"GLORIOUS GOOGLE CLASSROOMS HELPS US TO GLOBALIZE GLORIOUSLY ACROSS THE GLOBE"

Learners have access to resources that extend beyond textbooks and offer connection with the world. Google Classroom is one technology designed to enhance the learning experience. Classroom is an education application suite offering productivity tools such as email, document and storage for students and teachers.

Google Classroom's purpose is to facilitate paperless communication between teachers and students and streamline educational workflow. Classroom allows teachers to create classes, post assignments, organize folders, and view work in real-time.

Google Classroom’s purpose is to facilitate paperless communication between teachers and students and streamline educational workflow. Classroom allows teachers to create classes, post assignments, organize folders, and view work in real-time. Google Classroom is a blended learning platform developed by Google for schools that aims to simplify creating, distributing and grading assignments in a paperless way. It was introduced as a feature of G Suite for Education on May 6, 2014, followed by its public release on August 12, 2014.

One of the best features is that Classroom is fully integrated with all other Google apps, so students and teachers can share information with one another instantaneously instead of having to hop through various hurdles to submit work. This simplifies certain functions in apps, too: For example, Google Docs would no longer require the use of the nefarious “Doctopus” function to create duplicate copies for students.

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Students can begin their work with just one click, by viewing the assignment then opening a Google Doc. When they do this, teachers have a real-time view into student progress and can offer feedback along the way. Students each have their own Google Drive folder that allows students and teachers perpetual access to previous work, and educators can even assign grades within Classroom.

In short, Google Classroom offers a one-stop platform for facilitating digital production, workflow, and communication between teachers and students. Like other Google apps, it is available for free to schools, has no ads, and never uses student or teacher content for advertising purposes.

Technology in the Classroom: How Google Classroom Can Change Things

If you’re still largely using paper for materials and assignments, then Google Classroom offers an easy-to-use, entry-level step into making your class more digital. Like many of its products, Google makes every attempt to provide a self-intuitive and user-friendly experience. If you already employ paperless methods for your students, then Classroom will streamline your workflow with its peerless integration with its apps. Now the advantages of all GAFE are easily organized and accessible within one educational framework.

Not only does it help with student organization by putting all assignments and work in one safe place, but it also helps teachers too. Creating, copying, assigning, supervising, collecting, grading, recording, and returning work to students is a process requiring a great deal of time and steps. Google Classroom simplifies these tasks by combining, eliminating, or organizing them. Google Classroom will undoubtedly save time and trouble for teachers grading student work.

Google Classroom is additionally designed for teachers and students to share ideas and resources with one another. Teachers and students can participate in online Classroom discussions, and everyone can post links to informative resources within discussions or other sharing mechanisms. I should note that there is no app for Google Classroom yet. Classroom exists on a website platform, though students using iPads can easily log into Google Classroom and seamlessly pull in their work from other Google apps.

Classroom is not a production tool, but rather a management tool; so it merely requires you and students to learn how to post information and documents and how to locate the information you want on it. If your school is already a GAFE institution, then you already have access to Classroom – you merely need to login in and invite your students to do the same. If your students already have experience using other Google apps, like Docs or Spreadsheets, then they are already set for using Classroom.

How It Compares

With Classroom, Google is entering an already competitive market ripe with effective learning management systems. Where it has the most leverage is in its seamless integration with its own apps. This allows extremely easy access for students and teachers to one another work, and reduces many of the steps previously necessary for sharing information. While other systems like Schoology or Edmodo effectively integrate Google apps into their systems, it requires extra steps, which mean extra clicks and extra complications.

Another advantage is that products created with Google apps are designed for sharing, and that sharing may more easily take place in Google Classroom than other more “closed system” management software that allows students to put work it, but not spread it out.

Still, Google’s new Classroom tool is brand new. It may lack some of the perks teachers have come to enjoy with other systems like Schoology, which has consistently expanded its features for the last several years. Other systems allow for teachers to create assessments right in the system itself, or more easily allow the utilization of non-Google tools for communication and resources.

Although Google claims that more than 100,000 teachers from 45 countries have provided feedback since May, Classroom has yet to endure the test of a full school year. It may prove to be the best platform for integrating with Google apps and giving even non-tech savvy teachers a usable entry point for digital education. But it may also lag behind the multi-faceted features other engrained systems have already offered to educators.

