Google Apps Is Free but Don’t Sell it That Way

by Allison Mollica ~ AM Technology Edu

Schools that ‘go Google Apps’ often use ‘free’ as the selling point to persuade their administrators or constituents. It is true that organizations are saving thousands to millions of dollars moving their local infrastructure to the cloud (the same way companies did back in the early 1900’s with power when the power companies came along). They do it for many reasons just like companies did for power ~ it is economical, reliable, scalable, efficient, etc…

Just remember, that with Google Apps for Education you are getting a sophisticated collaboration and sharing network, access to dozens (hundreds actually) of applications using 1 account, 1 login, 1 password. Instantly, barriers and challenges are removed for teachers, tech integrators, tech administrators and students. Everybody wins.

Chrome Apps allow you to ‘add on’ almost any tool you
need and most of the time the tool is FREE. Stop
buying and installing local software and take advantage of
the ‘Software in the Cloud’

Google Apps for Education removes barriers to using technology in learning environments whether they are virtual or physical. There is a unique network of educators, organizations and students globally that learn and share together in the GAFE environment. Nothing has flattened the classroom more than Google Apps for Education. That is why it is so widely popular. It is not about a piece of software or an application. It is about people, transformation… a cultural shift.

So, don’t sell it as free. That would be discounting the product. You will also find yourself at a disadvantage when you want your administration to approve an add on such as Vault for archiving, Synergyse for seamless training, Spanning for backup or Hapara Teacher Dashboard for workflow and feedback in the classroom ~ all great add ons for GAFE!

GAFE is a premiere solution for every educational organization not because it is FREE because it is brilliant.

About the Contributor

Allison Mollica | Google Certified Education Trainer
Google Certified Innovator | Google Apps Certified Admin

Allison Mollica has all the Google Edu Certifications ~ Trainer, Innovator & Administrator. She is has been a teacher and an EDU technology coach for 18 years. Currently, Allison is a Virtual Instructor of Computers and Web Design at VLACS and a global educational tech leader, facilitator & enthusiast!

Connect with +Allison Mollica on Google+