G Suite for Education

Google Suite for Education (September 2014)

Coaldale Christian School is now providing Google Suite for Education for all our students and staff. This new system, powered by Google, will provide school-issued email accounts to all staff and students (starting with Grades 7-12), as well as other Google products such as Google Docs that will enable us to better communicate, share, and collaborate.

What’s included in Google Suite for Education

• Gmail gives 30 Gigabytes of email storage with extra message security. Voice and video chat are also built-in for free computer-to-computer calling.
• Google Calendar lets you create and share school or class calendars and events.
• Google Docs lets you create and share documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, and forms. You can also upload any file to Google Docs and share it with others.
• Google Sites makes it easy to collect, share, and publish all types of content in a single website through easy embeds of Google Docs, Calendars, videos and other media without HTML.
• Also included are Google Groups for mailing lists, discussion groups, and broad sharing, Google Video for domain-limited video distribution, as well as other tools that can be added to the domain.

What are the benefits of Google Suites and what’s included?

• Anytime, anywhere access - Google Apps works in any browser on any computer, which means you can access your email, calendars, and documents from school or at home.
• No flash drives are required with documents and files stored in Google Docs.
• Students can easily collaborate with students from other classes, buildings, schools, districts, or even different countries, working together on group projects.
• Teachers can be involved throughout the whole assignment process providing comments and feedback directly in the documents, using the newly released Google Classroom.
• Students can develop an e-portfolio of work throughout their years at the school.
• Through websites, calendars, and email, parents can stay informed about the latest assignments and activities.

School-Issued Email Accounts:

Providing a school-issued email account to each student is part of our efforts to foster a 21st-century learning environment. Email is a valuable communication tool in today’s world. We believe that learning how to use and maintain a professional email account is necessary for succeeding in college and in the workforce. By providing a school-issued email account to each student, we are not only opening the opportunity for our students to practice the appropriate use of professional email, but we are also giving them a tool with immediate use in their academic lives. Some immediate uses of a school-issued email account include:

• Communicating with teachers (e.g. for questions, extra help, or homework)
• Communicating with other students (e.g. to coordinate group projects)

With this new educational opportunity also comes responsibility. It is important that parents and students read the supplemental material that was distributed to them and made available on this website. This material also provides information that your child will need in order to access this new service.

For regulatory purposes, all student emails are archived and accessible by school administrators where necessary. As such, student email will be monitored for inappropriate use. Inappropriate system use can result in the loss of the privilege to use this educational tool, as well as result in possible disciplinary or legal actions.  In addition, the use of these email accounts is to be used as an educational tool. As a result, these email accounts are restricted in the sense that they can only communicate to anyone within the school domain.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Mr. Diek
IT Coordinator