What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Google Chrome?

Advantages: Chrome is an extremely fast web browser; it loads and displays pages very quickly. You can drag tabs out into separate windows, without difficulty, and back in again with your mouse. Google Chrome has a very basic, simple design, making it easy to use.

Launched in 2008, Google Chrome is a free web browser created by Google that uses the WebKit layout engine. Google Chrome is known for its very simplistic and minimalistic design and touted as the fastest browser out there. Google Chrome is currently the most widely used web browser with a worldwide usage of approximately 33%.

Here are Advantages and Disadvantages of Google Chrome:

Advantages:

• Chrome is an extremely fast web browser; it loads and displays pages very quickly.
• You can drag tabs out into separate windows, without difficulty, and back in again with your mouse.
• Google Chrome has a very basic, simple design, making it easy to use.
• The start-up page lists the most frequent pages you’ve visited and allows you to click and access them with ease.
• Chrome automatically translates pages into a language you understand for your convenience.
• You can search the internet through your address bar at any time.
• If a site crashes on one of your tabs, other open tabs will not be affected.
• You may browse the internet without being logged using Chrome’s new private feature: Incognito.
• Unlike Firefox and Safari, you can alter the colour and theme of the browser.
• Chrome is faster than Explorer and FireFox.
• Chrome takes only seconds to install.

GOOGLE DRIVE.

• Your stuff, your way - Drive Features. Your storage works with Drive, Gmail and Google Photos, so you can store files, save email attachments and back-up photos directly to Drive. You can also purchase a larger cloud storage plan as you need it. ... Your file security is crucial.

GOOGLE CLASSROOM

The Google Classroom Quick-Start Guide + tips and tricks!

Google Classroom makes organizing and managing all of your Google Apps activities streamlined and easy. Set it up in minutes. (Sketch by Matt Miller)

Thousands of teachers are certainly finding their way to Google Classroom. It has been as billed by Google: less focus on tech, more focus on teaching. It has made managing Google Apps files in schools more streamlined and communicating with classes easier.

Have you set up Classroom in your classroom? If you’re like many teachers I know, you might not have for some reason.

Well, now is the time! This guide will show you how to set Classroom up in a matter of minutes and perform the main tasks. It will even address a few things Classroom will NOT do, as it’s not a fully featured learning management system.

Consider keeping this post open in one tab in your browser and Classroom in another so you can refer back. Feel free to click on the screenshots below to see the full-sized versions.

Let’s get started!

Set up your class in Classroom

Use the “+” button to create your first class.

1. Go to: classroom.google.com. You can use Classroom if you log in using a Google Apps for Education account (i.e. if your Google log-in is your school e-mail address, you’re probably good).

2. Click on the “+” button in the top right to create your first class. (It’s next to your e-mail address you used to logged in.) Then click “Create class.”

3. Add a class name and a section. The class name should be the title of the class

Add a class name and section.

(“Mrs. Johnson Fourth Grade,” “Spanish 3,” “8th Grade Social Studies”). The section should identify which of those classes it is (for me, mine say “2nd period” for the section). Then click “Create.”

4. Once your class is created, students can start joining it. But, chances are there won’t be any students around the moment you create the class. This is the time to get creative and have some fun with it! Click “Change class theme” on the right side of the header. It will open a gallery of header images you can use to spice up your classroom.

Enter class details in the “About” tab.

5. Also before your students join your class, you can add details to your “About” tab. This provides some basic information, such as the name of the course, a description of the course, the room where it meets and the teacher e-mail. You can also add materials (like a syllabus, classroom management plan or anything else students might need to refer to during the year) by attaching them.

6. The time has arrived … your students are ready to sign up for Classroom! This is really one of the easiest parts. Have them log in to Classroom with their school

Give students the class code.

Google account and click the “+” just like you did. It will prompt them for a class code, which you can give them (write it on the board, show it on a projector, etc.). Once they enter it, they’re in — like magic!

Using Classroom in everyday class

After your class is set up and students join, you have a fully functioning Google Classroom. Congratulations!

