Google Classroom

Last updated

Google Classroom
Developer(s) Google
Initial releaseAugust 12, 2014;9 years ago (2014-08-12)
Stable release(s) [±]
Android8.0.421.20.90.2 / October 31, 2022;15 months ago (2022-10-31) [1]
iOS/iPadOS2.2023.02204 / January 30, 2023;12 months ago (2023-01-30) [2]
Operating system
Type Educational software
Website classroom.google.com

Google Classroom is a free blended learning platform developed by Google for educational institutions 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. [3] As of 2021, approximately 150 million users use Google Classroom. [4]

Contents

Google Classroom uses a variety of proprietary user applications (Google Applications for Education) with the goal of managing student and teacher communication. Students can be invited to join a class through a private code or be imported automatically from a school domain. Each class creates a separate folder in the respective user's Google Drive, where the student can submit work to be graded by a teacher. Teachers can monitor each student's progress by reviewing the revision history of a document, and, after being graded, teachers can return work along with comments and grades.

History

Google Classroom has undergone a series of updates and changes since its original release in May 2014.

DateUpdate
May 6, 2014Google Classroom was announced with a preview available for some members of Google's G Suite for Education program. [5] [6]
August 12, 2014Google Classroom is released publicly. [7] [8]
2015Google announced a Classroom API and a share button for websites, allowing school administrators and developers to further engage with Google Classroom. [9] Google integrated Google Calendar into Classroom for assignment due dates, field trips, and class speakers. [10]
2017Google opened Classroom to allow any personal Google users to join classes without the requirement of having a G Suite for Education account, [11] and in April of the same year, it became possible for any personal Google user to create and teach a class. [12] [13]
2018Google introduced a major redesign to Classroom. This included adding a new classwork section, revising the grading interface, allowing the reuse of classwork from separate classes, and additional features for teachers to organize content by topic. [14]
201978 new illustrated themes and the option to drag and drop topics and assignments within the classwork section were introduced. [15]
2020Google added integration with Google Meet so that teachers can have a unique Meet link within each class. [16] In addition, several features were added to Classroom, with Google stating "as educators worldwide have reinvented their practice online, we’re also adapting our tools to meet the evolving needs of their new educational landscape." [17] These updates included:
  • A to-do widget
  • 10 additional languages
  • Better integration with learning management systems to create and distribute assignments
  • Smart correct and auto-compose in Google Docs

Google Classroom also saw a sharp increase in usage as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in which many schools shifted to remote education options. Specific research programs also used Google Classroom to engage in authentic learning from around the world. [18]

Features

Google Classroom integrates several Google Applications for Education, such as Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Forms, Google Sites, and Gmail. [19] A Google Calendar integration was later added to the platform. [20] Students can be invited to classrooms through the institution's database, through a private code that can then be added in the student's user interface, or automatically imported from a school domain. [21] Each class created with Google Classroom creates a separate folder in the respective user's Google Drive, where the student can submit work to be graded by a teacher. [22]

Assignments

Assignments are stored and graded on Google's document applications. Rather than 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 on Google Classroom have the option of creating Assignments in various templates and formats with different accessibility options, such as permissions to view, edit, and comment. These assignments can be submitted for a grade and allow the teacher to provide feedback. [23] Students may also attach additional documents from their Drive to their assignment.

Grading

Google Classroom supports different grading schemes. Turned in assignments can be graded by teachers and returned with comments before the final submission, allowing for the students to modify their work. Once turned in, assignments can only be edited by the teacher. [24]

Communication

Announcements can be posted by teachers to a "class stream" which can be commented on by students. [22] Students may also post to the class class stream, although teachers retain a moderator role. 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.

Originality Report

Introduced in 2020, Originality Report is a built-in plagiarism detection tool which both students and teachers can access. Teachers can view the originality report, allowing them to verify the academic integrity of the student's submitted work. On the free version of G Suite for Education, teachers can turn on originality report for 3 assignments but have limited cloud storage. [25] This restriction is lifted on the paid version of G Suite Enterprise for Education. [26]

Archive Courses

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. When a course is archived, teachers and students can view it, but are unable to make any changes unless it is restored. [27]

Mobile Applications

Google Classroom mobile apps, introduced in January 2015, are available for iOS and Android devices.

