Google Classroom Lets Kids Turn in a Photo of Their Homework
High school is a lot different that it was when we were teenagers. Back in the day, it wasn’t all that common for kids to be walking around with cell phones… we were too busy playing around with our parents’ pagers. When it came to accessing the Internet, it definitely wasn’t from our flip phones. We would hit up the computer lab and listen to the sweet sound of dial-up. But now kids are using their iPhones and Samsung Notes to snap HD pics of what the teacher is writing on the board. Teachers can easily upload worksheets onto Google Drive and students can print them out at home. Students can check their grades and progress on the school’s website. And now, Google has come out with their own system that integrates all the online functions the average classroom uses in one convenient place: Google Classroom.
Sometimes kids forget their projects in the car. Instead of driving to their schools to drop it off, they can take a picture of it and upload the picture to the Google Classroom under the corresponding assignment. Google Classroom also makes it convenient for teachers by allowing them to assign homework online and receive timestamps of when each student turned in their homework. Teachers can also grade online and students receive notifications about their updated grades.
This isn’t meant to replace the traditional classroom setting. It’s meant to devote more time to learning in class and leave the nitty-gritty homework logistics to after-school hours. Further digitizing homework also means less paper for students to keep track of and for teachers to lug around and grade. Google Classroom is definitely a great tool to have available for educators everywhere. You can get the Google Classroom mobile app for free on both iOS and Android.
What do you think about digitizing part of the student-teacher relationship? Do you like the idea of Google Classroom? Let us know in the comments below!
(h/t CNET, photos via Ditch That Textbook)