But you don’t want to stop there. Here are some things you can do in your Classroom:

Communicate with announcements.

ADD AN ANNOUNCEMENT: This is a good way to communicate with your class and give them up-to-date information. Click the “Announcement” button to display a message to your class. You can even attach files (from Google Drive and otherwise), add YouTube videos and provide links. Tip: If you assign an activity outside of Classroom (i.e. a blog post on Kidblog), you can link to it in an announcement so there’s a record of it in your class.

Add assignments with details.

ADD AN ASSIGNMENT: Creating a new assignment is almost the same as an announcement, but it has a due date. Write the title of the assignment, a description of it and attach files (if necessary. Then specify when it’s due. In student accounts, it will put extra notifications on assignments in your class to remind students when something is due — or when it’s late.

Manage details of students in class.

MANAGE STUDENTS: From the “Students” tab, there are several actions you can take to interact with student accounts. You can manage permissions, giving students the ability to post and comment, only comment, or give only the teacher the ability to post and comment. The envelope icons let you send e-mails to individual students (if Gmail is available through their school Google accounts). By checking individual or multiple students, you can remove them from the class, e-mail them or mute them from commenting.

GRADE AN ASSIGNMENT: After you’ve added an assignment and students have turned work in, it’s time to grade it.

Grade and return work.

Click the title of the assignment to open it. Click on a student’s name to show any files attached that you need to view and to reveal a text field where you can type a comment to the student. Classroom flags every assignment as “not done,” “done,” “late” or “done late”. Classroom doesn’t change student grades if assignments are late, but you can.

Once you’ve viewed assignments, you can assign a grade by clicking where it says “No Grade.” If you want to change the number of points an assignment is worth, find the “Points” section at the top of the page and change it. Use the button at the top of the assignment screen to download student work to your Google Drive or to view the Google Drive folder where the student work is being stored. Be sure to click the blue “Return” button to finalize all of the grading you’ve just done.

Note: Once students turn work in using Classroom, they won’t be able to make changes to those files until you return them to the students after grading them.

What Classroom doesn’t do

Classroom is not a full-fledged LMS (learning management system) like Schoology, My Big Campus, Canvas and others. It’s Google’s foray into the education world and strives to help teachers with very specific, basic functions. Here are some things that Classroom will NOT do:

• Provide tests and quizzes. Those can be created using Google Forms and a link to that form can be added to an assignment or announcement in Classroom. Google Forms can be graded automatically using the Flubaroo add-on. But all of this happens outside of Google Classroom.
• Chat. There are no chat features within Classroom itself. If enabled by the administrator, students can chat with each other and the teacher within various Google Apps, but not in Classroom.
• Calendar. There is no connection to Google Calendar to display due dates. You can do that separately in Calendar, but Classroom won’t do it itself.
• Full-featured forums. If you want a forum or discussion board, an announcement can serve that purpose in a limited way. You would need another option for more complete nested discussions, though.

 Tips and tricks

1. There are lots of places to provide feedback (which is great!). You’ll want to think about where you want to provide it. It can be left in a comment in a file attached to an assignment. It can be left on each student’s assignment (only visible to that student). It can be left on the assignment when you click “Return” (visible to all students).

2. Adding descriptions to assignments is a good thing to do. The assignments in Classroom become good points of reference for absent students and kids that see their grades and wonder why they are as they are. Spelling out all of the details makes for easy reference later.

3. Student work lives in a Google Drive folder in your Google account while it’s turned in to you in Classroom. You have access to that folder, but it’s not a good idea to make many changes to those folders in Google Drive. Make all of your changes directly through Classroom.

Google Classroom Review: Pros And Cons Of Using Google Classroom In eLearning

Do you know that Google Classroom can be used as a free Learning Management System? In this article, I'll share a Google Classroom review, with 8 advantages and 8 disadvantages to consider, in order to help you decide whether you should give Google Classroom a try when creating your next eLearning course.

