If so, you probably already have some form of letter you send home to parents explaining how and what GAFE's are and how they will be used in your classroom.
If your board is new to GAFE's, here is a sample letter home:
Dear Parents and Students,
As part of your learning here at ______________, you will be introduced to Google Apps for Education (GAFE); primarily your very own email account. Your new email address will appear as firstname.lastname@______student.com (Your School board acronym is usually placed here)
How is this different from your own personal email or GMail? It comes with access to a multitude of applications that you either won’t have previously heard about, or never used before signing up for your new course.
GAFE also has a number of important distinctions when compared to free email services, beit either outlook or GMail. GAFE is far more secure than your personal free account. GAFE is used at almost all grade levels within the board, and therefore needs to be safe and secure for all of our student users. Two major important distinctions: GAFE does not allow for any adverting within its accounts; and it does not mine your personal data. Both occur regularly within your personal free account.
GAFE will allow you to work in the cloud with all of its apps, from the most basic Google Docs, to more complex ones like Hangout. It will allow you to collaborate with your peers without having to actually meet face to face when your schedules do not align. GAFE also grants its users additional storage and space on both your GAFE GMail and Drive. What is a Google Drive? It is an online hard drive that keeps track of all your work. The dog will never even get close to eating your English homework again!
Have you been worried about not owing a word processing software, and don’t necessarily trust the free download equivalents? That is no problem with GAFE. There is nothing to install or download (unless you want to work offline). Working in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides is as easy as using any MS-Office suite; with the added benefit that your work will save every few seconds so you will rarely-if ever lose your work again. Almost all GAFE’s will allow you to export your work into a compatible file format to use should you ever get a word processing suite.
It is important to note, that you will continue to have access to your GAFE account as long as you are a registered student with the ______.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. Please keep an eye on the school newsletter, as we will be planing a GAFE Information Session to show students and parents how to use applications and Google Calendar as an agenda in the coming weeks.
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