Protect Your Google Account with 2-Step Verification

If you are anything like me, you use your Google account for everything. All of my files are in Drive, my emails are in Gmail, my pictures are in Photos, and my events are in Calendar.

As convenient and useful as this is, having all of your data in one place should also encourage us to stop and think about security. How secure is your account? If someone were to access your account, what would they have access to?

Now hopefully you don't have your password written on a post-it note stuck to your monitor (please say you don't), but if you are like most people, you probably are not doing anything extra to protect your account.

In this post we will take a look at this super simple, yet powerful, tool to help protect your Google account and everything you have saved in it. If you are a Google user, it is time to step up your account security with 2-Step Verification!

Using Android Apps on Chromebooks

One of the best new features for Chromebooks is the ability to run Android apps. In addition to all of the things Chromebooks can already access and run, such as web sites, web apps, and web extensions, many Chromebooks can now also run Android apps, opening the door to a vast amount of new learning tools for students.

However, to be able to run these Android apps, there are certain requirements to meet and steps to take. In this blog post we will take a look at what is needed to accomplish this, both for personal Chromebooks and for those managed by a school. In a later post, we will build on this to take a look at many examples of great Android apps to use in the classroom.

66 Question Checklist for Rolling Out Google Apps

Every day more and more schools move to Google Apps for Education. It is a powerful solution to meet many needs for students and staff. Some benefits include:

• Programs - A wide variety of online tools including Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Gmail, Calendar, Sites, Classroom, Hangouts, and much more.
• Third Party Tools - Thousands of useful Add-ons, Web Apps, and Extensions to provide more features.
• Modularity - Choose just the tools you want to use, and who has access to them.
• Updates - Frequent automatic updates to all the tools so you always have the latest versions with the newest features.
• Central Management - Simple online management of all users, programs, and devices,
• 21st Century Skills - Support for the skills our students needs for their future including collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking.
• Price - It’s free!

So it is easy to see why so many schools are adopting Google Apps for Education. However, what may not be as easy is the process of deploying Google Apps for your district. There are a lot of questions to consider, options to choose, and steps to take to get from start to finish in a complete roll out.

I get the privilege of working with loads of schools on all aspects of Google Apps including initial setup, Active Directory Sync, email migration, Chromebook deployment, admin console settings and best practices, and all related professional development for teachers, techies, and administrators. One of the first steps in the roll out process is a checklist of questions I have the schools work through to determine their unique wants, needs, steps and plan for Google Apps.

See the rest of the blog post below for my list of deployment questions, as well as a Google Doc version you can copy and use for your own district. Hopefully these questions will help you think through all the options, catch some issues you may not have considered, and work out a plan for your next steps.

Addressing student cheating in Google Apps

Modern technology provides schools with amazing options for the "4 C's" - Creativity, Communication, Collaboration, and Critical thinking.

Unfortunately it also provides new opportunities for a fifth "C" - Cheating.

21st century technology gives students new ways to plagiarize or share work. As more and more schools embrace technology, Google Apps, Chromebooks, and more, what are we to do to address the issues of academic integrity?

I recently recorded a one-hour webinar on this topic. In the video training we take a look at cheating as well as possible options to help address the issue. These include non-technology options, as well as technology tools and resources that can help prevent or investigate cheating.

You can watch the video below, access the linked resources for the session, and read an abbreviated overview of the webinar content in the rest of the blog post:

Why should schools use GAFE instead of personal Google accounts?

Google provides free Google accounts to anyone. You can easily sign up for an account and get an email address like [email protected], and get access to most all of Google’s tools such as Drive, Calendar, Sites, and more.

However, Google also provides schools with a different kind of account. Schools can get Google Apps for Education accounts, which we will call GAFE for short from here on out. Many schools around the world have rolled out GAFE to over 40 million students, but there are still many schools that may be considering this option.

Schools may wonder if users can get regular Google accounts, why should schools get GAFE accounts instead? Wouldn’t it be fine for staff and students to just use personal Gmail accounts?

It turns out that although personal Google accounts and GAFE accounts are similar, Google Apps for Education actually provides schools with a large number of additional features and tools that are not found in personal accounts, and are tailor made for the needs of a school.

See below to learn about many differences and benefits for using Google Apps for Education accounts in a school setting. You can click through the slideshow, read the blog post, or both. If you can think of other special features of GAFE versus personal accounts, feel free to add them to the comments below.

Making Gmail Safe for Schools

It is important for our students to effectively and appropriately communicate and collaborate with others, and email is a valuable tool, among many, to help students do this. Schools can, and should, be an ideal environment where students can learn how to communicate digitally, which is a skill they will need for the rest of their lives.

However sometimes schools can be hesitant to turn on Gmail for their students. They may worry about who students are sending email to, and who they are receiving it from. Schools may be concerned about the content of the messages as well.

Thankfully Google Apps for Education provides several tools and features to help schools provide a safer, more controlled environment for students to use Gmail. I recently did a one-hour webinar that takes a close look at these options. To learn more you can view the recorded webinar below, check out my detailed help guide and help resources, and read through the summary in the rest of the post below.