Google has made free tools and storage available for education. It appears with the newly named Google Workspace for Education program totally free storage has come to an end for many. Google now offers a four-tier model with one tier still free (Workspace for Education).
For those of us who used Google resources as individuals, free storage also has come to an end. We are allowed 15 GB of storage, but that has to cover what we store in Gmail, Drive, and Photos. Again, some will be able to function within this amount of storage, but if you are like me and have used Google services for many years you likely have enough content in Drive and Photos that you will have to pay for some tier of Google One storage.
I write frequently about Google use in educational settings, but I was not part of a Google for GSuite group. I could describe the tiers for you, but this has already been done by others who have studied the new tiered model. Even a great description of the tiers will not necessarily be all educators need to know when investing in one tier or another. The challenge for someone like me offering advice is that what should be recommended would depend on knowing the data storage history of a given school and how many student/teachers are involved. This type of information is needed in making a good choice. Smaller schools not asking educators and students to save a lot of content (remember that saving content over several years might be desirable) could probably still use the free tier.
I thought this podcast from the Chromebook Classroom did a great job of describing some guidelines that could serve as a starting point for district decisions.
