Google Classroom

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

Google Classroom integrates several Google Applications for Education, such as Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Forms, Google Sites, and Gmail.{{cite web|last=Kerr|first=Dara|date=May 6, 2014|title=Google unveils Classroom, a tool designed to help teachers|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/google-unveils-classroom-a-tool-designed-to-help-teachers/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330110819/https://www.cnet.com/news/google-unveils-classroom-a-tool-designed-to-help-teachers/|archive-date=March 30, 2020|access-date=April 28, 2017|website=CNET|publisher=CBS Interactive}} A Google Calendar integration was later added to the platform.{{cite web|last=Hockenson|first=Lauren|date=August 24, 2015|title=Google Classroom updates with Calendar integration, new teacher tools|url=https://thenextweb.com/google/2015/08/24/google-classroom-back-2-school/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330110812/https://thenextweb.com/google/2015/08/24/google-classroom-back-2-school/|archive-date=March 30, 2020|access-date=April 28, 2017|website=The Next Web}} 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.{{cite web|title=Invite students to a class|url=https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6020282|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330110821/https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6020282|archive-date=March 30, 2020|access-date=April 28, 2017|website=Classroom Help|publisher=Google Inc.}} 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.{{cite web|last=Steele|first=Billy|date=May 6, 2014|title=Google Classroom helps teachers easily organize assignments, offer feedback|url=https://www.engadget.com/2014/05/06/google-classroom-preview/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506103841/https://www.engadget.com/2014-05-06-google-classroom-preview.html|archive-date=May 6, 2020|access-date=April 28, 2017|website=Engadget|publisher=AOL}}

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.{{Cite web|title=Submit an Assignment|url=https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6020285?&ref_topic=6163308|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330110824/https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6020285?&ref_topic=6163308|archive-date=March 30, 2020|access-date=March 27, 2015|website=Google Classroom help|publisher=Google Inc.}} Students may also attach additional documents to their assignment.

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.{{Cite web|title=Set up grading – Classroom Help|url=https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/9184995?hl=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023053838/https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/9184995?hl=en|archive-date=October 23, 2020|access-date=November 4, 2020|website=support.google.com}}

Announcements can be posted by teachers to a "class stream" which can be commented on by students. Students may also post to the 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.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

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.{{Cite journal|last1=Kumar|first1=Jeya Amantha|last2=Bervell|first2=Brandford|last3=Osman|first3=Sharifah|date=March 31, 2020|title=Google classroom: insights from Malaysian higher education students' and instructors' experiences|journal=Education and Information Technologies|language=en|volume=25|issue=5|pages=4175–4195|doi=10.1007/s10639-020-10163-x|issn=1573-7608|s2cid=214715477}} This restriction is lifted on the paid version of G Suite Enterprise for Education.{{Cite web|title=What's new in Classroom – Classroom Help|url=https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6149237?hl=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227151205/https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6149237?hl=en|archive-date=December 27, 2019|access-date=April 1, 2020|website=support.google.com}}

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.{{cite web|title=Archive a class – Classroom Help|url=https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6149813|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330110825/https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6149813|archive-date=March 30, 2020|access-date=April 6, 2015|website=Archive a class}}

Google Classroom mobile apps, introduced in January 2015, are available for iOS and Android devices.{{Cite magazine |last=Luckerson |first=Victor |date=2015-01-14 |title=Google Is Bringing the Paperless Classroom to Teachers' Phones |url=https://time.com/3667677/google-classroom-apps/ |access-date=2024-12-20 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}

Ease of use, universal device accessibility, Google Drive integration, and the ability of teachers and students alike to quickly share content and feedback have been highlighted as strengths. Among Classroom's disadvantages, a 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.{{cite web|author=Pappas, Christopher|date=August 20, 2015|title=Google Classroom Review: Pros And Cons Of Using Google Classroom In eLearning|url=https://elearningindustry.com/google-classroom-review-pros-and-cons-of-using-google-classroom-in-elearning|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330110829/https://elearningindustry.com/google-classroom-review-pros-and-cons-of-using-google-classroom-in-elearning|archive-date=March 30, 2020|access-date=August 17, 2016|work=eLearning Industry}} Google Classroom won a 2020 Webby Special Achievement Award.{{cite web|last1=Kastrenakes|first1=Jacob|date=May 20, 2020|title=Here are all the winners of the 2020 Webby Awards|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/20/21263445/2020-webby-awards-winners-lil-nas-x-nasa-jon-krasinski|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521205535/https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/20/21263445/2020-webby-awards-winners-lil-nas-x-nasa-jon-krasinski|archive-date=May 21, 2020|access-date=May 22, 2020|website=The Verge}}

