Over the past couple of years, Montgomery County Public Schools have experienced many changes, especially in the area of technology. Though there have been several, from installing Promethean Boards in every classroom to adding Wireless Networks to every school, none of them have been as controversial as the adoption of Chromebooks and Google Classroom. While there is room for improvement, Google Classroom is an effective teaching tool.

Students can easily access the site, which is an advantage for using Google Classroom. Because it is online, Google Classroom can be updated anywhere as long as there is internet connection. As a result, students have an easier time organizing their assignments, and absent students are able to complete their work by the due date.

In addition, Google Classroom benefits students by providing many resources, such as a class list and course information. It is presented with a simple layout that allows pupils to easily organize and keep track of all their classes.

Because Google Classroom is closely tied with Google Drive, it aids student collaboration, making group projects simpler. Without a tool like Google Classroom, high schoolers would have to arrange time in their hectic schedules to meet up and complete the task together. Now with Google Drive and other Google services, students can work collectively at different times and locations.

The site not only helps students but also teachers. Like students, teachers can post assignments they overlooked in class and create interactive material by attaching video clips and audio recordings. Google Classroom also provides statistics on who have or have not completed assignments, which assists the teacher in grading appropriately.

Google Classroom also facilitates quick communication between students and their teachers. Since the teaching tool is accompanied by a Gmail account, students can easily contact each other, further developing collaboration. They can also comment on their teachers’ posts on the stream and email them for prompt feedback.

Google Classroom’s compatibility with other Google services and Chromebooks are substantially useful. It allows high schoolers to easily submit Google Drive files into Google Classroom. Since Chromebooks utilize the student’s Google Account, all of assignments are immediately available when a student logs onto a Chromebook.

Furthermore, Google Classroom is also environmentally friendly and keeps our school system updated with modern technology. Because the site is online, it eliminates the costs for paper and ink, which can eventually save the county hundreds of dollars. In addition, Google Classroom reduces the need for hard copies of handouts, which lessens the weights of backpacks.

Although Google Classroom is extremely efficient and environmentally friendly, it has a few disadvantages. Though Google Classroom links to numerous Google services, it does not connect to Edline and Turnitin, the two other major teaching tools. Transitioning between the three websites is more time-consuming and inefficient than if the three websites were all combined into one site.

Additionally, though communication is one of the strong points of Google Classroom, chats are disabled for student’s accounts. Chatting is similar to texting, the most common form of communication among teenagers. Reenabling this feature will ease communication.

In addition to disabling chats, not many students are notified when Google Classroom updates.  “I don’t think it’s effective in updating students,” freshman Kaylen Pak said.

Unfortunately, Google Classroom does not effectively notify students when new assignments are added, for it only notifies using their school emails. However, most students don’t check their school emails, rendering the notifications useless.

Despite these disadvantages, Google Classroom is an effective teaching tool. “I think it’s pretty good right now,” freshman Kat Chen notes. Luckily, Google Classroom is safely integrated into our curriculum.

-Ashley Ye