January ‘Supdate:  Gmail and Google Calendar Update

Thank you for your participation in the Gmail and Google Calendar survey.  Important staff input was gleaned, and based on the results of the survey, I’m excited to announce that the district will be moving to Gmail and Google Calendar as our primary means of electronic communication on Monday, May 1, 2017.

What does this mean right now?  

• Please start cleaning up your Outlook emails.  Delete any old or unused folders and emails.
• Make sure every folder has at least one email sitting in it.  Only folders with emails in them will get copied over.
• Move any sent items you want to be copied over to Gmail into a folder.

What to expect May 1

• Your Outlook inbox, folders, calendars, and contacts will all be automatically copied over to Gmail and Google Calendar.   Since copies are being made, you can still refer back to your old emails and calendar in Outlook, but nothing new will be sent to Outlook.

• Starting May 1, all new emails will go to your Gmail inbox only.  This applies to emails sent to both your hudson.edu and hudson.k12.oh.us email addresses.

• Starting May 1, all new calendar invitations will appear directly on your Google Calendar.  You’ll also receive an email notification of new calendar invites and have the option to indicate your acceptance of yes, no, or maybe.

Plan for support

• Short screencasts and informational emails will be sent to staff to assist in cleaning up Outlook inboxes and preparing for May 1.  These resources will also be posted to the Intranet.

• Optional professional development sessions on Gmail and Google Calendar will be offered on Presidents’ Day (Monday, February 20).

• Professional development can be scheduled during PLCs, before/after school, during staff meetings, and by individual or small group appointment.  Please email Kristin Dages and Stephanie Sholtis at TLC@hudson.k12.oh.us to get PD scheduled.  We will customize training to match your needs!

Why the change?

The research conducted by district leadership groups, in conjunction with the technology department, identified the following top justifications for why a change to Gmail and Google Calendar is imminent.

We are currently living in two communication systems, reducing the efficiency of scheduling and workplace productivity.  Benefits to using Google Calendar and Gmail over Outlook include:  

• We will keep hudson.edu as our main email domain.  Hudson.k12.oh.us email addresses will also remain intact, and both email addresses will funnel into one Gmail inbox.
• Outlook has a limit on the size of your inbox. Gmail does not.
• Students are immersed in Google Suite and its collaborative tools, preparing them for college and career readiness.

• 70 of the top 100 universities are using Gmail and Calendar.
• Over 20 million teachers and students are using G Suite!

• Communication has shifted to using Google Calendar & Classroom as the primary means of scheduling assignments.
• Shared calendar invitations are more transparent within Google Calendar.