23 March 2007

CSUN 2007/Better Email, Better Accessibility, for Schools

OK, I want schools, primary schools and secondary schools, to teach and use the accessibility of Firefox and Google. I want Firefox with FireVox and/or CLiCk, Speak and One-Click Dictionaries and Right-Click Translations as the basic web browser. And I want Google's suite of tools: Notebook, Docs, Calendar - perhaps even Blogger, all running so students and faculty can share and collaborate.

But to make this work it means students should have Google accounts - in other words - Gmail accounts. And schools are scared of Gmail, because it is personally controlled, not school controlled. School email accounts are typically terrible, badly run, expensive to operate systems. Gmail is free, works perfectly, includes huge storage capacity, instant searching, the best spam filters, and conversation linking. But, oh yeah, that control thing...

And now... Google Apps for Education lets schools have control, and their domain address, and control, all with Google features. (see the story of Arizona State and Google). You can see all the options starting here. Now, your school can offer accessibility, allow creativity, and gain workplace dependability, all through the world's best email and on-line office suite.

- Ira Socol from Los Angeles

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