Google Worksapace for Education offers deep educational value. But teachers will accommodate non-consenting families with alternative learning options, including the option to: work in Microsoft Office, use a Chromebook in Guest Mode, work on paper, or use other websites to accomplish similar educational goals that do not require personal or identifying information. Accommodations for non-consenting students can be found here.

How is a District Google Workspace for Education account different from a personal Google Account?

Workspace for Education allows school districts to set up and manage the accounts and tools that staff and students use. The IT for Learning department manages the specific tools that students have access and control who students can email and share documents with. Questionable, inappropriate, or worrisome content is blocked. There are no ads, and no scanning of content by Google. The district also has access to Google Vault, which provides backup and archiving of student work. This makes it easier to restore accidentally deleted work.

Are my students searchable on the internet?

No, student names remain within Google Workspace’s “walled garden” and are not available on the public web. However they are available to other students and staff in Google to facilitate collaboration.

How do we know our student’s data is secure?

Google is fully committed to the security and privacy of your data and protecting you and your school from attempts to compromise it.

Google encrypts Gmail (including attachments) and Drive data. More information here.

Where are my student’s information being stored? Is it safe?

Information and student created media are stored on Google servers beyond Canada’s borders. An independent auditor has examined the controls protecting the data in our systems (including logical security, privacy, and data center security), and assured that the data is safe.

Does Google own student data?

No.  Google doesn’t assume ownership of any customer data.

Google only keeps your personal information as long as you ask us to keep it. If an education department, school or university decides to stop using Google, we make it easy for them to take their data with them.

More information: https://edu.google.com/k-12-solutions/privacy-security/?modal_active=none

Is Google tracking my students to target ads at them?

Ads are turned off in Google Workspace for Education services.  K–12 users don’t see ads when they use Google Search when signed in to their District Google accounts.

Google Workspace for Education services do not collect or use student data for advertising purposes or to create advertising profiles

More information: https://edu.google.com/k-12-solutions/privacy-security/?modal_active=none; https://support.google.com/a/answer/60762

Why are we trusting this large corporation with our student’s data?

In order to reaffirm the commitments they have made to schools, Google has signed the Student Privacy Pledge.  This pledge, introduced by the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) and The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), is intended to reflect their commitment to safeguard student personal information in their services designed for use in schools.

More information: https://edu.google.com/k-12-solutions/privacy-security/?modal_active=none

Can Google look through my students’ stored data?

Google employees will access your account data only when an administrator from your school district grants Google employees explicit permission to do so for troubleshooting purposes.

More information: https://edu.google.com/k-12-solutions/privacy-security/?modal_active=none; https://support.google.com/a/answer/60762

It’s not the way parents were taught, how is it valid?

There are a number of key benefits to teaching and learning with Google:

• children have a personal “digital locker” to store and access files of any kind securely without needing USB sticks or other storage devices.
• online tools are accessible anywhere, anytime or any web-enabled device.
• children can work collaboratively on a variety of file types simultaneously.