When it comes to online learning, Google has stepped up to help. Teachers have been able to use Google tools to make sure that the education for their students wasn’t disruptive. This was especially useful during the covid-19 outbreak and lockdowns imposed. Google Meet and Google Classroom were helping classes to continue online. With online learning now growing even with no more lockdowns, these tools will still be beneficial in the education industry. The question is, however, what are the differences between Google Meet and Google Classroom? Both resources are different from each other and they both have their own pros and cons. 

Google Meet vs Google Classroom

Google Classroom and Google Meet are two different applications. Both are used differently. Google Meet is normally used for video conferencing. For instance, to meet and greet co-workers or carry out small corporate meetings. Google Classroom is mostly used for educational purposes. It is a platform for sharing assignments. For example, Google Classroom has its own features for easier document and slide sharing. By understanding both applications better, the pros and cons of these two Google tools, you will be able to determine the best one for you.

Google Meet

Google meet is one of the best free platforms to meet and have small conversations. Over 120 million teachers and students are using Google Meet for teaching and gaining knowledge. In addition, Google Meet made it easier for educational institutions and companies to do work continuously without any hassle.

One of the many strengths of Google Meet is that it is free to access for everyone. You only have to create a google account. Users can share their screens while video conferencing to make discussion easier. Users can also switch to multiple screens easily. Most importantly, Google Meet offers full data security and confidentiality. Video meetings are encrypted and there are security measures to keep your meetings safe.

However, fewer members are allowed to join the online meeting. You would need to have less than 100 students at one time. It also has a less clean dashboard and is not convenient for longer and larger meetings. Your class would need to be less than 60 minutes.

Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a free web service for all schools that wants to provide education digitally. It is a new Google tool for the education industry. Teachers can create and organize assignments quickly, provide feedback efficiently, and easily communicate with their students. Students can organize their work in Google Drive, hand in assignments, and communicate directly with their teachers and peers. Teachers can upload these study materials all in one place.

The advantage of using Google Classroom instead of Google Meet is that it is easier to attach files like documents, sheets, and slides to carry out lessons. It is also convenient for students to submit assignments. Teachers are able to track the assignments, send them back for editing, and grade them. Google Classroom has a more well-organized dashboard which makes it easier for all parties to access learning materials. There are many additional features to use alongside these Google education tools, such as Pear Deck for Google Slides Add-on, Form Ranger which allows teachers to populate multiple choice or list options from columns in any Sheet, and Kami for PDF and Document annotation.

Although convenient and free of charge to the public, Google Classroom is not a Learning Management System. It does not carry robust features an LMS would. Teachers would need to transfer student grades manually. Scheduled classes aren’t integrated with Google Calendar and there is no caption-closed option for uploaded videos. If you do need a Student Information System that has all these additional features integrated into one system you could also check out QuickSchools.

The Future of Online Learning

Online learning solutions are truly the future of education. First of all, it improves time management by engaging students in custom learning paths. It also empowers learners to study at their own pace, as quickly or slowly as they need, with no time wasted on materials they already know. Online learning solutions also help to reduce the dropout rate for students by making their studies less pressurized and demanding. Learners feel free from commuting to school, class timing, and personal schedules.

Besides convenience, online learning provides a lot of other supplementary benefits. Online courses allow getting in-depth material, retaining information, and assessing the knowledge far easier in comparison with a traditional classroom setting. In face-to-face lessons, students have to sit and listen, and unless they stop the teacher for any questions or clarification, the class goes on. In fact, students would most likely avoid asking their teachers to speed up or slow down. They may feel inconsiderate to other students for asking questions or feel too shy to ask in front of everyone. They can pause or re-watch lectures at their own pace. If a student has trouble grasping a concept, they can simply rewind to that part whilst looking it up in textbooks or class notes to further help them understand.

Online learning is truly a win-win situation. Even if the student is more fast-paced, they too have the option to speed up the lecture accordingly. In other words, online learning solutions, together with the help of amazing digital tools for teachers will allow individuals to continuously learn at their own pace and remain encouraged in continuing education.

In the end, should you choose either Google Meet or Google Classroom? It is really up to teachers to decide. They know which Google tools they are more comfortable with to carry out their classes. Google Meet is good to use if the school already has a separate site for lecture notes and assignment papers. If teachers need to attach files and documents to their lessons, then Google Classroom will help teachers out more.

Want a student information system integrated with Google Classroom? Check out QuickSchools today!