GAEE - Oregon, IS339, and PGCPS

Acronymese...for those who speak it just one part of a daily dialect...every career field has one including education and technology.

Some schools and school districts are opting to implement Google Apps Education Edition (GAEE) for a variety of reasons. Google provides case studies on the GAEE site, but finding formal documented research in dissertations is challenging. Links available in this post feature the Oregon Department of Education, NY IS339, and Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) and Google Apps Education Edition.

Recently Oregon Department of Education made the news for being the first state to partner with Google to allow the schools in Oregon to implement GAEE. You can take 55 minutes to watch the YouTube version of the recorded webinar or bookmark it for incremental reviews. They estimate savings of $1.5M per year by moving to Google Apps and answer questions from training to CIPA and FERPA. Join Steve Nelson, Chief IT Strategist for the Oregon Department of Education, and Jaime Casap, Business Development Manager for Google Apps Education, for this recorded webinar to hear the benefits of Google Apps, why Oregon decided to "Go Google", and plans for using Google Apps with all the schools.

More information from the Oregon Dept of Ed and Google Apps presentation:
The published slide presentation
The Question and Answer session
Oregon Department of Education Google Apps Case Study
Google Moderator Questions and Answers for the ODoEd webinar

In June 2009, PBS Frontline Digital Nation did a piece titled, How Google Saved a School? Principal Jason Levy used Google applications and a 1-to-1 laptop program to turn around Intermediate School 339.
IS 339 Dot-to-Dot A digital celebration program for 2010 is scheduled for June 16-19, 2010
Presentations from the 2009 Dot-to-Dot program
Follow Jason Levy, Principal of IS339 on Twitter
About Dot-to-Dot A Global Learning Reception FAQ


Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) Project Plans for Google Apps.
18th largest school district in US, 209 Schools, 129,500 Students, Over 22,000 Employees, Over 60,000 Computers. Change from previous presentations 20K more computers, 6K less employees.

Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) has been Googlized and subsites of presentations at CloudCamp, CoSN 2010, Gartner 2009, NECC 2009, MICCA 2009, ASBO 2009.

Google in Education - Diigo

Dr. Helen Barrett's ePortfolio Mash Up with GoogleApps (2007)

More information is available from the Google Apps Education Resource Center where you can:
Learn More:  Customer Case Studies, Resource Center, Security & Privacy FAQ

Get Started: Quick Start Guide, Google Apps Education FAQ
Downloads: Security Whitepaper, Google Apps for K12, Google Apps for K12 FAQ, Google Education Solutions, Improving the writing process with Google Docs
In the classroom: K-12 Lesson Plans
Stay Connected: Quarterly EDU Newsletter, New Features Email & RSS, Google Enterprise Blog, Google Apps on Twitter

Opposition articles:
ITS delays switch to GMail Yale Daily News March 30, 2010
Gmail pilot ends UC Davis opts not to outsource faculty, staff email  May 1, 2010
Biggest US cloud deployment kills Google Apps for Education ZDNet June 4, 2010

Would love any references to educators, administrators, and students who are or have participated in any action research as schools progress through the GAEE implementation. Are you part of a school, district, or state that has or is implementing Google Apps Education Edition? What happens if you attend school that has implemented GAEE then transfer to a school lacking technology or vice versa? Thoughts, comments, and recommendations are welcome.

If your school district has a $13.4 million shortfall...

If your school district has a $13.4 million shortfall...What would you do if you were in charge for a day?

Recommendations have been made to the school board to add a virtual suggestion box to the home page. Graduations were piped through the net, why not let the property tax payers, working parents, current and former students, teachers, and community partners make suggestions through the net? After all, this is the second time in one year that the RCBoEd has decided to raise taxes.

So why doesn't a school district that is raising taxes again, incorporate Google Apps for Education? Bring in Moodle for Blackboard? Incorporate Google Docs, Presentations, and Spreadsheets, Star Office, or OpenOffice for proprietary software? Use Google Earth to teach subjects where collaboration can enhance the learning event for everyone involved? Use Google's SketchUp to supplement learning in Engineering, Construction, Interior Design, or anything 3D ? Encourage the use of wikis? Get involved with global initiatives like the Flat Classroom and Horizon Projects?

The school administration noted that summer school is not profitable, yet failed to add those "fun to learn" courses, such as chess, double dutch jump rope, basic keyboarding, creating ePortfolios, Internet safety, basic web design and bring in volunteers from the community or education majors looking to facilitate a class to add to their "real world" teaching experiences. Why not have fun while learning something new and sharing knowledge?

The community can be encouraged to support schools by participating in Target's Take Charge of Education, UPromise Schools Program, Coke Rewards for Schools, Donor's Choose, Campbell's Labels for Education, Office Depot's "5% Back to Schools" Program, join the local PTAs, PTSAs, booster clubs, and other local philanthropic opportunities.

GA Department of Audits and Accounts posts the salary and travel pay for everyone in the school district, for any district in GA based on June, the closeout month of the school year. Each January of a new year, Internet surfers can visit the site and see the released reports of salary and travel by name of every employee paid, before taxes. The link is referenced in the end of this post.

So now, RCSS hires America's Choice. A company that came in and conducted "training" for principals. So, "Did learning take place? and "Are the principals implementing a knowledge sharing plan?"

For a school district who's mission statement reads, "The Mission of the Richmond County School System is to educate students to become lifelong learners and productive citizens" is oxymoronic when the graduation rate is 62% and 1500 students failed the CRCT. The primary reason that the graduation rate is 62% is due to two magnet schools which graduated 100% of their students. This information is available through the GA Dept of Education website.

All comments, recommendations, suggestions are welcome. If you were in charge for the day what would you do if you were in charge and inherited the school district with the $13.4 million budget shortfall?

Links referenced in this blog:

Google Apps for Education
Google Earth
Google SketchUp
Google Pack which contains Star Office
OpenOffice
Moodle
America's Choice
Georgia Dept of Audits and Accounts
Richmond County School System (About Us)
GA Dept of Education
Flat Classroom
Horizon Project