5 Things Every NZ School Should Know About the Google Agreement
- By CDOTrends editors
- May 04, 2022
Google for Education has been introduced to all state and state-integrated schools in New Zealand. Through a joint agreement between Google and the Ministry of Education, students and teachers access digital learning tools, such as the state-funded Chrome Education Upgrade and Google Workspace for Education Plus licenses.
What is the Google Agreement?
The Google agreement aims to make the user experience more secure and functional, taking some day-to-day management out of schools' hands. It will allow both users and administrators to manage devices seamlessly through cloud-based services. The addition of secure management capabilities will enable schools to take advantage of cloud applications' "always-on" nature.
The Google Agreement started on July 1, 2021, and will run until June 30, 2024.
Here are five things every New Zealand school needs to know about the Google Agreement.
What is Google for Education, and what can you get from it?
Google for Education agreement gives schools the Google Chrome Education Upgrade, which provides students with a better experience using Chromebooks. The new Google Workspace for Education Plus is an upgraded version of their previous Google Apps for Education.
How can the Chrome Education Upgrade help schools? Schools will be able to create a personalized, safe and secure, school-wide experience, which includes:
- select apps for student devices so they have the right apps they need;
- prevent anyone from un-enrolling their managed Chromebook from the school’s domain, minimizing lost and stolen devices; and
- manage student sign-in to prioritize educational use of devices during school hours.
How can the Google Workspace for Education Plus help schools?
Google Workspace for Education Plus features enhanced tools that enable digital transformation with premium teaching and learning capabilities like:
- up to 250 active participants in a Meet call, with live stream options;
- breakout rooms and live Q&A within Meet;
- enhanced Google Classroom add-ons to focus on learning; and
- data exports to help give an overview of learning.
Which schools are covered by the agreement?
The New Zealand Ministry of Education has announced that all state and state-integrated schools will receive the Chrome Education Upgrade and Google Workspace for Education Plus for free. Independent schools can also receive a 20% discount on license costs by contacting a Google Education Partner.
Is there any training provided for schools?
Google’s Teacher Centre features free resources on Workspace for Education, including a training module for Chromebooks. It is a free, interactive online platform created by educators for educators.
Image credit: iStockphoto/Asadnz