Chicago Public Schools is about to take an exciting technological step forward in both communications and the availability of e-learning tools with the planned implementation of Google Apps for Education, pending approval by the Board of Education at tomorrow’s Board meeting. Expected to be available in fall 2012, Google Apps will contribute to better teaching and learning while also helping us work smarter and more efficiently as a District.
Through Google Apps, all CPS school-based staff, administrative employees and students will finally utilize the same email system, making communicating with one another far easier and more efficient. The new email system also will help drive student learning through a wide range of applications designed to support classroom instruction.
For example, the system will employ “cloud” technology, a virtual environment where multiple users can participate and collaborate in teaching and learning. There are many exciting ways teachers, principals and students can use this “cloud,” as follows:
- Teachers can easily collaborate with each other, create and store presentations in for student viewing, store data, and even create class websites to share commonly used resources and homework or post lessons online for student access.
- Principals and other school-based administrative staff can manage events in their building, assess room availability, checkout equipment and share calendars. Students can create writing samples and reports, or perform research and share their work product with their teachers or fellow students. They also can work virtually in
- study groups and create portfolios of their own work over an extended period of time without concern of storing of losing their work.
Beyond expanding and easing communication and collaboration and supporting classroom instruction, Google Apps for Education also will save the District critical funding by reducing the fixed costs of our outdated systems. The $1.824 million three-year contract includes implementation of the Google system, migration from the current CPS email systems, archiving of data and annual maintenance. Google email carries no licensing fees compared to $2.4 million in annual fees for the existing systems.
CPS selected the Google system following issuance of Request for Proposals last October, to which seven vendors replied. An internal committee composed of representatives from various CPS departments and school-based staff reviewed the proposals and, following presentations by three of the vendors, ultimately determined the Google Apps for Education best met the needs of the District.
The Google Apps email system is either already in use or is being installed by a number of school districts around the county, such as Los Angeles, CA Unified Schools (670,000 students), Palm Beach County Florida Schools (173,000 students) and Polk County, Florida Schools (94,000 students). Northwestern and Yale Universities use the system as does the U.S. Navy and the cities of Pittsburgh and Los Angeles.
We are excited to make this new state-of-the-art system available to you as another step in our continued efforts to expand new technologies to boost student learning!