Google Apps for Education
Google Apps for Education is a set of web-based tools that are always on and running in a web browser, without buying or installing software. By using an email address as a login to the service, users can easily access different types of tools and services from any computer with an Internet connection (Educause, 2008). For instance, Gmail which is entirely compatible with POP and IMAP enables teachers and students to communicate via email and provide each user with 7GB of storage. Google Hangouts is a communication platform which includes instant messaging, video chat, SMS, and VOIP features. The third communication tool is Google Calendar which is a time-management web tool to share schedule instantly that puts everyone on campus “on the same page” (Mansour, 2013).
Google Drive is an additional service that provides users with unlimited space to create Google Docs including text files, spreadsheets, presentations, and forms. It is a real-time collaboration tool that allows teachers and students to work on the same document from remote locations, and automatically save every change made. The Drive also gives 5GB of additional storage. The Group App is another service that enables students to create groups and work in teams. Additionally, Google Sites offers teachers an easy tool for making and managing educational Sites without having knowledge of HTML or any other programming language (Google, 2015; Mansour, 2013). Furthermore, teachers can utilize a wide range of extra services, e.g., Google Plus, Blogger, YouTube, and Translate. Not only does Google provide these apps at no cost, but also allows educational institutions to use their own domain name with the service. Google also allows institutions to customize the Google Apps interface to mirror and meet their branding objectives (Educause, 2008).