You Asked: Yes or No

Sometimes all you want is a simple yes or no answer. This one's for you...


Will we have access to Google@CPS before the start of school? YES
Will training be available over the summer? YES
Will there be online training options? YES

Will my FirstClass email, calendar, and documents get moved over to Google@CPS? NO
Will you tell me how to move my data over? YES
How? On this website? YES
Will I have enough time to move the data? YES
Through September? YES

When we switch, will mail still go to FirstClass and Outlook? NO
Only to Google@CPS? YES

Will there be an icon on my desktop for Google@CPS? YES
Is it the colorful square icon? YES
And that will take me to the new login screen? YES

What if I use Outlook, will my email, calendar and contacts get moved over? YES
I heard that my rules, filters and delegations will not get moved over. Is that true? YES

If I continue to use Outlook, will I run into issues with mail delivery, notifications and calendar invitations/events? YES
So, I should stop using Outlook and only use the Google@CPS interface? YES

Can I access Google@CPS from home? YES
On my smartphone? YES
From a hotel in Singapore? YES
From an airplane that offers Internet access? YES
Will you tell me how to set up my smartphone? YES

If I have a personal Google account that uses the @cps.edu address, will I be able to keep it? NO
I’ll have to change it? YES
You’ll provide instructions? YES

Will I be able to create Groups for my classrooms? YES
Will I be able to collaborate on Google Doc with other CPS users? YES
Will I be able to collaborate on Google Docs with outsiders? NO

If I’m a teacher, will I be able to create Sites? YES

Will you answer all of my questions if I submit them through the Contact Us link? YES

Personal Accounts with @CPS.EDU

Within the next couple of week, you may be affected by the following issue:

If you use a personal Google account that uses the @cps.edu extension, you will be asked to change the username the next time you log in.

Unfortunately, in order to continue using that personal account, you will need to change the username. Once your new Google@CPS account is created, your personal account will not be accessible until you make the username change.


Fortunately, Google has step-by-step instructions to make this conflict easier to resolve:

Step 1: Visit www.google.com/accounts and sign in with your personal Google Account
Step 2: Click ‘Change email’ under ‘Personal Settings’
Step 3: Enter a different email address where you can receive mail, enter your password, and click ‘Save email address’ (If you don’t have different email addresses where you can receive personal mail, you can resolve the conflict by renaming your personal Google account to an @gmail.com address instead.)
Step 4: Check your other email address and click the link in the verification message from Google to confirm your change
NOTE: If you already have an @gmail.com address and you have your @cps.edu address as an alternate, you will need to remove the alternate address to avoid conflict.

What happens if you don’t change your address now?

The next time you try to access your personal account, you will be asked to change it before you can log in. You’ll be presented with three options:

• Change to an account with a Gmail address (jane@gmail.com or another available gmail name)
• Change to an account with a different email address (use your jane@yahoo.com address)
• Log in with a temporary username Google provides (jane%mydomain@gtempaccount.com)
  NOTE: If you choose this final option, you will be presented with the same options every time you log in until you choose a permanent username. 

Just so you know, the data in your personal account will remain safe and accessible with all three options.

You Asked: Can I still use Outlook?

We know it’s scary to switch from Outlook—we’re switching too, and we’ve all been using it for a long time! But this is a change that we can all stand behind because it is pushing CPS forward as a district.

There are many technical issues that make using Outlook challenging. For example, if you're using Outlook and try to set an Out of Office notification, no one will see it. There are many other technical problems, but a big concern is that you’ll be missing out on many of the best features of Google Apps, especially filtering, searching, and integration with Google Docs and Calendar. What will end up happening is everyone around you will be sharing documents and calendars, and you’ll have to go back and forth between Outlook and your browser to keep up.

So, for these reasons, the Google@CPS Steering Committee has agreed to stop supporting Outlook. That means if you use Outlook and run into problems, the Service Desk will not be able to effectively assist you. Ultimately, you will become frustrated.

For what it’s worth: One of the main reasons people cite for keeping Outlook is its ability to sort messages in a variety of ways. While it’s true that Google email is only sorted by date, its search engine makes finding the right messages extremely easy. Nearly everything you can do in Outlook, you can do in Google@CPS.

As for your archived .pst files, you can still use Outlook to access those. Everything new will be in Google@CPS.

You Asked: Will my email get moved over?

If you are a FirstClass user, the answer is unfortunately no. FirstClass uses a proprietary storage method that is difficult to migrate to other systems. If we tried to move your email, there’s a really good chance that it would end up garbled and unusable. Don’t worry, we’ll show you how to move your mail and provide access to your current account through September to allow you time to move important content. Stay tuned!

If you are an Outlook user, the answer is yes. Outlook/Exchange is much easier to migrate, so the effort and the risks are minimal. Your email (inbox, sent items and folders), calendar and contacts will move over on the date you are scheduled to be switched. Tasks, messages/attachments over 25MB, rules, filters and views will not move over. Once you cut over, you will not be able to view/send mail from your old account. (You will only be able to see mail that you have archived in a .pst file.)

For everyone, all new email will arrive in your new Google@CPS inbox on the date you are scheduled to be switched.

In all cases, we recommend:
• Jotting down your favorite rules and filters so you can recreate them
• Saving any attachments over 25MB that you need to keep
• Saving any important emails

Google@CPS Roll-Out Schedule

Going Google is getting real!

The table below lists the dates your new Google@CPS accounts will be ready for use. You can log in any time after these dates.

When	Who	How many
June 18	Pilot Group	20+
June 29	ITS, Technology Coordinators, Pilot Central Office Departments	500-600
July 23	All Central Office Staff and Network Offices	1,500
July 30	Track E Teachers/Principals and All Citywide Staff	15,500
August 6	Track E Students*	75,000
August 20	Track R Teachers/Principals	24,000
August 27	Track R Students*	145,000

*Student access will be granted at the Principals’ discretion. The process will be communicated at a later date.


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