Can I sign up on my own or do I need other teachers to sign up with me?

As a teacher, you may sign up alone and use the service for your class only. Later, other teachers at your school can easily be added. In fact, you can add other teachers yourself. Just create a new School Administrator account within your group.

Is there a limit to the number of student accounts we can set up?

No Limits! Gaggle.Net is now used by large districts with tens of thousands of students and by individual classrooms. Just contact us at support@gaggle.net if you need more accounts.

Are there any hidden costs?

The basic advertising supported version of Gaggle is free to schools. However, you should remember that all advertising is designed to distract students.

If you want to use a custom domain name there is a nominal fee. You can also pay for the Subscription Version of Gaggle and eliminate the advertising.

Where can I find a list of Gaggle features?

A List of Features can be found on our web site.

Can I pay for a non-advertising version?

Yes, if you prefer not to expose your students to advertising, your school can subscribe to the Standard Subscription Version of Gaggle. Your school would receive Gaggle accounts that are hosted on our servers. The school does not need any hardware, software or technical training. Read More about the Subscription options.

You can purchase individual accounts for $5.00 each or as little as $3.75 per student on a district wide basis.

You can offset this cost if you find a local company to sponsor your school. Just like getting advertisements for your yearbook, a local company can sponsor your email. We can customize the Gaggle web site with the sponsor's logo and your school name. (Some customization fees may apply.)

Can we use a custom domain name for the email addresses?

Yes, for a small fee you can customize the email addresses for your students.

Using a custom domain name gives your students more choices for their email address. For instance, jeff@gaggle.net is taken, but jeff@sdhs.gaggle.net would be available. A custom domain also helps unify and identify the members of your school.

There are two choices:

1. You can use a sub domain name such as "jsmith@westsidehigh.gaggle.net". A sub domain of Gaggle requires no work on your part.
2. If your school has its own domain name such as franklinschool.com, you can use this for your email address. You will need to have your web master point the MX record of your server at the Gaggle mail server. (We can help.)

The cost for a custom domain name of either type is $200 for the first year and a $100 maintenance fee each year thereafter.

To order a custom domain name for your school, fax us a purchase order at (309) 665-0572. Please list the domain name you would like as well as a person to serve as the technical contact. If you want to use your school's top level domain name, the MX record for your server should point to "mail.gaggle.net". This will forward mail from your domain name to the Gaggle mail server.

Can we purchase the Gaggle system and put it on our school's internal network?

Yes, we can set up a Gaggle email server on your school's internal ethernet network. This would be an advertising free version of the service that you control.

We will send you a pre-configured server (equipment provided by your district) that you simply plug into your ethernet network. The system will arrive ready for you to input your student data. You can setup and run several different schools from the same system.

The cost depends upon the size of your school or district. The first year cost starts at $6,000 for the server and $1.25 for each account needed beyond 3,000 users. The license for subsequent years is $1.25 per account with a minimum renewal price of $4,000. Technical support after initial setup can be purchased hourly or on a monthly contract. Give us a call if you are interested in this option. Our number is (800) 288-7750 or email support@gaggle.net.

What is this new Anti-Pornography Scanner?

The Anti-Pornography Scanner is a unique safety feature only available from Gaggle. The APS Technology analyzes the content of images and can distinguish between pictures of children at the beach and pornographic images. The APS decompresses and analyzes zip files, inspects embedded images, linked pictures, and even URLs. The Digital Lockers, Blogs and Message Boards are also scanned.

The Gaggle APS is now in its second generation and is based on the most advanced technology available in the market today. Every image is profiled by extracting visual features representing fundamental properties such as color, texture, shape, and composition. These image properties are then compared to a customized model file produced by over 50,000 images which teach the computer what is objectionable and what is not. A score is returned guiding the software to the appropriate actions for each image.

In addition, the APS analyzes on the fly all URL's included in the email message body. This ensures that the web sites accessible by the students do not contain pornographic content.

We believe pornography protection is vital for a district-provided tool, especially when it is accessible from home. No educator wants an angry phone call from a parent whose child accessed a pornographic web site from a message that was received in a school provided email account.

Can my students store their homework files on Gaggle?

Yes, students can store homework files on Gaggle. Students can upload files to their own Digital Locker. Files can be made public or private and they can access them from any computer with an internet connection.

Does Gaggle include message boards?

Yes, Gaggle has message boards at the school, district, and Gaggle wide level. Teachers can create their own message boards to invite homework discussion or review for a test. Teachers also have the ability to limit which message boards their students can access.

Does Gaggle include chat rooms and can they be limited?

Yes, Gaggle has chat rooms at the school, district, and Gaggle wide level. Teachers can create specific chat rooms for a live online review, and they can easily limit student access to certain levels of chat rooms.

Does Gaggle offer Parent Accounts?

Yes, Gaggle has released a new Parent account option. Parents can be linked to students at multiple schools to help monitor their own students as well as to facilitate home-to-school communication. For more information please check out Gaggle's Parent Account Page.

Where can I find pen pals for my students?

Gaggle has created Educator Message Boards specific to teachers. One of these boards is dedicated to helping teachers find pen pals for their students.

Does Gaggle offer pop3 and smtp access for using Outlook?

Yes, we do offer pop3 and smtp access for users to our Standard Subscription Version. Detailed instructions on how to set up your account can be found in the Administrator's Guide. The Administrator's Guide is located under the School Admin menu when you have logged in.

Can I forward my Gaggle email to my district email address?

Gaggle has a forwarding feature that will allow users to forward mail to another email address. You can set it up to forward or copy all of your mail or just forward your blocked messages. Only users with the access level of School Staff or above can forward mail.

I'm a workshop leader. How can I use Gaggle in my workshops?

We want to support you in your efforts to train other teachers. Check out our Resources for Workshop Leaders & Trainers.

What Email Archiving solutions does Gaggle have to offer?

Gaggle offers a hosted Email Archiving Solution>that is compatible with Exchange, Groupwise, an Gaggle's own Accounts. There is no easier way to meet the Open Records Requirements.

Why is our BESS system blocking the Gaggle web site?

That's a good question. We don't know why either. The good news is that you can request your Network Administrator to unblock the site. It's easy and we'll be glad to help you.

Does Gaggle comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act?

Yes, Gaggle is in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998. For more details read our statement of compliance.

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