Preparing for the Google Apps Administrator Exam
- Defining Google Apps Education Edition
- Getting Around in the Google Apps
- Customize Google Apps for Your School
- Basics Overview of Google Apps
- Pass This Exam First
If the kids in the greatest movie of all time, The Breakfast Club, had Google Apps they could have collaborated on their writing assignment rather than leaving it all up to nerdy Brian Johnson to write something pithy. This would have left more time to discuss why Claire Standish was in detention to begin with. Unfortunately, or fortunately for John Bender, the Google Apps Suite wasn't around. (Sorry, I've been wanting to work The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off into an article for some time now.)
The Google Apps Suite for Schools allows students and teachers to use Google Docs, Sites, Mail, and other tools for free. All these applications, however, need to be configured, secured, and managed by someone smarter than Ducky from Pretty in Pink. That someone is the Google Apps Administrator for the school.
If you're taking this exam, you'll need to be familiar with the complete suite of applications and how to control and configure the suite for your school. You can check out the complete overview of the applications here: http://edutraining.googleapps.com/Training-Home/module-1/chapter-1.
Let's take an in-depth look at the exam content.
Defining Google Apps Education Edition
This edition of the Google Apps Suite is a free suite of Google-hosted software for schools and universities. The suite includes Gmail, Calendar, Google Docs, Google Video, and Google Sites. When a school enrolls in the program, a Google Apps Suite configures the school domain for participation in the suite, defines what's available to the users, and sets security options.
The Google Apps Administrator will need to communicate and confirm the compliance with Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). This act is specific to children under 13 years of age, and the school must be responsible for confirming to the legal requirement, not Google. You can read the details of COPPA here: http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/privacyinitiatives/childrens.html.