Google’s Latest Education Innovation: Google Classroom

With Classroom, teachers can set up pages for their classes where they can interact with students, set up new assignments and deliver messages to their classes. Teachers can also provide feedback to students on assignments submitted in Google Classroom. The tool is uncomplicated, and according to Zach Yeskel, the Google Classroom program manager, “Classroom is based on the principle that educational tools should be simple and easy to use, and is designed to give teachers more time to teach and students more time to learn.” Students can access assignments from home or other locations. No longer can homework get “lost.”

Classroom integrates Docs, Drive and Gmail so that classrooms can essentially be paperless. Educators will also know which students have not completed assignments and will even be able to interact with students live outside of school. There are no advertisements or data sharing; as an added bonus, no email accounts under Google Apps for Education are being scanned for advertising purposes. In addition, each student is given his or her own drive, and students can check the “Assignments” page to get the latest homework and assessments.

Zach Yeskel is hoping that Google Classroom will help preserve one of educators’ most precious commodities: time. Yeskel was a high school math teacher, so he understands the difficulty that teachers have in finding enough time to prepare lesson materials and fulfilling other educational duties. He said, “I know all too well that teachers spend a ton of valuable time doing things other than teaching — waking up early to grade quizzes, collecting and returning piles of paper assignments, and battling copy machine paper jams. But with today's technology it doesn't have to be this way."

Currently, Classroom is in its pilot stage and is being tested by a group of chosen schools and colleges. In June, Google will be choosing more schools to participate in the pilot, but they must apply as soon as possible to be selected for the opportunity. This can be done on the Classroom signup page. To get a glimpse into how Google Classroom is working in its pilot stage, Google has shared a video on YouTube that has real students and teachers sharing how Classroom has saved them time and made organization much easier. Classroom is garnering positive reviews from both first year teachers and seasoned veteran educators.

In the Google Education preview, Google offers downloads with more comprehensive Classroom information and case studies of Classroom in action. At the all-girl college preparatory Fontbonne Hall Academy in Brooklyn, New York, Technology Director Mark Surdyka suggested applying to participate in the Classroom pilot because the use of technology at the school was lacking. After rolling it out to the whole school, both teachers and students picked up the tools remarkably quickly. Daily feedback was sent to Google, which inspired Classroom’s Question and Answer section, and teachers found that class participation increased greatly. Students who were quiet in the classroom were more vocal online, and students were interacting regularly outside of the classroom. Teachers also saved a tremendous amount of paper by not needing to photocopy. As the academy works to implement STEM programs, Principal Mary Ann Spicijaric intends to make Classroom a part of that process. She stated, “We are a school that is excited for growth and about the fact that we are doing more to serve our students with technology.”

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