Creating Powerful Learning Experiences in Google Classroom
Google Classroom is a fantastic all-encompassing educational platform that allows educators to augment students’ learning experiences in groundbreaking ways. One of the key aspects of Google Classroom that helps create enriched learning experiences for students is the ability to modify it with a host of third-party apps.
Without such applications, Google Classroom is a fine standalone service. With such applications, the possibilities within the Google Classroom platform are nearly endless!
We’ve curated a list of eight top-quality applications to start with. Educators looking to get more out of Google Classroom both on an administrative and teaching level would do well to at least look into the following add-ons.
Alma allows teachers to completely synchronize homework, examinations, worksheets and the grading that comes with those. In addition, district and school technology departments can batch create Google Classroom classes with ease.
This is a handy Google Classroom tool that gives teachers the power to fully mirror the different classrooms they’ve set up on the educational platform. In doing so, teachers can sync class periods, subjects, and student enrollment across the board.
With Classcraft, teachers can turn students’ Google Classroom experiences into a game where their results on the platform are translated into points. Everything from grades to simply turning in assignments on time can earn students points and up their position on an in-platform leaderboard.
Pear Deck is a fantastic synchronization tool that allows teachers to connect many devices in the room for an immersive, interactive lesson experience. Rather than students having to access a URL on their own accord, this application brings every student onto the same page who has Google Classroom access.
BrainPop keeps students’ attention with a wide variety of learning games, animated movies, activities, and tools that make learning fun without sacrificing educational quality. If you want your students to really love what they’re learning, Brainpop is a huge third-party app get.
K-12 administrators who want to assess their students in a variety of formative capacities will love Edulastic’s intuitive platform. It’s an easy way to get information about where your students stand in a variety of different areas, thus allowing administrators and educators to adjust accordingly.
OpenEd provides a vast online database of homework assignments, examinations, multimedia, games and lesson plans that align perfectly with every Common Core standard and a variety of other standards. It also contains the only open source formative item bank available to educators.
Newsela’s stated mission is to “supercharge engagement and learning in every subject.” They do so by curating digital content from hundreds of trusted and vetted sources, using this content to lead to effective formative assessments that get students thinking and give educators plenty of information to work with.
Concluding Thoughts
The above eight applications are a fantastic starting point for turning Google Classroom into an absolute in-classroom essential. There are many more third-party apps to explore, but definitely start with these ten if you’re looking to completely enhance your Google Classroom experience.
