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7 Things Every School IT Department Should Do Before Next School Year

2 minute read

ltblue security

Summer is almost here and, along with the enthusiastic sounds of students heading off for summer vacation, you need to prepare your Google Apps domain for the upcoming school year.

This can be a complicated process involving multiple systems and processes. But don’t worry, from adding new teachers to Google Classroom to automatically blocking inappropriate emails, we’ve got you covered.

This is our list of 7 things we believe every school’s IT department should take care of as part of their preparation for the new school year.

1. Add Teachers In Google Classroom

A new school year means new teachers. Rather than teach every new teacher how to register for Google Classroom, Admins can do it for them in the Admin Console, and now Admins can even add multiple teachers to a single class for improved collaboration.

2. Bulk Update Your Org Units To Ensure Proper Class Structure

Changing around class structure for the new school year has never been easier. BetterCloud for Google Apps allows you to update and organize Org Units in bulk and avoid the tedious task of updating them one by one in the Admin Console.

3. Audit Chromebooks in Use Throughout Your Domain

With multiple Chromebooks deployed across your domain, it is important to account for each device before they are in use in the classroom. What do you do if you find some devices are unaccounted for? Google allows you to put a stolen or lost Chromebook into a disabled state as a security measure. Once disabled, the device will display a lock screen until re-enabled by the admin.

4. Scan Your Domain’s Drive For Sensitive Information

Are you doing all you can to ensure your school’s Drive is secure? You don’t want to start a new year with improperly shared files. Using BetterCloud for Google Apps, Administrators can run a scan that will search your domain’s documents for content deemed sensitive or inappropriate and will notify you how they are shared. You can then adjust the sharing settings of the documents to comply with your school’s policies using their Google Drive Compliance tool.

5. Create an Email Quarantine To Block Inappropriate Emails Being Sent/Received In Your Domain

As a school administrator, ensuring emails sent in the domain are appropriate is a must. Luckily, catching unsuitable emails before they are delivered can be automated. Email Quarantine allows Admins to define inappropriate terms that may be contained in an email in advance, then screen emails that violate that policy, and finally decide if those emails should be delivered to their intended recipient.

6. Audit Your Groups And Delete Any That Are Not In Use

Summer is the best time to figure out which Google Groups are still being used and which can be removed. A great way to do this is by analyzing each Group’s member count. While the Admin Console only displays each group’s members individually, this tool provides a comprehensive report as well as the ability to edit group membership in bulk.

7. Create Online Dynamic Syllabi Using Google Docs

The modern student does everything online, and this coming school year, their syllabus should follow suit. By adding a table of contents, page numbers and headers to your online syllabi you can create a dynamic and easier to use standard for both teachers and students. Since it is hosted on Drive rather than printed on paper, you can change or update the syllabus at any time.

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