Email Options for NCCSA Schools

Please forward this to the person at your ministry who handles matters of technology and communication. 

Effective communication and technology tools are needed more than ever in the K-12 setting. As you might have heard, more technology is being moved to the “cloud.” Basically, this means that large buildings off site store data such as emails, documents, and other software, providing users with top-tier services without having to pay specialized IT staff to maintain on-premise equipment.

In the past few years, Google has made a strong push with its Google Apps platform. Many schools use Google Apps to offer technology tools to students and faculty and to lower the expenses related to maintaining communication and productivity technology.

While a platform such as Google Apps has several benefits, many users report that they do not like using a web interface to handle their email, and most users have formatting issues when working with familiar programs such as Microsoft® Excel or Microsoft® Word in the Google Apps platform.

Since workstations and laptops will never be outdated for offices and other non-mobile work environments, Microsoft® Word and Microsoft® Excel will continue to be the standard for word processing and spreadsheets. Microsoft® Outlook will be the desktop communication standard for handling emails, calendar storage, mobile phone/tablet sync, contacts, etc. Google Apps users who have always enjoyed handling their email in Microsoft® Outlook must now use Gmail as their main email interface, and most would rather use Outlook. Despite Gmail’s benefits, it does not have the capabilities and user-friendly features of Microsoft® Outlook (desktop or web version).

To combat the satisfaction and formatting issues many education and government personnel have had with Google Apps, Microsoft® began offering its services free of charge to non-profits and educational institutions. This product is called Microsoft® Office 365 and has been Microsoft’s fastest growing program to date. Because of the familiarity with Microsoft® Word, Excel, and other products, many schools have already switched to Microsoft® Office 365. Some of their education plans offer free email and software to students and faculty, free instant message tools, and online server space that enables users to save, view, and edit documents anywhere 24/7. Most of the schools that have used Microsoft® Exchange Server to handle their on-site email are already noticing cost savings by switching to Office 365.

In the past, the NCCSA kept all documents, emails, and other technology applications on an in-house server. However, for reasons mentioned above, the NCCSA migrated many of its technology needs to Office 365 when it was first offered. This online platform has saved the NCCSA money and has allowed NCCSA personnel to stay current with the newest technology. In an associational role, using an alternative product for word processing and emails is not possible since so many schools download and interact with various documents from the state office. The formatting issues that alternative products cause are unacceptable.

As each school makes plans to offer the most affordable technology, we hope this information is valuable to you. Google Apps is a beneficial platform capable of performing the needs of many schools. However, since most are accustomed to Microsoft® products, we wanted everyone to be aware of this opportunity that Microsoft® has made available. While it takes a little work to be qualified as an educational institution or non-profit with Microsoft®, it is worth it.  The NCCSA hopes these tools will assist your school in cutting costs while continuing to offer top-tier communication services to your faculty and students.

If you would like to communicate with an NCCSA school that has already made this switch, please let us know. You can work directly with a Microsoft partner that will help your school become approved as an educational institution by calling Tobey from En Pointe at 310.337.6188 or by emailing office365@enpointe.com.  

Jason Haas, Ed.S.
NCCSA State Office