Today, the entire public school system of Oregon will embrace Google Apps. 400,000 Students, teachers, and administrators will have access to a common e-mail and chat system, cloud-based collaboration tools, and a robust multimedia streaming service. Traditionally, statewide adoptions of any kind in education are hotly contested, with the most minute details up for extended debate.

But the case for Google Apps in education is compelling in many ways. We interviewed the architects of this plan, as well as others who use Google in the classroom, and we've highlighted the three major benefits: 1) It saves schools money; 2) It boosts academic performance and motivation, and; 3) It prepares students for digital communication in the real world.

Saving Money

Money is often the top issue when it comes to educational reform, and the outlook for Google Apps is certainly good. The Oregon Department of Education estimates a savings of $1.5 million per year. Even the relatively humble Maine Township District 207 in Illinois, another school system that currently utilizes Google Apps, estimates their savings to be an impressive $160,000 each year.

Google Apps for educational institutions is free. The savings largely come from the replacement of legacy e-mail systems and desktop office application suites, and these figures include the associated costs of IT support and infrastructure upgrades. For Steve Nelson, Technology of Director of Oregon Virtual Schools, these savings allow the state to provide multimedia streaming services that support student-generated content, which he says was “not economically feasible” without Google.

Henry Thiele, IT director for District 207 says he is “surprised by how many schools don't even know that [Google apps] is there.” And, when they hear about the opportunity, says, Thiele, they’re curious to know “what the catch is.” Thiele simply responds, “There is no catch.”

Boosting Student Motivation and Performance

“Our students involved in this program are increasing their reading ability at rates faster than anything we’ve seen before,” says Thiele. He is referring to an English course which pairs high-risk 9th graders with their own laptop. District 207 expects an average gain of three points on reading tests over the course of the year, and observes that at-risk students’ scores typically either stay stagnant, or fall behind. For those in this program, scores have skyrocketed between 8 and 10 points. While Google Apps alone was not the only factor in raising test scores, its low cost and collaborative nature made the 1-to-1 curriculum possible. Principal Jason Levy, who helped usher in Google Apps for New York's Intermediate School 339 (see the PBS documentary below) finds that 47% of students now perform at grade level for math, up from 27%. Additionally, both Thiele and Levy observe greater focus and fewer disciplinary problems. “Behavior has improved, attendance is higher, and suspension levels have fallen,” reports Levy.

Both educators’ observations are par for the course, as other classroom experiments confirm that technology in education helps to boost student interest.

It's not hard to understand why. "People talk a lot about kids — that they can't focus and sustain their concentration. Well, neither can I,” admits Levy. Embracing children’s need to be social, combined with their rapid adoption of technology, is an organic way to work with the grain of human curiosity.







Preparation for the Real World

In addition to the obvious benefits of collaboration and familiarity with technology, Google Apps is helping to prepare students for the outside world in some innovative ways. At Notre Dame, for instance, Engineering students keep a running e-portfolio of the classroom projects with Google Sites. The digital accumulation of their college efforts will likely mean more to future employers than the bullet points on a resume.

A Maine Township teacher is using Google Spreadsheets to free the science classroom from the confines of the textbook. Students conduct actual experiments and code the data in collaborative online tables. In this instance, students get their hands dirty, literally, by measuring plant growth in various soil types, and analyzing the data using digital tools, just as a real scientist would. This common sense model seems like an inexpensive and engaging way to help the Department of Education meet its goal of increasing U.S. scientific competitiveness, as outlined in the ambitious “Race to the Top” agenda.

Conclusion

“The enhanced functionality is absolutely staggering,” gushes Nelson. Indeed, every one of my interviewees had nothing but positive reviews of Google Apps in an educational context. Regardless of what one may think of Google as a company, its contributions to the American education system are certainly noteworthy.

That more school districts are starting to adopt Google Apps for use in the classroom is in many ways an affirmation of the broader cloud computing model in enterprise settings. The increasing maturity of these tools, paired with significant cost savings, makes web apps attractive to cash-strapped school departments. The Oregon decision to adopt Google Apps across its entire school system is perhaps a harbinger of a more cloud-based future for education.

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