Going Google Means Adopting a Culture That Extends

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“Going Google means adopting a culture that extends beyond the classroom: it’s about openness, curiosity, and working together.“ —Jim Sill - Educator & Trainer, Visalia, California

google.com/edu

Table of Contents

Google Apps for Education Overview ...... 5

Classroom Overview ...... 7

Chromebooks for Education Overview...... 9

Chromebooks for Education Management Console Overview...... 10

Android tablets for education...... 11

Google Play for Education...... 13

Google Apps Case Studies

Littleton Public Schools uses Google AppsColorado as a modern learning engine ...... Colorado...... 17

St . Albans City School builds connectionsVermont between students and community using Google for Education ...... Vermont...... 19

Fontbonne Hall Academy empowers teachers with Classroom, a new product in Google Apps for Education ...... New York ...... 22

Chromebooks Case Studies

Edmonton Public Schools improves collaboration and writing skills with Google for Education tools . . . . . Canada ...... 24

Milpitas Unified School District helps students take charge of learning using Google for Education tools . . . California ...... 27

Huntsville Independent School District helps close the digital divide with Google Chromebooks and Apps ...... Texas...... 30

Android Tablets Case Studies

Challenge to Excellence Charter School students explore the world using Android tablets with Google Play for Education ...... Colorado...... 31

Upper Grand School District turns to Android tablets and Google Play for Education to teach students anytime anywhere ...... Vermont...... 34

Mounds View schools boost student preparedness with all-day kindergarten using Android tablets with Google Play for Education ...... Minnesota...... 37

Google Apps for Education Tools that build teamwork and enhance learning

Google Apps for Education is a free set of communication and collaboration tools that includes email, calendar, and documents. More than 40 million students, teachers, and administrators in schools around the world use Google Apps for Education. Many students will use these tools in college and in the workforce — 7 of the 8 Ivy League universities and over 5 million businesses use Google Apps.

Tools that meet the needs of schools Google Apps for Education are built for schools. They are:

Collaborative: Fast, easy collaboration is what makes Google Apps unique. d seamless compatibility – a great platform for teamwork in the 21st century.

Customizable: We make it easy for you to set dozens of critical security settings and feature options. Set account permissions to meet your school’s needs. For email classmates.

Free ncludes 24x7 online, email & telephone support, an online teacher training center, as well as syncing and migration tools.

“At some educators were concerned that Secure: Google Apps for Education users own their data. The data schools and increased technology usage would take away students put in is theirs, and we believe it should stay that way — it even says personal interactions, but we actually found so in our contracts. We have more than 400 full-time engineers working to protect that the majority of students and teachers feel your information. closer to each other and take advantage of the technology to stay connected whenever and Without ads: There are no ads in Google Apps for Education services and Google wherever they choose.” does not use student data in Apps for Education services for advertising purposes. — Todd MacDonald, Technology Integration Specialist, Hillsborough, NJ Usable on any device: Whether your school has laptops, Android tablets, iPads, Macbooks, desktop PCs or any other device, Google Apps will work for you. With Gmail and Docs mean you don’t always need internet access.

Powerful with unlimited storage and archiving: Google Apps for Education now includes Drive with unlimited free storage for files, folders, and everything important. Sync all your files, including Microsoft Office files, across all your devices to access your work whenever you need it. You can access files in Drive from any computer, tablet or phone, including your favorite Android or iOS device, whether you’re online or offline. And you can share files up to 5TB with anyone, even if they don’t have a Google account. Drive also includes Vault, our email archiving and e-discovery solution, for free as well.

“ Going Google means adopting a culture that extends beyond the classroom walls: it’s about openness, curiosity, and working together.” —Jim Sill, Educator, Visalia, California

“ Any bring your own device (BYOD) policy, coupled with free web-based tools like Google Apps for Education, provides a uniform platform for all students and educators to succeed.“ —Eric Sheninger, Principal, New Milford High School

5 Meet the Google Apps Google Apps for Education contains a set of free productivity tools. Google Drive now comes with unlimited storage and archiving with Google Vault for free. Learn more about each of the Google Apps below.

Product How schools use the product Save time, improve organization, and enhance communication with students when you create assignments Classroom and give feedback using Classroom and Google Apps for Education. Reach students or faculty members instantly with email, voice calling, and chat. Choose which services you turn Gmail

colors, and domain, e.g., [email protected]. Manage all of life’s important events within your online calendar. Plan lessons and book parent/teacher conferences. Calendar Overlay multiple calendars to see when people and resources are available. Sync, store, and preview documents, videos, images, and Drive students, other teachers, or the whole school. use Google Apps for Education. Write, edit, and collaborate wherever you are. Add comments to give feedback to students in real time. Plan a lesson This includes 7 of the 8 Ivy League Docs together with other teachers. View revision history to see universities in the U.S. how student writing has evolved. Teach students the power in data with built-in formulas, pivot tables, and conditional formatting options that Sheets simplify common spreadsheet tasks. Have a whole class capture data from a science experiment. Create lessons that shine with a variety of slide themes and templates. Enhance learning by embedding educational Slides videos—add the animations that grab attention and the transitions that keep it. Display student e-portfolios or make a class website. Teams and clubs can create web pages without writing a single line Sites of code. Students, teams, and clubs save time by selecting one of many pre-built templates. Use forms to gather and analyze information. They’re great Forms for quizzes, tests and surveys. Export results for easy grading. Send surveys to get feedback from families.

Google Vault is an app for archiving, e-discovery and Vault information governance.

Use text chat or make group video calls with up to 15 Learn more Talk/ New to Google Apps? Hangouts trips, team meetings, and distance learning. Learn more about Google Apps for Education and sign up for free. Visit: google.com/edu/apps

Already using Google Apps? Learn more about Classroom, the newest Google Apps tool that helps teachers keep classes organized and improve communication with students. Visit: google.com/edu/classroom

Google Classroom is your mission control for class. Create classes, distribute assignments, send feedback and see everything in one place. Instant. Paperless. Easy.

A collaborative solution for “I’m not sure I every realized how much time teachers and students I spent photocopying work for students’ not to mention the amount of paper.” Classroom is part of the Google Apps for —Cathy Barton, Math teacher, Education suite. Fontbonne Hall Academy Save your money – Google Classroom is a free service for teachers and students

Keep things simple – In just a few minutes, Classroom is set up and ready to go.

Instant collaboration – Students and teachers can have immediate conversations around assignments.

7 Simple starts here.

1 Create a Class with just a few clicks.

2 Add your students by sending them a class code or adding them directly.

3 Add your first assignment. A copy of it can be automatically sent to each student. You’ll be able to see who’s completed the assignment, and who’s still working on it.

So students can stay organized.

1 Everything in one place. Join the class in one click and then have all of the materials at your fingertips.

2 Start a conversation. Communicate privately with your teacher or ask questions to the whole class. Everything updates in real-time.

3 Submit assignments. Attach anything to your assignments – Google Docs, Drive files or links. You can even take a photo and attach it to your assignment.

To sign up, visit: google.com/edu

Chromebooks for Education give students, teachers, and administrators a simple solution for fast and easy-to-manage computing. Chromebooks provide students with access to the web’s vast education and collaboration resources. agement and a low total cost of ownership. Using Chromebooks, teachers spend more time teaching and less time managing classroom technology.

Perfect for the classroom (and beyond) Chromebooks improve teaching and learning by eliminating the distraction of technology challenges. They boot in less than 10 seconds and resume “ Compared to other notebooks there is no instantly – eliminating the typical downtime wasted while traditional software to install, there is no imaging that computers start up and connect to a network. A battery life of over 6 hours needs to be done. The less administrative overhead and burden you have to manage the means Chromebooks last an entire school day. And since it’s easy to connect computers, the more computers you can put a Chromebook anytime and anywhere with built-in Wi-Fi or 3G, students out in the classroom and sustain and maintain can continue learning after school and at home. Applications, school work, over time.” and settings are stored on the web, so multiple students can use the same — Matthew Peskay, director of Technology, Chromebook and still have their own personalized experience when they sign KIPP Schools LA in. Best of all, there is no special training required: if you know how to use a web browser, you know how to use a Chromebook. For more information, visit www.google.com/edu/chromebooks Easy to manage With just a few clicks, administrators can update settings for of Chromebooks – whatever the size – pushing or removing web applications and enforcing safe-browsing policies for all users. Automatic updates keep the operating system and applications fresh, with no need for tedious backups, security patches, data migration, or re-imaging. Chromebooks run Chrome OS, rotect against the ongoing threat of viruses and malware, which means computers, users, and networks are safer without any manual system maintenance.

