October 12, 2007 Google Applications

The University of North Carolina Greensboro, Clemson University, University of Texas San Antonio, Kennesaw State University and Arkansas State University will be using Google’s web-based applications that enable students to create Gmail accounts with their university domain, among other things, like Spreadsheets, Docs, and Calendar. A major selling point for the Google Apps Education Edition is the online accessibility for the apps, meaning students can get their data and information from any computer connected to the Internet.

Google is expanding its empire into universities - with entire campus e-mail networks switching over to using Google's e-mail service. This will give the internet company a “relationship for life” with students - who can carry on using these e-mail addresses after graduating. Trinity College Dublin has switched to Google's e-mail - with other universities considering such a switch. Google is also offering students online tools to use in their coursework.

A recent agreement between USC and Google Inc. will make Google e-mail and other applications available to all students at USC by the spring semester. Finalized in August, the arrangement gives USC students access to an online suite of communication and collaboration tools, called Google Apps for Education. These tools include Gmail (e-mail with 2 GB of storage per account), integrated chat and applications for calendaring and document and spreadsheet production.