Google Classroom : 16 Pros And Cons Of Using Google Classroom In eLearning

How would you like to be a part of a classroom hub where you could communicate with your learners, provide them with constructive feedback whenever they needed it, and streamline the sharing of classroom documents and assignments? Google Classroom does exactly that; it is Google’s ambitious addition to online education as well to the Learning Management System industry, and it aims to make classrooms all over the world not only paperless, but also more effective. Google Classroom is available through Google Apps for Education, as at the moment it is aimed at academic institutions only, and not corporate training. In this article, I'll share a Google Classroom review by mentioning 8 advantages and 8 disadvantages, in order to help you decide whether Google Classroom is suitable for your eLearning courses.

8 Google Classroom Advantages

1. Easy to use and accessible from all devices. 
2. Even if you are not a Google user, using Google Classroom is a piece of cake. Apart from being delivered through the Chrome browser, which makes it accessible from all computers, mobile phones, and tablets, it makes it really easy for you to add as many learners as you like, create Google documents to manage assignments and announcements, post YouTube videos, add links, or attach files from Google Drive. Learners will find it equally easy to log in, as well as receive and turn in assignments.
3. Effective communication and sharing.
4. One of the greatest advantages of Google Classroom is Google Docs; these documents are saved online and shared with a limitless number of people, so when you create an announcement or assignment using a Google doc, your learners can access it immediately through their Google Drive, as long as you have shared it with them. Furthermore, Google Docs are easily organized and personalized in Google Drive folders. In other words, you no longer need emails to share information; you just create a document, share it with as many learners as you want, and voila!
5. Speeds up the assignment process.
6. How about creating an assignment and distributing it with just a click of a button? And how about learners turning in the completed assignment in a matter of seconds? Assignment process has never been quicker and more effective, as in Google Classroom you can easily check who has submitted their assignment and who is still working on it, as well as offer your feedback immediately.
7. Effective feedback.
8. Speaking of feedback, Google Classroom gives you the opportunity to offer your online support to your learners right away; this means that feedback becomes more effective, as fresh comments and remarks have bigger impact on learners’ minds.
9. No need for paper.
10. There might be a day that grading papers would be impossible to imagine; Google Classroom is certainly interested in getting there as soon as possible. By centralizing eLearning materials in one cloud-based location, you have the ability to go paperless and stop worrying about printing, handing out, or even losing your learners’ work!
11. Clean and user-friendly interface.
12. Staying loyal to clean Google layout standards, Google Classroom invites you to an environment where every single design detail is simple, intuitive, and user-friendly. Needless to say, Google users will feel right at home.
13. Great commenting system.
14. Learners can comment on specific locations within pictures for a variety of online courses. Furthermore, you can create URLs for interesting comments and using them for further online discussion.
15. Is for everyone.
16. Educators can also join Google Classroom as learners, which means that you can create a Google Classroom for you and your colleagues and use it for faculty meetings, information sharing, or professional development.

Follow these steps to create a class:

1. Open a Web browser and go to classroom.google.com. You have to sign in with your Google Apps for Education account.
2. On the Welcome screen, click the plus sign at the top and choose Create Class.
3. In the Create a Class dialogue box, type in the Class Name and Section.
4. Click Create

• You can see that the classroom has three main tabs. Here’s what those tabs mean:Stream: This is where you manage your class assignments and make announcements to the class. You can add new assignments, with due dates and attached materials. Upcoming assignments are shown at the left. Also, just with social media services, you can send a message to your entire class — even with an attachment.
• Students: This is where you manage your students. You can invite students to your classroom from here and manage their permissions level. To invite students to your class, you have to set them up as Google Contacts in your Google Apps for Education account or they have to be in the school’s directory.
• About: This is where you can add the course title and description, add a location for the class, and add materials to your class’s Google Drive folder.
• You can take a tour of all of the features to find out how to use Google Classroom. Just click the Start Tour button on the Stream tab.

After you create at least one class, you no longer see the Welcome screen when you log in. Instead, you see the Home screen, shown in Figure 2. This screen shows all of your classes arranged in tiles. Just click on a class name to access it. Here are a few other features of the Home screen:

• Add a new class: Just like on the Welcome screen, you can add a new class by clicking the plus sign in the top left next to your username.
• Rename or archive a class: Click the three stacked dots next to the class name to either rename the class or archive it. Archiving a class means that, though you and your students can still access the class, no one can add assignments or make any other changes to the class. The class will move under the Archived section of the Home menu. Don’t worry, though; you can restore the archived class at any time by viewing Archived classes, clicking the three stacked dots, and choosing Restore.
• Access Google Drive for the class: Click the file folder icon in the bottom right corner of the class tile. This opens the Google Drive where all your classroom materials are stored.

