<s>
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
is	O
a	O
free	O
blended	O
learning	O
platform	O
developed	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
for	O
educational	O
institutions	O
that	O
aims	O
to	O
simplify	O
creating	O
,	O
distributing	O
,	O
and	O
grading	O
assignments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
primary	O
purpose	O
of	O
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
is	O
to	O
streamline	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
sharing	O
files	O
between	O
teachers	O
and	O
students	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
2021	O
,	O
approximately	O
150million	O
users	O
use	O
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
uses	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
proprietary	O
user	O
applications	O
(	O
Google	B-Application
Applications	I-Application
for	I-Application
Education	I-Application
)	O
with	O
the	O
goal	O
of	O
managing	O
student	O
and	O
teacher	O
communication	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
class	O
creates	O
a	O
separate	O
folder	O
in	O
the	O
respective	O
user	O
's	O
Google	B-Application
Drive	I-Application
,	O
where	O
the	O
student	O
can	O
submit	O
work	O
to	O
be	O
graded	O
by	O
a	O
teacher	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
has	O
undergone	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
updates	O
and	O
changes	O
since	O
its	O
original	O
release	O
in	O
May	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DateUpdateMay	O
6	O
,	O
2014Google	O
Classroom	O
was	O
announced	O
with	O
a	O
preview	O
available	O
for	O
some	O
members	O
of	O
Google	B-Application
's	I-Application
G	B-Application
Suite	I-Application
for	O
Education	O
program.August	O
12	O
,	O
2014Google	O
Classroom	O
is	O
released	O
publicly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
2015Google	O
announced	O
a	O
Classroom	O
API	B-Application
and	O
a	O
share	O
button	O
for	O
websites	O
,	O
allowing	O
school	O
administrators	O
and	O
developers	O
to	O
further	O
engage	O
with	O
Google	B-Application
Classroom.Google	O
integrated	O
Google	B-Application
Calendar	I-Application
into	O
Classroom	O
for	O
assignment	O
due	O
dates	O
,	O
field	O
trips	O
,	O
and	O
class	O
speakers.2017Google	O
opened	O
Classroom	O
to	O
allow	O
any	O
personal	O
Google	B-Application
users	O
to	O
join	O
classes	O
without	O
the	O
requirement	O
of	O
having	O
a	O
G	B-Application
Suite	I-Application
for	O
Education	O
account	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
April	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
,	O
it	O
became	O
possible	O
for	O
any	O
personal	O
Google	B-Application
user	O
to	O
create	O
and	O
teach	O
a	O
class.2018Google	O
introduced	O
a	O
major	O
redesign	O
to	O
Classroom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
included	O
adding	O
a	O
new	O
classwork	O
section	O
,	O
revising	O
the	O
grading	O
interface	O
,	O
allowing	O
the	O
reuse	O
of	O
classwork	O
from	O
separate	O
classes	O
,	O
and	O
additional	O
features	O
for	O
teachers	O
to	O
organize	O
content	O
by	O
topic.201978	O
new	O
illustrated	O
themes	O
were	O
and	O
the	O
option	O
to	O
drag	O
and	O
drop	O
topics	O
and	O
assignments	O
within	O
the	O
classwork	O
section	O
were	O
introduced	O
,	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
2020Google	O
added	O
integration	O
with	O
Google	B-Protocol
Meet	I-Protocol
so	O
that	O
teachers	O
can	O
have	O
a	O
unique	O
meet	O
link	O
within	O
each	O
class	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
several	O
features	O
were	O
added	O
to	O
classroom	O
,	O
with	O
Google	B-Application
stating	O
"	O
as	O
educators	O
worldwide	O
have	O
reinvented	O
their	O
practice	O
online	O
,	O
we	O
’re	O
also	O
adapting	O
our	O
tools	O
to	O
meet	O
the	O
evolving	O
needs	O
of	O
their	O
new	O
educational	O
landscape.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
also	O
saw	O
a	O
sharp	O
increase	O
in	O
usage	O
as	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
the	O
COVID-19	O
pandemic	O
in	O
which	O
many	O
schools	O
shifted	O
to	O
remote	O
education	O
options	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specific	O
research	O
programs	O
also	O
used	O
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
to	O
engage	O
in	O
authentic	O
learning	O
from	O
around	O
the	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Novel	O
“	O
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
”	O
-Based	O
Pathology	O
Education	O
Tool	O
for	O
Trainees	O
During	O
the	O
COVID-19	O
Pandemic	O
:	O
Impactful	O
Learning	O
While	O
Social	O
Distancing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
integrates	O
several	O
Google	B-Application
Applications	I-Application
for	I-Application
Education	I-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
Google	B-Application
Drive	I-Application
,	O
Google	B-Application
Docs	I-Application
,	O
Google	B-Language
Sheets	I-Language
,	O
Google	B-Application
Slides	I-Application
,	O
Google	B-Application
Forms	I-Application
,	O
Google	B-Application
Sites	I-Application
,	O
and	O
Gmail.A	O
Google	B-Application
Calendar	I-Application
integration	O
was	O
later	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Students	O
can	O
be	O
invited	O
to	O
classrooms	O
through	O
the	O
institution	O
's	O
database	O
,	O
through	O
a	O
private	O
code	O
that	O
can	O
then	O
be	O
added	O
in	O
the	O
student	O
's	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
,	O
or	O
automatically	O
imported	O
from	O
a	O
school	O
