Difference Between Microsoft Teams and Google Classroom (With Table)

Digital learning is becoming increasingly prevalent all around the world. Virtual learning platforms provide face-to-face, real-time engagement among professors and their students in faraway places.

Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams are two of the most successful solutions for creating virtual classes. Each has several advantages in terms of linking students and instructors, as well as facilitating cooperation with classes in other institutions, cities, or nations.

Microsoft Teams vs Google Classroom 

The main difference between Microsoft teams and Google classroom is that Microsoft Teams lacks the flexibility to measure students’ performance, whereas Google Classroom provides more tools for monitoring student accomplishment. Furthermore, Microsoft Teams is a fairly new program, whereas Google Classroom has been available since 2014.

Microsoft Teams is a web conferencing platform that integrates workspace chats, videoconferencing, file storage (including file sharing), and integration services. It lets you schedule lessons, give assignments, notes, and supporting materials, and each class or subject may have its own set of digital blinders. The service works with the firm’s Office 365 membership office productivity suite and includes modifications for non-Microsoft goods.

Google Classroom is a free integrated learning tool built by Google for educational establishments that promise to ease assignment creation, distribution, and marking. Google Classroom’s major objective is to facilitate the procedure of exchanging files among faculty and students. It also offers virtual classrooms with productivity tools like custom assignments, review and organization of student’s work, an easy grading system. 

Comparison Table Between Microsoft Teams and Google Classroom 

Parameters of Comparison

Microsoft Teams

Google Classroom

Founding Year

2017

2014

Ease of Usage

More complex tools

Simple features and tools to use

Document Sharing

OneDrive

Google docs

Platform Development

Before, it was developed for business but then later developed for the learning environment

Developed for educational purposes only

Accessibility in one meeting

25000 participants

250-1000 participants

Analyzing Student’s Progress

No tools for analysis of students’ progress

Better tools for analysis of students’ progress

What is Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft Teams offers a virtual space for large classrooms, meetings, lectures, etc. Microsoft classrooms include a variety of functions, such as making organizing classes or meetings much easy. Students and teachers have access to Microsoft Office, making it easy to use the word, excel, and PowerPoint. Notes can be easily accessed by the students, even supporting materials.  

Providers can also make teams based on different categories while organizing and maintaining the groups. Assignments, messages, and open discussions are all simplified for both students and teachers. 

Members of a team can create channels. Channels are subjects of discussion that enable team members to participate without using mail or corporate SMS. Users can respond to postings using photos, GIFs, and memes created by themselves. Users can also send personal messages to a single person rather than just a group of individuals via direct messaging. 

Easy accessibility of materials even after classes, notes are placed in a single location and can be accessed by any connected device. Teachers use these note tools for organizing lesson plans for students in one place. Thereby, sharing with students is much easier for them. 

Teachers can save time in the classroom by tailoring assignments, sharing resources, and reviewing students’ homework with the help of tools. With teams and OneNote Class Notebook, teachers can assess and instruct students.

What is Google Classroom?

Google Classroom was first introduced in 2014 as an exclusive product for school districts. It assisted instructors and students, but identity authentication from the school authorities was necessary.

Many schools use Google Classroom as a virtual classroom and learning platform to provide digital education to their students. It gives a range of tools with easy and securable usage. It is known as one of the user-friendly and accessible platforms for learning. It is much easier to provide supporting documents to the group once students added to it. And the entire class can access it. 

Google Classroom also emphasizes parental involvement. Teachers can connect the family to Google Classroom to exchange student work highlights and get automatic email breakdowns of students’ work and school updates.

Teachers can comment in two-way communication on students’ assignments while a student working on such assignments. So, there’s no incomplete assignment or notes. Besides, a range of management tools is available to teachers that help them to switch between assignments and easier grading. Thereby, less time in evaluating assignments and more interaction with students. 

A range of time-saving features for both teachers and students include scheduling assignments to multiple classrooms, analyzing students’ engagement, managing several classes at once, and submission of work faster. Also, enhanced grading and feedback features allow teachers to grade assignments efficiently and interact with students more. And interaction with students to improve their progress.

With the personalized learning features, the platform becomes more adjustable and accessible to students. Moving forward to organization features, a reminder for students, reviews for both, and formatting coursework for students automatically enhance the learning environment. Lastly, there are originality features, analytical features, and security features.

Main Differences Between Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams

  1. Microsoft teams were first released worldwide in 2017, meanwhile Google classroom has been around since 2014
  2. Microsoft Teams offers far more complicated tools, whereas Google Classroom provides straightforward tools and software.
  3. In Microsoft Teams documents can only really be shared via one drive, however, Google Classroom materials are shared via a cloud-based application; google docs
  4. Previously, Microsoft Teams was established for business however eventually evolved for the classroom environment, meanwhile Google Classroom was designed for classroom management.
  5. Microsoft Teams can be accessed by more participants, unlike Google Classroom, in which one classroom can be joined by 250 students on a personal google account and by 1000 students on a workplace google account 
  6. Microsoft Teams lacks capabilities for analyzing student development, however, Google Classroom has greater tools for analyzing student achievement.

Conclusion

Microsoft Classroom and Google Classroom are both similar platforms. The significant difference between both is the features provided by them. Google Classroom is easy to use and more accessible than Microsoft Classroom. Although, more participants can access Microsoft Classroom than Google classroom. In the end, the ideal one for your virtual classrooms is determined by the characteristics that are most suited to your students and the curriculum’s demands.

References

  1. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-47411-9_18
  2. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paul-Davidson-3/publication/323185079