at these levels rely heavily on these tools for communication, collaboration, and creation.
How is Google Apps for Education different than the consumer version?
Since GAFE is designed for education, it offers additional security and administrative controls. The district can determine which apps students can access, manage settings, add bookmarks, reset password, or suspend privileges if necessary. The Wisconsin DPI has negotiated a contract agreement with Google for the service's use in K12 education throughout the state. This includes a provision that there will be no ads in the core services of the product. Google does not scan emails for advertising purposes and does not collect or use any information stored in a student's Drive account.
Why do we use Google Apps for Education?
Access - The tools provided by GAFE allow students to access their work anytime, anywhere from an Internet connected device.
Collaboration - Students can work collaboratively with peers both synchronously and asynchronously, engaging in peer editing and quality feedback.
Timely feedback - Teachers can provide feedback in real time without the need to collect and hand back student work, saving time in the process.
Communication - tools like Google classroom allow teachers to post documents, reminders, and updates to classes to stay informed.