domain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
class	O
created	O
with	O
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
creates	O
a	O
separate	O
folder	O
in	O
the	O
respective	O
user	O
's	O
Google	B-Application
Drive	I-Application
,	O
where	O
the	O
student	O
can	O
submit	O
work	O
to	O
be	O
graded	O
by	O
a	O
teacher	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Assignments	O
are	O
stored	O
and	O
graded	O
on	O
Google	B-Application
's	I-Application
document	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rather	O
than	O
sharing	O
documents	O
that	O
reside	O
on	O
the	O
student	O
's	O
Google	B-Application
Drive	I-Application
with	O
the	O
teacher	O
,	O
files	O
are	O
hosted	O
on	O
the	O
student	O
's	O
Drive	O
and	O
then	O
submitted	O
for	O
grading	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Teachers	O
on	O
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
have	O
the	O
option	O
of	O
creating	O
Assignments	O
in	O
various	O
templates	O
and	O
formats	O
with	O
different	O
accessibility	O
options	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
permissions	O
to	O
view	O
,	O
edit	O
,	O
and	O
comment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
supports	O
different	O
grading	O
schemes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multiple	O
types	O
of	O
media	O
from	O
Google	B-Application
products	O
such	O
as	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
videos	I-General_Concept
and	O
Google	B-Application
Drive	I-Application
files	O
can	O
be	O
attached	O
to	O
announcements	O
and	O
posts	O
to	O
share	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gmail	B-Application
also	O
provides	O
email	O
options	O
for	O
teachers	O
to	O
send	O
emails	O
to	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
students	O
in	O
the	B-Application
Google	I-Application
Classroom	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
free	O
version	O
of	O
G	B-Application
Suite	I-Application
for	O
Education	O
,	O
teachers	O
can	O
turn	O
on	O
originality	O
report	O
for	O
3	O
assignments	O
but	O
have	O
limited	O
cloud	O
storage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
restriction	O
is	O
lifted	O
on	O
the	O
paid	O
version	O
of	O
G	B-Application
Suite	I-Application
Enterprise	O
for	O
Education	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
mobile	B-Application
apps	I-Application
,	O
introduced	O
in	O
January	O
2015	O
,	O
are	O
available	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Android	B-Application
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
eLearning	O
Industry	O
tested	O
and	O
made	O
a	O
review	O
of	O
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
,	O
in	O
which	O
they	O
highlighted	O
many	O
positive	O
and	O
negative	O
aspects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
Classroom	O
's	O
strengths	O
,	O
the	O
review	O
highlighted	O
ease	O
of	O
use	O
,	O
universal	O
device	O
accessibility	O
,	O
use	O
of	O
Google	B-Application
Drive	I-Application
as	O
an	O
effective	O
way	O
for	O
teachers	O
to	O
quickly	O
share	O
assignments	O
with	O
students	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
Classroom	O
's	O
disadvantages	O
,	O
the	O
review	O
highlighted	O
the	O
service	O
's	O
heavy	O
integration	O
of	O
Google	B-Application
apps	I-Application
and	O
services	O
with	O
limited	O
or	O
no	O
support	O
for	O
external	O
files	O
or	O
services	O
,	O
lack	O
of	O
automated	O
quizzes	O
and	O
tests	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
live	O
chats	O
that	O
can	O
aid	O
in	O
feedback	O
efforts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
won	O
a	O
2020	O
Webby	O
Special	O
Achievement	O
Award	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
company	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
has	O
been	O
criticized	O
on	O
several	O
different	O
issues	O
,	O
including	O
privacy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specific	O
criticism	O
of	O
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
generally	O
focuses	O
on	O
concern	O
for	O
privacy	O
for	O
students	O
and	O
Google	B-Application
's	I-Application
use	O
of	O
student	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Criticism	O
of	O
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
is	O
often	O
combined	O
with	O
criticism	O
of	O
Chromebooks	B-Operating_System
and	O
Google	B-Application
Workspace	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
criticisms	O
directed	O
at	O
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
are	O
lack	O
of	O
a	O
full-fledged	O
grade	O
book	O
,	O
lack	O
of	O
automatic	O
quizzes	O
and	O
tests	O
(	O
common	O
features	O
in	O
learning	B-Application
management	I-Application
systems	I-Application
)	O
,	O
and	O
editing	O
of	O
assignments	O
once	O
they	O
are	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
COVID-19	O
pandemic	O
,	O
many	O
classrooms	O
pivoted	O
to	O
Classroom	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
usefulness	O
and	O
integration	O
with	O
existing	O
Google	B-Application
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
studies	O
discussing	O
use	O
of	O
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
for	O
English	O
as	O
a	O
foreign	O
language	O
studies	O
,	O
students	O
had	O
positive	O
perceptions	O
towards	O
using	O
Google	B-Application
Classroom	I-Application
tools	O
to	O
learn	O
about	O
grammatical	O
concepts	O
and	O
collaborate	O
with	O
others	O
using	O
student-to-student	O
interactions	O
and	O
collaborative	O
feedback	O
.	O
</s>
