What is our primary use case?
I first used Google Classroom because it’s easy, free, and I needed a quick solution.. Later, I started to see how it seamlessly integrates with the Google apps that most people find very intuitive to use, and so it was simultaneously powerful, flexible, and facilitated collaboration. I have only used it for a certificate course For the certificate courses, students either worked individually or with a cohort. The cohorts were the most fun with Google Classroom because they could collaborate on projects and also post their own presentations, both with Slides and with a video. Google Classroom is a good learning management system for adults because you can easily develop an instructional strategy that relates to real-world problems and solutions. It allows you to develop an instructional strategy that builds on the learners’ experience and prior knowledge and gives them the ability to use it as a launching pad for new skills they need now.
What is most valuable?
I like that Google Classroom is free and integrates with the entire Google Suite, which includes Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, etc. I also like its flexibility, which makes it perfect for synchronous, asynchronous, and blended courses, and including live and archived webinars, as well as other kinds of content.
What needs improvement?
When students don't have Gmail accounts, it creates a lot of hiccups, but the main issue is that the interface is somewhat primitive. It’s intuitive and you can be up and running in no time at all. However, it is not very attractive. But that may be because I installed it myself and I'm not using any fancy templates. It's primitive because that's how I've been able to get it going.
I would like to see a better user experience, a prettier interface, and more templates. Google could make templates readily available or users could design and share them. As it is, you’ll only get a basic framework when you create a new course. You don't have different themes to choose from like you do in Moodle.
Most learning management systems also have a dashboard. It would be useful to have a dashboard with blocks on the side that lets you navigate all of your courses. It would like to have the ability to navigate at a glance and breadcrumbs.
By breadcrumbs, I mean it should be designed to leave you a trail like you would use to find your way out of a forest. Go back to where you were and pick up where you left off. So, instead of going back, it shows you where you were. Moodle does something like this, but you don't see it in Canvas or Blackboard. I think that that would be a big advantage.
And then, a dashboard would just be when you go to the front page, in addition to having your courses listed there, you would have something like other activities, as well. Further, the dashboard would include your calendar, you could have a calendar there, you could have different productivity apps.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used Google Classrooms since 2019, but I was aware of it for a few years before that.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
As a cloud-based solution provided by one of the largest companies in the world, I think that the platform and the solution are as stable as it gets. That said, Google has deprecated a number of products over the last few years, and there is no guarantee that Google Classroom will continue in its present form. It will be interesting to see how Google Classrooms will fare in the future. The pandemic and the overnight transition to online made Google a hero for many K-12 districts because it was free and also intuitive. That does not mean that classroom teachers were effective in the new online space, and it does not mean that schools maintained their Google Classrooms in 2021 as students started to come back to face to face instruction. How will Google deal with such wild fluctuations in demand? What was the value proposition for them?
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Classroom is a scalable solution if you’d like to create individual classrooms / courses. It’s easy. All you have to do is to create a template and then share it with all the teachers. To scale for an entire school or organization, the key is to be able to manage the course creation, course deployment, permissions, and enrollments. Google Classroom does not seem to have an enterprise version, so it would be necessary to write programs that would integrate with one’s student (for education) or member (for training) information system.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I did not switch to Google Classroom, but used it because it was required. It would never be my first choice except in cases of super-shoestring budgets and students who need something simple, but who are not annoyed by the clunkiness of it. Currently, I find myself using Moodle, Blackboard, and Canvas. Those are the most commonly used. In the past, there was Desire to Learn, Angel, and others.Google Classroom doesn't have as many features or plugins as Canvas or Blackboard, but that's okay.
I started using Classroom because many of the users were accessing the course from work because the training was required by their employer. . It was the only platform they could use because the others were blocked.
How was the initial setup?
I've always set it up from scratch. It's super easy compared with Moodle or commercial options such as Blackboard or Canvas
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
If you do a certain size and build, it's like any Google solution. You have to pay for storage, but you don't need to pay extra to use the interface. There may be Google Classroom partners that provide more integrated solutions, but I don't know. I'm strictly DIY.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Google Classroom eight out of 10 because it integrates with different products. Other solutions like Canvas integrate with Microsoft 365, but with Classroom, you don't have to worry about problems integrating with Google products.
Classroom is wonderful for collaboration, and it integrates well with YouTube so it’s easy to incorporate live and archived video content. It’s easy to create content within Google apps, but one can also use other content creating apps such as Screencast-o-matic, and then link to the recordings. . I will say that Google Classroomhas room to improve because the interface isn't inspiring, and there's no dashboard.
My advice to new users is to play around, explore, and organize it. The modules are pretty simple. Before you do anything, open up a Google Doc and create a storyboard to list the learning objectives and outcomes, then create a course map.
Organize it to map every module to the learning outcome, assessment, and course content. Do that first, and place the videos where you want them to go inside in the storyboard. Also, make sure to use a universal design for the learning approach. Google is good for this. Ensure that you use multiple modes of representation for every type of content,
Use Universal Design for Learning principles. For example, if you use YouTube, make sure you have a transcript and audio that students can download separately. If there is reading, make sure they can listen to audio. The design and navigation must also be clear so people with mobility, vision, or hearing impairment can use it. Google is great for accessibility because it has all those different integrated products.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Google
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.