Many institutions and universities around the country have adopted online learning. Google Classroom is one of the numerous apps and modes created to help with online learning. A student can join a Google Classroom where teachers and students can connect and provide constructive comments, as well as streamline the sharing of classroom papers and assignments. It is Google’s ambitious addition to online education, aiming to make ‘classrooms’ not only paperless but also more effective.
A quick glance at the App reveals that it is largely intended for adding as many students as possible, creating Google docs to manage assignments and announcements, posting YouTube videos and links, and attaching items from Google Drives. The learners can also have easy access which is being shared and not have to send via email to all the students. It also facilitates quick creation and distribution of assignments, followed by submission and feedback in response while also keeping an easy track of assignment submission, thereby creating a more effective and bigger impact on the minds of the students. ‘Paperless’ is a notion that comes with Google Classroom. There is no need to print e-learning materials because they are clouded or centralized. However, the concept of ‘paperless’ requires adaptability, especially for those students who are used to reading hard copies rather than soft e-materials.
Furthermore, in addition to being simple and user-friendly, Google Classroom is considered as an alternative to WhatsApp, with the added benefit of being able to hold formal online meetings, share material, and use it for professional development.
However, there are certain drawbacks to using Google Classroom. It does not support access from different domains or logging in to Google Classroom via Gmail, so Gmail attachment files cannot be shared immediately in Google Classroom without downloading. There are also certain issues of automated integration because of the non-availability of certain features. So at best, one may need to come up with own style of integration. Though Google and YouTube are integrated, the tools that are being used need to be aligned with Google services, or else one may have to go through the hassle of converting a simple word document to a Google document.
Another disadvantage of not having automated Google Classroom activity updates is that crucial announcements or posts may go unreported. Even though a student has been invited, unless the app is opened and updated, it is impossible to tell whether the student has accepted the invitation and entered the classroom. Further, unlike WhatsApp which allows file sharing by way of forwarding, it is not so in Google Classroom unless one owns a document that requires approval. Even with approval, it will create chaos for large classrooms.
Because the level of interaction between teachers and students is limited to file sharing, comments, and feedback, Google Classroom is not a substitute for online teaching and learning. For effective education and learning, it requires interaction and building relationships with the students, and in a virtual environment, online discussions are the best way to interact and build relationships. Unfortunately, despite its name, Google Classroom does not provide such a service. As a result, it can only be used to the extent that it permits.
Finally, besides the challenges of having to integrate or cloud in the various subjects by creating multiple classrooms, the real test of its viability comes from the presence of a good internet and networking facility. And possibly, it will be good if the Jammu and Kashmir Government can provide a mobile phone to students from economically weaker and tribal sections which would not only enable and enhance learning but more so, a way of providing justice.
Investing in the early years of children is crucial for building a strong nation. Inauguration of UNiLearn, an e-learning programme, which is a certificate course of 21 modules developed by UNICEF in collaboration with JKASW and Edu-Weav for the training of Anganwadi workers on ECCE is a small but a welcome step of the J&K UT government. More and more such e-learning programmes of skill development should also be introduced.