BY LEANNE WILSON
Copy Chief

Baldwin students in both high school and middle school will be receiving a school Gmail account in October.
Dr. Janeen Peretin, director of information and instructional technology, has started Baldwin on this program due to the educational opportunities the accounts will provide.
Librarian Brigetta Del Re will be giving a presentation to classes in the library during this month, and students will get their accounts during their English classes.
Students and teachers can utilize Google Drive, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Gmail, Calendar, and Sites. The accounts also add a simple way of communicating with other students and teachers.
The program is called Google Apps for Education (GAFE). It allows students and teachers to collaborate in and out of the classroom. The email can be accessed on any device.
“Schools and universities across the country have been participating in the GAFE program over the past several years with great success,” Peretin said.
High school students can email other students, their teachers, and any other email addresses they want. Middle schoolers can only email their teachers and other students who are within the district.
“High school students have been given an additional level of access so that they can have a formal email account that they can use for communication with potential employers or colleges and universities,” Peretin said.
Some teachers already use other educational websites in their classrooms, so linking them all together will create a universal domain for people to use.
“Many of the high school teachers have used apps for instructional purposes, but by officially becoming a GAFE district, we are able to streamline the accessibility to students and teachers,” Peretin said.
Documents and files can be shared and reviewed easily with teachers. Students can use Google Drive to save files, no longer needing to rely on H drives or flash drives. Their work will constantly be accessible to them on their personal devices, she said.
Some upperclassmen said the new accounts will not benefit them, as they have had their own Google account throughout high school.
“I don’t understand why we have to make a new account if we had to make them in our freshman English classes. I like the account I already have because everything is all in one place,” junior Jaycee Revo said.
Others, however, see this as an educational opportunity.
“I’m excited. Now I have an official email. It’s easier than having a personal one,” freshman Sarah Doran said