Director of Technology at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
2023-05-11T18:55:00Z
May 11, 2023
My advice to people, all the time, is they just need to buy it. Stop dragging your feet with the free versions of some of the tools. It's not an expensive tool in the grand scheme of things and it saves you so much time. Buy it and it's easy. Just set it up and use it. It will make your life easier. We don't use Little SIS to roster Google Classroom classes. We find it best, and gives our teachers a little more flexibility, if we allow them to roster the classes themselves, and it's not hard to do. If we roster the classes, the teachers are hemmed in a little bit and they have to only have the students in there that we rostered. Often, our teachers want to add students into a class, or have that flexibility. But one thing Little SIS has allowed us to do, and one of the main reasons we first went with it, is actually to roster our parents into Little SIS's "guardians". That way, all students have a guardian in Google Classroom. Those guardians will receive the Google Classroom email summaries across the board, and Little SIS helps us not to miss anybody in that regard. Overall, Amplified has been great for helping us work with Google Workspace for Education. It helps us manage our Google Workspace much better.
Director of Technology at a non-tech company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
2023-05-10T18:33:00Z
May 10, 2023
My advice is to think about the typical problems you're trying to solve and if Amplified has a product or offering that addresses them, definitely consider it and weigh it against any other options, if available. Amplified is going to be a contender for many schools. CDW Amplified for Education has definitely made a name for itself as one of the premier organizations that support Google Workspace for Education and schools that are using it. As a part of the CDW environment now, it's a pretty powerful combination in terms of purchasing, but also for support. It's very important not just to spend money on the technology, but also to make sure that the technology is going to be used and that you train successfully on it. It seems logical to have a pretty strong presence in training and support alongside purchasing.
For somebody who is looking for direct support, it's great. For somebody who wants to collaborate with other schools on how they do things and get recommendations for how things are set up in the Google environment, it's absolutely something I would recommend. The service, overall, has been great for helping us work with Google Workspace for Education. Again, the key has been the ability to connect with others through their community and have access to their tech support. That has been incredibly beneficial for us.
We're only using some of their products and it's not that they're perfect in every way, but I haven't experienced issues where I would want to see improvement. I believe Amplified offers a trial period, so before you jump in with both feet, definitely do the trial. Do it on a smaller scale so you can see the processes of setting things up and getting it ready to go. Be sure to ask for a trial of the Collaborative to see what value you can get from that. There is almost no question that hasn't been discussed in there and you can usually find an answer to almost anything.
You want to make sure that you have the right folks at the table from within your department to leave your team a little bit of room to cross-train, so that there isn't just one person who is a liaison between Amplified and your organization. You don't want too many cooks in the kitchen, but we've been using five or six folks within our department, depending on the type of request. Also, set aside some time to apply all the great information that they're going to give you in the audit. When it comes to the managed Gopher suite, bring somebody who knows data and can apply and make the right decisions around the changes that need to be made within your organization, whether it's Gopher for Groups or Gopher for Chrome. When it comes to Amplified's flexibility and customizability, there are a few more limits, since they were acquired by CDW, to how flexible they can be. I'm not sure if that's for compliance reasons or just part of CDW's policies. Prior to their acquisition, they were always able to flex with us. And because they work so directly with Google, they could find a way to help, such as, "Hey, we bought 2,400 Chromebooks, we're going to get some service credits that give us hours that we can use for support." Since the acquisition they may have been slightly less flexible, but I think they're working on that. We are very happy with the model and the ways they're able to help us. They have a service account in our admin panel that lets them look at what we're looking at through the same lens. There's always room for improvement, but we're very happy with the arrangement that we have currently. Overall, using CDW Amplified for Education to help us work with Google Workspace for Education has been an excellent experience. We are very satisfied with the services.
I rate the solution a ten out of ten. My advice to those considering the solution is that Amplified has excellent product knowledge. That's why their tools work so well; they know how their product integrates with the primary tool.
Learn what your peers think about CDW Amplified for Education. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
I rate the solution a ten out of ten. Outside of account and device security and settings, we have very little infrastructure to manage, and we don't really use Amplified for that. We don't necessarily use the product to empower teachers, although some webinars and training are related to integration tools and features, letting us know what's out there. In our district, we share this information with our teacher technology leaders, called technology mentors. They can make informed decisions on which tools may be applicable at specific levels and in particular subject areas. The platform doesn't require much maintenance; now and then, we open one of the bulk changing tools, and an update will run in the background, but we can continue working. My advice to those considering Amplified for Education is that it is not necessarily the best fit for everyone. I can't always speak to other districts' needs, but if you're looking for more skill and knowledge in managing a Google environment, Amplified will do a good job establishing your needs and getting them met quickly.
