Google Apps Marketplace helps students’ minds thrive in the cloud

We started the Google Apps Marketplace with the goal of helping businesses find even more value in the cloud. Universities and schools are also moving aggressively into cloud computing for both internal infrastructure applications and apps for students. We have seen excellent uptake by education edition users of a wide range of apps, including Aviary, Manymoon, SlideRocket, SurveyMonkey, TripIt, OffiSync, and Sherpatools, just to name a few.

In addition to the many apps that have been used to enhance learning experiences, we recently introduced the first education-focused app, Grockit, to the Marketplace. We are excited to see the demand for these types of apps grow and we hope to build on the momentum created by apps that have been helping schools move to the cloud. Here are just a few examples of how Marketplace apps are currently being used in the classroom:

SlideRocket - Platform for creating, managing, sharing and measuring presentations

“You can see the impact [of cloud-based learning] in a research project some students did with the Glacier National Park in Montana. Students started by gathering their data through “building tools” such as Google Docs. Then students used that cloud-based data to collaborate with peers inside of SlideRocket, building a coherent presentation from scattered sets of data. Finally, they used Google Earth to embed the SlideRocket presentation into a place marker within the park, giving everyone access to their work. With this advancement in edtech, students across the school can discover various geo-referenced SlideRocket presentations as they virtually fly around the globe, learning and providing feedback… teachers are constantly wow’ed by the new capabilities…”

- John Kuglin, Senior Tech Consultant & Former Associate Dean, Univ of Montana 

Manymoon - Team collaboration and project management application

“At Le Moyne College... class assignments, relevant media, documents, student discussions and papers are all posted on Manymoon... All e-mails, documents, links etc are in one place and easy to find... which saves lots of time for me and my students. Manymoon and Google Apps are useful for connecting my students with others in the wider community. This semester, for instance, my Le Moyne College students are using Manymoon to work with college and high school students on a Juvenile Justice Experiential Education collaboration which involves more than 200 students from local universities and high schools. This is made possible by Manymoon and the suite of Google Apps.”

-Jim Dessauer, Adjunct Associate Professor in Sociology at Le Moyne College

The introduction of Grockit is our most recent step to help schools and universities discover and deploy relevant applications from our Marketplace. Grockit is a social learning platform for students in K-12 and for college entrance exams. They were eager to join the Marketplace because of the 8 million students that currently use Google Apps. Through Grockit integrations with Apps, students can now easily access their Grockit account through the universal navigation bar, sync training sessions with Google Calendar and store critical documents in Google Docs.

"The response from School Administrators has been outstanding. Each day we are contacted by a new school that is thrilled Google has begun adding educational apps to the marketplace and they have access to Grockit’s learning platform through it. They are already asking how they can make Grockit available to their students beyond this school year. We are stoked that educators see the additional value they provide their students when they are able to combine the benefits of Google and Grockit together."

-Farb Nivi, Founder and CEO of Grockit

We are constantly seeking to bring applications that our customers want to the Marketplace, so help us out by suggesting apps you think would be good for the Marketplace. In the meantime, check out the Google Apps Marketplace and get your head in the cloud:

Aviary, Manymoon, SlideRocket, SurveyMonkey, TripIt, OffiSync, and Sherpatools

Posted by Harrison Shih, Google Apps Marketplace Team