With all the educational resources of the web Chromebooks are built and optimized for the web. This means that Chromebooks seamlessly integrate with the Google Apps suite of tools (available free to schools), web apps in the Chrome Web Store, and of course

educational tools.

For a low price Devices start at $149 for Wi-Fi only. But Chromebooks for Education don’t simply include the hardware and the operating system, which updates automatically. For an additional $30 per device, Google will also provide the ability to remotely manage users, apps, and policies across you devices via a central web-based management console. The price also includes 24/7 support directly from Google and a limited warranty. This solution eliminates tedious, time-intensive maintenance tasks like imaging, installing patches, and data recovery. And because schools no longer need to purchase the same software licenses, servers, security solutions, and maintenance plans, the total cost of owning a Chromebook can be 70% lower than the ownership costs for a traditional computer.

Engineering specs can change without prior notice. Battery times are estimates, depend on many factors, and may decline over time. © 2015 Google Inc. All rights reserved. Google and the Google logo are trademarks of Google Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. DS117-1106 9 The Chromebooks for Education Management Console

Chromebooks devices • Multiple options starting at $149* per device • Option for Wi-Fi or built-in 3G

Management console package • Web-based management console • 24/7 support from Google • Limited warranty • Additional $30* per device

Chromebooks are fast, portable computers that give students and faculty access to the educational apps and resources of the web.

Chromebooks have a web-based management console that makes it easy for users. With just a few clicks, the management console allows you to: The Chromebook management console is easily accessible as a secure page on the web. Create user groups roup students by “ Once the Chromebooks are set up and grade level or subject. Separate students and faculty. deployed, the updates happen on their own, Pre-install and block apps on our part. That’s less administrative overhead Blacklist (block), whitelist, or pre-install apps, extensions and websites. and burden needed to manage the computers, so we can put more devices into classrooms Track assets and more easily manage them over time.” tion and —Matthew Peskay, director of IT, KIPP LA usage reports.

For more information, visit: www.google.com/edu/chromebooks Manage user access Control who uses your Chrome devices: prevent outside users from logging in, eachers) who can sign in to a device.

Control network access o get up and .

Customize user features Modify student settings like bookmark and app sync across computers, and show some school spirit on your devices with custom Chrome desktop themes.

*Prices for U.S. customers only. Terms & conditions apply.

© 2015 Google Inc. All rights reserved. Google and the Google logo are trademarks of Google Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. 131009 Android tablets for education Designed for learning, made for the classroom

Android tablets help teachers bring more love for learning to their classrooms. Choose from a variety of edu-ready tablets, then get access to Google Play for Education, a special version of the Google Play store designed just for schools. Wonderful things can happen when sharing the right app or book is as easy as sharing a Google Doc.

The right content for any lesson Google Play for Education contains an ever-growing set of educational apps and books. There are two ways to find the right content for your class: 1. Browse educator-approved content. Use the filters at the left and top of the screen to explore thousands of educator-approved Android apps, free The program: Chrome apps, and a wide selection of K-12 books. Pick a content type to Tablets with access to Google Play for get started, then browse by grade, subject, keyword, or education standard Education start at $179. This cost covers: (including Common Core). • Tablets • Device management • Support • Access to Google Play for Education

“We’re giving students power and choices when we let them learn on their own. It not only helps us meet everyone’s needs individually, but it makes learning fun.” — Lynn Erickson, Kindergarten Teacher, Mounds View Public Schools

A teacher’s view of Google Play for Education

2. Search for just the right thing. In addition to educator-approved apps, Google Play for Education also gives schools access to the more than 1 million Android apps in Google Play. Use the search bar at the top of the page to search across all the apps and books available for assignment. Teacher-approved content is marked with a yellow “EDU” badge.

Flexibility to differentiate By making it easy for teachers to find and share the right digital content, Google Play for Education helps educators customize learning to students’ individual needs and interests. Assigning an app or book is simple; enter individual student Learn more accounts, or create Google Groups for easy group sharing. Content will appear To learn more about Android tablets for on students’ tablets or Chromebooks immediately, with no cords or extra education, visit google.com/edu/tablets. permissions required.

11 Scalable set-up and management It’s never been easier to set up tablets and manage them day to day. With NFC touch technology, simply tap an admin tablet to each student tablet to set up a classroom in minutes.

Affordable tablet options Google Play for Education is compatible with with a variety of affordable tablets for the classroom. Find the right device for your students as you choose from an array of sizes and form factors.

“ Students are more engaged with tasks, and ASUS Transformer they recognize situations when their ideas Nexus 7 ASUS MeMO Pad 7 Pad 10 and approaches can be supported by the technologies available to them on their tablets. They have the confidence required to pursue these avenues of inquiry independently.” — David Scott, grade five teacher, Westminster Woods Public School Screen 7.02" 7" LED Backlight 10.1" LED Backlight 1920x1200 HD display Display, 1280x800 IPS Display, 1280x800 IPS (323ppi), HD Display HD Display Scratch Resistant Corning® Glass Battery1 Up to 9 hours of active Up to 9 hours Up to 9 hours use of active use of active use Storage 16 GB 16 GB (Expandable 16 GB (Expandable up to 64 GB) up to 64 GB) Dimensions 114 x 200 x 190.5 x 114.3 x 257.46 x 178.4 x 8.65 mm 9.6mm 9.9 mm Price Starting at $229 Starting at $179 Starting at $359 (tablet + keyboard dock)

Samsung Galaxy Dell Venue 10 HP Pro Slate 10 EE Tab 4 Education

Support Screen 10.1” 1280x800 HD & 10.1” diagonal HD 10.1" WXGA (1280 x Schools can take advantage of comprehensive 1920x1200 FHD 16:10 WXGA IPS anti-glare 800), protected by ® ® online, email, and telephone support. Access ultra slim LED-backlit Corning Gorilla Glass (1280 x 800) our support website at anytime, or if you need more help request support in your Battery1 Up to 9.4 hours Up to 10 hours Up to 10 hours Admin console. of active use of active use of active use Storage 16 GB (Expandable 16 GB 16 GB (Expandable up to 64 GB) up to 80 GB) Learn more Dimensions 262.6 x 175.8 x 280 x 182 x 243.4 x 176.4 x To learn more about Android tablets for 9.9 mm 14.4 mm 7.95 mm education, visit google.com/edu/tablets. Price Starting at $329 Starting at $309 Starting at $399

1 Engineering specs and device options can change without prior notice. Battery times are estimates, depend on many factors, and may decline over time. Specifications are subject to change without notice.

© 2015 Google Inc. All rights reserved. Google and the Google logo are trademarks of Google Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. 150422 Google Play for Education Teach to any vision with the right apps and books

More love for learning Great teachers find countless ways to inspire their students every day. Now they can create a curriculum that’s just as inspiring. Google Play for Education makes it easy to find the apps and books that cater to students’ unique needs and interests. From there, getting a great piece of content to the right student is as simple as sharing a Google doc—no tangled cords or pleading phone calls to the IT department required. It all adds up to more flexible teaching and a more engaged classroom.

How to get access: Google Play for Education is available to any school using managed Chromebooks or Android tablets.

Explore Chromebooks: google.com/edu/chromebooks

Explore tablets: google.com/edu/tablets

“ With the books in Google Play for Education, our schools are no longer limited by the classroom sets we’ve already purchased. We’re saving time and money as we make the transition to digital.” —David Fringer, Chief Technology Officer, Council Bluffs Community School District

Apps and books made for the classroom Whether students are working on Chromebooks or Android tablets, teachers have access to a huge variety of content that brings new depth and engagement to lessons: • Thousands of educator-approved apps for Android tablets and Chromebooks • Access to >1 million other Android apps available in Google Play • A huge library of free classic books, from Shakespeare to Jane Austen • Tens of thousands of K-12 books available for affordable rental, from the latest hit fiction to subject-specific textbooks While Android apps run on tablets and Chrome apps run on Chromebooks, the books teachers share from Google Play for Education can be accessed from any device. So students get more flexibility in when and how they learn.

Learn more To learn more about Google Play for Education, visit google.com/edu/play.

13 Powerful tools to find just the right content Not only does Google Play for Education have a wide variety of apps and books approved for the classroom, but Google’s worked with educators to make the right content easy to discover. Start by selecting the type of content you’re looking for, then filter by subject, grade, and even Common Core standard to find exactly the right thing for a given lesson. The yellow EDU badges on Android apps and Chrome apps tell you that the content you’re looking at was reviewed and approved by other educators, so you know it’s classroom safe. Click into an app to dig deeper—you can see the grades and Common Core “ I love how you can send apps to individual students! I don’t have to download the apps 1 standards it matches and read reviews for Google Play to gauge popular at a time, and bring all of the tablets home to opinion. You might also see a Teacher Tip written by a teacher who’s already work on them. This feature is very exciting – used the app in their class, giving you practical ideas for incorporating the app yay!” into your own lessons. —Teacher, Hillsborough Township, New Jersey

More teaching, less tech-ing Once teachers find an app or book, they want to share, Google Play for Education streamlines the process and helps them get it on students’ devices in a matter of seconds. Teachers can: • Share with individual students by entering their individual accounts or email addresses • Create Google Groups to share content with multiple students all at once. The books teachers assign will be visible to students in their personal libraries at play.google.com/books.

