Google Classroom is from the family identify in search suppliers, as a part of its Google Workspace for Schooling Instruments. It has been obtainable since 2014 (the earlier identify was G Suite for Schooling), with cross platform assist. It's thought-about a mixing studying platform, with the first objective to enable college students and academics to share recordsdata for an academic goal, combining a number of Google instruments right into a single platform.
As of 2021, Google Classroom has 150 million customers, a minimum of partially pushed by the necessity for on-line schooling necessitated by COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. 
Options
Whereas Google Classroom had been round for years, when faculties from Pre-Ok to universities have been pressured to close down final 12 months, there was a direct want for a software to enable distant schooling. Fortunately, this software from Google turned the reply for a lot of of those faculties.
Google Classroom is a cloud based mostly platform, offering a manner for college kids and academics to work together. It makes an attempt to supply a web-based instructional platform, with alternatives for classroom instruction, one on one interactions between academics and college students, together with scholar assignments.
Going past the ‘Big picture,’ there are tons of options here to make any instructor really feel proper at dwelling. Even on the free tier, a instructor can handle a number of courses directly, college students can submit their assignments by way of a picture seize, and new college students may be added by way of a straightforward to make use of link. A gradebook is even obtainable to trace college students' progress.
Plans and pricing
As a way to assist schooling, Google does present the Google Workspace for Schooling to certified establishments on a free foundation. Eligible establishments are required to submit an utility and get approval. Trying over the necessities, most Ok-12 establishments, and universities would qualify for the free instruments. Even acknowledged dwelling faculties do, however not different organizations, similar to a public library, that Google encourages them to look into Google Workspace Enterprise version. This lowest free tier has loads of instruments, together with Classroom, Docs, Gmail and Chat amongst a number of others.
There are improve plans obtainable, however Google affords them as a part of a bundle, and never only for Classroom a la carte. The subsequent tier up is the Standard Tier at a value of $3 per scholar, month-to-month, and a free instructor license is included for each 4 scholar subscriptions. It provides just a few options, together with a safety heart, administration for superior gadgets and apps, and a log export for Gmail and Classroom for evaluation and insights.
Transferring up the tiered packages, subsequent is the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, which is paid for the employees at $4 per thirty days. The added options begin with Google Conferences enabled for conferences of as much as 250 members, and reside streams as much as 10,000 people. It goes on to superior options for Google Meet with polls, breakout conferences and Q and A’s, add-ons for Classroom for added instruments, and plagiarism checks by way of limitless ‘Originality Reports.’
On the high is the Education Plus bundle, which has a value of $5 per scholar per thirty days, and provides one college license for each 4 college students enrolled. This has all of the options of the decrease plans, and upgrades together with to reside stream a Google Assembly with as much as 100k members, expedited assist with a quicker response time, customized cloud search of the area, and rosters may be straight synced from a Pupil Data System to Classroom.
Help
Getting some assist with Google Classroom is about as nameless as the whole lot else that Google gives. In any case, it isn't like there's a toll free quantity to name after we disagree with a Google search outcome.
There may be loads of assist for Classroom, however it isn't direct contact, so there isn't a telephone quantity, electronic mail or chat to achieve anybody. Reasonably, there's a ‘Classroom Help Center,’ which gives step-by-step instructions for each characteristic. There may be additionally a ‘Classroom Help Community’ that enables people to work together, and there's a Group Supervisor to keep up order, nonetheless some older threads are locked, limiting the chance so as to add a question to an present thread. Novices also can profit from the ‘Recommended Reading’ that's designed to rise up and working with matters similar to “Create a Class.”
Consumer opinions
Having a look on the Google Play retailer, clearly the Android app for the Google Classroom is significantly well-liked, with over 100 million downloads, with a rating because the #2 app in free schooling. Nonetheless, let’s not confuse reputation with high quality, because it will get a surprisingly low 3.1 out of 5 stars.
Trying by these opinions, we do notice that a minimum of a part of this is because of people’s frustration of not with the ability to go to highschool, and obey COVID-19 stay-at-home orders for the final 12 months. Nonetheless, there are nonetheless a myriad of bugs which are plaguing customers. These run the gamut, from assignments which are accomplished, however then not saved when the person logs in subsequently, notifications that solely intermittently come by, and difficulties when trying to open assignments on the telephone. A few of this can be coming from a strong cross platform try that's attempting to do loads, and possibly an excessive amount of throughout a myriad of gadgets. Additionally, to be truthful, some customers do reward the benefit of use, and a instructor indicated how a lot simpler this makes their process of teaching their 30 college students.
Ultimate verdict
Whereas we will decide it aside, we do wish to acknowledge that Google Classroom gives a useful cloud based mostly platform to attach academics with their college students by the challenges of on-line schooling. The professionals embody the cross platform assist, the selection of tiers, and strong choices that may enable a reside stream lecture to as much as 100k members. The cons cowl the Android bugs, the continuing subscription prices for upgraded tiers, and the shortage of direct assist. General, in relation to strong apps that pull collectively a bunch of applied sciences, it's onerous to get higher than a Google effort, which explains its reputation.
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