Using Google Classroom for a K-12 Program

Environment

U-M Google, Google Classroom

Issue

• Can I use Google Classroom at U-M?
• Can Google Classroom be used for my university-sponsored K-12 outreach program?
• Where do I find information on using Google Classroom? 
• Can we use public school Google Classroom for university-sponsored K-12 summer programs?

Resolution

Google Classroom is available to U-M faculty, staff, and students. However, Google Classroom is not an official learning management system at U-M. As such, ITS support is extremely limited. No support is available from ITS regarding using Google Classroom for instruction. You will need to determine whether your university-sponsored program will use U-M Google Classroom or a non-UM (external) Google Classroom. 

Using a U-M Google Classroom

1. If the K-12 school provides Google accounts for its students, students can use their K-12 Google accounts in U-M Google Classroom, provided the school has allowed their use in other domains.
   • U-M Google settings allow for external users to join Google Classrooms hosted in U-M Google, and our users can join external Classrooms not hosted at U-M.
   • Other organizations may have those settings configured differently. You will need to contact that organization’s help desk or the system administrator for those Google K-12 school accounts.
2. If participants are at least 13 years old, they can use a non-school account that already exists or is created by the student with Google (i.e., a personal Gmail account).
3. Not Recommended: If participants are under 13 years old and cannot use a K-12 school-provided Google account, they will need sponsored U-M accounts with a specific configuration.
   • U-M Google accounts for minors must be set up in a special Organizational Unit (OU) within Google that restricts the accounts to only allow Google services that are approved for use with minors.
   • A department sponsorship administrator should create new temporary uniqnames for all students and request the OU configuration through a ticket to the ITS Service Center. 

To create a Google Classroom, contact the ITS Service Center to request that your U-M Google account be assigned the Teacher role. After you are assigned the Teacher role, go to U-M Google Classroom, select I'm a teacher (if prompted), and create a class. Students will need to use a Google account to access the class.

Using a non-UM (external) Google Classroom

If you need access to a Google Classroom that is external to the U-M Google domain, you will need to contact that organization’s help desk or the system administrator for that Google Classroom. (For example, a Classroom that belongs to a K-12 school system like Ann Arbor Public Schools.)

Please note that the ITS Service Center provides extremely limited support for Classrooms and Classroom accounts associated with U-M Google. They cannot assist with external accounts (e.g., gmail.com) or classes in another Google Workspace domain.

Additional Information

• Google Classroom documentation is available in the Google Help Center.
• To request a consultation from the ITS Outreach Program support team, contact the ITS Service Center.

Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.