How Apps Can Sync Assignments and Grades with Google Classroom

by Jordan Clark

Syncing assignments and grades is one of the most valuable aspects of integrating with a learning management system (LMS). This logic applies to Google Classroom too. Through its API, developers can integrate their application with Google Classroom and enable several features to enhance interoperability between the LMS and their application, including assignment and grade syncing. We'll cover how assignment and grade syncing in Google Classroom works and why educational developers should implement these features in their products.

What does it look like to sync assignments and grades?

The Google Classroom API allows developers to create an assignment in Google Classroom from a third-party application. This assignment can contain content or link to outside resources. The Classroom API is unique in that it allows for personalized assignments. This means that teachers can assign homework or other content to specific students, rather than to everyone in a class. Each assignment can also be given a maximum grade value that signifies how much the coursework is worth.

Additionally, the API allows students to make submissions to their assigned coursework. The submission can be in the form of a short answer, multiple choice answer, or attachment. Once submitted, a grade may also be passed back to Google Classroom for the specific assignment and recorded in the teacher's gradebook.

How to sync assignments and grades

In order to start working with the Google Classroom API, you'll have to create a Google account and request access to the Google Cloud Platform. From there, you'll be able to generate API keys that you'll use in your application to authenticate users and communicate with Google Classroom.

In order to allow Google Classroom users to log into your application and create assignments through your application, you'll have to request permission to use specific scopes. These scopes determine what information you can retrieve from a user and what actions (such as creating coursework) you can do on their behalf. Some scopes are deemed sensitive and require manual verification from Google before you can use them in your application.

Once you receive approval from Google for your scopes, you can develop your app using the Google Classroom API. The API documentation provides instructions how to manage coursework resources, such as assignments, submissions, and grades. The developer docs also provide information on the REST resources that are available by calling requests to specific endpoints in Google Classroom. These endpoints are what allow you to perform actions on behalf of the user, such as syncing coursework and grades between your application and the user's Google Classroom account.

The benefits of syncing assignments and grades

There are several benefits to integrating your content so that end users can sync assignments and grades from Google Classroom. When you enable grade passback, the application doesn't have to maintain a full database of grades for the teacher to view. Instead, all of the grade data can be transmitted back to the LMS.

Since you're relying on the LMS to host the assignments and gradebook, you won't have to retrain teachers on how to access them. With the API, assignments and grades sent from your platform will appear as they normally would inside of Classroom.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of enabling assignment and grade syncing is that schools are actively looking for this type of functionality from their content providers. Google Classroom continues to grow and schools want to see content that integrates with its API. Making sure that your platform can integrate with Classroom can keep you ahead of the curve.

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!