What is Gaggle?

Gaggle was launched in 1999 and was one of the pioneering companies to provide a safe student email solution. Since then Gaggle has grown to offer so much more. We have grown to be a leader in “safe technology” within the K-12 market. Gaggle currently provides safe student communication tools to more than 15,000 schools in 57 countries, while managing over 2 million accounts and storing more than 750 million emails. Our online tools include safe student email, shared calendars, homework drop boxes, message boards, blogs, digital lockers, online document editing and collaborative, safe SMS Texting and filtered YouTube access.

What do I have to install to implement Gaggle’s tools?

Gaggle offers a hosted, web-based solution. Therefore no additional hardware or software will be installed at your location.

What is the cost for Gaggle?

You can purchase individual accounts for $6.00 each or as little as $3.75 per student on a district wide basis. The accounts are sold as an annual subscription service.

There are grants and other federal funding sources such as E-rate that can help your district afford the Gaggle subscription version.

Is there a free version of Gaggle?

For many years Gaggle has offered a free version for teachers and schools who cannot afford to subscribe. We want teachers to show decision makers that online tools can be safe and are a great way to encourage student excitement and learning.

The free version of Gaggle is supported by advertising. We block the offensive ads, but all ads are distracting by nature. It's the best option we found to support classroom teachers but still allow our company to grow and thrive. At the end of the day we need money to make our servers hum.

Gaggle is still offering the free version of our service to selected schools and teachers. It's an invitation only thing. If you would like to apply for the free version of Gaggle please call us at (800) 288-7750.

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 school.

How long will it take to implement Gaggle?

As a classroom teacher you can setup your Gaggle accounts in as little as an hour. We have web tools for adding students, online tutorials and our customer service team can help.

District wide implementation of Gaggle, from contract to roll-out of accounts, can be accomplished in as little as 5-7 business days. The timeline is ultimately dependent on the District’s availability for the initial implementation meeting and completion of required worksheets and documents. The success of initial implementation is ensured through regular contact between Gaggle’s Account Representative and the District’s designated contact person. Gaggle is committed to making this process as efficient and easy as possible.

What kind of Customer Service does Gaggle offer?

Gaggle prides itself on providing outstanding customer service. Customers can reach the Gaggle customer service team via our toll-free number or Live Chat feature between 7:00AM – 6:00PM, Monday-Friday (CST). After normal business hours and on weekends, and holidays, customers are encouraged to reach our service department via our admin@gaggle.net address. We guarantee a 8 hour or less response time, even on weekends and holidays, with typical response times are less than 2 hours. In addition to telephone and email support, customers may choose to take advantage of our extensive library of online documentation, which includes “Quick Start Guides,” walkthroughs of several features, and tutorials.

Can you explain the access levels?

Gaggle offers numerous access levels to customize our solution to meet the needs of your district. The access levels include: District Master, District Administrator, School Master, School Administrator, Enhanced Teacher, Teacher, Staff, Parent Accounts, Student, Gaggle Only, District Only, School Only, Class Only, Admin Only, Read Only, and Suspended, among others. Each of the access levels has different email privileges and can control different parameters for the group and member accounts. Some users can change the Blocked Word and Blocked Address Lists as well as read and edit other users' email. We would be happy to explain our extensive user permissioning in detail, upon request.

Can students store their homework files on Gaggle?

Students can upload homework files to their Gaggle Digital Locker. Files can be kept private, or access can be granted to other users. The files can be access from any computer with an internet connection. Schools have realized significant cost savings by using less paper for homework assignments with Gaggle.

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.

What if my students forget their username or password?

If students forget their password, the teacher or administrator can reset it via our web interface. For security purposes no one can view the current password. Students may also change their password by clicking on the “Forgot your password” link on our login page. After entering their email address and the verification text, instructions on how to reset the password are sent to the teacher or the student's outside email address if the student has an outside address registered with Gaggle.

How can I find messages in my students’ accounts?

Using Gaggle’s Search feature you can search an individual account or multiple accounts depending on your access level. On the left side bar, click the small arrow next to the spyglass icon in the search box. The Advanced Search screen has multiple parameters to enter for your search. The results will be displayed with your search terms highlighted in red.

Does your system offer Language Translation features?

Gaggle includes a built-in language translation feature that supports forty-three different languages. This feature is available on the Gaggle write mail screen, read mail screen, message boards, and blogs.

Do you have any examples of a Student Online Safety Pledge?

Gaggle has a sample document that can be downloaded and used as a Student Online Safety Pledge. The file is in Rich Text Format (RTF). It will open with any word processing program such as Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat or Star Office. This document is also available in Spanish: We also have a Spanish version of the Online Safety Pledge.

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.

I am new to Gaggle. Is there something that will help me get started?

The Teacher Quick Start Guide offers two handouts that explain how teachers and students can quickly get started using Gaggle. The Gaggler Archives contain past issues of our newsletter with lots of great tricks, tips and ideas for curriculum projects.

How much storage is available with our Gaggle accounts?

Free Gaggle accounts include 2.5 MB of storage space, and Paid Subscription Accounts include 7 GB of storage space. Gaggle offers other storage options for an additional fee including: Virtual Drives (1 GB, 2 GB or unlimited storage) as well as an Unlimited Email Storage option.

Where can I find a list of Gaggle features?

Many of our features are described in our "Gaggle Apps" section of this site.