There seems to be no other way of actually managing a large number of Google accounts then working through a domain. So today I registered through Google priestsic.net for our school and began exploring the apps that are now available.
To my surprise Google Notebook is missing from the list which is a great shame as I consider it to be perhaps the tool with the most potential to school users. However there is still the ability to personalise the start page (iGoogle page) for a user. So as a teacher I can add locked content (widgetty thingies) and the others can be personalised – this is ideal.
My advice then currently to anyone planning on exploring the setup of Google accounts is to stump up the £4.91 or whatever it was for the domain name and go through the process of having a central place you can manage the accounts. I think that although there may be some bits and pieces missing in this single sign in, namely Google Notebook and Reader, the time saved due to management outweighs it.
So I am going to create a separate class Google account to share work in other apps such as Google Reader and Notebook. This afternoon I explored how Notebook worked when two people were working in the same login, it seemed to hold out OK, both views of the same notebook updating as the other worked on it. Not ideal, but would allow a class of children to work on research together and get the most from this excellent tool, sidestepping the issue of the app missing as mentioned above.
Further to my ideas related to Notebook, a single sign-in poses a new problem as there is no direct indication of who is adding what. So titles of notebooks could name specific tasks or children, to allow them to add the content in the correct place and for us to properly monitor and respond to what is happening. Imagine then a series of guided reading sessions during a week of literacy work, where children add the answers to Diigo set questions on a specific text – each child opens the notebook via the FF extension and navigates to the correct notebook (either by name or by task) adding their responses which are now labelled due to there location. Complete Notebooks could be archived into Google Docs so the list does not get too crowded over time.
In addition I have also signed up for a class Diigo account so that we can share annotations and signpost online text to children.
Hi Ken – many thanks for chasing some of these ideas for me they have been really helpful. As for the offer of your admin work around I will need to get stuck into using the hosted service for a while to see if I need such a solution.
Thanks again for your help though.
Long time no speak…
Although I think my role for Hosted Google is a little different than yours, you may have a need for this so…
We use Gmail & Apps mostly for the faculty and I am an outside service provider. As such there is a need for an “on-site” administrator who I’d rather not make an administrator for several reasons. So, I acquired and modified some Google APIs to allow the on-site guy & a few others in case he’s not around; the ability to reset passwords. The “admins” me the principal/dean/Business Manager and the batch account are protected from reset.
If you need this, I’ll gladly give it to you… Please contact me privately via email if you’d like a walk through its functions…
Ken
Tom,
I actually know a developer in India who works at Google Labs. I just sent her an IM and the deed was did.
I know someone at the largest & the third largest software developers in the world too…
What do you mean Education Edition doesn’t work for international sites? Aren’t ALL sites international by definition? If you mean “hosted” in the US, well we can fix that too! 😀
Your question isn’t quite fair. I don’t know you so I have no perspective.
Ken
Hi Ken
thanks for the comments ( I read your other one along the same lines), when you mentioned you were going to contact someone at Google Labs I did think – “you know someone who knows someone…” 6 degrees of separation (or is that less!)
Thanks for chasing that for me, I will give it a whirl soon – if it works I will post something about it today. I am still not on the Education Edition, don’t think it works for international sites as yet when I read the help centre info. Let me know if you know any different.
By the way, am I lucky or am I lazy or just successful? 🙂
Tom
Google Notebook is not missing you just have to know how to make it work. I contacted someone I know in Google Labs was told that any of the apps that are “Graduates of Labs” should be integrated into the Hosted Education Edition. Now I’ve only tested this on Notebooks and it seems to work.
Please visit the tutorial I’ve posted a tutorial on how to make Notebooks work on http://www.pencadercharter.org/google
Ken
“good luck is a lazy man’s excuse for not being successful… so I wish you success…”
Hi,
Glad that you find Diigo useful. I’ve added some in-line comments on your post.
cheers,
Maggie