Janet, part of the Jisc group, whose primary purpose is to provide network infrastructure and related services for schools, colleges and universities in the UK, has announced a major framework agreement with Google Apps for Education. The agreement will make it easier for colleges and universities to make the move to Google Apps for Education and open up the free online collaboration and communication benefits it offers to more staff and students.
The framework agreement will mean that colleges and universities in the UK are now eligible to sign up to Google Apps for Education using a contract approved by Janet, as meeting UK legal requirements. This Cloud Services for Education Agreement will give colleges and universities peace of mind in relation to security, resilience, legal and data compliance, cost and functionality.
There are more than 25 million Google Apps for Education users worldwide and many different use cases. Students working on group projects can work simultaneously in real-time in documents, spreadsheets and presentations, no matter where they are based, making it easier to share ideas and preventing the difficulty of version control. Professors and teachers can comment directly within student assignments, streamlining the faculty feedback process. Lecturers can even run entire seminars on Google Hangouts, meaning that students can catch their classes online, even if they’re not on campus. Student committees can also host their social calendars on easily accessible Google Sites and post pictures of their events on Google+. Google recently signed a similar agreement in the Netherlands and since that time half the country’s universities and colleges have moved to Google Apps.
