Classroom is a new tool in Google Apps for Education that helps teachers create and organize assignments quickly, provide feedback efficiently, and easily communicate with their classes.

Google Apps for Education (GAFE) is a serious contender to be the solid foundation underpinning any school’s use of technology.

It’s free to education

The component to concentrate on, from a learning point of view, is Google Drive which is a user’s online storage, integrated into the Google Calendar and Mail. Drive serves as an excellent example of how cloud-based storage can help the learning process, allowing the user to:

• Access files anytime on any device with an Internet connection;
• Work offline with documents;
• Share files/ documents with others and collaborate in real time;
• Share folders with students and receive and feedback on assignments;
• Allow read-only access on documents and share with students as a resource, with no photocopying;
• Save/ export a document in a variety of formats including those used by MS Office;
• Work with other Google Apps to provide a platform for forms, surveys, projects;
• Save to Google Drive with two taps of an icon or clicks of a mouse;
• Integration directly into many iPad apps;
• Search files in Drive for name or keyword.

The ease with which documents or folders can be shared should be the starting point for anyone looking to implement GAFE.

The collaborative folder in Drive can also work as a class resource sharing area. The teacher simply shares a folder with every member of the class and gives them ‘view only’ access. This means that the teacher can be comfortable that the students can access the resources without fear they might delete them. The students can work on a copied version of the resource but the master will remain secure.

When considering a solution such as GAFE, the implications to shifting to an entirely new platform must be carefully thought and we suggestion consultation with our technical team to help you through the process.