Last Updated on May 22, 2024 by Ali Hamza
Overview:
Google Classroom made its debut four years ago and has been working on quicker, faster, and more powerful features to enhance productivity ever since.
The company has successfully managed to bolster its educational resources which explains why the application is so popular worldwide.
Consequently, the app had over 603 000 downloads in the UK in 2021 and this number continues to grow.
Google Classroom is a collaborative Custom LMS development services for educators.
It enhances communication between students and teachers, allowing teachers to create ‘Classrooms’ where they can create assignments, track student progress, and give feedback to students.
The platform protects classrooms with passwords, consequently, only the members of each class can view assignments, updates, and posts. To finish everything off, the help is free!
Classroom API for?
By introducing this learning management platform, Google is changing traditional teaching methods by bringing teachers and students together on a platform where communication is seamless.
Google Classroom API is an effort to improve the existing functions of the platform and leverage powerful features of other platforms through integration.
Google has permitted developers to integrate with Classroom to provide both teachers and students with advanced tools that simplify both teaching and learning.
For instance, teachers can assign tasks directly from platforms such as Duolingo and Quizlet.
Google has introduced several other features that facilitate teaching, learning, as well as education management.
Google Classroom API at a Glance
Packed with advanced features and capabilities, Google Classroom API sounds exciting! Allow us to investigate what it offers that might be of some value.
With the introduction of Google Meet and other integrations, Google Classroom is the one-stop platform for e-learning management, allowing teachers to conduct classes remotely, create assignments and much more!
According to the latest updates, Google Classroom API allows administrators to manage and provide classes at a larger scale.
Administrators can now enrol students in classes on behalf of the teachers by setting up tools to synchronize their Student Information Systems with Classroom. This allows them to monitor classes easily.
Google has revealed developers (including Alma, Pear Deck, and The New Visions Cloud Lab) who have been helping the tech-giant assess the API.
Here are three exciting tools that developers have created so far:
- The New Visions CloudLab: are the creators of Doctopus, who constructed roster sync for Sheets, an add-on for Google Classroom. It enables administrators to synchronize data from any student information system using Google Sheets.
- Alma: serves as hybrid student information and learning management platform that allows schools to synchronize class lists right to Classroom. This means, when a student is added to a classroom on Alma by the admin, he/ she will automatically be added to Classroom.
- Pear Deck: allows teachers to initiate interactive sessions using any of the Classroom classes. To invite students, teachers just select a class and invitations are sent automatically. Pear Deck constantly updates student lists which means the admin does not have to add or delete students manually.
Classroom Share Button vs. Classroom API
Google Classroom can be integrated with other platforms in two ways: Share Button and Classroom API.
The Share Button allows teachers to share videos, images, and posts from other web pages into their Classrooms as ‘assignments’ or ‘announcements.’
Teachers don’t have to leave the site they’re on and can seamlessly share the image or video to Classroom.
The Classroom Share Button has already been used by several educational tool providers, including:
- PBS
- Quizlet
- American Museum of Natural History
- Duolingo
- Discovery Education
- TIME Edge
But how are Coursework API and Share Button different?
Here are some aspects that differentiate one tool from the other:
Execution:
The execution of the Share Button is basic. With just a few lines of JavaScript, developers can add the tool to their website.
With Coursework API, API keys must be set up, closer monitoring is required, and APIs need to be enabled APIs in the admin console for implementation.
Creating and Sharing Assignments
Google Classroom API does not require a share button dialogue to post assignments, unlike the Share Button.
When it comes to modifying coursework created by the application, Classroom API offers more flexibility compared to Share Button which allows only a few fields to be specified.
With Classroom API, you can access all assignment-related data from the platform but with Share Button, you cannot modify assignment data.
Completing and Submitting Assignments
The Share Button allows students to complete and then attach documents to any assignment on Classroom. However, with Classroom API, students are restricted to attach submissions to assignments created by your app only.
With Share Button, students cannot turn in their assignments without logging into Google Classroom. But with Classroom API there is no such hassle!
Reviewing and Grading Assignments
Teachers have no support or feature specific to returning grades or marking assignments with the Share Button. To review and grade assignments teachers must log onto Classroom.
On the other hand, teachers can post grades as final or drafts using Google Classroom API. They can also modify, return, and post grades to assignments.
Your app has the permission to access all student submission data on behalf of the teacher with Classroom API.
The only aspect in which the Share Button is superior is implementation. Google Classroom API is superior in all other aspects, from creating, posting, reviewing, and grading assignments.
Packed with advanced capabilities, the API makes education provision much simpler and seamless.
Key Benefits of Classroom and Google Apps for Education
Classroom API boasts several new features that distinguish it from other platforms built to serve the same purpose. For example:
- Whitelisted domains:
With the ability to whitelist domains, users can whitelist other Google Apps for Education domains which means teachers and students can leverage the power of other educational apps and Google Classroom to enhance their online learning experience.
For instance, users can combine Google Drive with Google Classroom which allows them to store crucial documents such as assignments, notes, videos, and images.
- Mobile Classroom Notifications:
Mobile notifications for both iOS and Android apps allow students to always keep track of their academic progress.
The app notifies students every time a teacher posts a new assignment, creates an announcement, marks an assignment, or adds a comment on submissions.
- Ability to Re-use Previous Posts:
This feature is highly beneficial for teachers who want to re-use assignments or teaching materials that they have used for their former students.
Teachers can use assignments, posts, and other material that they have already used, in their new classes.
- Accounting Provisioning for Google Apps:
Creating new accounts on Google Apps for Education can be quite a hassle, especially if a large number of accounts has to be created.
To make this simpler, Google introduced a new API that generates available usernames in your domain.
Conclusion:
The number of Google Classroom users has spiked ever since its emergence, but especially during the last two years. The pandemic forced educational institutes to look for new and innovative ways to provide education to their students.
Google Classroom has played a key role in keeping the educational system from eroding during the pandemic. The platform continues to improve as Google adds powerful features, such as Google Classroom API to facilitate teaching and learning.
