Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a free web service developed by Google for schools that aims to
simplify creating, distributing, and grading assignments. The primary purpose of Google
Classroom is to streamline the process of sharing files between teachers and students. As
of 2021, and due to Pandemic, approximately 150 million users use Google Classroom.

On the other hand, Google classroom is a Learning Management System (LMS) offered by
Google for teachers. This application provides a central location to communicate with
students, ask questions, and make assignments. In an increasingly digital world, Google
classroom helps facilitate online learning for digital learners today.

Google Classroom is your all-in-one place for teaching and learning.

Teachers can create, distribute and mark assignments and classes all within the Google
ecosystem. Students can be invited to join a class through a private code, or automatically
imported from a school domain.

Google Classroom ties the following together to help educational institutions go to a paperless
system.

 Docs/Documents -includes an online word processor, spreadsheet, and

presentation editor. Students and teachers can use these tools to collaborate on
assignments, projects, newsletters, and blogs, among other things. In this way,
Google Docs can promote teamwork.
 Sheets - can help teachers streamline summative and formative assessments. For
example, you can use the platform to quickly create, distribute, and collect digital
exit tickets or auto-graded assessments. Teachers also can pose discussion
questions for quick insights into what students are thinking.
 Slides - you can build presentations right in your web browser—no special software
is required. Even better, multiple people can work on slides at the same time; you
can see people's changes as they make them, and every change is automatically
saved.
 Gmail - Communication through Gmail allows teachers to make announcements
and ask questions to their students in each of their classes. Teachers can add
students directly from the Google Apps directory or can provide a code that can be
entered for access to the class by students.
 Calendar – teachers and students can see classwork due dates and added
events, such as field trips or exam dates.
  Google drive - the service stores everything in one server, teachers can also
utilize Drive to grant access to classroom resources like notes or additional
readings. Google Drive is a great service utilized in many environments. Integrating
this service in the classroom can keep paper clutter off a teacher's desk.
 Google Forms - is a free online tool that can be used in the classroom to improve
students' participation, engage them in their learning, and evaluate their
learning. Moreover, it is user-friendly, easy to administer, and helps instructors
save paper and time grading assignments.
 Google Site - also offers you control over who can have access to the pages and
who can share materials. It can improve students’ digital literacy skills. It can
open up your classroom and make it a collaborative learning environment.

Special Features:

Assignments - Assignments are stored and graded on Google's suite of productivity

applications that allow collaboration between the teacher and the student or student to
student. Instead of sharing documents that reside on the student's Google Drive with the
teacher, files are hosted on the student's Drive and then submitted for grading. Teachers
may choose a file that can then be treated as a template so that every student can edit
their own copy and then turn back in for a grade instead of allowing all students to view,
copy, or edit the same document. Students can also choose to attach additional documents
from their Drive to the assignment. Set assignments appear on the 'To do' list.

Grading - Google Classroom supports many different grading schemes. Teachers have the
option to attach files to the assignment which students can view, edit, or get an individual
copy. Students can create files and then attach them to the assignment if a copy of a file
wasn't created by the teacher. Teachers have the option to monitor the progress of each
student on the assignment where they can make comments and edit. Turned in
assignments can be graded by the teacher and returned with comments to allow the
student to revise the assignment and turn back in. Once graded, assignments can only be
edited by the teacher unless the teacher turns the assignment back in.

Communication - Announcements can be posted by teachers to the class stream which can
be commented on by students allowing for two-way communication between the teacher
and students. Students can also post to the class stream but won't be as high a priority as
an announcement by a teacher and can be moderated. Multiple types of media from
Google products such as YouTube videos and Google Drive files can be attached to
announcements and posts to share content. Gmail also provides email options for teachers
to send emails to one or more students in the Google Classroom interface. Classroom can
be accessed on the web or via the Android and iOS Classroom mobile apps.

Originality Report - Originality report was introduced in January 2020. It allows educators
and students to see the parts and sections of the submitted work which contains the exact
or similar wording to that of another source. For students, it highlights source materials
and flags missing citation to assist the student in improving their writing. Teachers can also
view the originality report, allowing them to verify the academic integrity of the student's
submitted work. On G Suite for Education (free), teachers can turn on originality report for
3 assignments but have limited cloud storage.This restriction is lifted on G Suite Enterprise
for Education (paid).

Archive course - Classroom allows instructors to archive courses at the end of a term or
year. When a course is archived, it is removed from the homepage and placed in the
Archived Classes area to help teachers keep their current classes organized. When a course
is archived, teachers and students can view it, but won't be able to make any changes to it
until it is restored.

Mobile applications - Google Classroom mobile apps, introduced in January 2015, are
available for iOS and Android devices. The apps let users take photos and attach them to
their assignments, share files from other apps, and support offline access.

Google Classroom has streamlined the classroom workflow and makes communication
easier between teaches and students. At its core, Google Classroom does a few things and
does them really well

 It creates a central home for class activities.