Sign in for the first time

1. Go to classroom.google.com and click Sign In.
2. Enter your G Suite for Education username or your personal Google Account username and click Next. ...
3. Enter your password and click Sign in.
4. If there is a welcome message, read it and click Accept.

Ten Reasons Why You Should Use Google Classroom

If we could offer teachers something that would save them time, save the school money, communicate better with students and parents, help struggling learners, and impact the learning environment for students...would they consider using it? I’m guessing they would.

GAFE Is Great

If you’ve been been using Google Classroom for the last few years, you’re probably already “sold” on why it’s a good thing to use. But if it’s new to you, you probably want to know the reasons why this change is a good thing for students. Here are some things to consider:

1. Google Classroom is easy to use. Compared to other LMS (Learning Management Systems) that have been popular over the past decade, Google Classroom is amazingly simple. Setting up a new classroom doesn’t take much time or expertise. Our tech team trained for about an hour, and all of us had a classroom set up and running by the end of the session.
2. Google Classroom helps you to communicate more efficiently. You enter the email addresses of the students just once, and classroom communication is done. Just by entering the student in the classroom, the teacher has an email group, a discussion group, and a Google Calendar automatically created. And it’s easy to add and remove students from the class as necessary.
3. Google Classroom helps you to communicate more effectively. Probably more important than being easy to use and efficient, the communication tools are also very effective. Because it is all Cloud-based, there is no more “losing” of assignments by students. If a student is absent, communication is seamless. Just last month, Google Classroom added a parent notification feature to keep parents informed about what is going on in the “classroom.”
4. Google Classroom is more cost-effective and better for the environment. Personally, I’m not completely sold on paperless learning, especially for younger students. But I do see a true advantage for schools to be more cost-effective when it comes to copies and printing. If every student has a device that connects to the Internet already, every sheet of paper that we save only makes the school more efficient and more environmentally responsible.
5. This is how students will continue to learn in the future...which is why I probably need to let go of my “paperless” hang-up. College campuses no longer expect undergrads to print out their five-page essays. As K-12 educators, we should take note and prepare our students for the world they will be living in.
6. It’s better for students who struggle...as long as you help them manage the device. (The device itself can be a distraction at times, so managing that needs to be taught.)
7. The reason Google Classroom is better is because of the organizational advantage it gives them. Assignments never get lost and each classroom is already organized by the teacher. However, for these students, navigating this has to be taught. Even though students are digital natives, it doesn’t mean that they understand how adults organize their world to help them learn.
8. With Google Classroom, collaboration is easier outside of school (i.e., Flipped Classroom). Again, it’s Cloud-based and accessible from anywhere with a connection. Students can share assignments and work from home together to complete them. Collaboration isn’t just limited to working in a group with other peers. A teacher can flip the classroom by sharing a video to go live in the evening, requiring students to view it that night to prepare for a quiz on it the next day. The possibilities are endless.
9. Teacher planning is easy, and the up-front time is worth it. More new features in Google Classroom allow teachers to schedule out assignments in the future. Designated assignments could be scheduled to go live on a Monday in October and then close that Friday. If a teacher has a prolonged absence, she could schedule out the assignments and not have to rely on a sub to manage it all. Classrooms can also be used from semester to semester and year to year. It would be terrible for a teacher to just copy and paste a classroom for the next group of students, but it does save some time to have certain things already in place (class syllabus, grading expectations, etc.).
10. By embedding forms, feedback is instant and usable. One of my teachers the other day was having the students complete a multiple-choice quiz as they watched the video. This increases engagement and accountability, but also allows the teacher to view results at the end of the video. She can then cover the material again if students struggled to respond with correct answers.
11. Upgrades and improvements are a constant. This is by far one of the best selling points of Google Classroom for me. If something needs to be added or fixed, Google actually listens and responds (both the assignment scheduling and parent communication came from this). This also means that teachers will have to continue to learn as they use it...which isn’t a bad thing either!