I rate the solution a nine out of ten. We use the Little SIS Premium feature, though not to sync classrooms; we use it as more of a classroom management tool. I advise those considering the product to take advantage of the complete evaluation, including all the features you're interested in. Talk to their support to help you get set up, and don't assume you can figure it out alone. It isn't difficult, but getting an idea of the support and how the tools function is reasonable.
I rate CDW Amplified for Education a ten out of ten. I've never met someone from Amplified who I didn't like. I've never had any problems with them. They've always gotten back to me with information. Everybody that I work with at Amplified has been amazing. If they ever offered me a job, I'd take it, but I don't think I've got the skillset they want. Before adopting Amplified, you should consider which team members you need to train because you can't afford to train everybody at the highest levels. You also need a budget to buy tools. That's one downside. They don't offer a simple all-in-one package where you get all their tools on an annual license. That would be great. It's a la carte. I wish that all of our billing was done at the same time. It would be nice if all the enrollment and collaborative tools were in one package. You need to get all your ducks in a row in the accounting department. Once you start using these tools, you can't live without them. They only go for a year, so you must ensure you get them yearly. Amplified will take care of you, so you don't need to do much groundwork on your own.
I rate CDW Amplified for Education a ten out of ten. If you are considering Amplified, you should be ready for bumps along the road but know that someone will be there to help you through it. There are knowledgeable people out there, so you shouldn't feel like you need to go at it alone.
I rate the solution a ten out of ten. We stopped using the Little SIS Premium feature after a couple of years through no fault of Amplified. Our student information system had the system included, so it became redundant for us to pay extra for the same feature. The tool is relatively low-impact regarding empowering our teachers because we use it more on the infrastructure side. That's only because we have yet to push forward on the aspects that would be most relevant to teachers, but I know the product would be successful if we went in that direction. I advise those evaluating Amplified to speak with one of the reps if they have any concerns and get a demo of the product. Once you use it for a short time, you'll be sold on its capabilities.
I rate CDW Amplified for Education a nine out of ten. Nothing is perfect, but we've had an excellent experience. If you're considering a paid service from Google, you need to talk to your staff. Everyone wants everything, but you need to think about which services you're willing to pay extra for and how much you will use them. Do they do the same job as any other services that we already have?
CDW Education provides education-focused technology solutions that enhance teaching, impact learning, and inspire active collaboration in schools. The portfolio of Google Workspace for Education products and services are designed to empower educators, administrative staff, and students to effectively leverage and get more out of their Google for Education environments.
CDW Education has equipped over 4,000 school districts with Google Workspace for Education, impacting over 30 million...
My advice to people, all the time, is they just need to buy it. Stop dragging your feet with the free versions of some of the tools. It's not an expensive tool in the grand scheme of things and it saves you so much time. Buy it and it's easy. Just set it up and use it. It will make your life easier. We don't use Little SIS to roster Google Classroom classes. We find it best, and gives our teachers a little more flexibility, if we allow them to roster the classes themselves, and it's not hard to do. If we roster the classes, the teachers are hemmed in a little bit and they have to only have the students in there that we rostered. Often, our teachers want to add students into a class, or have that flexibility. But one thing Little SIS has allowed us to do, and one of the main reasons we first went with it, is actually to roster our parents into Little SIS's "guardians". That way, all students have a guardian in Google Classroom. Those guardians will receive the Google Classroom email summaries across the board, and Little SIS helps us not to miss anybody in that regard. Overall, Amplified has been great for helping us work with Google Workspace for Education. It helps us manage our Google Workspace much better.
My advice is to think about the typical problems you're trying to solve and if Amplified has a product or offering that addresses them, definitely consider it and weigh it against any other options, if available. Amplified is going to be a contender for many schools. CDW Amplified for Education has definitely made a name for itself as one of the premier organizations that support Google Workspace for Education and schools that are using it. As a part of the CDW environment now, it's a pretty powerful combination in terms of purchasing, but also for support. It's very important not just to spend money on the technology, but also to make sure that the technology is going to be used and that you train successfully on it. It seems logical to have a pretty strong presence in training and support alongside purchasing.
For somebody who is looking for direct support, it's great. For somebody who wants to collaborate with other schools on how they do things and get recommendations for how things are set up in the Google environment, it's absolutely something I would recommend. The service, overall, has been great for helping us work with Google Workspace for Education. Again, the key has been the ability to connect with others through their community and have access to their tech support. That has been incredibly beneficial for us.
