As it formally launched a program that taps the "Google Apps for Education" to boost its 70,000-strong community's productivity, the University of the Philippines hinted at bigger plans for the suite.

UP Assistant Vice President for Development Jaime Caro said the next stage is to sync the accounts with the UP system's other information systems.

“(O)f course, the rollout of these Google Apps for Education services is just one of the many things underway from the eUP project. In time, these accounts will be synced with the user credentials needed to access the information systems that will be deployed in phases to the campuses,” he said.

For now, he encouraged everyone to start using the Google Apps for Education.

He urged students, faculty and staff to use the accounts provided to them and explore the capabilities of these free apps.

The use of Google Apps for Education is part of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) initiatives under the UP's eUP Project.

It aims to streamline and enhance the complex daily operations of the University.

Last Wednesday, the UP, UP Diliman College of Engineering, Google Philippines and its local partner Singularity, and Smart Communications launched the Going UP with Google campaign with Google Philippines.

The program involves a free suite of hosted email and collaboration applications such as online apps for documents, spreadsheets, and slides.

"Once completely rolled out to all campuses, this is expected to benefit more than 70,000 members of the UP community (students, faculty, staff): with Google Apps for Education, they will be able to boost their online productivity with 30 GB inbox space, greater file sharing capacity, and a supportive environment for online collaboration," the UP said.

Earlier at the launch, UP Vice President for Development Elvira Zamora said Google Apps for Education can bring instant benefits to the University.

“The best part is that these tools support and encourage sharing and group work online, much like physically working together in class or in the office. Through these applications, UP students, faculty, staff, and even us administrators will have greater opportunities for collaboration despite geographic constraints,” Zamora said.

Google apps

With Google Drive, the cloud-based storage service, students can access and edit their files from any Internet browser that supports the app.

Google Drive’s Slides app allows a professor in UP Mindanao to collaborate on a presentation with colleagues in other UP campuses in real time.

Using the Docs app, students can upload their papers for teachers to check and comment online.

On the other hand, Google Calendar allows staff to create and share calendars to easily coordinate and schedule meetings.

With Google Hangouts, students and faculty can hold real-time videoconferencing with colleagues in schools abroad, using up to 10 screens. — TJD, GMA News



