GMail Transition FAQ
Q: Why is the Pawtucket School District transitioning to GMail?
A: The Pawtucket School District is switching to GMail as part of our larger implementation of Google Apps for Education. Google Apps for Education is a free service provided by Google to allow creation, collaboration, and sharing by students and teachers. By switching to GMail, the Pawtucket School District saves money and resources that would be spent housing and maintaining our current Groupwise system. The move to GMail also allows for significant growth and flexibility with our e-mail system.
Q: When is the switch to GMail effective?
A: The planned date to switch to GMail is on Friday, July 15th, 2011.
Q: Will my e-mail address change?
A: No. All users will keep their current e-mail address (lastnamefirstinitial@psdri.net).
Q: Do I need to let anyone know I’m moving to a new e-mail system?
A: No. Any messages that are sent to you after the switch will go to GMail automatically. The sender does not need to make any modification on their end.
Q: Are all of my e-mail messages going to be transferred to GMail?
A: The format of the existing Groupwise messages does not allow us to mass-migrate e-mail messages. We will not be transferring any existing e-mails into the new GMail system.
Q: I have messages I need. Is there anyway to transfer them to GMail?
A: Once our GMail system is active, users will be able to log into the old Groupwise system and forward e-mails to GMail. For example, John Doe would log into Groupwise Webaccess, find a message he wanted to keep and forward that message to ‘doej@psdri.net’. The message would then appear in GMail as a new message. Additional instructions will be provided.
Q: Will contacts in my personal address book or calendar entries be migrated?
A: Again, because of the format of these items, we are not able to mass-migrate them. They will remain accessible via Groupwise Webaccess for reference if you would like to recreate the entries in GMail.
Q: Will the existing school staff, school cert and, school noncert groups be available?
A: Yes. Groups such as SheaStaff, SheaCert, SheaNonCert, etc. will be available.
Q: What is happening to my existing e-mail?
A: Existing e-mail messages will remain accessible in Groupwise for a few months after the transition. We will alert all users when we are prepared to shutdown the Groupwise system.
Q: How will I access the GMail system? How will I access the old Groupwise e-mail?
A: Links to both GMail and the old Groupwise system will be available on the district’s web page.
Q: Is GMail secure? Is the GMail service reliable?
A: Google’s infrastructure is far more reliable and secure than what is possible with our current resources. This link explains Google security and privacy policies: http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/edu/privacy.html
Q: Are there any training materials on the new e-mail?
A: Google has a site dedicated to helping teachers and students use Google Apps for Education: http://edutraining.googleapps.com/ . Specifically, you can access the training for e-mail at http://edutraining.googleapps.com/Training-Home/module-2-mail .
Q: What is happening to Groupwise Messenger?
A: We will be switching from Groupwise Messenger to Google Chat sometime after the e-mail transition.
Q: Previously, I had my smartphone configured to access my Pawtucket e-mail. Will that setup change?
A: Yes. IPhone and Android users will be able to use the GMail client for their phone to connect to the Pawtucket School District GMail. We will provide additional details after the transition.