  Classroom features and benefits. Classroom is a free suite of productivity tools that includes email, documents, and storage. Classroom was designed collaboratively with teachers to help them save time, keep classes organized, and improve communication with students.

Google Classroom Bolsters Collaborative Learning

Using Google Classroom, teachers can keep their paperwork for all their classes organized in one dashboard. With a few clicks, homework can be assigned digitally to each class roster.

In a post on the blog EdTechTeacher, educator Ben Sondgeroth says Google Classroom makes educators’ jobs easier because of one simple thing: It eliminates trips to the copier.

“Normally, if a teacher wants to create a worksheet for her students, she has to create it in a word processor, print it out, make photocopies, hand it out to her students, hope that no one loses it (which, of course, someone always does) and then collect it when they’re finished,” writes Sondgeroth.

This process is streamlined with Google Classroom for education because teachers simply create worksheets digitally.

Google has also made collaborative learning easier. Teachers can share content with their peers in one way — such as through a document that can be edited — and then share a different version with students — a document without editing functions.

Discussions in the classroom are more easily facilitated by a student response system that allows teachers to start question-driven discussions on their class’s virtual page.

The Share to Classroom extension lets educators send a website or other content for a lesson to all their students at once.

“The new extension lets me engage my students and help them drive their own learning on 1:1 devices at our school,” writes Catherine Davis, director of academic technology at Pilgrim School in Los Angeles, in a Google blog.

In an op-ed from the Alaskan Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, educator Prudence McKenney indicates that Google Classroom is used at Colony High School “as a platform for students to access daily assignments and provide faster, more detailed and meaningful feedback for students.”

She gives the examples of educators giving out and grading a quiz in real time, rather than having to wait to return paper copies.

“Using Google Classroom allows the students to have instant feedback and gives the teacher detailed item analysis regarding which questions were answered correctly or incorrectly by which students,” writes McKenney. “At a glance, the teacher can see areas that might need reteaching or clarification.”

Also, by using a web-based classroom, students who miss class can easily catch up on assignments.

Advantages of Google Classroom Ease Workflow for IT

Google Classroom is also a good fit for administrators and IT teams. Alerts let them know if there is suspicious activity. IT teams can also control password resets for teachers and students, so the wait time is minimal.

Using application program interface (API), administrators and developers of new ed tech products can easily sync Google Classroom rosters and assignments with other platforms like a learning management system or a student information system.

API also allows teachers to seamlessly use add-ons and other apps within the Classroom environment.

Administrators have access to all kinds of data with Google Classroom. They can track usage trends, active users and classes, and posts created by students and teachers.

“With these reports, as well as new ones to be added in the future, we hope administrators will have the insights they need to provide the best support possible to their teachers and students,” writes Andrew Garrett, a software engineer for Google Classroom, in a blog announcing the update.

Google Classroom Updates Stay in Line with Trends

Google has kept Classroom updated with the current learning trends, including personalization. A recent update lets teachers easily create assignments for individual students or groups. Google touted it as a discreet way to provide extra help to students who are struggling.

Using Google Classroom in conjunction with Chromebooks and G Suite for Education apps has allowed students to take charge of their own learning, a key component of personalization.

Google Chat has helped to foster a constant dialogue between students and teachers at Maine Township High School District 207 in Illinois.

“Teachers can give real-time feedback that is impossible in a strictly pencil-and-paper world,” says Assistant Superintendent Jason Klein in an EdTech article.

Google tools and apps have created an environment of collaboration that encourages even the youngest students to reach out to their teachers if they are struggling. Second-graders at Arcadia Unified School District in California are even emailing their teachers if they have trouble with homework.

Google Classroom has expanded to unconventional learning opportunities such as after-school programs and workshops for adult learners. Google also explored using Classroom to connect students via an international exchange program and found the tool eliminated the technological intimidation factor.

Why is that so game-changing?

Consider how the education landscape is changing: Book publishers are increasingly offering textbooks and supporting materials online – some exclusively so. Many high schools and colleges also require students to turn in their homework electronically. 

They are making the switch, in part, because they recognize employers increasingly need people who can work online and in groups, perhaps with members hundreds of miles away. As a result, many schools are using Google Classroom in third grade and before to introduce students to this online, collaborative world.

