What Can’t I Do With Google Classroom?

There are many things you must know before using Google Classroom for the wrong reasons. It is a great online learning platform for posting assignments, grades, announcements, and sharing online resources. However, there are some things that it does not provide. Here are a few things that it is not known to be:

• A chatbox: You can comment on learning activities (assignments) and announcements, but there’s no chat function that allows you to instantly communicate back and forth.  If you want to be in direct contact with your learners, you can send them an email or allow other Google apps to take over that function. Think about Google Meet or Hangouts if you need instant, live communication.

• A test or quiz app: There are many possibilities for making quizzes in Google Classroom, but it is still not meant to be a quiz app. There are so many other amazing apps for that. You can add tests and learning activities (assignments) from other educational apps right inside Google Classroom. You also can add a question. Then select between a short response answer or a multiple-choice question. Not that impressive, I know. It is best to select the first option if you want to make your Classroom more interactive and engaging. Also, Google Classroom provides you with a blank form to create your test or app, and then leaves all the work to you. There are not many bells and whistles to help you create your assessments like other quiz apps.

• A discussion forum: You can create announcements, and learners can comment on them, but it is not a great fit for discussions. It does not have the organizational features of a discussion board. If an educator posts a discussion topic, and multiple students comment underneath it, it will be difficult to sort through. Also, the thread will be extremely long. Educators may have difficulties trying to find a particular student’s post as well. Learners can’t change the font color or size to make their post stand out, or underline important points. While you will have the means to create a discussion forum, it will not be as streamlined and easy to use as other learning platforms that are designed for it.