Simple purchasing via PO Purchasing an app or renting a book is just as easy as sharing a free piece of content when your school sets up a purchase order (PO) for Google Play for Education. School administrators can decide how much they want to budget for digital content, then give teachers access to POs with clear spending limits. Your school is only billed for the content purchases you actually make in Google Play for Education, so if you don’t spend your PO, you’re not billed for it.

Give teachers the tools to succeed with digital Google Play for Education was built with teachers in mind. By making it simple to find exactly the right apps and books for class, and just as easy to share it, teachers have the flexibility to meet individual student needs and to adapt their curriculum based on what’s happening right now. Great teachers always find ways to inspire—now you can give them an even bigger playground.

Case Study | Littleton Public Schools

Littleton Public Schools uses Google Apps as a modern learning engine

The School District

Littleton Public Schools (LPS) is a school district located a few miles south of

downtown Denver, Colorado. There are approximately 15,000 K-12 students

in the district with additional services for pre-school students. Students attend

13 elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools, several alternative

programs, a preschool, and two charter schools. LPS offers National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence and a high school International Baccalaureate program. About Littleton Public Schools • www.littletonpublicschools.net/ • Denver, Colorado • 15,000 K-12 students in the district “ We are very excited for the horizons our students now have. These technologies are so universal, the skills and the habits of mind they are Goals developing will serve them for the rest of their lives. And the benefit is a • Use technology to help students improve great equalizer against poverty. Regardless of students’ home situation, their writing skills they are learning powerful skills here. It’s very inspiring to see them light up and become masters of their own direction.” Approach —Dr. Dan Maas, chief information officer, Littleton Public Schools • Used Google Sites, Google Docs and Google Drive to empower students to create, collaborate, revise, and publish their work Challenge Students today are growing up in a different educational world.Online tools Results fundamentally have changed how today’s kids learn, interact and work with • Improved writing scores across the district each other. Students have an entire world of information available to them • Got total buy-in from students and teachers, just a few clicks away. Despite the increased availability of free tools on the web, creating nearly 200,000 Google Docs in the Littleton Public Schools Chief Information Officer (CIO) Dr. Dan Maas realized first year that schools didn’t always make the best use of them for teachers and students. • Saved six figures in IT, equipment and maintenance costs

Learn more • Littleton Public Schools website • InstructionaltechnologyPDstaffsite • Inspired Writing Class Resources • UC Irvine Case Study: Evaluation of Inspired Writing

17 The district was hosting email servers for teachers and staff, but had no collaboration tools and homework was done largely by emailing attachments or making paper submissions, a cumbersome process. Dr. Maas’ top priority was to address these challenges and create a modern learning environment in which kids could use Web-based tools to learn, in a way that was comfortable for them.

Solution By December of 2011, the majority of students and staff at LPS had switched over to Google Apps for Education, migrating their email, calendar and contact data to Google. The migration took 23 hours in which more than 296 gigabytes of data and 4 million emails, calendar appointments and contacts were safely uploaded. They were offline for about 10 minutes while the email routing took effect across the Internet. Today, every Littleton staff member and teacher has a Google Apps account, as does every student in grades 4 and above. Some schools have even opted to provide these services to younger students as early as Kindergarten. Any student, teacher or staff member with an account also has access to Google Calendar, Documents, Drive and the network of Google Sites teachers have set up to store and present class material, discussions and other materials. During the 2011-2012 school year, Littleton students created more than 200,000 new Google Docs, and by the spring of 2013 LPS students were creating over 20,000 new Google Docs monthly. Dr. Maas called collaboration “an essential 21st Century skill” that all students need to learn. “It’s the way the world works now,” he said. “Almost everyone works directly with someone else every day.” Maas points to hundreds of LPS students and teachers who have benefited from the district’s Inspired Learning cohorts, teachers like Katie Christie. Her 5th grade class at Runyon Elementary School is an example of the district’s “Inspired Writing” curriculum, which is a model of technology-enabled modern learning. The class revolves around a Google Site that contains learning objectives, resources and videos, assignments, student and teacher work and more. Miss Christie posts assignments daily on a Google Calendar so students always know what’s expected. Students and their parents can also add this calendar to their personal Google Calendars as well. Google Docs lets students do many different indsk of creative homework, from one student using Google Drawing to create a flowchart for a book report, to four students using Google Presentation to collectively create a presentation about astronomy to give in front of the class.

“ Lupita blogged that she now loves to write, which was a dramatic shift from her attitude about writing on paper. And her dad wrote on our blog also to tell us he saw how his daughter loved writing now! To see how that kind of learning travels from the schools, to the classroom and then all the way home with the student is really powerful.” —Dr. Dan Maas, chief information officer, Littleton Public Schools Benefits Google Docs has helped LPS step into a new era of learning. By using technology to aid teaching and learning, they’ve been able to engage more students, offer a more creative curriculum and fundamentally change how students learn. Maas reeled off a list of improvements brought on by Google Apps: Achievement • A 14 percent gain in writing achievement vs. pencil/paper from the 2010-2011 year to the next (see Case Study by Warchauer et al). • In the 2011-2012 school year, Littleton students created more than 200,000 Google docs; in the first semester of the 2012-2013 year, they reatedc more than 180,000 Google Docs, almost double the amount they created the entire previous year. And by spring of 2013, students were creating 20,000 Docs per month. Access • Google Apps is built on portability and follows students home so they can work from Docs at their home computer home anytime they like. Savings • Because Google Apps is web-based, the district was able to buy 8,500 less expensive devices for students to use. LPS is now shifting to Chromebooks and is implementing 900 at the time this went to print. • The school district avoided a six-figure cost by going Google, ncluding:i - Saving more than $42,000 per year on email costs including storage, servers and licensing for staff. - Avoiding an average $20,000 for server upgrades to the schools old file server. - Reducing the time cost for the IT team to deal with mail server issues, storage and space issues and email downtime. “We are very excited for the horizons our students now have. These technologies are so universal, the skills and the habits of mind they are developing will serve them for the rest of their lives. And the benefit is a great equalizer against poverty. Regardless of students’ home situation, they are learning powerful skills here. It’s very inspiring to see them light up and become masters of their own direction.” Maas said the biggest benefit of going Google is this empowerment he sees of students and teachers. He particularly remembers a student who benefited from the tools. Five years ago a young student, Lupita, used to hate writing, but completely turned around after she started the Inspired Writing curriculum. “Lupita blogged that she now loves to write, which was a dramatic shift from her attitude about writing on paper. And her dad wrote on our blog also to tell us he saw how his daughter loved writing now! To see how that kind of learning travels from the schools, to the classroom and then all the way home with the student is really powerful.”

© 2013 Google Inc. All rights reserved. Google and the Google logo are trademarks of Google Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. 131106

19 Case Study | Google Apps

St. Albans City School builds connections between students and community using Google for Education

School St. Albans City School, located in St. Albans, Vermont, serves 750 students in grades pre K-8. The school’s mission is to “develop learners who are safe in our building and society, achieving in the real world, caring for each other, while supporting all members of our school community.”