Reception

eLearning Industry tested and made a review of Google Classroom, in which they highlighted many positive and negative aspects. Among Classroom's strengths, the review highlighted ease of use, universal device accessibility, use of Google Drive as an effective way for teachers to quickly share assignments with students. The paperless process meant the end of printing, handing out, and potentially losing work, and the fast feedback system between students and teachers was praised. Among Classroom's disadvantages, the review highlighted the service's heavy integration of Google apps and services with limited or no support for external files or services, lack of automated quizzes and tests, and a lack of live chats that can aid in feedback efforts. [28] Google Classroom won a 2020 Webby Special Achievement Award. [29]

Criticism

As a company, Google has been criticized on several different issues, including privacy. Specific criticism of Google Classroom generally focuses on concern for privacy for students and Google's use of student data. [30] [31] Criticism of Google Classroom is often combined with criticism of Chromebooks and Google Workspace. [32] [33]

Other criticisms directed at Google Classroom are lack of a full-fledged grade book, [34] [35] lack of automatic quizzes and tests (common features in learning management systems), [36] and editing of assignments once they are released. [37] The platform's insistence on using a chronological order has been criticized as students respond with frustrations of having to scroll through to find past announcements. [38]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many classrooms pivoted to Classroom due to its usefulness and integration with existing Google products. While this provided equitable access to students and exposed learners to current and relevant online platforms, it also posed challenges such as unreliable internet connections, high costs of technology, and a lack and unavailability of training to use the platform. [39]

Similarly to other online education platforms, adopting a fully remote or online education system brings forward socio-economic challenges such as access to technology in remote and lower socio-economic society areas. [40] In studies discussing use of Google Classroom for English as a foreign language studies, students had positive perceptions towards using Google Classroom tools to learn about grammatical concepts and collaborate with others using student-to-student interactions and collaborative feedback. [41]

Related Research Articles

Educational software is a term used for any computer software which is made for an educational purpose. It encompasses different ranges from language learning software to classroom management software to reference software. The purpose of all this software is to make some part of education more effective and efficient.

Moodle is a free and open-source learning management system written in PHP and distributed under the GNU General Public License. Moodle is used for blended learning, distance education, flipped classroom and other online learning projects in schools, universities, workplaces and other sectors.

Blended learning or hybrid learning, also known as technology-mediated instruction, web-enhanced instruction, or mixed-mode instruction, is an approach to education that combines online educational materials and opportunities for interaction online with physical place-based classroom methods.

A learning management system (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, automation, and delivery of educational courses, training programs, materials or learning and development programs. The learning management system concept emerged directly from e-Learning. Learning management systems make up the largest segment of the learning system market. The first introduction of the LMS was in the late 1990s. Learning management systems have faced a massive growth in usage due to the emphasis on remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Educational technology is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, "EdTech," it often refers to the industry of companies that create educational technology. In EdTech Inc.: Selling, Automating and Globalizing Higher Education in the Digital Age, Tanner Mirrlees and Shahid Alvi (2019) argue "EdTech is no exception to industry ownership and market rules" and "define the EdTech industries as all the privately owned companies currently involved in the financing, production and distribution of commercial hardware, software, cultural goods, services and platforms for the educational market with the goal of turning a profit. Many of these companies are US-based and rapidly expanding into educational markets across North America, and increasingly growing all over the world."

Edline was a learning community management system used for school and class organization. It provided district, school, and classroom level website support for administrators, parents, teachers, and students from kindergarten through 12th grade. It is now discontinued.

An edublog is a blog created for educational purposes. Edublogs archive and support student and teacher learning by facilitating reflection, questioning by self and others, collaboration and by providing contexts for engaging in higher-order thinking. Edublogs proliferated when blogging architecture became more simplified and teachers perceived the instructional potential of blogs as an online resource. The use of blogs has become popular in education institutions including public schools and colleges. Blogs can be useful tools for sharing information and tips among co-workers, providing information for students, or keeping in contact with parents. Common examples include blogs written by or for teachers, blogs maintained for the purpose of classroom instruction, or blogs written about educational policy. Educators who blog are sometimes called edubloggers.

Google Workspace is a collection of cloud computing, productivity and collaboration tools, software and products developed and marketed by Google. It consists of Gmail, Contacts, Calendar, Meet and Chat for communication; Currents for employee engagement; Drive for storage; and the Google Docs Editors suite for content creation. An Admin Panel is provided for managing users and services. Depending on edition Google Workspace may also include the digital interactive whiteboard Jamboard and an option to purchase add-ons such as the telephony service Voice. The education edition adds a learning platform Google Classroom and today has the name Workspace for Education.

