Posted by Tia Lendo, Marketing Manager, Google for Education 

Editor's note: Millions of students across the United States and around the world head back to school this week, many returning to schools using Google Apps for Education to help them work - and learn - better together. We asked 5 educators to share how they use Google Apps to meet their leaning goals and be more productive. If you're interested in using Google Apps for Education at your school, please visit our site.

Who we interviewed

Tia: How do you use Google Apps for Education and what impact have you seen? 

Sandy: My school serves a large population of students who are newly-arrived to the US. As a teacher of students still learning English, I am constantly doing check-ins and quick, informal assessments using Google Docs and Google Forms. The results of these assessments give me valuable information about student understanding and helps inform future lessons.

Andrew: Google Apps was a game changer at my school. Once we brought in the tools, collaboration between teachers and students increased dramatically. Immediately we began using Google Sites for digital portfolios — students could document and reflect on their work, and teachers could easily view and comment.

Susan: My students also use Google tools to publish and share work throughout the year. In Digital Photography class, students save and organize photographs in Drive, reflect on and discuss their work in Blogger, and share important and current resources using Sites. Animation and Art students build Online Design Journals using Presentations, inspired by the work that Karen Brennan at ScratchEdu is doing at Harvard.

Blanca: I've been using Google Docs to support English Language Learners for years. In one program we have been involved with, Building Family Literacy, students use Google Docs to write about their journeys to America and receive immediate feedback from teachers. Being able to share feedback in so many different formats - through chat, text and voice comments - is incredibly valuable in helping my students improve their writing.

Kian: This technology is an efficient entry point to reach young people. Most students are familiar with smartphones, but there is still a digital divide in how they use other technology. They may know how to share a photo, but not how to do research or craft a professional email. With Google Apps for Education we are helping our students be more informed individuals who ask questions and explore the world through technology.

Tia: What is the biggest time-saver you’ve noticed since using Google Apps for Education? 

Andrew: I can't say enough about “single sign on”. When students sign into Google Apps, they sign into a host of other educational apps. Once students and teachers had one login for EVERYTHING, we spent less time troubleshooting low level issues. It gave back time to teach and work.

Susan: On a school level, programming, room assignments, teacher schedules, student schedules and even locker assignments, are now built with Docs and Calendar, (an underused, amazing Google App) and shared with all faculty on a private Google Site. Before Google Apps, everyone called the office to find information. Now, as our principal says, we are all playing on the same team.

Kian: With Google you have the space to store things and the capacity to seek and find. It is so easy and user-friendly. With Gmail, the internet and apps, there are tons of ways to empower students — you give them access to the entire world in seconds.

Tia: What are some ways that teachers use Google Apps for Education to work together

Sandy: It really just keeps everyone organized and on the same page.

Andrew: The School at Columbia prides itself on an integrated curriculum, where students study the same concept throughout their day. Therefore it was imperative that teachers in all disciplines were coordinated. Google Apps allowed us to independently contribute ideas to a planning document and conduct face to face meetings more effectively.

Kian: For teachers, Google Apps brings the world a little closer. If you are a Social Studies teacher whose students are learning about Abraham Lincoln, you can use Google Classroom to easily send a YouTube video on the former president to students. Then a teacher can easily send a quiz made in Google Forms. All the communication happens efficiently and immediately.

Blanca: Giving and receiving feedback is critical in the learning process. But it's not just the feedback that a teacher gives a student that impacts learning- it’s the feedback the student gives back to the teacher that creates the loop where learning happens on both sides of the desk. This is one reason why using Google Apps for Education as an administrator working with teachers can be so powerful. The tools enable the feedback process from which learning, trust and capacity building can begin.

Posted by Chris Stephenson, Computer Science Education Program Manager

(Cross-posted to the Google Research Blog)

Computer Science (CS) education is receiving an increasing amount of attention from media and policy makers. Education groups have been working for years to build the infrastructure needed to support CS both inside and outside the school environment, including standards development and dissemination, models for teacher professional development, research, resources for educators, and the building of peer-driven and peer-supported communities of learning.

