Google Classroom is one of the most widely used LMSs. Even though it is popular, integrating with Google Classroom can be challenging. Why? Because the Google Classroom and Google Workspace APIs have quirks that can present unforeseen challenges developers face with other educational data provider APIs.

In short, here’s a short list of quirks one can expect to face when integrating:

  • LTI is not supported
  • Using more than the Google Classroom API for integrations
  • Rostering through Google Classroom

No LTI

Unlike other major LMSs, Google Classroom does not support the LTI standard. Instead, edtech developers will have to use the proprietary Google Classroom API to integrate.

The Google Classroom and Google Workspace APIs

When a user creates a Google account, Google grants the user access to many of Google's products, such as Gmail and Google Drive. These are collectively known as Google Workspace. In fact, Google offers a tailored package for educational institutions for educators, called Google Workspace for Education. Google's Cloud Platform allows developers to implement API requests on behalf of a user's Google account and provide APIs for many of the applications in Google Workspace, including Google Classroom.

While the Google Classroom API can make requests on behalf of a user's Classroom account, developers will have to use other Google Workspace APIs to enable features that are necessary for complete integration. For example, onboarding an entire district that uses Google Workspace for Education might require edtech developers to implement the Admin SDK so they can retrieve an entire list of all users at a school. This cannot be done alone with the Google Classroom API. Understanding how the Google Workspace APIs work together is vital to understanding how to integrate applications with Google Classroom.

Rostering Through Google Classroom

Rostering accounts through Google Classroom can also be tricky to tackle. As mentioned earlier, developers have to implement other Google Workspace APIs to properly onboard an entire school. The Google Classroom API can only obtain roster information for individual courses. The good news is that many teachers will use Google Classroom for courses and don't require admin-level authorization to use the platform.

Google Classroom is also unique among other LMSs because it requires users to have a valid email address. Since many third-party applications identify users through their email addresses, no workarounds need to be developed to implement the Google Classroom API to properly roster users in the app.

Read More on Google Classroom

Here are other articles we’ve written on Google Classroom to help you on your integration journey:

If you're looking for a partner who can help guide you through developing LMS integrations (like these), then let’s introduce ourselves. We’re Edlink!