Glogster was a cloud-based (SaaS) platform for creating presentations and interactive learning. A platform that allows users, mostly students and educators to combine text, images, video, and audio to create an interactive, Web-based poster called glogs on a virtual canvas. Glogster facilitated the conveyance of social information in many different fields such as art, music, photography. Users also had access to a library of engaging educational content posters created by other students and educators worldwide. Glogster enabled interactive, collaborative education and digital literacy.

Social learning tools are tools used for pedagogical and andragogical purposes that utilize social software and/or social media in order to facilitate learning through interactions between individuals and systems. The idea of setting up "social learning tools" is to make education more convenient and widespread. It also allows an interaction between users and/or the software which can bring a different aspect to learning. People can acquire knowledge by distance learning tools, for instance, Facebook, Twitter, Khan Academy and so on. Social learning tools may mediate in formal or informal learning environments to help create connections between learners, instructors and information. These connections form dynamic knowledge networks. Social learning tools are used in schools for teaching/learning and in businesses for training. Within a school environment, the use of social learning tools can affect not only the user (student) but his/her caretaker as well as his/her instructor. It brings a different approach to the traditional way of learning which affects the student and his/her support circle. Companies also use social learning tools. They used them to improve knowledge transfer within departments and across teams. Businesses use a variety of these tools to create a social learning environment. They are also used in company settings to help improve team work, problem solving, and performance in stressful situations.

Khan Academy is an American non-profit educational organization created in 2006 by Sal Khan. Its goal is to create a set of online tools that help educate students. The organization produces short video lessons. Its website also includes supplementary practice exercises and materials for educators. It has produced over 8,000 video lessons teaching a wide spectrum of academic subjects, including mathematics, sciences, literature, history, and computer science. All resources are available for free to users of the website and application.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmodo</span> Discontinued learning management system

Edmodo was an educational technology platform for K-12 schools and teachers. Edmodo enabled teachers to share content, distribute quizzes and assignments, and manage communication with students, colleagues, and parents. It was shut down on September 22, 2022.

Instructure, Inc. is an educational technology company based in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It is the developer and publisher of Canvas, a web-based learning management system (LMS), and MasteryConnect, an assessment management system. Prior to its IPO in 2021, the company was owned by private-equity firm Thoma Bravo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massive open online course</span> Education service on the web

A massive open online course or an open online course is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the Web. In addition to traditional course materials, such as filmed lectures, readings, and problem sets, many MOOCs provide interactive courses with user forums or social media discussions to support community interactions among students, professors, and teaching assistants (TAs), as well as immediate feedback to quick quizzes and assignments. MOOCs are a widely researched development in distance education, first introduced in 2008, that emerged as a popular mode of learning in 2012, a year called the "Year of the MOOC".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kahoot!</span> Norwegian online educational quiz game

Kahoot! is a Norwegian online game-based learning platform. It has learning games, also known as "kahoots", which are user-generated multiple-choice quizzes that can be accessed via a web browser or the Kahoot! app.

GoGuardian is an educational technology company founded in 2014 and based in Los Angeles, California. The company's services monitor student activity online, filter content, and alert school officials to possible suicidal or self-harm ideation.

Social media in education is the practice of using social media platforms or technology to enhance the education of students. Social media is defined as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content". Social media platforms can be used to complete assignments or projects electronically. These activities can grant students opportunities to develop skills with computers and online platforms.

Itslearning is a digital learning management system (LMS) developed by Norwegian company Itslearning AS. Designed for both K12 and higher education, the itslearning LMS allows teachers to deliver learning materials to students, including assessments, Office 365 documents, and other educational content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft Teams</span> Team collaboration application

Microsoft Teams is a proprietary cloud-based team collaboration application developed by Microsoft, as part of the Microsoft 365 family of products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital media in education</span>

Digital Media in education is measured by a person's ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and produce media content and communication in a variety of forms. These media may involve incorporating multiple digital softwares, devices, and platforms as a tool for learning. The use of digital media in education is growing rapidly in today's age, competing with books for the leading form of communication. This form of education is slowly combating the traditional forms of education that have been around for a long time. With the introduction of virtual education, there has been a need for more incorporation of new digital platforms in online classrooms.