Challenge St. Albans, a city of 6,300 people near Vermont’s Lake Champlain, is tucked into the beautiful Green Mountains. it’s a tight-knit community, and unfortunately like many small New England towns it has experienced some tough times for the economy in recent years. The team at St. Albans City School acknowledges the Veronica, 8th grader, presented her findings opportunities they have and the challenges of its community, but they don’t let at the town council anything get in the way of their desire to succeed. A few years ago, Lucie deLaBruere, at the time a Technology Coach for St. Albans, At a Glance saw an opportunity to improve the school with collaborative, cost-effective technology What they wanted to do tools. “It was easy to see how giving students more access to tools for sharing their • Make it easier for students and teachers work could help sharpen their technology skills, not to mention improve their to work together on projects academic performance.” • Give students access to homework and other documents outside of school As deLaBruere started her search for ways to help students become more tech-savvy, • Involve the school with the community she could see that they were already adopting collaborative tools. “A 7th-grade science teacher said his students were using Gmail to work together on a consumer product- What they did testing project, and they used Gmail to share their work in a way that you couldn’t do • Chose Google Apps to help students and over the phone. They were smart about getting around barriers to collaboration.” teachers share information and collaborate • Used Google Maps to illustrate projects and The Solution create visually compelling presentations DeLaBruere and her St. Albans City School colleagues worked to bring Google Apps for Education (including Gmail, Docs and Drive) to St. Albans City School and the What they accomplished • Shared student research with city council entire district. “In our search for better learning tools that would address challenges for project connecting street lights to safety like accessibility, we discovered that we could use Google to provide each student • Elevated school to leadership position in with a digital locker that could be accessed from anywhere – their classroom, the its district and the state for its adoption computer lab, the community, their home, or a grandparent’s home,” says of technology deLaBruere. • Encouraged students to collaborate on projects and envision new ways to It didn’t take long before this increased access to powerful learning opportunities showcase their work led to the desire for a 1:1 student/device ratio. “Using a combination of laptops, Chromebooks, and tablets, we were able to make this vision a reality,” she says. As deLaBruere watched teachers and students find new ways to use Google during the school day, she kept looking for more opportunities to bring technology into learning. The chance came when 7th and 8th grade students began research for their “The Light Project.” The students started to wonder whether crime rates, which “ Google has become an everyday part of our had been the topic of much discussion, were highest in areas that were poorly lit. learning landscape, and helped St. Albans City They wanted to find out if the presence of street lights helped reduce crime – and if School move from a school struggling to use so, make an argument to the city that more street lights were needed. technology into a state leader. It gives students real tools to tackle real problems, both inside They were surprised to find that there was no map of the street lights. “The students and outside our school.” were walking through the entire city and manually placing street light locations on a — Lucie deLaBruere, educator paper map,” says deLaBruere. “I then explained how they could use GPS devices and Google Earth to plot the lights, and then show the results in a Google Map.” Students will be using Nexus 7 tablets and the My Tracks app as evidence of their learning. They’ll map the entire trail system, take photos, and make notes regarding the conditions and suggestions they have for improvements (1) Students initially charted the streetlights on paper. (2) Then they created a Google Map and concerns. of the streetlights in St. Alban’s

The students and teachers involved in “City Lights” made rapid progress in mapping “ I’m really excited about how we’re going to streetlights, and put together research on energy efficiency as well. Middle school use technology to fix something that has been teacher John Cioffi guided his students through the process of mapping streetlights, around before technology. I never even knew we and conducting research on energy efficiency and crime rate related with streetlights. had this sort of technology until I heard about it through this project.” He shared, “their presentation became a factor in the city’s decisions in their recent —Sebastian, St. Albans student streetscape project and continues to be used for other streetlight proposals.”

The Benefits The students’ professional and thorough approach to gathering and presenting data went a long way toward getting their peers and teachers engaged in a big project, and connecting the school to their community leaders. The project allowed the students to experience civic engagement first-hand, and see the role their recommendations played in the design of a new cityscape for St. Albans. It also left a lasting impression on the City Council, says Matt Allen, Innovation Specialist. “When civic leaders understand the impact of technology on students, they realize how important it is to prepare kids to use tools like these in the real world,” says Allen. “They also see that ideas for making a community better can – and should – come from young people, not just the adults.” St. Albans students’ creative use of Google tools didn’t stop with the City Lights project: some students are using Google Drive to offer peer feedback to other students on writing assignments, while others use Google Hangouts and Slides to work with teachers in Japan and India, and Google Slides to create e-books suggesting names and background stories for a new city fire truck. The students who ran City Lights inspired others too. Today other St Albans’ students, working with teacher Val Loucy, are trying to make improvements of area About Google for Education trails. They have teamed with the Franklin County Mountain Bike Club; Friends of Google for Education provides open Northern Lake Champlain; representatives from St. Albans City, St. Albans Town, technologies to improve learning for Aldis Hill, and Hard’ack; and the trail design firm Sinuosity. Students will hike every everyone, anywhere. Solutions consist of trail in the system and add coordinates, descriptions, and images into a Google affordable devices, innovative tools, and Map using Nexus 7 tablets. They’ll also use Google Apps to share their findings with educational content designed for learning teachers and other project members. and built for the classroom. “Google has become an everyday part of our learning landscape, and helped Learn more St. Albans City School move from a school struggling to use technology into a state Get started at google.com/edu leader,” says deLaBruere. “It gives students real tools to tackle real problems, both inside and outside our school.”

21 Fontbonne Hall Academy empowers teachers with Classroom, a new product in Google Apps for Education

Organization Fontbonne Hall Academy has been educating young women in Brooklyn, New York, for over 75 years. It is a college-preparatory school with a mission ring young from southwest Brooklyn, southern Queens, and Staten Island. The tight-knit, supportive environment that the school has created is clear to students, teachers, and visitors. Director of Technology Mark Surdyka describes e as a student and, when she decided to leave law to become a teacher, the culture attracted her back to the school: “Everybody knows everybody. I even know students I never About Fontbonne Hall Academy teach. I truly believe the teachers care and will do anything and everything for their • A private college preparatory high school students because of that.” • Serves 476 young women • Located in Brooklyn, New York Situation Goals A longtime educator, Mary Ann Spicijaric became the Principal of Fontbonne in the • summer of 2013. One of her motivations for joining the school was that she wanted form and to empower young women with to make a contribution towards the empowerment of young women. She particularly wanted to make sure that Fontbonne prepared its graduates by teaching them to • Empower students to become digital citizens use technology to help collaborate and solve problems.

But when Spicijaric and Surdyka arrived at Fontbonne in summer 2013 they found Context that the technology in the school did not match the educational needs and the high • The school used technology sparingly prior to September 2013 aspirations the faculty had for the students. Surdyka signed the school up for Google • In 2013 the school began to use Google Apps for Education, a free suite of productivity tools, with plans to roll it out in full Apps for Education over time. And the school expanded the bring your own device (BYOD) program, • In 2014 the whole school began using a ensuring all students brought devices each day. new product, Classroom • Currently has a BYOD program and is using some Chromebooks The introduction of Classroom In November 2013, Google approached Fontbonne about whether a teacher could use and give feedback on a brand-new product in development, Classroom. Classroom is a new tool in Google Apps for Education that lets teachers create and organize assignments quickly, provide feedback efficiently, and communicate with their classes with ease. Teacher Nicole Marinello used the product for two months in the fall during one of the Google pilots. Then, in January 2014, Google asked if the whole school would be willing to use Classroom. Spicijaric described her reaction to Google’s proposal: “I’ll be honest with you—I was fearful. We were planning to start using Google Apps in Google Apps for Education full the following year. But when we had the opportunity to use Classroom mid-year Google Apps for Education is a suite of I wanted to seize it. I said ‘we need to start doing it now.’” communication and collaboration tools offered to schools for free and without ads. Fontbonne rolled out the tools all at once to every single teacher and student. Google Apps for Education can be accessed The majority of people took to the new tools remarkably fast, including some of from any device, at any time. Products the teachers who had been at the school for decades. Surdyka explained, “We were in the suite include Gmail, Calendar, and nervous about starting Google Apps and Classroom all at once. But it’s probably Documents. Classroom will be added later better to do it this way with a big bang than in stages, which would’ve taken forever. in 2014. I see people who barely used technology before using this every day.” Since the product was still in development, teachers and students at Fontbonne provided daily feedback to Google about the changes they wanted to see. For example, one of the features that Caufield and many other teachers suggested was a question & answer tool, which Google soon incorporated.

Impact Even after just three weeks of use, educators began to experience benefits from Classroom and Google Apps for Education.

Student engagement Caufield, a World History teacher, had always made it a priority to hear from every student: “I believe it is important for every student to participate in class. I make sure to call on students even if they don’t have their hands raised.” Classroom gave Caufield another way to make students’ voices heard—digitally. “The reality is that some students have a lot of great things to say but they are anxious about saying it out loud in front of the whole class. Classroom gives the student a chance to have an opinion without having to speak publicly.” Art teacher Leonard Bellinger also finds Classroom helpful in making better one-to- one connections with students.”It’s a super easy way to keep everyone involved and everything organized. The product provides that one-on-one link outside of direct email,” he said.

23 Spicijaric has seen and heard this change. “I hear a lot of talking—and it’s not teachers talking; it’s kids talking. And that is exciting. We are moving more toward student-centered instruction.”

Time savings and convenience Many teachers and students praised Classroom for the digital assignment flow and automatic organization of Documents into Google Drive, the product for file storage and sharing. This saved Math teacher Cathy Barton a lot of time: “I’m not sure I ever realized how much time I spent photocopying work for students not to mention the amount of paper.”

