September 1, 2018 (Vol. 38, No. 15)
Rating:
Strong Points: Can access or create courses, easy to navigate
Weak Points: G Suite for Education account required for school use
Platform:
iPad/iPhone
Cost:
Free
Summary:
As described by the app itself, Google Classroom “helps classes communicate, save time, and stay organized.” To begin, app users sign in with their Google account. From there, students can join a particular class by entering a class code given by their instructor, and instructors (or anyone looking to get organized with their team) can create a class. Of note, when going to create a class, users are prompted with a message stating that if Google Classroom is being used at “a school with students” (as opposed to a school without students?), the school must sign up for a free G Suite for Education account. Once a course has been created, instructors can begin a conversation with their students via the “stream” screen, view a list of students (and the class code) on the “students” screen, and access a course calendar and content folders (imported from Google Calendar and Google Drive, respectively).