References

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  2. ↑ "Google Classroom". App Store .
  3. ↑ "Google Groups". productforums.google.com. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  4. ↑ "A peek at what's next for Google Classroom". Google. February 17, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
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  6. ↑ Etherington, Darrell (May 6, 2014). "Google Debuts Classroom, An Education Platform For Teacher-Student Communication". TechCrunch . AOL. Archived from the original on March 30, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
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  9. ↑ Perez, Sarah (June 29, 2015). "Google Expands Its Educational Platform "Classroom" With A New API, Share Button For Websites". TechCrunch . AOL. Archived from the original on March 30, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
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  14. ↑ "Time for a refresh: Meet the new Google Classroom". Google. August 7, 2018. Archived from the original on March 30, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Stay organized in 2019 with new features in Classroom". Google. January 8, 2019. Archived from the original on March 30, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  16. ↑ "New Meet features to improve distance learning". Google. April 9, 2020. Archived from the original on May 23, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
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  18. ↑ Balakrishnan, Ridin; Singh, Kamaljeet; Harigopal, Malini; Fineberg, Susan (2020). "A Novel "Google Classroom"-Based Pathology Education Tool for Trainees During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Impactful Learning While Social Distancing". Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine. 144 (12): 1445b–1447. doi: 10.5858/arpa.2020-0476-LE . PMID   32846431. S2CID   221346800.
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  20. ↑ Hockenson, Lauren (August 24, 2015). "Google Classroom updates with Calendar integration, new teacher tools". The Next Web. Archived from the original on March 30, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Invite students to a class". Classroom Help. Google Inc. Archived from the original on March 30, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  22. 1 2 Steele, Billy (May 6, 2014). "Google Classroom helps teachers easily organize assignments, offer feedback". Engadget . AOL. Archived from the original on May 6, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Submit an Assignment". Google Classroom help. Google Inc. Archived from the original on March 30, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Set up grading – Classroom Help". support.google.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  25. ↑ Kumar, Jeya Amantha; Bervell, Brandford; Osman, Sharifah (March 31, 2020). "Google classroom: insights from Malaysian higher education students' and instructors' experiences". Education and Information Technologies. 25 (5): 4175–4195. doi:10.1007/s10639-020-10163-x. ISSN   1573-7608. S2CID   214715477.
  26. ↑ "What's new in Classroom – Classroom Help". support.google.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
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  30. ↑ Climer, Siobhan (April 23, 2020). "Privacy With Google Classroom: Use Rises, Critics Claim Risks". Mindsight. Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  31. ↑ Franken, Al (January 13, 2015). "Letter to Sundar Pichai from Al Franken" (PDF). franken.senate.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 8, 2017.
  32. ↑ Singer, Natasha (May 13, 2017). "How Google Took Over the Classroom (Published 2017)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  33. ↑ Warzel, Charlie; Ngu, Ash (July 10, 2019). "Opinion | Google's 4,000-Word Privacy Policy Is a Secret History of the Internet (Published 2019)". The New York Times.
  34. ↑ "Pros and cons of Google Classroom". uft.org. Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  35. ↑ "6 Things You Can't Do with Google Classroom...Yet". Global Summits featuring Google for Education. July 23, 2014. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  36. ↑ "Google Classroom Review: Pros And Cons Of Using Google Classroom In eLearning". eLearning Industry. August 20, 2015. Archived from the original on March 30, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  37. ↑ "Pros and Cons of Google Classroom 2020". TrustRadius. Archived from the original on March 30, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  38. ↑ Kumar, Jeya Amantha; Bervell, Brandford; Osman, Sharifah (March 31, 2020). "Google classroom: insights from Malaysian higher education students' and instructors' experiences". Education and Information Technologies. 25 (5): 4175–4195. doi:10.1007/s10639-020-10163-x. ISSN   1573-7608. S2CID   214715477.
  39. ↑ Hallal, Kassem; Hajjhussein, Hassan; Tlais, Sami (2020). "A Quick Shift from Classroom to Google Classroom: SWOT Analysis". Journal of Chemical Education. 97 (9): 2806–2809. Bibcode:2020JChEd..97.2806H. doi:10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00624. S2CID   225585699.
  40. ↑ Gleason, Benjamin; Heath, Marie K. (2021). "Injustice Embedded in Google Classroom and Google Meet: A Techno-Ethical Audit of Remote Educational Technologies". Italian Journal of Educational Technology. 29 (2): 26–41. doi:10.17471/2499-4324/1209.
  41. ↑ Khalil, Zeiadee M. (2018). "EFL Students' Perceptions towards Using Google Docs and Google Classroom as Online Collaborative Tools in Learning Grammar". Applied Linguistics Research Journal. doi: 10.14744/alrj.2018.47955 .
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