“ I love the easy access to most of my work right Many students also displayed better organizational skills with the help of Classroom. from my computer or phone. It organizes all of Freshman Grace explained, “I love the easy access to my work right from my computer my work into different sections and I don’t have or phone. It organizes all of my work and I don’t have to worry about keeping track to worry about keeping track of papers!” of papers.” —Grace, Freshman Laura Barton, Science teacher, is one of the many teachers who found that the convenience of Classroom helped her accomplish what she needed to do more easily. She explained, “By allowing students to submit their work with Classroom, I can keep track of my sections, view grades easily, and mark assignments during any free time I have, without having to carry stacks of paper around. Classroom has made this process so easy and convenient.” This flexibility of the Apps was helpful to Gloria Musto, Social Studies teacher: “When I was out sick, Classroom enabled me to post assignments and monitor student work.” When Nicole Marinello had a student who had to stay home because she was contagious (but feeling fine), the student was able to join the cause via a Google+ Hangout and to give her comments using the Classroom comments stream.

“ I’m not sure I ever realized how much time I spent photocopying work for students not to mention the amount of paper.” —Cathy Barton, Math teacher

Next steps In the coming years, Fontbonne plans to go 1:1 across all grades. They also plan to build a strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) program. The faculty will continue to emphasize teaching students to be good digital citizens. Spicijaric shared: “We are a school that is excited for growth and about the fact that we are doing more to serve our students with technology.”

Learn more To gain access to Classroom, a school must have Google Apps for Education. • Administrators – sign up for Google Apps for Education for free at google.com/apps/edu. • Teachers – read more and express interest in a preview of Classroom at google.com/edu/classroom.

© 2014 Google Inc. All rights reserved. Google and the Google logo are trademarks of Google Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. 140505 Edmonton Public Schools improves collaboration and writing skills with Google for Education tools

Customer Edmonton Public Schools (EPS) is the second largest public school district in Alberta and the sixth largest school district in Canada. The district serves 86,000 students across 202 schools and is committed to providing a superior education for all its students so that they can develop the ability, passion and At a Glance imagination to pursue their dreams and achieve their full potential. What they wanted to do • Provide technology as a means to learning Challenge What they did Across the district, proficiency with technology is considered a key skill in • Provided all students in the district preparing students for success in life. Edmonton Public Schools also believes with Google Apps for Education • Provided select schools with that every student should be able to access their classwork from anywhere, at Google Chromebooks any time, for any academic subject. What they accomplished However, at the start of the 2009 school year, the district reflected that not • Created a more engaging and every student had access to the right technology at the right time to help them collaborative learning environment learn. Some schools only had one computer lab with traditional PCs that locked • Improved the writing proficiency of their students student work onto the devices. Teachers would need to reserve time in the often-overbooked lab in order to provide students access to the computers and their work.

“ Chromebooks are extremely low-cost and easy to run. Supporting a Chromebook is about 20% of the cost or less than a traditional laptop.” —Terry Korte, Educational Technology Planning Leader, Edmonton Public Schools

Solution In 2009, Edmonton decided to adopt Google Apps for Education for all students and staff, moving away from Microsoft Exchange. Google Apps for Education is a suite of communication and collaboration tools, free for schools. Thus, Edmonton could provide students and staff fast, simple access to learning tools like webmail services, shared calendaring, online document creation and sharing, and website creation at no cost. Terry Korte, the Educational Technology Coordinator for Edmonton Public Schools wanted to find affordable, manageable solutions to get educators and students access to what they needed. He reflects, “I’m constantly working with principals across the district to find new ways to help students in their quest to learn ‘through’ technology in the classroom, rather than ‘with’ technology in an IT lab. We encourage schools to pilot devices to determine what best suits the needs of their staff and students.” When Google Chromebooks became available in Canada in 2012, the district decided to pilot them across a number of schools. Chromebooks are Google’s laptops designed to make computing and information accessible to everyone. They offer an affordable way for students to learn through the web and gain quick access to Google Apps for working together. The pilot was a huge success and the district has since purchased an additional 7,500 Chromebooks. 25 About Google for Education technologies to improve learning for

C hromebooks – fast, secure, portable

1 Ease of setup and management Tablets with Google Play for Education –

you can set up and manage in minutes. Explore thousands of teacher-approved

G oogle Apps – a suite of communication and collaboration tools free for schools including email, calendar and documents accessible from any device, at any time adds Korte. google.com/edu

Improved writing skills

family members can access a student document and provide suggestions and

Increased communication and collaboration across the district

an online community to act as learning resources to each other.

“ Our personal lives have been transformed in recent years through advances in technology and there is no reason why this shouldn’t also their Google Apps account and use their Chromebooks as an integral part of their school life, just like they would have picked up a pen and a piece of paper not all that long ago.” —Terry Korte, Educational Technology Planning Leader, Edmonton Public Schools

© 2014 Google Inc. All rights reserved. Google and the Google logo are trademarks of Google Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. 140210 Milpitas Unified School District helps students take charge of learning using Google for Education tools

Background Milpitas Unified School District, based in Milpitas, California, is designing and equipping its 13 schools so that its 10,000 PreK-12 students can become self-directed lifelong learners. Milpitas USD has ambitious plans to become a leader in student-driven learning and use innovative approaches to boost educational quality and equity. As a district that didn’t even have wireless access until late 2012, Milpitas has transformed itself into a blended learning environment in which teachers craft personalized learning experiences What they wanted to do based on student performance data and empower students to teach • Teach students to become self-directed themselves — and one another. learners • Save teachers time with technology, so they Challenge could devote more attention to students • Give teachers more actionable data on Half of Milpitas district’s students are from immigrant families, and in some student performance schools, as many as 80% of students qualify for free and reduced-lunch programs. Despite the wide range of student backgrounds, teachers and What they did administrators work toward a common goal: using blended learning to • Augmented computer labs with meet students’ different learning needs and improve learning outcomes Chromebooks and Android tablets and engagement. in the classroom • Used Google Apps to make it easy for “Our motivation was to level the playing field,” explains Chin Song, the district’s students to work from any device, Director of Technology. “In the future, self-directed learners will have a greater wherever they are advantage in college and careers — but students can become self-directed • Gave teachers faster access to student no matter what socioeconomic class they’re in. If they learn how to find assessment data so they can adapt the resources they need, from any kind of device, they can learn anything, lessons as needed anytime, anywhere to help close the opportunity gap.”

What they accomplished For Song, who previously taught math and business, the key is using technology • Saved 10% of classroom time, equal to to help students discover knowledge on their own. However, the district’s 15 days per year per class computer labs were a barrier to learning. “We were using computers that took • Saved thousands of dollars each year on forever to boot up, and we didn’t have very many of them,” Song says. “When teaching and learning management tools students had the opportunity to use one in our computer labs, by the time a • Improved student behavior by increasing computer would load, they’d only have time to solve one math problem before engagement they’d have to rotate off the machine.” By upgrading technology, Song believed that teachers and students would not only gain more time to work together on projects, but would also generate more information about student progress and learning comprehension. “Teachers can improve learning only if they know how students are performing. Digital technology makes the data collection process easier and numerous. Our goal is to shorten the student data feedback loop to inform self-directed learning and instruction,” he explains.

Solution Milpitas USD needed to accomplish its goals while being smart with its money. “We receive about $7,000 in funding per student, compared to the $20,000+ that schools get in places like New York,” Song explains. “We’re also managing our IT needs with just a central staff of three technicians.” To accommodate these resource limitations, they transitioned their system in stages.

27 In 2011, the district began using Google Apps for Education, a free web-based “ Google aligns with our overall philosophy productivity suite with email, calendar and document creation. “We first started around hardware and software. We look for using Google Apps with our leadership team and with early adopters,” Song tools that meet the four foundational S’s — says. Staff and students began more widespread use of Google Apps in 2012, simple, scalable, sustainable, and shareable. once wireless infrastructure was installed in the district. With a small IT staff, we love the fact that Google Apps and devices are easy to deploy “Google aligns with our overall philosophy around hardware and software,” and are very scalable.” Song explains. “We look for tools that meet the four foundational S’s — simple, — Chin Song, Director of Technology, scalable, sustainable, and shareable. With a small IT staff, we love the fact that Milpitas Unified School District Google Apps and devices are easy to deploy and are very scalable.” In 2012, the district tested Chromebooks, Google’s laptop running Chrome OS,

with an initial rollout of 400 machines — and is now using 5,500 Chromebooks across their schools. Milpitas USD worked with the State of California to allow Chromebooks to be used for Common Core testing to ease the testing burden on administrators, teachers, and IT staff. The district embraces a “one to any” model, in which the goal is not to assign one device per student but rather allow students to choose what device they need, when they need it, in order to complete their work or learning. Towards this goal, in 2014 the district purchased Nexus tablets with Google Play for Education to help supplement their program. “Tablets are especially good for the pre-K and kindergarten classes, since students at that age are more comfortable with touch screen devices than keyboards,” Song says. Tablets have been used for such projects as school broadcasting, science labs, and special education. “Our pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and first-grade classrooms are using tablets with a great program by Agnitus that helps students accelerate learning,” he says.

