NYCDOE Google for Education Resource Site - FAQs (2024)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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The table of contents below lists the questions related to each topic provided on this page. Scroll down to the question you are interested in, and click the drop-down arrow at the right of it to view the answer.

ACCOUNTS & ADMIN TASKS

How do I get Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) with Parachute? Which version of Google Workspace should I use?

Visit the NYCDOE G Suite Parachute page.

Here are the NYCDOE Chancellor's expectations:

• If your school does not have G Suite for EDU, is in a trial period using Gmail accounts, or is using G Suite for business, please stop. Instead, use the DOE-provided Google Workspace for Education accounts as follows:

  • Teachers log in to their account, e.g. at classroom.google.com, and sign in with their @schools.nyc.gov username and password

  • Teachers can get a list of all students accounts from STARS and add to Classroom that way

  • Students login as @nycstudents.net accounts

  • Here is the NYCDOE student account access and password reset link

• If your school has Google Workspace for Education already, enroll in Parachute and use it for your entire school. You should establish a contact person who can administrate the Google for Education users and policies for students and parents.

Is there a synopsis of how schools "Go Google"?

You may review the Google Workspace for Education Essential Resources Guide for a compilation of resources that schools have used to "Go Google."

I made an individual Google vanity account (consumer gmail account ending in @schools.nyc.gov). Now when I try to sign in, I am offered two options: log in to "organizational G Suite account" or "individual Google account." What do I do?

Explanation

This means that in the past you signed up for a consumer/individual gmail account that uses the @schools.nyc.gov domain name. However, now that all staff have actual G Suite accounts, there is a conflict. You are now given the choice to login to the Google G Suite account that NYCDOE created (first option) or the consumer/individual account you made (second option).

Solution

• NYCDOE has split all of these individual accounts and they were renamed to something like myname1-schools.nyc.gov@gtempaccount.com. Please note nothing is deleted or removed.

• If you would like to rename the account, you should choose "an account with Gmail and a new Gmail address" after clicking the second option, which will change the name of the individual account to yourchoice@gmail.com

• If desired, you can then download from your new Gmail account's Google Drive, then re-upload to your proper @schools.nyc.gov account. See this article on how to convert documents into Google formats upon uploading them to Drive.

Where do students and parents find their usernames or reset passwords?

What is an Organizational Unit? How should I use it?

"OUs" are hierarchical directories that enable organization of both devices and users. Typically, you'll want (at minimum) to create several OUs in the root to better help organize your Google Workspace for Education domain. To start, you'll want a "devices" OU for all your devices and a "users" OU, which can have sub-OUs that you give names like "faculty" and "students."

You can control which OUs grant access to certain Google Apps or to apply different settings to the users in different OUs. For example, you may not want to allow GMail, Hangouts, Hangouts Chat, and Groups for Business for the "students" OU but allow them for the "faculty" OU.

You can also control which policies are applied to devices in a similar fashion. If you have student Chromebooks and also faculty Chromebooks, you can apply different device settings to each OU to allow for different types of policies.

To learn more about Organizational Units, read this article.

What steps do I take to bulk create/suspend users?

Note: You must include the organizational unit. This is a new step!

The "root" Organizational Unit level would be a single / (forward slash); if you have a "Student" OU in the root, then you'd use /Students or similar. Additionally, the RESI and or ROCL files may assist here in creating the usernames. The #NYCSchoolsTech community typically uses first letter of first name, first three letters of last name PLUS 3 random numbers. The password can be 8 random numbers; also, you may choose whether or not users have to update their password on first login by adding TRUE or FALSE to the right-most column labeled "Change Password at Next Sign-In."

This tool can be used to do bulk actions to accounts. Examples of this would be as follows:

• To bulk suspend users, use the column 'New Status [Upload Only]'; to archive or suspend a user, enter Archived or Suspended.

• To unarchive or restore a suspended user, enter Active.

Find more information here.

How do I prevent students from placing Google Meet? How do I generally set up Google Meet for distance learning?

• Disable "Let users place video and voice calls" for an OU (e.g. the /Students OU) if you don't want certain people making calls per this article.

How do I control who can create a class on Google Classroom?

Does my school Google Workspace administrator need to be a Super Administrator?

It is best practice to have 2-3 Super Administrators for your domain, just in case the primary Super Administrator leaves or is unable to return to work. A Super Administrator should be the Technology SPOC and include a school administrator. Ideally, this will be someone that will most likely remain within the school for an extended period of time to ensure continuity of service. You may avoid issues with continuity of service and more by signing your school up for NYCDOE's G Suite Parachute.

Please ensure that all G Suite Super Administrators have added recovery options to their accounts.

When students/faculty leave, what do I do with their Google for Education accounts?

How do staff or graduating students transfer ALL their school Google account data?

Google Takeout can assist you with all your data transfer needs. The service must be turned on to allow exports of data as well as allow these exports to go directly to a gmail account as follows:

• Download all data

• Download specific parts of your Google Workspace data.

Note: You cannot directly transfer data between different Google Workspace domains, but you can transfer to a gmail account. Otherwise, you will have to use Google Takeout, to download all of your data; then, you may upload it to your new account. When uploading, you can change the setting to "Convert documents into Google format" upon upload to Google Drive per this article.

CHROME

How do I add Chrome extensions/add-ons?

• If you're using your school's local Google account, work with Google Workspace for Education support or use these support articles:

  • Automatically install apps and extensions article

  • Manage Chrome Browser extensions in the Admin console article

  • Review this add-ons article

• If you're using NYCDOE's central Google Workspace for Education, submit a request for add-ons/extensions on Infohub (DOE login required).

• NOTE: Signing in with Chrome won't work if it's a DOE-imaged Windows / Mac computer. School admin can remove that restriction. See the answer to the question on this FAQs page "How do I remove DIIT Chrome browser permissions so I can install extensions?"

Which Google Play apps are high-quality & teacher-approved?

• Check out this Google blog on teacher-approved apps

• Search for ways to use Chromebooks in innovative ways

How do I install extensions/data sync for Chrome on DIIT imaged Apple / Lenovo devices?

Submit a DIIT device support ticket, or call 718.935.5100.

How do I fix Chrome crashing with the error message "Ah Snap..." or similar when I launch it?

DEVICES

How do I manage, wipe, and/or enterprise enroll Chromebooks?

Here is information on how to manage, wipe, and enterprise enroll Chromebooks.

How do I use my Android device with @schools.nyc.gov and @nycstudents.net G Suite accounts?

• This scenario is one in which you are letting the NYCDOE G Suite administrators control only the work profile not the entire device for security and privacy.

• Follow the steps in this article and after a short wait, you'll see an app like Google Classroom be added to the devices work profile.

Why am I prompted to install policy when signing into Google for Education on an iOS device?

Students that who received iPads from NYCDOE DIIT are asked to enable a passcode on the device or install a security profile. How do we fix this?

• Per NYCDOE, set up the "Less Secure Option" for at least the students OU. Read more here.

• If that's grayed out or the issue is that security profiles are being required, go to Devices > Setup > Mobile Management > Enable > Custom > iOS: Unmanaged. Finally, follow the aforementioned steps.

EMAIL & DOMAIN NAME/WEBSITE

How do I restrict emails?

Can I forward my schools.nyc.gov email to my school-based G Suite?

How can I use Google Sites as my school's website?