Students prepare for switch to Gmail

Gmail (Google mail) will become the new default email system for all Buffalo State students starting Oct. 12. Students will no longer have emails sent to their Webmail account, and a Gmail account will be created for them. Students' email addresses will not change, and will still be in the username@buffalostate.mail.edu format. Faculty will continue to use Webmail.

The switch has been two years in the making. According to Mark McBride, coordinator of library instruction, USG Treasurer Joshua Lipka originally brought the idea of using Gmail to the Student Welfare Committee. Six months later, Buffalo State was in contact with Google.

"There are a lot of advantages to Gmail over the current mail system," said Andrew Chambers, technology administrator. "The old system is very outdated. We have been using it for at least 10 years." He said students will now have the opportunity to keep their school Gmail account for life, whereas the Webmail account is only available for up to two years after graduation.

McBride said a common complaint from students is they can receive mail from their Buffalo State Webmail account on their mobile phone, but they cannot send messages from it. He said students want to have the ability to have a mobile version of their email on their phone, and Gmail will provide that service.

Computing Help Desk Manager Jason Welborn said Gmail provides about 7,450 more megabytes of storage than Webmail provides, and the amount of storage space will continue to grow. In addition to that, overhead costs of licensing, monitoring and maintaining Webmail will disappear, since Gmail and Google apps are provided free to institutions.

Students seem to be excited about the change. Junior political science major Latifah Giles is a fan of Google Calendar and Scholar.

"Google has so much that you can use," Giles said, "and it will make it so much easier to access material. Stuff is way easier to save, easier to send. It is just a better network."

Welborn said many students are already using Google Apps, and switching to Gmail will make Google's services more readily available to students.

However, if students are unfamiliar with Gmail or Google applications, there will be help readily available.

"We plan on starting with 15-minute breakout sessions showing students how to access their account, and the rest will be at need," McBride said.

Students can also sign up for one-on-one sessions with library staff to accommodate their own needs. McBride said he is willing to provide workshops showing students and faculty how to use different Google Apps as well. To help with the initial transition to Gmail, a launch event will take place Oct. 12 in the library, and staff will be staying late.

 For students to access their Gmail account, they must log in to Banner, and from there a specified link will give them a default password. Clicking the link also puts students in a raffle to win a gift card to the library cafe. When they log into Gmail for the first time, they will be prompted to change their password. The transition to the new account will then be complete. Students can forward some or all of their Webmail messages to their new account, but will no longer be able to receive or send messages through their Webmail account.

Gmail is one form of a Google account, but will not automatically provide access to different Google applications. To gain access to all the services Google has to offer, one must create a Google account, which any email address can be linked to.

Visit  HYPERLINK "http://www.buffalostate.edu/cts/gmailnotice.xml" http://www.buffalostate.edu/cts/gmailnotice.xml for more information about the transition.

Ariel Peters can be reached by email at peters.record@live.com.