Creating Google Apps for Education accounts
Google Apps for Education accounts are free to students and staff at educational institutions upon verification of the institution’s status by Google.
To set up Google Apps for Education, the district will register their domain name with Google as an educational institution. For detailed information about Google Apps for Education, and to register the domain, go to:
Although Google provides email service and uses email addresses for authentication (for example, name@district.edu), this will not interfere with the district’s existing email system. However, it may be advisable to create the Google Apps for Education accounts in a subdomain, especially if the district wishes to use Gmail in addition to an existing email service.
If the district is already using Google Apps for Education, Amplify can use these accounts, or the district may create separate Google Apps for Education accounts just for use with Amplify.
Whether you're using new or existing accounts, Google Apps for Education account names must be all lowercase, including the domain portion.
There are several common methods for creating, updating, and deleting accounts in Google Apps for Education:
Direct management using Google Apps Manager (GAM)
Integration with the district’s existing identity management product, if available
Integration with the district’s Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) or Active Directory (AD) with Google Apps Directory Sync (GADS)
Typically, the district will manage the Google Apps for Education accounts directly using Google Apps Manager (GAM). Management is also possible through the administrative web interface, but this is impractical on a large scale. GAM provides the ability to script account management operations. The district will be responsible for determining when accounts are to be created, updated, and deleted, and will execute the GAM commands to perform these functions. This will generally be done with automated scripts.
Integration with an identity management product or with an LDAP or AD environment is a more significant effort that may be too large to undertake as a prerequisite to deploying the Amplify software. However, this may be the best long-term approach.