Benefits Tablets, Chromebooks, and Google Apps help Milpitas make the most of limited resources. “We have to be extremely frugal, and Google Apps and devices are economical and they help students learn more efficiently and effectively,” Song says. The integration of collaborative tools and devices has helped teachers encourage self-directed learning. “Teachers will break students into groups of twos and threes, and give them projects based on their ability or skills they need to develop,” Song says. Teachers can then address the whole class, give them each their next assignment, and split them into different groups as needed. “It’s a much better way to allow students to work at their own pace,” Song adds. “And more often, you see students helping each other when they’re in smaller groups.” Teachers and students no longer need to wait around for computer labs, About Google for Education which results in more time for learning. And teachers also save time and Google for Education provides open paper by using Google Classroom to automatically create and manage technologies to improve learning for student assignments and to comment on students’ progress. everyone, anywhere. • Goo gle Apps for Education: A free suite of communication and collaboration “ We’re saving about 10% of class time in learning transitions, since tools — including Gmail, Classroom, students don’t have to wait for their turn in computer labs with slow, Docs and Drive — for learning anytime, on any device. outdated machines — or even spend time walking to a computer lab. • Cl assroom: A tool within the Google Apps That adds up to as many as 15 days of school each year, which for Education suite that allows educators translates into more time to learn and play.” to easily create, review, and organize — ict assignments, as well as communicate directly with students. • Chro mebooks: devices that update automatically, and are Chromebooks help make student assessments faster and easier to easy for schools to set up and manage. implement. “We use Chromebooks for 99% of our student assessments, Devices start at $149. • A ndroid: including our internal benchmark assessments as well as the new Smarter are easy for schools to set up and manage, Balanced Assessments,” Song says. “Last year during testing time, it took and designed for students to share. evices in • Goo gle Play for Education: A content store the district.” built just for schools, so teachers can get the right apps, books, and videos to the right Student engagement has also improved. When one Milpitas school switched students, right away. from a poorly equipped computer lab with old computers to devices in classrooms, behavior-related suspensions during hands-on computer time Learn more dropped to almost zero. “Students used to be cooped up in labs with too much For more information visit: google.com/edu time simply waiting to use computers,” Song says. “Now they’re free to choose how they want to do their classroom work, and they’re playing a role in how they learn. They’re not simply listening to teachers talk — they’re becoming teachers themselves, even as they learn.” This newfound capability will prepare students for the future, Song says: “When we provide personalized learning, each student leaves Mil prepared for what’s next in their lives. With the world’s information at their resources to realize their full potential.”

29 Huntsville Independent School District helps close the digital divide with Google Chromebooks and Apps

Background

Huntsville Independent School District (HISD) is a public school district in

Huntsville, Texas serving 6,300 students, ages 3–18, across 9 campuses. The

district focuses on delivering a broad educational experience, including access

to vocational learning, to ensure the future success of its students. HISD is especially committed to providing great opportunities and access to online learning resources to close the digital divide among a student population where 70% qualify for free or reduced school meals.

At a Glance Challenge What they wanted to do HISD wanted to change the way instruction was delivered and use technology • Allow students to use the internet to effectively to improve student engagement and learning. The district did not collaborate more efficiently and work have access to online educational resources across all its schools and students. together in new ways If teachers wanted to use technology in their classes, they first had to schedule • Provide students with access to online time in a lab that was consistently overtaxed with requests. As a first step, HISD learning resources in and out of the invested heavily in its wi-fi infrastructure, laying the foundation for use of online classroom educational resources in the classroom. What they did • Distribute Chromebooks to 800+ students The cost of hardware was also a major issue. The district’s IT team was stretched and staff (and growing!) managing an Exchange email server that constantly had problems and suffered • Provide all students with Google Apps viruses. Worst of all, this maintenance used funds that would have otherwise for Education accounts been used to acquire new devices for students. What they accomplished Amy Mayer, Director of Staff Development and District Initiatives for HISD, • Enable students to access more explains, “We badly needed a cost-effective, low maintenance approach to using information, work flexibly and become technology on a daily basis.” independent self-learners

“TherearenowmanyoccasionswhereIcanadaptmylessonplanbyfinding additionalactivitiesandsharedlearningexperiencestohelpthegroupor specificindividualsgodeeperonatopic.Thisamountofflexibilityismade

possiblethroughChromebooks.”

—CharlyBaker,Middleschoolmathteacher,HuntsvilleIndependent

School District

Solution The easy access to online resources, affordability and durability made Chromebooks the perfect option for HISD, which piloted 350 Chromebooks in junior high and high school in 2012. Chromebooks, Google’s laptop running Chrome OS, are fast, portable, secure devices that allow students to easily get online, find educational resources, and collaborate and learn.

The district also signed up for Google Apps for Education, which is a web-based productivity suite with email, calendar and document creation, free for schools. This meant that the costly, high maintenance Exchange server was no longer needed and time and resources could be re-focused elsewhere. “The convenience of having a device where everything is stored online and boots up at lightening speed means teachers can now use them in the classroom whenever they think they could help. When you consider all the software licenses, server investment and ongoing maintenance costs of running regular laptops, we were blown away by how cost-effective and practical the About Google for Education Google for Education provides open Chromebooks were,” adds Mayer. technologies to improve learning for everyone, anywhere. Benefits Huntsville now has over 800 Chromebooks and continues to purchase more. • Chromebooks – fast, secure, portable As Chromebooks take only seconds to boot up and allow for easy access to computers that allow students to collaborate and share their work. Google Apps and online resources, introducing them to staff and students was Devices start at $149 hassle-free and easy to manage right from the start.

• Tablets with Google Play for Education – Student-driven learning an affordable 1:1 tablet solution that The ability to use online resources has also made learning much more student- you can set up and manage in minutes. Explore thousands of teacher-approved centric and student-driven. Where students were formerly reliant on teachers apps, books, and videos. for answers and information, they’re now able to research topics independently. When they do call upon their teachers, it is no longer for fact-based answers, • Google Apps – a suite of communication and collaboration tools free for schools but rather for in-depth, creative questioning. In turn, the content students including email, calendar and documents produce is more substantial. accessible from any device, at any time One example is a project on the “Power for Food” where students kept a food For more information visit: journal for 7 days to understand what their nutritional intake was. Brenda google.com/edu Schultz, 7th grade math teacher, explains, “It was really interesting how involved the kids were with this project. If it had been on paper, it would have just been a table or a paragraph from a book but using Chromebooks and Google Apps, students developed richer projects, with detailed research supplemented by images and video content.”

More resources for teachers Chromebooks also give greater flexibility in lesson planning for teachers. Charly Baker, a middle school math teacher explains, “Chromebooks have challenged me to think outside of the box in terms of teaching. There are now many occasions where I can adapt my lesson plan by finding additional activities and shared learning experiences to help the group or specific individuals go deeper on a topic. This amount of flexibility is made possible through Chromebooks.”

Increased access to learning—anytime, anywhere Students can also take Chromebooks home and for some, this was the first time they had access to such technology and learning resources out of the classroom. With Google docs, students can access all their documents created in class from any location and continue their work from home. This ease of access makes a particular difference for students trying to balance financial needs of supporting their family with part-time jobs and completing their studies. Susan Cason, high school math teacher, recounted, “One of my students has a part-time job to help his family pay bills. His grades used to suffer as his time after school was spent working. The Chromebook allows him to get all his learning and school work done during the school day in a more productive way or at home after his job. He can also supplement his learning through online videos. As a result, his grades are improving.”

“TheimpactofChromebookswithinourclassroomsandthewiderteacher/ parentcommunityhasbeenphenomenal.Wehavehadparentsliterallyburst intotearswithgratitudethattheirchildren’sschoolcansupplysomethingso potentiallylife-changingthattheycouldn’taffordtoprovide—theaccessto onlinelearningresourcesbothinschoolandathome.” —AmyMayer,DirectorofStaffDevelopmentandDistrictInitiatives, HuntsvilleIndependentSchoolDistrict

31 Challenge to Excellence Charter School students explore the world using Android tablets with Google Play for Education

Institution The Challenge to Excellence Charter School (C2E), in Parker, Colorado, serves 510 students in the Douglas County School District. C2E specializes in math, science, and technology for its K-8 classes. Students come from a range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds: many speak Hindi, Bengali, Russian, and Spanish in addition to English.