 It lets teachers create assignments (and other class activities).
 It collects assignments from students.
 It helps teacher’s grade assignments and provides feedback.
 It returns assignments to students.

BENEFITS OF GOOGLE CLASSROOM INTEGRATION

Accessibility

Google Classroom can be accessed from any computer via Google Chrome or from any
mobile device regardless of platform. All files uploaded by teachers and students are
stored in a Classroom folder on Google Drive. Users can access Classroom anytime,
anywhere. Students no longer have to worry about crashed computers or hungry dogs.

Exposure

Classroom provides students with exposure to an online learning system. Many college and
university programs now require students to enroll in at least one online class. Exposure to
Google Classroom may help students transition into other learning management systems
used in higher education.

Paperless

Teachers and students won’t have excessive amounts of paper to shuffle since Classroom
is completely paperless. When teachers upload assignments and assessments to
Classroom, they are simultaneously saved to Drive. Students can complete assignments
and assessments directly through Classroom, and their work is also saved to Drive.
Students can access missed work due to absences and locate other resources they may
need.

Time Saver

Classroom is a huge time saver. With all resources saved in one place and the ability to
access Classroom anywhere, teachers will have more free time to complete other tasks.
Since Classroom can be accessed from a mobile device, teachers and students can
participate through their phones or tablets.

Communication

Built-in tools make communicating with students and parent a breeze. Teachers and
students can send emails, post to the stream, send private comments on assignments, and
provide feedback on work. Teachers have full control over student comments and posts.
They can also communicate with parents through individual emails or through Classroom
email summaries which include class announcements and due dates.

Collaborate

Classroom offers several ways for students to collaborate. Teachers can facilitate online
discussions between students and create group projects within the Classroom. In addition,
students can collaborate on Google Docs which have been shared by the teacher.
Engagement

Most digital natives are comfortable with technology and will be more apt to take
ownership in their learning through use of technology. Classroom offers numerous ways to
make learning interactive and collaborative. It offers teachers the ability to differentiate
assignments, include videos and web pages into lessons, and create collaborative group
assignments.

Differentiation

Through Classroom, teachers are easily able to differentiate instruction for learners.
Assigning lessons to the whole class, individual students, or groups of students takes just a
few simple steps when creating an assignment on the Classwork page.

Feedback

Providing meaningful feedback to students is a valuable part of all learning. Within the
grading tool of Classroom, teachers can send feedback to each student on assignments.
The ability to create a comment bank for future use is also available within the grading tool.
In addition, the Classroom mobile app allows users to annotate work.

Data Analysis

In order to make learning meaningful, teachers should analyze data from assessments to
ensure students understand learning objectives. Data from assessments can easily be
exported into Sheets for sorting and analysis.

Google Classroom Key Benefits

Using Google Classroom can save teachers and students’ time and make learning process
more effective. High technology and understandable interface enable teachers to work
much easier, so they can concentrate on their work and the main target of the course
instead of concentrating on solving minor problems such as printing and sharing
assignments or explaining material to each student individually. This can also significantly
decrease budget consumption for further improvement of the learning process.
How to set up your class in Google
Classroom
Follow these steps to set up your Google Classroom

1. Go to: classroom.google.com.

 Google Classroom is now available for Google for Education accounts as well as
regular Gmail accounts. Anyone with a Google account can now use Google
Classroom.

2. Click on the “+” button in the top right to create your first class.

 (It’s next to the checkerboard icon you use to access all of your apps.) Then click
“Create class.”
 If you’re getting started for the first time, your screen will likely look like the one
above.
 If you have some classes already, they’ll display on this home screen. You can add
new classes with the “+” button.

3. Add information about your class.

 You must add a name for your class. This is how your students will identify your
class when they open Google Classroom.
 Use the “section” field to differentiate between different classes of the same type.
Many teachers will use this field for the class period. (This field is optional.)
 The “subject” field lets you choose from a list of class subjects or type your own.
(This field is optional.)

4. Once your class is created, students can start joining it.

  NEW invite students with a link! Students can now join your class using a special
invite link. Just click on the class code and click "copy invite link". You can drop this
link in your distance learning classroom chat box or email the link if you already
have a group email list set up.
 Students can join your class with a join code (above). This is a quick, easy way to get
students into your class. By displaying the join code (click [ ]), students can log in to
Google Classroom, click the “+” button and “Join class” to enter the join code. Then
they’re added to your class.
 You can invite students to your class by email. This is a good option if students don’t
meet in person for your class. To do this, click the “People” tab at the top. Then, click
the “Invite Students” button (an icon with a person and a plus). You can invite
students individually with email addresses or by groups if all students are in a
Google Group.

5. Customize your Google Classroom.

 There won’t be any students in your class the moment you create it. This is the time
to get creative and have some fun with it! Click “Select theme” on the right side of
the header. It will open a gallery of header images you can use to spice up your
classroom.
 You can also upload a photo to display at the top of your Classroom. You can use an
image of your class or something that pertains to your class. Some teachers will
create a custom header image with important information and fun graphics. Use
this template to create a custom header.