For the 2018-2019 academic year, Grady High School is implementing a new policy that states all teachers must have a Google Classroom for each of their classes.
For many teachers, this policy won’t create a major change because they have been using this tool for  years. Most teachers have found that Google Classroom is very helpful for staying organized and keeping students organized, particularly when it comes to schoolwork.
However, there are teachers who aren’t acquainted with it. Although Google classroom is user friendly and has proved useful for many teachers and students, learning how to use it might be difficult for the teachers who haven’t relied on it previously.
“For teachers that have been teaching for many many years, it’s just another thing that we have to learn and it’s hard to add that on,” said Dawn Wadsworth, a photography teacher at Grady High School.
There was a workshop for teachers to teach them how to incorporate Google Classroom into their classrooms, but there are still some that aren’t fully versed in using it.
“We should have not just one workshop on Google Classroom, but multiple,” said Wadsworth.
There are quite a few teachers at Grady who teach their classes without technology and would like to keep it that way. However, the new policy will make it hard to keep running their classrooms in an old school fashion.
“Because technology has filled every corner of our lives, I like to have a space where there is no technology, where what I do isn’t run by some corporation,” said John Brandhorst, art teacher at Grady High School.
The belief is that Google Classroom will become an excuse for students to use their phones during class. Grady teachers seem to have similar thoughts on the distraction phones cause in classrooms. Some teachers feel that the new policy will only amplify the problem.
“People are so distracted by their phones that’s they are barely paying attention,” said Wadsworth.
The policy also raised the concern of a disconnect between teachers and students. Since everything will rely and eventually revolve around Google, the teachers won’t have as substantial role in the classroom as they used to.
“I like being able to tangibly speak to people, I like the responsibility of having to see people face to face about stuff,” said Brandhorst.
However, despite the contrasting views on the new policy amongst the teachers of Grady High School, the students are pretty unanimous in their thoughts on Google Classroom.
“It helps me keep my school work organized and it helps with keeping up with all my assignments,” said sophomore Kristen Hart.
Almost all of Grady High School’s students find Google Classroom to be a helpful tool in staying organized and keeping up with their schoolwork. They also find it easier to remember their work and stay connected to teachers after school hours.
“It definitely helps me stay on top of all my stuff I like being able to have all the stuff I need to get done online instead of having to write it down,” said sophomore Anna Church.
Even teachers that haven’t used Google Classroom before believe it is beneficial to students. Hopefully, it will prove to be beneficial for them after taking the time to learn how to use the new technology.