About Challenge to Excellence Creating a culture of mobility and access Charter School When Beth Mossholder joined C2E as a fourth-grade teacher in 2006, shortly • Charter school serving 510 students in after the school’s founding, she found very little technology to share with Douglas County, Colorado • Focus on science, math, and technology students. “There was no Wi-Fi, and I brought in my own laptop and router to • Google Apps for Education user since 2010 create a hotspot,” recalls Mossholder, who’s now the school’s K-8 technology • Chromebooks user since 2013 teacher. • Nexus 7 tablets user since 2014 By 2010, the school had wireless access building wide. “I had a vision for going paperless,” says Mossholder. Before, C2E students used paper planners to keep Goals track of classes and homework; if they lost the planners, they didn’t have a • Help students and teachers stay organized record of their assignments. and eliminate slow paper processes • Give younger students access to technology Mossholder thought adoption of Google Apps for Education could not only help tools the school go paperless, but also solve other challenges like making it easier • Empower students to find information for staff to communicate outside of school hours. “I told my boss we wouldn’t online, teach themselves, and become accountable for their own education have to come back to school at night just to get our email—we could all be more mobile,” Mossholder says. Approach Today, students manage classwork using Google Calendar. They can subscribe • Give students and teachers a single log-in to their teachers’ calendars, and teachers also post the calendars online so for all class projects with Google Apps parents can see what’s going on in class. “It’s been great for our students • Bring tablets to kindergarten and first- and who are on the autism spectrum, for whom organization can be a challenge,” second-grade classrooms to help students start learning to use technology for learning Mossholder says. • Allow teachers to find the apps they need “Google Calendar helps us hold kids accountable because they can access their for their classrooms online calendars, which powers the planner, from anywhere,” says Linda Parker, principal of C2E. “We wanted to eliminate the ‘I don’t have homework, Mom’ Results syndrome. Now parents can download the teachers’ calendars themselves.” • Introduced new ways of learning outside Replacing paper planners with Google Apps was also a boon for the school the classroom budget: C2E is saving the $2,500 yearly costs for the planners, and has allowed • Empowered teachers to download apps that respond to specific class needs, like special the school to reduce student fees. education reading and writing tools • Students teach each other Empowering students to learn and explore together Excited by these positive changes, technology integration specialist Julie Stewart applied for an EdTechTeam grant to bring Android tablets with Google Play for Education to C2E. “We wanted to get kids used to technology from an early age, and also wanted devices that they could take home,” she says. The EdTechTeam grant gave Stewart 25 Nexus 7 tablets for her classroom. Google Play for Education empowered C2E teachers to find and share fun and educational apps for their classrooms. Google Play for Education contains badges that show which apps have been approved by educators, and teachers can browse by grade, subject, and educational standard to find just the right Google for Education Google for Education provides open apps for student activities. technologies to improve learning for “I used to spend my nights and weekends searching for apps that teachers everyone, anywhere. Solutions consist of needed,” says Mossholder. “Now teachers have the power to get creative affordable devices, innovative tools, and educational content designed for learning about finding apps on their own.” Mandy Krien, the school’s special education and built for the classroom. teacher, was an early adopter of Google Play for Education. She located an app called Read & Write that helps children with learning difficulties to write and For more information, visit: communicate. www.google.com/edu Third-grade teacher Sean Carmody also likes to search for apps that can help students work on their own, even when the whole class is studying the same concept. “I like using Math Pack and Math Evolve because they have various levels of difficulty,” Carmody explains. “My students can work at their own pace, and challenge themselves to get to the next level.” “Students are empowered to find their own answers, which places them on a path to And students have weighed in on the appeal of tablets and apps as well. “They becoming leaders. They know that no matter helped me learn by opening another world to technology,” says Laura, a fourth- how old they are or what grade they’re in, grader who used tablets in the second and third grades. “I learned new and cool they’re all smart and capable.” —Beth Mossholder, K-8 Technology Teacher, things by fun apps that were like games, but make your mind smarter too.” Director of Instructional Technology, Challenge to Excellence Charter School Taking virtual field trips using tablets Teachers have been pleasantly surprised at the creative ways that tablets can enhance lessons. When Aryaman, a second-grade student, told classmates he was going on a family trip to India, Stewart had an inspiration. “I decided that a tablet was going with him to India, so he could take pictures,” she says. “He started emailing us amazing photos, and I thought, ‘this is like a virtual field trip for the kids.’ ” Back at school, students used their tablets and Google Earth to research where their classmate was traveling, including landmarks such as the Taj Mahal. “When the student came back from his trip, his classmates showed him all the pictures and information they’d collected,” says Stewart. “You could feel their excitement—the project helped take my students outside the four walls of the classroom.”

Students on a path to leadership C2E now uses 105 tablets for kindergarten, first- and second-grade classrooms, and offers 1:1 tablets in second grade as well as 1:1 Chromebooks in grades three through eight. Across grades and subjects, teachers and students are exploring new ways to dive deeper on class projects. “When a couple of second-grade kids became interested in World War II, we asked my friend’s father, a veteran, to talk to our students about his experiences as a soldier,” says Stewart. “The kids used their tablets to read a news article about the veteran and the war, then they collected their questions on a Google Sheet and talked to the veteran using a Google Hangout. It was wonderful to see a group of eight-year-olds interacting with a 95-year-old.” During projects like this one, Mossholder and Stewart realize how technology changes the teaching and learning dynamics in C2E classrooms. “I had my big ‘aha’ moment when I saw that teachers were no longer standing in front of the classroom with a line of students waiting to ask for help,” Mossholder says. “Students are empowered to find their own answers, which places them on a path to becoming leaders. They know that no matter how old they are or what grade they’re in, they’re all smart and capable.”

33 Upper Grand School District turns to Android tablets and Google Play for Education to teach students anytime anywhere

About Upper Grand School District The Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) serves rural and suburban communities in the Wellington and Dufferin Counties in Ontario, Canada. The district’s 2,500 teachers educate a total of 33,000 students. To achieve its goal of high graduation and literacy rates, the district focuses on setting up all students for success, regardless of their learning profiles.

About Upper Grand School District Goals (UGDSB) UGDSB subscribes to the philosophy called universal design for learning, which • www.ugdsb.on.ca provides the supports necessary to give each student an equal opportunity. In • Guelph, Ontario • 33,000 students accordance with this approach, teachers reduce barriers to learning in order to meet the individual learning needs of students. The district realized the potential for technology to enable students to access learning and to demonstrate their Goals • Support universal learning with technology understanding. that would help students learn and express “We put an emphasis on learning for all, making sure all students succeed,” their knowledge in different ways says Bill MacKenzie, IT/Program Liaison at UGDSB. “For example, when we were using technology with special needs students, we also realized that all students Approach could benefit from that type of learning.” • Provided students and teachers with Google Nexus 7 tablets and Google Play UGDSB weighed the pros and cons of various tablets and struggled to find a for Education device that had strong enterprise management tools for setting up devices, distributing apps, and managing accounts. Fortunately, Android tablets, in Results combination with Google Play for Education, provided an all-in-one solution for • Expanded learning resources to device management and collaborative learning. Since teachers and students accommodate all learning styles were already using Chromebooks and had log-ins via Google Apps for Education • Encouraged students to collaborate in the district’s Google domain, adding and integrating tablets was simple. seamlessly Solution UGDSB piloted Nexus 7 tablets with Google Play for Education in early 2014, by introducing the tablets in classrooms with special needs students and observing if, and how, they would change students’ learning. Teachers noticed that students felt comfortable using the devices and that it made the classroom more interactive and engaging. Students were able to shape their learning and the type of content that they accessed. For example, students who struggled with forming sentences on paper and grasped auditory learning were able to dictate stories by using the voice input option built into the Android keyboard. When they saw the story that they wrote through dictation, their faces lit up with excitement at what they accomplished. That watershed moment was when the district decided to embrace tablets and digital learning to enhance curriculum delivery. Today, the district has 500 Nexus 7 tablets and 6,000 Chromebooks that provide a secure, centralized solution for learning and collaboration. Teachers can use Google Play for Education to send educational apps and games to students without needing the intervention of the IT department. Students can collaborate on school projects and edit each other’s work on tablets. “As one example, working with student-directed STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Science) construction projects, students are regularly communicating with me and other team members through a shared document,” says David Scott, a grade five teacher at Westminster Woods Public School. “They are documenting their plans through text, showing their progress through photographs, and discussing future directions for their projects. There is a very genuine dialogue that captures both their thinking and their ability to problem solve their way through situations.”

