How does Google Classroom work? Learn all about the online classroom

Google Classroom is Google’s online classroom, where students and teachers can hold virtual meetings for distance learning. During the quarantine due to the coronavirus, many public and private educational institutions closed and were forced to continue classes online using the platform.

The tool is free for all users, including teachers and students, and can be accessed from the computer, in the web version, or from the cell phone, with applications for Android and iPhone (iOS). Check below for more information about Google Classroom and how to use the virtual classroom.

What is Google Classroom and how does it work?

Google Classroom is an online classroom that helps teachers manage activities and create interactive classes, helping students increase learning through tools available on the Internet. The service also allows you to create different classes, distribute tasks and send and receive notes and feedback.

The platform can be accessed for free by public and private schools and includes integration with G Suite for Education, a set of free Google tools and services tailored for schools. In addition to classes, teachers can send activities and assignments to students using the Classroom via computer or mobile phone.

Accessing Google Classroom

Teachers and students can access Google Classroom through Google Classroom or the mobile application, as long as they have Internet access. If you are a teacher and want to create a class first, you need to register with G Suite for Education. If you want to use the tool just to complement the classes, it is not necessary to register in advance. All resources can be accessed as long as you and the students have a Google account.

The steps to access the platform in the web version are very simple: just access the site and log in. If it is your first access as a teacher, you will need to create a class, enter the class information and then invite your students by e-mail or by sharing the classroom access code. Students need to be invited to have access to a specific virtual classroom.

Google Classroom Features

When creating a class, teachers can create teaching content topics, add questions to students and attach activities, and can modify the score for each exercise and the time available for delivery. Class materials can be shared in PDFs, photos, videos, and links to websites, so each student has access to the content directly from their device.

Google Classroom also has integration with several applications focused on education. With Classcraft, teachers can import student data and transform activities into missions within the game. In Quizizz, you can share the games present in the application and turn them into tasks. Tynker has several free courses and learning tools focused on computer science.

Google Classroom for Teachers

By creating different classrooms for each subject, teachers can individually monitor each student’s progress, as well as the level of teaching in each class, and can modify the content according to the difficulties presented in each class. It is possible to manage all contents and students through four different tabs: Stream, Classworks, People, and Marks.

With Google Classroom, the grades received by students are recorded in the platform, as well as the date on which each activity was sent, which allows the teacher to monitor the situation of each student more quickly and individually.

Google Classroom for Students

Students have access to three different tabs: Stream, Classworks, and People. Through the “Stream”, you can follow all the topics created by the teacher, viewing all the lessons that have already been created. In the “Classworks” section, students find all the tasks already done and pending, as well as the maximum grade assigned to each one and the deadline for submission. In the “People” tab, you can check all the other students who are registered in the class.

It is indicated that the students follow the classes in real-time, in the time agreed with their teachers through the Google virtual calendar. However, if you miss the lesson, the content is saved in the virtual classroom. Students can also view each other’s activity responses to make a comparison and track the class’s progress. Marks and feedback are returned individually by the teacher.

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