list for communication and collaboration related to NET+ Google Workspace for Education

[Dana Voss <>]

Dear NET+ Google Workspace for Education Community,

We’re launching a new NET+ Google Workspace for Education (GWE) quarterly newsletter, where I hope to share program news and resources, announce upcoming events, gather feedback, and more. Let’s jump in, shall we?

Table of Contents

1. Welcome from the GWE Service Advisory Board (SAB) Chair

    a.  questions/concerns to the group

2. Program Resources

    a. Wiki, program FAQs,  and Community Resources

3. Community News

     a. GWE Program information and committee charter

4. Google announcements

5. Amplified by CDW Education and Burwood Updates

     a. CDW Amplified for Education can be reached at  and Burwood at

6. Around Internet2 & Beyond

Welcome from the GWE Service Advisory Board (SAB) Chair

We hope you find this newsletter to be a valuable resource in keeping you informed about the latest developments with the program. Please share this newsletter freely with your teams and other institutions. As the NET+ Google Workspace for Education Service Advisory Board considers new opportunities, and the challenges we must address across all of our institutions, we want to hear from you directly! If you have any questions, requests, or any feedback about the program, please reach out to us via email at . This email address will allow you to reach out to us directly regarding the NET+ Google Workspace for Education program. Our amazing Program Manager, Dana Voss, highlights other important resources below, such as technical resources. We look forward to hearing from you!

Luis O. Hernández Muñiz

Director of Productivity and Collaboration | Berkeley IT

University of California, Berkeley

Program Resources

Did you know that there’s a Program wiki page dedicated to all things NET+ Google Workspace for Education? This is always a great place to start if you have any questions about program information and announcements. 

We’re always looking for information to add to our list of resources for Google Workspace for Education, and your feedback and input are welcome. Know that you can always reach out to me or the team at  with any questions.

The NET+ Google Workspace for Education program also has an . If you’re receiving this email, good news: you’re already on it! If you have colleagues that you think might benefit from this type of communication as well, please let me know, and I’ll add them to the list. 

Check out the Public FAQ, particularly the information regarding the deadline to take advantage of the 3X Education Plus storage multiplier with a 3 year agreement extension which must be signed by October 15th, 2024.

Last, but not least, if you are interested in adding Gemini licenses, consider making the decision by August 23rd to take advantage of the current discounted pricing on one year commitments of 25% for Education Plus customers and 20% for other education customers.

Community News

With over 100 university subscribers,the NET+ Google Workspace for Education program is the fastest growing program of the 20+ NET+ Portfolio of services. The Service Advisory Board (SAB) kicked off its work in 2022 and has been working closely with Google on the program offering and pricing over the last couple of years. The SAB has also been providing feedback to Google on features and functionality. The current members of the SAB include:

• Cornell University: Stephen Burke
• Dartmouth University: Jacquelin J. Carty
• New York University: Phillip Rinehart
• North Carolina State University: Matt Deal
• Rice University: Kyle Cooper
• The Art Institute of Chicago: Gene Adams
• The George Washington University: Michael Driscoll
• University of California, Berkeley: Luis O. Hernández Muñiz (chair), Ian Crew, HE CAB Chair
• University of Maryland Baltimore County: Jack Suess, Damian Doyle
• University of Hawaii: Garret Yoshimi
• University of Washington: Tom Lewis
• The New School: Chris Brezil

Last month, our Advisory Board approved and published its Charter in partnership with Google and Internet2 which outlines the responsibilities and expectations for all involved.

While we currently do not accept any new participants, your feedback is very important to us. If you have any topics, requests, or suggestions for the program, let us know by emailing the SAB at  

Google Workspace for Education Announcements

Google has been offering a quarterly roadmap session for our Internet2 members with an NDA in place. The next roadmap session will be offered at the end of August/beginning of September. If you would like to receive communication regarding the next roadmap session, let me know.

