WELS: [Welstech] Educational Cloud Solution

[Ben Polzin]

I have now helped three congregations (2 with schools) migrate to Google
Apps. Each did it to get away from an old e-mail system and discovered many
other benefits besides e-mail. Each time I received much positive feedback
from the staff.
I can tell you that the biggest hit has been the shared calendar system
available through gCal. The different congregations have used them for
everything from organist practice schedules to personal calendars to the
main church & school event lists.

The feature-set with Google Apps is very rich.

   - Gmail is, in my opinion, the best web-based e-mail platform available
   (I know there's some personal preference there, but it's at least towards
   the top of anyone's list). A big hit with staff is using Google Search
   against their e-mail. Great interop as well with IMAP and mobile device
   support.
   - Gcal integrates with nearly anything via .ical and has a great method
   for embedding into websites.
   - Google Docs, until the recent/upcoming release of Microsoft's online
   office suite, stole the show for free, web-based document
   editing/collaboration. I think the jury is still out on how well the MS
   online suite stacks up.
   - Throw in gChat for IM & Google Sites for an easy setup,
   password-protected intranet and you have a great platform.

Other than a quick Google search and a brief look through their website, I
haven't used Windows Live at edu. It seems fairly comparable, but a heavier
emphasis on desktop software (using Outlook & MSN Messenger). I'd be
cautious of the calendar side to see how it compares to Google Apps. As one
of the staff-favorite features, this is one area I'd focus on for
comparison. MS also has SkyDrive, which is a nice service and huge amount of
storage space, but you could always use DropBox if teachers need a service
similar to that.

If you have specific questions about Google Apps, please let me know. I'm
more than happy to help.

Ben



On Sat, Sep 19, 2009 at 21:14, Jeremy Johnson <
johnson.jeremy+welstech at gmail.com <johnson.jeremy%2Bwelstech at gmail.com>>wrote:

> Does anyone have experience with Google Apps for Education or Windows
> Live at edu?  We're considering using one of these at Risen Savior, and I'd
> like to help make an informed decision.  They both seem to have what we
> need, so it doesn't look like a simple choice.
>
> Thanks,
> Jeremy Johnson
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Welstech at messenger.wels.net
> http://messenger.wels.net/mailman/listinfo/welstech
>
>
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