Google Workspace for Education – Comprehensive Admin & Deployment Notes

Instructor & Session Overview

• Presenter: Futterak Malmuang – Google-Certified Trainer, representative of S-Curve Co.

• Session Goal: Comprehensive introduction to Google Workspace for Education (GWfE) with emphasis on • system administration • account / domain setup • security • classroom & meet management • storage policies • licensing tiers • practical deployment steps for Thai schools.

• Target Audience: School IT admins, teachers, institutional decision-makers preparing to deploy or manage GWfE.

Why Google Workspace for Education Is Popular

• Global Adoption: >70 million users, accelerated sharply during COVID-19.

• 4 Key Advantages:

  1. Simplicity & Low Learning Curve → quick onboarding for teachers/students.

  2. Real-time collaboration & instant communication across Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, Chat, etc.

  3. Fine-grained sharing controls (internal-only, external-allowed, organizational customizations).

  4. Security & privacy as first priority – data remains owned by the institution; Google commits to safe handling.

App Ecosystem Inside GWfE

• Productivity: Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Sites.

• Classroom Management: Google Classroom (+ LMS extensions / add-ons).

• Communication: Gmail, Google Chat, Google Groups, Google Meet (video, screenshare, breakout screens).

• Storage: Personal Drive + Shared Drives (organizational storage pools).

• Admin Console: Central hub for • user provisioning • device management (phones, tablets) • mail routing • security • reporting • domain control.

Licensing / Editions (4 Tiers)

• 1 Fundamentals (free)

  • Core tools (Docs, Meet, Classroom) + baseline security; $\text{Cost}=0$.

• 2 Education Standard

  • Enhanced security / compliance dashboards; device management; DLP; PDPA, COPPA, EU law alignment.

• 3 Teaching & Learning Upgrade

  • Adds premium Classroom features: Practice Sets, plagiarism originality reports (incl. cross-internet %, future Word file support), larger Meet capacity.

• 4 Education Plus

  • Combines all features of tiers 2 & 3; includes advanced AI add-ons introduced since 02/2015.

Obtaining Google Workspace for Education (Thai Focus)

• Application Paths via S-Curve Partner (tyschool.scurve.com)

  • Type A – School has no domain → S-Curve assists with new $.ac.th$ registration.

  • Type B – School already owns $.ac.th$ → migrate domain into GWfE.

  • Type C – School already on paid GWfE → free trial of Teaching & Learning Upgrade or Education Plus.

• Self-Service Route (no partner fees)

  1. Must hold or register a $.ac.th$ domain (proves educational status).

  2. Collect required docs: director’s letter, school certificate, screenshot of school in ministry database, etc.

  3. Sign up at workspace.google.com/signup/edu or edu.google.com → follow wizard.

  4. Initial super-admin account (choose email like admin@school.ac.th) + remember password.

  5. Within 30 days verify domain ownership or trial expires.

Domain & DNS Verification Steps

1. Register $.ac.th$ with THNIC; submit director’s letter.

2. Add TXT record to prove ownership (Google-provided token).

3. Configure MX records (mail delivery to Google).

4. Upload educational proof to Google (affiliation certificate, etc.).

5. Optional: Use external DNS services (e.g., Cloudflare) → repoint name servers.

Admin Console – Core Areas Covered in Course

• Organizational Structure (OUs)

  • Create separate OUs for Teachers, Students → sub-OUs by intake year (e.g., 2023, 2022…).

  • Facilitates differential policy (service enable/disable, storage quota, age settings).

• User Provisioning Methods

  1. Manual single-user add.

  2. Bulk CSV upload via Admin Console (template includes first/last name, email, password, OU).

  3. API or 3rd-party tools.

• Age-Based Access Controls

  • Set <18 vs ≥18 groups to comply with YouTube & service restrictions.

• Mobile Admin App

  • “Google Admin” on iOS/Android → quick password resets, monitoring.

Storage Policy Changes (Post-2021)

• Each GWfE domain now receives $100\ \text{TB}=100\,000\ \text{GB}$ pooled storage.

• Monitoring Links:

  • edustoragereport.withgoogle.com (org-wide summary)

  • admin.google.com/ac/storage (detailed per-product usage).

• Admin Actions:

  • View top 5 / top 20 / top 50 consumers → Directory > Users → sort by Storage.

  • Assign quotas per OU (e.g., Teachers 2 TB, Students 10 GB).

  • Shared Drives management: decide creation rights; monitor large folders.

  • Over-quota users lose ability to upload/edit until space cleared; still receive email.

Google Classroom Policy Settings

• Location: Admin Console > Apps > Google Workspace > Classroom > Class Settings.

• Options:

  1. Only users within your domain can join/create classes.

  2. Allowlisted external domains (multi-campus networks).

  3. Any GWfE user worldwide may join.

• Guest speakers / cross-school collaboration controlled here.

Google Meet Customizations

• Enable visual effects/backgrounds: Apps > Google Workspace > Meet > Video Settings.

• Org-Wide Branded Backgrounds → upload images to Shared Drive then reference in Meet settings.

Additional Google Services & Marketplace Add-ons

• Non-core apps (e.g., Sheetgo, Looker Studio, SketchUp, Canva, Lucidchart) can be enabled per OU with age compliance.

• Admins install via Google Workspace Marketplace; users access under the 9-dot “App Launcher.”

Practical Tips & Reminders

• Logo upload: 320×132 px → appears across Gmail, Drive, etc.

• Always keep record of first super-admin credentials; losing them triggers recovery process.

• For large account imports, prepare CSV via Google Sheets; columns include: First Name (TH/EN), Last Name (TH/EN), Username, Password, OU.

• Establish Shared Drive governance early to prevent file loss when staff depart.

Community & Support

• Join Facebook group “Google Workspace for Education Users” – thousands share solutions.

• S-Curve support email: info@scurvathai.com.

• Additional admin tutorials & videos available through provided links (slides, docs, clips).

Ethical / Legal Considerations

• Compliance with PDPA (Thailand), COPPA (US children’s privacy), GDPR (EU) emphasized in Education Standard & Plus editions.

• Plagiarism detection in Teaching & Learning Upgrade fosters academic integrity.

Numerical References Recap

• >70{\,}000{\,}000 global GWfE users.

• $30\ \text{days}$ grace period for domain verification.

• $100\ \text{TB}$ pooled storage per domain (post-2021 policy).

• Recommended logo size $320\times132\ \text{pixels}$.

Sequence Summary (From Zero → Operational)

1. Acquire $.ac.th$ domain + documentation.

2. Sign up for GWfE Fundamentals (free) or via S-Curve path.

3. Verify domain (TXT) + configure MX.

4. Create OUs, set age ranges, upload logo.

5. Provision users (manual/CSV/API).

6. Set storage quotas, Classroom/Meet policies, additional apps.

7. Educate staff/students, monitor usage, adjust policies.

Closing Message

• Google Workspace for Education offers scalable, secure, collaborative infrastructure for schools; thoughtful admin setup (as detailed) maximizes benefits while ensuring compliance and sustainability.

• Reach out to community or S-Curve for further guidance.