They Don't Hate You, They Hate Change: Boston College's Conversion to Google Apps

Boston College recently converted all faculty and staff e-mail and calendar accounts from Exchange to Google Apps for Education. An emphasis of the communication and training plan for the migration focus on the fact that for most people, change, not Google (or its messengers), was what they really hated. Over 250 BC faculty and staff were recruited as "Google Guides," who had early access to information, training, and resources to help with the conversion process within their departments. This session details the successful collaborative techniques BC used to roll out Google Apps for Education to an audience that had been happily using other e-mail and calendar applications for a long time and needed some convincing that Google was the way to go.

OUTCOMES: Learn how to create and implement a guide program for faculty and staff * Learn successful techniques to manage an impactful change affecting everyone on campus * Learn strategies for successful collaboration, both within a department and across a university