Google Rolls Out Google Classroom
May 09, 2014
By Oliver VanDervoort, Contributing Writer
Google (News - Alert) has taken steps to become more involved in the education world with the launch of Google Classroom. This new Google Apps for Education suite will allow teachers to create and organize assignments while also providing feedback to their students. The teachers can also use the application to directly communicate with their students. Google says this application is actually still in the “preview” version and is based on the principle that “educational tools should be simple and easy to use.”
This application is apparently also built so teachers have more time to spend with their students so students are actually learning and making the best of their time. Among the features Google Classroom offers is the ability to collect and create assignments. Using Google Drive and Gmail, the teachers can create and collect assignments while also seeing at a glance what students haven’t completed their work. This allows them to give direct and real-time feedback to students who might be struggling.
Along with assignments, teachers can make announcements and ask questions and make comments in real time as well. This is all geared toward making the communication inside and outside the classroom. There is also some rather advanced organization tools. Google Classroom automatically creates Drive folders for each assignment and also for each student in the class. The students can then go into the application and see exactly what’s due on their Assignments page.
This kind of application is exactly the kind of thing that educators all over the country are looking for when it comes to using more tech in their teachings. It wasn’t that long ago education leaders in California called on the Governor to improve computer science classes in the state. The kinds of tools that Google is rolling out will help students become more acclimated to using computers and applications while also making it easier for teachers to coordinate their lessons.
Edited by Maurice Nagle