How do I get the most out of it?

Google Classroom's great potential for change underlines the need for robust digital citizenship programs, educators say.

Using Google Classroom to its full potential requires accompanying lessons about appropriate online behavior – such as keeping personal information safe, not bullying other students and knowing when it’s a good idea to unplug.

These are real issues, and they're only going to grow as more schools embrace online learning.

Are there options besides Google?

Yes. Microsoft and Apple have similar apps, and if you ask the few districts that have chosen them or their hardware over Google, the debate is sort of like the Mac vs. PC wars of several years ago – more about personal preference and brand loyalty than superior functionality.

Alhambra Elementary School District in Phoenix uses Google apps on Apple products – and has for years – while Peoria Unified School District has rejected Google altogether. 

"Google is fine technology. There's nothing wrong with it," said John Gay, Peoria's chief technology officer. "One reason we’re still using Microsoft is it’s enormously expensive to change." 

But far more districts are making the switch to Google completely, buying the company's low-cost Chromebooks because its apps are fully integrated and updates are pushed out automatically. 

That makes Chromebooks easier to use and support, a plus for cash-strapped, short-staffed districts that are increasingly expected to issue every student his or her own electronic device.

Google has made that marketing pitch far more effectively than its competitors, which may explain why 90 percent of districts expect to buy more Chromebooks in the next two years, according to EdWeek.

What are Google Classroom's disadvantages?

Depends on whom you ask. Some educators are concerned about what might happen to sensitive student data when one company so thoroughly dominates the education-technology market. Could Google be hacked? Might ads one day creep in?

Others have said that while Google Classroom may be easy to learn and set up, it can take some finagling to integrate it with third-party learning and assessment apps. That can be a barrier to learning.

Google Classroom also isn’t widely used in universities. Some educators say it lacks the bells and whistles needed to manage tens of thousands of students in more complex higher education settings.

Still others note that while it’s possible to work offline, uploading assignments and collaborating with others in Google Classroom ultimately requires a reliable internet connection. That can be a stumbling block for rural districts that don’t have access to fast Wi-Fi. It also can hamper use outside of school if students don’t have access to an internet connection at home.

How To Create An Assignment In Google Classroom

by TeachThought Staff

Google Classroom is a simple digital filing system provided by Google that allows teachers to teach from the cloud by organizing classes, responding to writing, checking file access, and more. We’ve provided ways teachers can use Google Classroom in the past. Below, we provide Google’s own how-to instructions on creating assignments in Google Classroom for PC, Android, and iOS.

How To Create An Assignment In Google Classroom

Create an assignment

1.  Sign-in.
2. Click the class.
3. At the bottom, hover over Add  click Create assignment .
4. Enter the title and any instructions.

Change an assignment due date or time

By default, the assignment is due the next day. To change it:

1. Next to Due Tomorrow, click the Down arrow .
2. Click the date and select a date.
3. (Optional) To set a due time, click Time and type a time.
4. To create an assignment with no due date, click Due date and click Remove next to the date.

Add materials to an assignment

You can add attachments, such as Google Drive files, YouTube videos, or links to your assignment.

1. To upload a file, click Attach, select the file, and click Upload.
2. To attach a Drive item, such as a document or form:
3. Click Drive .
4. Select the item and click Add.
5. To decide how students interact with an attachment, next to the attachment, click the Down arrow and choose an option:

• Students can view file—Students can read the file, but not change it.
• Students can edit file—Students can make changes to the file.
• Make a copy for each student—Students receive an individual copy of the file that they can change.

1. To attach a YouTube video, click YouTube and choose an option:

• To search for a video to attach:

1. Click Video search.
2. Type keywords in the search bar.
3. Click the video and click Add.

• To attach a video link:

1. Click URL.
2. Enter the URL and click Add.
3. To attach a link, click Link , enter the URL, and click Add.
4. To delete an attachment, click Remove next to the attachment.

Post an assignment to multiple classes

1. (Optional) At the bottom, next to the class name, click the Down arrow .
2. Check the box next to the class you want to include.

How To Create An Assignment On Google Classroom On Android

1. Tap Classroom  the class.
2. Tap Add Assignment.
3. Enter the title and any instructions.

Change an assignment due date or time

By default, the assignment is due the next day, but you can change it.