We're only using some of their products and it's not that they're perfect in every way, but I haven't experienced issues where I would want to see improvement. I believe Amplified offers a trial period, so before you jump in with both feet, definitely do the trial. Do it on a smaller scale so you can see the processes of setting things up and getting it ready to go. Be sure to ask for a trial of the Collaborative to see what value you can get from that. There is almost no question that hasn't been discussed in there and you can usually find an answer to almost anything.
You want to make sure that you have the right folks at the table from within your department to leave your team a little bit of room to cross-train, so that there isn't just one person who is a liaison between Amplified and your organization. You don't want too many cooks in the kitchen, but we've been using five or six folks within our department, depending on the type of request. Also, set aside some time to apply all the great information that they're going to give you in the audit. When it comes to the managed Gopher suite, bring somebody who knows data and can apply and make the right decisions around the changes that need to be made within your organization, whether it's Gopher for Groups or Gopher for Chrome. When it comes to Amplified's flexibility and customizability, there are a few more limits, since they were acquired by CDW, to how flexible they can be. I'm not sure if that's for compliance reasons or just part of CDW's policies. Prior to their acquisition, they were always able to flex with us. And because they work so directly with Google, they could find a way to help, such as, "Hey, we bought 2,400 Chromebooks, we're going to get some service credits that give us hours that we can use for support." Since the acquisition they may have been slightly less flexible, but I think they're working on that. We are very happy with the model and the ways they're able to help us. They have a service account in our admin panel that lets them look at what we're looking at through the same lens. There's always room for improvement, but we're very happy with the arrangement that we have currently. Overall, using CDW Amplified for Education to help us work with Google Workspace for Education has been an excellent experience. We are very satisfied with the services.
I rate the solution a ten out of ten. My advice to those considering the solution is that Amplified has excellent product knowledge. That's why their tools work so well; they know how their product integrates with the primary tool.
I rate the solution a ten out of ten. Outside of account and device security and settings, we have very little infrastructure to manage, and we don't really use Amplified for that. We don't necessarily use the product to empower teachers, although some webinars and training are related to integration tools and features, letting us know what's out there. In our district, we share this information with our teacher technology leaders, called technology mentors. They can make informed decisions on which tools may be applicable at specific levels and in particular subject areas. The platform doesn't require much maintenance; now and then, we open one of the bulk changing tools, and an update will run in the background, but we can continue working. My advice to those considering Amplified for Education is that it is not necessarily the best fit for everyone. I can't always speak to other districts' needs, but if you're looking for more skill and knowledge in managing a Google environment, Amplified will do a good job establishing your needs and getting them met quickly.
I rate the solution a nine out of ten. We use the Little SIS Premium feature, though not to sync classrooms; we use it as more of a classroom management tool. I advise those considering the product to take advantage of the complete evaluation, including all the features you're interested in. Talk to their support to help you get set up, and don't assume you can figure it out alone. It isn't difficult, but getting an idea of the support and how the tools function is reasonable.
I rate CDW Amplified for Education a ten out of ten. I've never met someone from Amplified who I didn't like. I've never had any problems with them. They've always gotten back to me with information. Everybody that I work with at Amplified has been amazing. If they ever offered me a job, I'd take it, but I don't think I've got the skillset they want. Before adopting Amplified, you should consider which team members you need to train because you can't afford to train everybody at the highest levels. You also need a budget to buy tools. That's one downside. They don't offer a simple all-in-one package where you get all their tools on an annual license. That would be great. It's a la carte. I wish that all of our billing was done at the same time. It would be nice if all the enrollment and collaborative tools were in one package. You need to get all your ducks in a row in the accounting department. Once you start using these tools, you can't live without them. They only go for a year, so you must ensure you get them yearly. Amplified will take care of you, so you don't need to do much groundwork on your own.
I rate CDW Amplified for Education a ten out of ten. If you are considering Amplified, you should be ready for bumps along the road but know that someone will be there to help you through it. There are knowledgeable people out there, so you shouldn't feel like you need to go at it alone.
I rate the solution a ten out of ten. We stopped using the Little SIS Premium feature after a couple of years through no fault of Amplified. Our student information system had the system included, so it became redundant for us to pay extra for the same feature. The tool is relatively low-impact regarding empowering our teachers because we use it more on the infrastructure side. That's only because we have yet to push forward on the aspects that would be most relevant to teachers, but I know the product would be successful if we went in that direction. I advise those evaluating Amplified to speak with one of the reps if they have any concerns and get a demo of the product. Once you use it for a short time, you'll be sold on its capabilities.
I rate CDW Amplified for Education a nine out of ten. Nothing is perfect, but we've had an excellent experience. If you're considering a paid service from Google, you need to talk to your staff. Everyone wants everything, but you need to think about which services you're willing to pay extra for and how much you will use them. Do they do the same job as any other services that we already have?