In the meantime, here’s information you might find useful:

• New AI tools for Google Workspace for Education
• In the coming months, Google will make Gemini available to teen students and all users who meet the minimum age requirements. They will also use their Google Workspace for Education accounts in English in over 100 countries around the world, free of charge for all education institutions. To ensure schools are always in control, Gemini will be off by default for teens until admins choose to turn it on as an Additional Service in the Admin console.
• Google recently announced Google Vids, a collaborative video creation app in Google Workspace for Education that makes it easy to create engaging videos and inspire the next wave of storytellers. Google is releasing a version of Vids without generative AI exclusively to students and educators with Google Workspace for Education Plus later this year; the version powered by generative AI will be available with a Gemini for Google Workspace add on.
• Collaborate with Meet and Assignments in your LMS. Google Workspace Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI)™ is our collection of products that connect Google Workspace for Education with popular learning management systems (LMS). In the coming weeks, students and educators who use Canvas and PowerSchool Schoology Learning will be able to access Google Meet directly from their LMS with Google Meet LTI. Educators who use Canvas have already been using Assignments LTI to better distribute, analyze and grade student work. In the coming weeks, Assignments LTI 1.3 will be available in PowerSchool Schoology Learning as well.
• Easily collect electronic signatures: eSignature will make it easy for educators to draft contracts, request signatures in Docs and PDFs in Drive, and manage contract templates all in one place.
• Chat safer with new settings for students in Google Chat. In the coming months, admins will be able to restrict students from initiating direct messages and creating spaces, helping provide a safer and easier way for teachers to communicate with students.
• Protect data with improved controls in the Admin console. Now available, multi-party approval allows admins to require additional approval by another admin to complete a sensitive action, such as changing two-step verification settings. And admins can now proactively block compromised mobile devices using context-aware access.

If you have any questions about these announcements or would like to further discuss how to best bring them to your campus, please connect with Drew Sidel and/or your Google for Education points of contact.

Amplified by CDW Education and Burwood Updates

To empower your technical staff to make the right decisions for your digital environment, CDW Education is launching new solutions that will help them effectively configure and efficiently manage your Google Workspace for Education domain: Gemini Education Services for Higher Education and Amplified Support for Google Workspace for Higher Education. Reach out to  to learn more and take advantage of an exclusive 10% discount for CDW-G GWE Internet2/NET+ subscribers.  In case you missed it, you can access the Gemini for Workspace for Education: Revolutionizing Productivity in Higher Ed webinar on demand. 

Burwood Group has launched a Gemini for Workspace Pilot Program with tailored services for education institutions to maximize investments, accelerate adoption, reduce security risk, and take full advantage of the discounted pricing available until August 23rd. Contact your Burwood representative for more information or reach out to . 

Around Internet2 & Beyond

“Quick Reads” from other programs:

• NET+ DryvIQ collaboration paves the way for Higher Ed cloud storage migrations at speed and scale  | Read more → 
• Instructure is hosting a Product Roadmap webinar on August 7 at 2 pm ET. | Read more →
• Empowering inclusive collaboration: Miro’s commitment to accessibility | Read more →
• Panopto has attained TX-RAMP Level 2 certification, the highest level of certification granted by the TX-RAMP program. | Read more →
• Have you explored the Internet2 Cloud Scorecard Directory? We get it – the sheer volume of cloud services available to institutions can quickly overwhelm current practices for assessment and procurement. The Internet2 Scorecard is a self-assessment completed by the vendor using standards and best practices developed within the research and education community. Use these instructions to log in.

If you’re still reading, thanks for making it this far! I’d love to hear from you at  if you have questions or ideas about the NET+ Google Workspace for Education program. If you have concerns related to pricing, order forms, agreement terms, etc. let us know. 

Thank you, and enjoy the rest of your summer.

Dana C. Voss

Senior Program Manager | 239-776-4802

NET+ Cloud Services

Internet2®