1. Tap Due date, select a different date, and tap Done.
2. (Optional) Tap Time, select a time, and tap Done.
3. Add materials to an assignment

You can add Drive files, links, images, or Youtube videos to your assignment.

1. To upload a file, tap Attach, select the file, and tap Upload.
2. To attach a Drive item, tap Drive , tap the item, and tap Select.
3. To decide how students interact with an attachment, next to the attachment, tap Preview and choose an option:

• Students can edit file—Students can make changes to the file.
• Students can view file—Students can read the file, but not change it.
• Make a copy for each student—Students receive an individual copy of the file that they can change.
• Delete—Remove the attachment.

1. To attach a link, tap Link , enter the URL, and tap Add.
2. To attach a file, tap Upload .
3. To attach a photo, tap Camera , take or select the photo, and tap OK.
4. To attach a YouTube video, tap YouTube  and choose an option:

• To search for a video to attach:

1. Tap Video search.
2. Type keywords in the search bar.
3. Tap the video and tap Add.

• To attach a video link:

1. Tap URL.
2. Enter the URL and tap Add.
3. To delete an attachment, tap Preview  next to the attachment name and select Delete.

Post an assignment to multiple classes

1. Next to the class name, tap Add .
2. Select any additional classes Done.

How To Create An Assignment On Google Classroom On iOS/iPad/iPhone

1. Tap Classroom  the class.
2. Tap Add Assignment.
3. Enter the title and any instructions.

Change an assignment due date or time

By default, the assignment is due the next day, but you can change it.

1. Tap Due date, select a different date, and tap OK.
2. (Optional) Tap Add time, select a time, and tap OK.
3. (Optional) To create an assignment with no due date, at Due tomorrow, tap Remove .

Add materials to an assignment

You can add Drive files, links, images, or photos to your assignment.

1. Tap Attach .
2. To attach a Drive item, tap Drive and tap the item.
3. To decide how students interact with an attachment, next to the attachment, tap Preview and choose an option:

• Students can edit file—Students can make changes to the file.
• Students can view file—Students can read the file, but not change it.
• Make a copy for each student—Students receive an individual copy of the file that they can change.
• Delete—Remove the attachment.

1. To attach a link, tap Link , enter the URL, and tap Add.
2. To attach a photo, tap Pick photo and choose your photo. Or, tap Use camera and take a photo.
3. To delete an attachment, next to the attachment, tap Remove

Google Classroom is that it manages to occupy a sweet spot between Learning Management Systems and Content Management Systems. Most Learning Management Systems have lots of great features, including most of the features that Google Classroom offers, but the scope of their feature-sets can make them difficult to use, and too complex for teachers who are less comfortable with technology. Content Management Systems, on the other hand, are primarily made to dispense information to students, and so they lack many of the features that teachers need, such as online assignments and gradebooks.

The great thing about Google Classroom, is that it combines the best of both of these systems, making it more of a “Workflow Management System,” . By providing a simple, user-friendly platform for sharing content, creating assignments, and grading, Google Classroom can be a great first step for teachers who are looking to get started in a digital teaching environment. Normally, if a teacher wants to create a worksheet for her students, she has to create it in a word processor, print it out, make photocopies, hand it out to her students, hope that no one loses it (which, of course, someone always does), and then collect it when they’re finished.

With Google Classroom, this process is immeasurably easier. The teacher simply creates the worksheet in Google Docs, shares it with her class, and then each student gets their own unique, editable copy with a big blue turn-in button at the top. There’s no printing, no photocopying, no lost work, and the teacher can even receive notifications on her own device as students submit their work.

• When combined with Google Classroom, this ability to watch a collaborator typing in real-time can be an incredibly useful tool for teachers. An example of this that Ben offers is that of a Spanish teacher who assigns her students a worksheet on Google Docs, and then sits at her computer and “jumps” into each of their assignments as they’re working on them. This allows her to watch the students as they work out their translations in real-time, and offer live comments and suggestions on their work–a process that is much more cumbersome and disruptive when it requires walking around a classroom and peering over students’ shoulders.
• Let us explore...this Google Classrooms andbe Benefitted.