Learn simple ways you can use Google Classroom integrations to streamline your teaching.
You may be familiar with Google Classroom-integrated apps and sites, or you may be wondering what integration even means. Either way, our breakdown should help. Basically, Google Classroom uses an API (application program interface) to connect and share information with many of your favorite tools. Hundreds of apps and websites integrate, and we'll highlight a few of our picks below.
Edtech integrations can seem complex, so we've narrowed it down to the basics. Here are three key ways you can streamline your classroom management:
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Import class rosters from Classroom into an app or website.
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Once you've shared a roster between an app and Classroom, manage coursework and submissions that incorporate content from that app.
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Look for the Google Share button to share content from a website into Classroom.
Teachers' Essential Guide to Google Classroom
Learn more about this popular platform and how to use it with students.
Import Class Rosters
Teachers can import classes from Google Classroom into sites like Pear Deck, BrainPOP, and TypingClub. Watch Pear Deck's how-to video below to get an idea of how this actually works (though the specifics can vary from tool to tool). With Pear Deck, the integration lets teachers import a class roster and then invite and track each student as they join the Pear Deck class session from their own device.
BrainPOP's integration starts with the Google app, which teachers can access via the Google Apps Launcher menu. Importing a Google class will create student accounts in BrainPOP; students can then log in through the Google Launcher menu to get started in the tool. Teachers are able to update their synced class roster by adding or removing students in Classroom. For Google Classroom fans, there's no doubt you'll save time with this two-way syncing.
Pressing play on the YouTube video will set third-party cookies controlled by Google if you are logged in to Chrome. See Google's cookie information for details.
Assign Coursework and Manage Student Submissions
Once you've shared a class roster between Classroom and tools like Actively Learn, Tynker, or Classcraft, it becomes that much easier to sync teacher assignments, student submissions, and grades. For example, teachers can assign a reading lesson directly from the Actively Learn site to a class in Google Classroom. After grading an assignment in Actively Learn, teachers can then publish the grades to Classroom (check out the video below for more details). Similarly, teachers can assign a coding lesson directly from the Tynker site to a Classroom stream for students to access. Students can then turn in an assignment within Tynker, and teachers receive a summary in their Classroom stream.
Moving with ease between Classroom and a subject-specific or teacher tool -- and then back again -- allows teachers to use a variety of apps and sites while knowing their student info is saved and up to date.
Pressing play on the YouTube video will set third-party cookies controlled by Google if you are logged in to Chrome. See Google's cookie information for details.
Share Content from Websites to Google Classroom
The Classroom Share button makes it easy to share content from an app or website directly into your Google Classroom. Hundreds of tools, including Newsela, Khan Academy, and CK-12, integrate their content in this way. When teachers find something they want to share, it's easy to click the Share button, choose a class, and then share the content as an assignment or announcement to students. The Share button is typically grouped among the usual selection of social media icons; the same types of content that you've been able to share on Twitter or Facebook can now be shared into Classroom in the same way. For example, teachers can share articles from Newsela, videos from Khan Academy, or activities from CK-12, just like they would on social.
