Comments on: Google Apps for Education Evaluation Underway

By: Corinna Noelke

Corinna Noelke — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:41:24 +0000

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/brown-university-has-gone-google.html
brown does seem happy (but did they ask the excel users …)

By: Corinna Noelke

Corinna Noelke — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:40:32 +0000

Hi,
I use google’s excel spreadsheet A LOT to share with different departments and it has changed the way we handle workflows quite a lot (to the better). BUT the spreadsheet is absolutely not up to par with excel. We often end up downloading the spreadsheet from google into excel for quick filtering or quick data entry and to then either delete when done checking for things for the former occasion or uploading the updated spreadsheet back into google doc for the latter. Unless google’s spreadsheet that comes with google education is up-to-par with excel heavy spreadsheet users will not be able to be productive in a google doc environment.

By: Sciences Advisory Group – Notes from May 2010 meeting « LIS Advisory Groups

Sciences Advisory Group – Notes from May 2010 meeting « LIS Advisory Groups — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:56:51 +0000

[...] Carrie: invite feedback on potential switch to gmail [Note from Carrie: You can get updates on the evaluation at Google Apps @ Middlebury, and read and comment on recent dialogue at the LIS Blog) [...]

By: Carrie Macfarlane

Carrie Macfarlane — Thu, 13 May 2010 17:45:58 +0000

Thanks Ian. http://reader.google.com/a/middlebury.edu won’t allow me to use my Midd google account. Whether I try to log in as cmacfarl or cmacfarl@middlebury.edu, it tells me “The username or password you entered is incorrect..” Can you log in with your midd google account to http://reader.google.com/a/middlebury.edu?

On the other hand, http://sites.google.com/a/middlebury.edu does allow me to log in with my Midd google account.

I’ve started keeping a second browser open just so that I can share midd google docs with other midd users. In other words, there are workarounds, so I don’t see this as high priority. (But I do wish it didn’t have to be this way!)

By: Colleen Converse

Colleen Converse — Mon, 10 May 2010 15:39:07 +0000

Is there a table of usage and features comparing Google Apps and Outlook Exchange as used on campus along the lines of….
http://sarai.org/google-apps-vs-microsoft-exchange
available to help people be informed? Each has advantages and disadvantages so I tend to use both depending on the task.

By: Peter Hamlin '73 Music Dept. Chair

Peter Hamlin '73 Music Dept. Chair — Sun, 09 May 2010 17:54:21 +0000

I like the MS applications fine. I like Google Apps fine. Neither one is hard to use.

I think we should base the decision on economics — make the change if it saves a lot of money — don’t make it if it doesn’t. Also make sure there aren’t deficiencies (I note two below — not deal-breakers for me, but I’d want to be sure that Google can mostly do what MS can do.)

One weakness I’ve noticed in Google Apps is the lack of “track changes” feature — when editing documents collaboratively you have to identify your changes (reformat to a different color, write in your initials, etc.) manually.

Also, I would find the limitations of Google calendar “repeat” to be annoying — unlike Outlook, you can’t edit the repeats (i.e. Monday and Wednesday) — you are stuck with a small number of standard options like every weekday, mwf, tth, etc. — but it’s not unusual for me to need to create my own patterns.

One personal thing: I have an Android phone which doesn’t support MS Exchange directly. I use an App called Touchdown to sync with Exchange but it’s a little awkward. So for that reason I’m thinking also of using gmail and Google Calendar as my main calendar/mail interface. I expect that Android slate computers will be players in the near future, too — so compatibility with Google will be handy.

By: Arabella Holzapfel

Arabella Holzapfel — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:31:28 +0000

Thanks, Carrie and Ian (and Jess, by inference).

By: Ian McBride

Ian McBride — Thu, 06 May 2010 00:46:39 +0000

Adding “/a/middlebury.edu” onto the end of any normal Google service address will also work. For example:
http://sites.google.com/a/middlebury.edu

By: Carrie Macfarlane

Carrie Macfarlane — Wed, 05 May 2010 20:51:39 +0000

Jess pointed out to me today that go/gdocs will get you to the midd-google login page!

By: Arabella Holzapfel

Arabella Holzapfel — Wed, 05 May 2010 19:54:49 +0000

I do the same thing as Carrie – I have a regular google account that I use for Google Reader and and also as my primary google docs account. When other team members create g-docs, they send it to my midd-google address. I get the doc from that account, and ‘share’ it with my regular google account. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one doing this!

I use my regular google account as my primary account because I can log in from anywhere – the midd-google instance needs the “@middlebury.edu” part of the email address “hardwired” for lack of a better term. I can only seem to get that when someone else sends me a link to a google doc sent to that address.