New York Schools Choose Google Apps

Google is replacing Microsoft in a bid to provide collaboration software for more than 3.1 million students in New York state. The NYIT (New York Institute of Technology) has agreed to use the Google Apps for Education for all K-12 schools through the state, Stanley Silverman, director of Technology Based Learning Systems and professor in NYIT’s School of Education, told eWEEK in an interview Oct. 5.

Students in 697 public school districts Silverman oversees are using Google Apps’ Gmail, Google Docs, Calendar and other collaboration tools, replacing the Microsoft Office suite in many instances. Silverman’s team at the non-profit NYIT is creating a network of certified trainers to teach faculty and staff how to use Google Apps.

Silverman said he and his team chose Google Apps over the Office suite to save money from conducting maintenance, upgrades and hiring specialized IT management personnel by moving to the cloud computing environment Google espouses. Schools, he said, were paying $20 and in some cases $60 per student to use Microsoft Office.

For more, read the eWeek article Google Apps Subs for Microsoft Office in New York Schools.