Whole Windows site to Google Classroom

[Nausing]

Our new principle is pushing for Google Classroom.

 

Our whole infrastructure is Windows with teachers using laptops and roaming profiles.

Our classrooms have teacher PCs connected to projectors and SMART boards.

 

Getting Google involved in the mix doesn't seem backwards at all, but seems like we would have to drop 95% of our Windows clients and Servers.

 

Questions:

1. What happens to AD, Roaming profiles etc? I have never used a Chromebook before so not sure how they work.

2. What happens to the 100+ Windows applications our teachers and support staff rely on. ProSolution MIS, Exchange, Odd Science apps, OFFICE!?

 

I'm sure there are 101 things I haven't considered but you get the point.. Comments appreciated.

[sted]

1 if all you have is google apps for edu you dont need ad pretty much all you "need" onsite is an internet connection and a dhcp server (internet filtering is another issue). Chromebooks are basically a laptop that runs the chrome browser so as as rule if something dosent work in chrome it wont work on a chromebook. You manage users and devices (there is a per device charge for chromebooks) from a browser and can i think say user groups x/y can sign into these devices and they just login to them assuming an internet connection.

 

2 if you need a windows program you have 2 options really rds and shove them all on a rds server and use the webpage that has on the chromebooks or keep some windows pcs. Exchange/office if you go google you really need to at least consider using gmail and google docs its built in and what its designed around

[Nausing]

1 if all you have is google apps for edu you dont need ad pretty much all you "need" onsite is an internet connection and a dhcp server (internet filtering is another issue). Chromebooks are basically a laptop that runs the chrome browser so as as rule if something dosent work in chrome it wont work on a chromebook. You manage users and devices (there is a per device charge for chromebooks) from a browser and can i think say user groups x/y can sign into these devices and they just login to them assuming an internet connection.

 

2 if you need a windows program you have 2 options really rds and shove them all on a rds server and use the webpage that has on the chromebooks or keep some windows pcs. Exchange/office if you go google you really need to at least consider using gmail and google docs its built in and what its designed around

 

Thanks for your advice. I think what I am also trying to get as is could we adopt Google Classroom side by side with our current infrastructure? Or would it make sense to move Exchange and Office apps to Google Suite?

[theeggmaster]

You could absolutely adopt Google Classroom next to your infrastructure. We have Windows, Mac, iPads and Chromebooks, but we're a G Suite for Education school. We also run Active Directory and we still have software on all of our computers. We use Google for 95% of our school work, but we still use SIMS, Office and other software when it is required.

What you'll need to do is provision Google accounts for all of your staff and students on a G Suite domain. That will give all staff and students access to Google Classroom. You can do this yourself with tools such as Google School Directory Sync if you want to sync with your MIS, or Google Cloud Directory Sync if you want to sync with AD. You can also sync AD passwords with G Suite Password Sync.

If you want to provision all of your classes, you will be better off with Google School Directory Sync. Your teachers will have to be part of the class to give them access.

There are also paid services to do this syncing for you. We use RealSmart for ours, but there are many others available.

[fiza]

There are also paid services to do this syncing for you. We use RealSmart for ours, but there are many others available.

 

We are doing exactly the same. We run G Suite along with Windows/SIMS/Office Apps etc. We got Salamander in to sync with our MIS. We then have auto creation of Google Classrooms, distribution lists for staff and students..typically any group they are in within SIMS can be created as a distribution list.

[TwistedHelixis]

Been running mixed at my primary schools for the last 4 years, just waiting for that killer reason to dump the Microsoft part and go all Google.

[Nausing]

You could absolutely adopt Google Classroom next to your infrastructure. We have Windows, Mac, iPads and Chromebooks, but we're a G Suite for Education school. We also run Active Directory and we still have software on all of our computers. We use Google for 95% of our school work, but we still use SIMS, Office and other software when it is required.

What you'll need to do is provision Google accounts for all of your staff and students on a G Suite domain. That will give all staff and students access to Google Classroom. You can do this yourself with tools such as Google School Directory Sync if you want to sync with your MIS, or Google Cloud Directory Sync if you want to sync with AD. You can also sync AD passwords with G Suite Password Sync.

If you want to provision all of your classes, you will be better off with Google School Directory Sync. Your teachers will have to be part of the class to give them access.

There are also paid services to do this syncing for you. We use RealSmart for ours, but there are many others available.

 

We are doing exactly the same. We run G Suite along with Windows/SIMS/Office Apps etc. We got Salamander in to sync with our MIS. We then have auto creation of Google Classrooms, distribution lists for staff and students..typically any group they are in within SIMS can be created as a distribution list.

 

Been running mixed at my primary schools for the last 4 years, just waiting for that killer reason to dump the Microsoft part and go all Google.

 

Thank you all for the feedback.

 

Do you all still use Exchange or completely gmail?

 

With the new Microsoft Classroom being available, it seems rather crazy to go with Google... our students our already using Office 365

[theeggmaster]

Completely GMail. We moved to it in 2012 when Office 365 was still well behind, so it's deeply embedded in our school. Microsoft do seem to be on the right track with Microsoft Classroom, though.

[xlandhenry]

Do you know why the principal is pushing for Google Classroom? What's his goal? Without that understanding you probably won't be able to come up with a satisfying solution.