Benefits Deeper engagement The apps in Google Play for Education give students, especially those with special needs, the opportunity to interact with different types of educational content. “A couple of students, who struggle academically and tend to have lower self-esteem, blossomed when they used the tablet and Chromebook,” says Joe Commadari, a junior teacher at Gateway Drive Public School. “This technological venue provided an opportunity for them to demonstrate their intelligence.”

Easy management The IT Department has greatly appreciated the ease of managing resources and student accounts in Google Play for Education. Setting up the Nexus tablets is seamless—teachers can use the tablets within minutes of opening the boxes. Teachers easily manage apps and accounts, so they no longer feel inhibited by technology. Since teachers and students are using Google Apps for Education, when they open their tablets they enter a personalized environment. They can easily access the apps sent to them via Google Play for Education, and pick up where they left off. Teachers assign students specific content based on their interests and needs. For example, when kindergartners need help with counting and math basics, teachers give them additional opportunities to practice by assigning the Kindergarten Kids Math Lite app.

Simplicity In UGDSB schools, technology gets out of the way, so teachers can focus on teaching and students can learn without distractions. Students seamlessly access content in Google Apps for Education or web-based interfaces. Using the tablets in the classroom is second nature for students and teachers.

“The tablet has changed my classroom in a number of ways. The change started with understanding that the tablet, that each student was about to be assigned, was an important tool that would enable them to become convergent learners; learners that would shape the form of learning and to some degree the content of learning as well.” —Joe Commadari, Junior Teacher at Gateway Drive Public School

35 Google for Education Collaboration Google for Education provides open Tablets give students and teachers the ability to interact and collaborate in the technologies to improve learning for classroom and beyond. Rather than teachers lecturing in front of the class, everyone, anywhere. Solutions consist of students are able to take the spotlight by projecting their screens in order to affordable devices, innovative tools, and share their work with classmates. educational content designed for learning and built for the classroom. Students edit each other’s work, leading to a deeper level of knowledge sharing. Using technology and collaborating with classmates becomes a game instead For more information, visit: of a chore. Students love sharing their photos and documents in Google Drive www.google.com/edu across devices by bumping one device to another, what the kids call “high

fiving.”

“My students have been really excited to share the work they do in a safe place. They get a lot of peer feedback from their friends, and I know that the work they produce—or if we create a class blog—the comments we get are going to be from their peers.” —Andrew Cloutier, Elementary School Curriculum Leader at USGD

Secure, shareable devices Each tablet holds up to five student log-ins, so students have control and ownership over content in their personalized accounts. Secure log-ins erase the fear that some kids have of a classmate viewing her photos, documents, or saved resources. “Students are more engaged with tasks, and they recognize situations when their ideas and approaches can be supported by the technologies available to them on their tablets,” Scott says. “They have the confidence required to pursue these avenues of inquiry independently.” With tablets in 20 schools, UGDSB has become a leader in technology for education. By sharing their impact, the district has inspired educational leaders in Canada and beyond to introduce Nexus 7 tablets and Google Play for Education into their classrooms and schools.

© 2015 Google Inc. All rights reserved. Google and the Google logo are trademarks of Google Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. 150331 Mounds View schools boost student preparedness with all-day kindergarten using Android tablets with Google Play for Education

The equity promise Mounds View Public Schools serves more than 10,000 students in the suburbs of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The district’s teachers and administrators embrace the idea of the “equity promise,” ensuring that all students will be prepared for postsecondary success regardless of race, class, or disability.

“We want our students to be ready for any option they choose after they leave About Mounds View Public high school,” explains Susan Herder, the district’s instructional technology Schools’ Technology coordinator. “The equity promise idea affects everything we do—like how • School district in Minneapolis/St. Paul we personalize learning or give students greater access to learning tools.” suburbs serving more than 10,000 students • Google Apps for Education since 2010 Paving the way for student success • Chromebooks since 2012 In 2010, Herder began the search for new tools to improve sharing and storage. • Nexus 7 tablets since 2014 “We didn’t have ways to hold onto information—students’ work would be wiped out every summer when we cleaned out our servers,” Herder says. Goals • Prepare all students for postsecondary The district chose Google Apps for Education for the collaboration and success document access tools that previous server systems lacked. “Now students • Improve document sharing and have a complete record of their work, and they can work on assignments at collaboration for teachers and students the library or at home without the need to be in a school building,” Herder says. • Offer more teaching and learning options for all-day kindergarten Google Apps also makes life easier for teachers, says Jenny Heyer, a kindergarten teacher at Island Lake Elementary School: “We often take part in professional Approach learning communities, talking about new ideas for improving student • Give kindergartners access to fun and achievement,” she says. “We can work together even if we’re not in the same engaging apps place using Google Hangouts and Google Docs.” To meet demands of learning • Encourage teachers to personalize learning assessments, the district also purchased 3,000 Chromebooks for classrooms • Provide students with work portfolios using in grades 3 to 12. Google Docs • Help teachers meet and share ideas with Google Hangouts Changing the instructional model When Mounds View Public Schools introduced all-day kindergarten in fall 2014—a key step in the district’s equity promise strategy—Herder and the Results district’s kindergarten teachers had to make the most of the extra teaching • Students work at their own speed using guided learning apps time. “Going to all-day kindergarten changes the instructional model,” Herder • Teachers customize learning for student needs says. “How do you structure the longer days? How do you give every child • Students learn faster through recording personalized learning?” reading sessions and video projects Tablets, Herder decided, would help teachers bring innovative learning tools to kindergartners—but the question was which tablet to choose. Herder and the teachers considered a number of different tablets, but Herder liked the format and management tools of the Nexus 7 tablets with Google Play for Education and purchased 200 tablets to start.

Guided, personalized reading and math lessons As all-day kindergarten debuted, teachers used Nexus 7 tablets to help students learn on their own. Kindergartners learn at their own speed, completing and redoing exercises until they’re confident in their learning.

37 Lynn Erickson, a kindergarten teacher at Island Lake Elementary School, uses Google for Education • Google for Education provides open the tablets during guided reading and math time. For example, the Raz-Kids technologies to improve learning for app allows students to listen to a book, read along with the text, and record everyone, anywhere. Solutions consist themselves reading—which helps Erickson save time. “I can continue to of affordable devices, innovative tools, instruct the class, and I can listen to each student’s recording later,” she says. and educational content designed for learning and built for the classroom. Creative exercises reinforce good behavior, open up classroom • Google Classroom is a teacher-focused to parents application that brings together all the Instead of simply lecturing very young students on the basics of good classroom parts of Google Apps—including Google Drive, Google Docs, and Google behavior, Erickson lets students show each other what good behavior looks like Presentations—and helps teachers keep using the tablets and their cameras. “I record students making good choices class projects organized and communicate about how they work together with their classmates and show self-control,” better with students. Erickson explains. “We watch the videos later, or look at photos and talk about • Google Apps is a free suite of communication what it means to be a well-behaved student.” and collaboration tools for schools including email, calendar, and documents accessible Heyer has also used the tablets’ recording feature to bring students’ technology from any device, at any time. experience closer to parents. “I let the kids make videos of each other, and then • Chromebooks are fast, secure, portable I email the videos to parents,” Heyer says. “The parents were very impressed computers that allow students to collaborate with what their kids were doing with the technology.” and share their work. Devices start at $249 and are easy to set up and manage. • Android tablets are affordable devices that are easy for schools to set up and manage, “ We’re giving students power and choices when we let them learn on their and designed for students to share. own. It not only helps us meet everyone’s needs individually, but it makes • Google Play for Education is a content store learning fun.” built just for schools, so teachers can get the —Lynn Erickson, Kindergarten Teacher, Mounds View Public Schools right apps and books to the right students, right away. Greater teacher flexibility and control For more information visit: www.google.com/edu Kindergarten teachers can also bring more creativity to their classrooms using Google Play for Education to choose apps that get students excited about learning. Google Play for Education was one of the factors that led to the choice of Nexus 7 tablets for the new all-day kindergarten classes, says Herder. “With other devices like iPads, getting permission to choose and implement an app was time-consuming,” she says. “We had to request funding every time a teacher wanted to download apps.” Google Play for Education lets teachers individually choose and download apps to their classroom’s tablets. “Management is minimal,” Herder says, and teachers became experts on using the Google Play for Education store after simply studying a short Google Doc created by Herder. Says Erickson, “Since it’s so easy to find and choose apps, we can take risks and try out different apps for different skills.” As the district adjusts to its all-day kindergarten schedule, teachers are confident they’re meeting the promise to help even the youngest learners get ready for years of productive classroom time. “We’re giving students power and choices when we let them learn on their own,” Erickson says. “It not only helps us meet everyone’s needs individually, but it makes learning fun.”