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.{{Cite web|last=Climer|first=Siobhan|date=April 23, 2020|title=Privacy With Google Classroom: Use Rises, Critics Claim Risks|url=https://gomindsight.com/insights/blog/privacy-with-google-classroom-education-industry-news/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017112814/https://gomindsight.com/insights/blog/privacy-with-google-classroom-education-industry-news/|archive-date=October 17, 2020|access-date=October 16, 2020|publisher=Mindsight}}{{cite web|last=Franken|first=Al|date=January 13, 2015|title=Letter to Sundar Pichai from Al Franken|url=https://www.franken.senate.gov/files/letter/160114.GoogleStudentData.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208045857/https://www.franken.senate.gov/files/letter/160114.GoogleStudentData.pdf|archive-date=December 8, 2017|publisher=franken.senate.gov}} Criticism of Google Classroom is often combined with criticism of Chromebooks and Google Workspace.{{Cite web|last=Singer|first=Natasha|date=May 13, 2017|title=How Google Took Over the Classroom (Published 2017)|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/13/technology/google-education-chromebooks-schools.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701065343/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/13/technology/google-education-chromebooks-schools.html|archive-date=July 1, 2020|access-date=June 30, 2020|work=The New York Times}}{{Cite web|last1=Warzel|first1=Charlie|last2=Ngu|first2=Ash|date=July 10, 2019|title=Opinion | Google's 4,000-Word Privacy Policy Is a Secret History of the Internet (Published 2019)|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/07/10/opinion/google-privacy-policy.html,%20https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/07/10/opinion/google-privacy-policy.html|work=The New York Times}}

Other criticisms directed at Google Classroom are lack of a full-fledged grade book,{{Cite web|title=Pros and cons of Google Classroom|url=https://www.uft.org/news/teaching/linking-learning/pros-and-cons-google-classroom|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017035511/https://www.uft.org/news/teaching/linking-learning/pros-and-cons-google-classroom|archive-date=October 17, 2020|access-date=October 16, 2020|website=uft.org}}{{Cite web|date=July 23, 2014|title=6 Things You Can't Do with Google Classroom...Yet|url=https://appsevents.com/blog/2014/07/6-things-you-cant-do-with-google-classroom-yet.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001185118/https://appsevents.com/blog/2014/07/6-things-you-cant-do-with-google-classroom-yet.html|archive-date=October 1, 2020|access-date=October 16, 2020|website=Global Summits featuring Google for Education}} lack of automatic quizzes and tests (common features in learning management systems),{{Cite web|date=August 20, 2015|title=Google Classroom Review: Pros And Cons Of Using Google Classroom In eLearning|url=https://elearningindustry.com/google-classroom-review-pros-and-cons-of-using-google-classroom-in-elearning|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330110829/https://elearningindustry.com/google-classroom-review-pros-and-cons-of-using-google-classroom-in-elearning|archive-date=March 30, 2020|access-date=January 31, 2021|website=eLearning Industry}} and editing of assignments once they are released.{{Cite web|title=Pros and Cons of Google Classroom 2020|url=https://www.trustradius.com/products/google-classroom/reviews?qs=pros-and-cons|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330110835/https://www.trustradius.com/products/google-classroom/reviews?qs=pros-and-cons|archive-date=March 30, 2020|access-date=July 6, 2019|website=TrustRadius}} 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.{{Cite journal|last1=Kumar|first1=Jeya Amantha|last2=Bervell|first2=Brandford|last3=Osman|first3=Sharifah|date=March 31, 2020|title=Google classroom: insights from Malaysian higher education students' and instructors' experiences|journal=Education and Information Technologies|language=en|volume=25|issue=5|pages=4175–4195|doi=10.1007/s10639-020-10163-x|issn=1573-7608|s2cid=214715477}}

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.{{cite journal| url=https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00624| doi=10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00624| title=A Quick Shift from Classroom to Google Classroom: SWOT Analysis| year=2020| last1=Hallal| first1=Kassem| last2=Hajjhussein| first2=Hassan| last3=Tlais| first3=Sami| journal=Journal of Chemical Education| volume=97| issue=9| pages=2806–2809| bibcode=2020JChEd..97.2806H| s2cid=225585699| url-access=subscription}}

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.{{cite journal| doi=10.17471/2499-4324/1209 | year=2021 | issue=2| last1=Gleason | first1=Benjamin | last2=Heath | first2=Marie K. | title=Injustice Embedded in Google Classroom and Google Meet: A Techno-Ethical Audit of Remote Educational Technologies | journal=Italian Journal of Educational Technology | volume=29 | pages=26–41 }} 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.{{cite journal| doi=10.14744/alrj.2018.47955| title=EFL Students' Perceptions towards Using Google Docs and Google Classroom as Online Collaborative Tools in Learning Grammar| year=2018| last1=Khalil| first1=Zeiadee M.| journal=Applied Linguistics Research Journal| doi-broken-date=November 19, 2024| doi-access=free}}

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