District named one of 200 most Google-savvy

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Grade-schoolers tour the world without leaving the classroom. Teachers from differentgrades and schools work together to coordinate lesson plans. And overall, everyone justseems better organized.

Thoseare a few of the trends emerging in the BaldwinWhitehall School District as it increasingly relies on Google products, said Janeen Peretin, director of information and instructional technology. And thetech giant has noticed.

Baldwin-Whitehall recently became the 200th district worldwide named as a Google for Education Reference District. It means the district will get the first crack at new offerings from Google. It will also serve as a model for other districts looking to use more Googlesoftware.

“We’re excited to evolve along with it,” Ms. Peretin said. “There’s a whole world of Google apps and extensions we can use, depending on whateverthe goals are for curriculum.”

G Suite for Education, previously called Google Apps for Education, includes Gmail, Calendar, Classroom, Contacts, Drive, Docs, Forms, Groups, Sheets, Sites, Slides, Talk/Hangouts and Vault, according to the company’swebsite.

The programs complement a broader push to expand technology usage in the district, Ms. Peretin said. Baldwin-Whitehall this year began providing every high school student Chromebook laptops they can take home.

G Suite smooths communication between teachers and students, which makes partnering on projects much easier, Ms. Peretin said. And all high school students can now access classwork files from home.