At Google, we strive to increase opportunities in CS and be a strong contributor to the community of those seeking to improve CS education through our engagement in research, curriculum resource development and dissemination, professional development of teachers, tools development, and large-scale efforts to engage young women and underrepresented groups in computer science. However, despite these efforts, there are still many challenges to overcome to improve the state of CS education.

For example, many people confuse computer science with education technology (the use of computing to support learning in other disciplines) and computer literacy (a very basic understanding of a limited number of computer applications). This confusion leads to the assumption that computer science education is taking place, when in fact in many schools it is not.

Women and minorities are still underrepresented in computer science education and in the high tech workplace. In her introduction to Jane Margolis’ Stuck in the Shallow End: Education, Race, and Computing, distinguished scientist Shirley Malcolm refers to computer science as “privileged knowledge” to which minority students often have no access. This statement is supported by data from the College Board and the National Center for Women and Information Technology.

Poverty also has a significant but often ignored impact on access to technology and quality computer science education. At present there are more than 16 million U.S. children living in poverty; these children are the least likely to have access to computer science knowledge and tools in their schools and homes.

There are many organizations and programs which focus on CS education, working hard to address these issues, and others. This gives Google the unique opportunity to analyze gaps in existing efforts and apply our resources towards programs that are most needed. In so doing, we hope to help uncover new strategies and create sustainable improvements to CS education.

Achieving systemic and sustained change in CS education is a complex undertaking that requires strategic support that complements both existing formal school programs and extracurricular education. Google is proud to be a member of the community committed to making tangible improvements to the state of CS education. In future blog posts, we will introduce you so some of the programs and resources that Google has been working on.

Posted by Clare Conway, Google Science Fair Team

What do wearable sensors, natural nitrogen depletion, aromatic alarm clocks, and diazotroph bacteria have in common? Maybe not so much at first glance, but they're all inspirations behind a few of the 15 finalist projects in this year's Google Science Fair. And now it's your chance to cast your vote for the Voter’s Choice Award.

Through September 14, you can select which of the 15 Global Finalists has the greatest potential to change the world. These projects were selected from amongst thousands of entries earlier this year and represent nine countries from across the globe. These bright budding scientists have all turned their passion for science and engineering into a project that can change the world for the better, and have found inspiration from their world around them: whether it’s using technology to help care for a relative, using chemistry to improve the environment, or developing a method to help prevent cyberbullying. Oh and did we mention that all of them are 17 or younger?

The winner of the Voter’s Choice Award will receive a $10,000 grant from Google to help develop their project. We will announce the winner at the Google Science Fair awards ceremony in Mountain View, CA on September 22nd, where we will also announce our age category and grand prize winners.

Head to googlesciencefair.com before September 14 to support these young scientists with your vote and let us know which project you think will change the world.

Posted by Megan Smith, Vice President, Google[x]

(Cross-posted on the Google Enterprise Blog)

We love to focus on solving problems. Sometimes practically and other times with wild, imaginative—or even highly unexpected—ideas. These ideas are born through education, when curiosity meets access to information. That’s why we have a vested interest in, and commitment to, learning in all forms. It’s also why we’re starting this Google for Education Blog: a new destination to share our work that’s happening across education, from products to programs, from the practical to the unimaginable.

One of our goals is to help more students feel engaged and love learning, to encourage their curiosity, to let them work together, to try something new, to make stuff, and to always try again. Through Programs like Made with Code, Doodle 4 Google, and the Google Science Fair, we strive to help students discover the problems they are passionate about solving. Time and time again youth prove that you don’t always have to be a grown-up to bring forward extraordinary solutions. This blog will be a place to hear about those programs and talented young people.

Since behind every student are great teachers, we also focus on building products and tools designed for the classroom that help educators do what they do best, even better. Collaborative tools like Google Apps for Education with Classroom, easy-to-manage affordable devices like Chromebooks and tablets, and limitless educational content in Google Play for Education and YouTube help make learning possible—and fun—outside the four walls of the classroom.

The future is upon us, which is so apparent when working on learning. As former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley says, “We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.” We hope you’ll find this blog useful—along with our Google+ and Twitter channels—as we continue to share more updates and stories from across Google for Education, our dedicated partners, innovative teachers, and inspiring students.