Welcome to the Cobry Cafetiere of Cloud Knowledge - our weekly dose of Cloud and Caffeine. Here, we encourage you to learn with us about all things Google Workspace. This week, we are discussing the powerful platform that is Google for Education. Coffees at the ready - let's get started! 

Google for Education provides teachers and students with the hardware and software needed to collaborate effortlessly and empower learning. The tools included are all built with education in mind and are easy to use and integrate with chrome devices. 

Education vs Workspace - what's the difference?

Whilst Google for Education and Google Workspace provide educational facilities (or organisations) with similar capabilities, there are some differences. Most notable is that the Google for Education entry tier is free. This means that qualifying institutions can benefit from Google tools including Google Classroom, Drive, Calendar, Docs, Sheet, Slides and more, for no cost at all. Additionally, the education configuration is normally different to workspace. Education admins can disable access to some services to protect students from unsuitable content on the web. 

Google For Education Enterprise

The possibilities, however, don’t end there. Education Enterprise includes a whole host of other features including:

• enhanced security tools
• more control over data
• robust video meeting capabilities

As of December 2020, the price for Enterprise education is £3.50 per user per month (subject to change). Our Google for Education web page provides you with all the details you need to get started or upgrade to Enterprise. 

What is Google Classroom 

Google Classroom is an app which is designed specifically for facilitating teaching and learning, available on mobile and desktop. It incorporates tools that simplify class management and streamline processes. Thus, leaving more time for valuable teacher-student interaction.Teachers can communicate with their classes by posting announcements on a newsfeed, with the option to allow or disable student interaction. Additionally, Google Classroom contains sections dedicated to class members, assignments and grades which all seamlessly integrate with Google tools such as Docs, Forms and Meet.

One great feature in Google Classroom is that teachers can use Google Forms to create pre-marked tests. This means that students will get their results immediately and teachers will save marking time.

Cobry’s Google for Education training

At Cobry, we believe in empowering our customers by providing them with top quality training sessions. This is no different for Google Education. We tailor our training sessions to admin staff or teachers so that each type of user gets the most out of their Google for Education experience. The Admin training focuses on all of the Google tools as well as important security features and admin settings that they may use in their positions. Teachers also learn how to use the Google tools in the context of Google Classroom, where they will be using these tools daily. 

Get in touch for more information about all things Google for Education, from deployment and training to upgrading. That's all for now, see you back here next week for another cafetiere! If you'd like to chat, though, drop your email down below!