Blog Post #8 Big Tech in Public Education: Google for Education and the Future of Digital Leadership
1. Introduction
The influence of Google on education has grown rapidly in recent years, as more schools adopt tools like Google Classroom, Chromebooks, and Google Workspace. These platforms have made online learning more convenient and collaborative for both teachers and students. However, as schools become more dependent on Google, it is important to think carefully about the balance of benefits and risks. Now it may be the right time to think critically about the pros and cons of relying heavily on these tools.
2. Overview of Google for Education and the LMS Shift
2-1. What is Google Education
Google for Education refers to a suite of digital platforms and devices designed to support teaching and learning. Its core elements include:
- Google Classroom: an online learning space where teachers can distribute assignments, collect submissions, provide feedback, and manage grades
- Google Workspace for Education: tools such as Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Drive for classroom collaboration
- Chromebooks: low-cost laptops optimized for cloud-based learning.
These tools are seamlessly integrated through single Google account, which make it possible for students and teachers to move between communication, writing, presenting, submitting, and assessing within one environment.
2-2. Why educational institutions are adopting Google
Over the past decade, Google’s tools have been widely used across variety of educational environments globally. These tools allow teachers and students to collaborate even outside of classrooms. Especially during the pandemic, they made Google influential for the convenience and cost.
2-3. More than an LMS: a shared workspace for everyday learning
In my university courses, I use Brightspace as the main LMS. It works well for organizing the course because instructors can upload readings, post announcements, give quizzes, collect assignments, and share grades in one place. Brightspace also has features for student interaction, like discussion boards, but personally I donât find them very useful. In my classes, we rarely use them for real collaboration.
Google for Education feels different. It does the LMS part, but it also includes tools that students actually use when they work together. For group projects, Google Docs and Slides make a huge difference. Everyone can write in the same document at the same time, leave comments, and edit slides together. Instead of doing the work somewhere else and then uploading it later, the work itself happens inside the platform.
3. Risks and controversies
3-1. Risks
Even though Google’s tools are convenient, its rapid expansion raises important concerns. One of the biggest questions is student data privacy. For example, some Canadian parents have requested to âopt outâ of Google tools at school because they worry about how their childrenâs information is collected and stored (CBC). In Denmark, Google services like Chromebooks and Workspace were restricted after regulators found that the way student data was handled did not meet European privacy laws (WIRED).
These concerns also include the possibility of data misuse or data breaches, since student information is stored on external cloud servers rather than within the school district. Another issue is jurisdiction. If the data centers are outside the region, the information may not be protected under the same regulations that apply locally.
3-2. Pedagogical and cultural implications
As digital platforms become central to schooling, they also influence what learning looks like. Tools like Docs and Slides support collaboration, but classroom platforms can make learning feel more standardized and tightly managed. When schools rely heavily on big tech, the values of education can gradually shift to commercial interests.
4. Personal Position and Future Directions
Personally, I donât think the solution is to reject Google or other digital tools. They are useful, and most studentsâincluding myselfâbenefit from them. However, I believe schools and governments need to take stronger leadership instead of simply accepting whatever technology companies provide. Companies should be required to follow the regulations and values of the region or country they operate in, especially when they work with childrenâs data.
At the same time, convenience should not become the reason to give too much power to big tech. If digital education depends on only a few companies, public education can slowly lose control over its own infrastructure. For me, the ideal environment is one where schools can choose tools based on what is best for students, not based on which company dominates the market.
To make this possible, teachers, students, and administrators all need digital literacyânot only in using tools, but also in understanding issues like privacy, equity, and who controls data. If we want technology to improve education, we have to make sure it does so on our terms, not just the terms of the companies that design the platforms.
Still, there is no easy answer. This is why ongoing discussion will be essential as education becomes more digital.
I used AI to check grammar and expressions, improve clarity, and help organize the structure. However, all reflections, experiences, and opinions in this post are my own.
References
CBC Radio. (2018, October 26). As Google for Education tools enter classrooms across Canada, some parents are asking to opt out. CBC Spark. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark/tech-in-the-classroom-1.4694935/as-google-for-education-tools-enter-classrooms-across-canada-some-parents-are-asking-to-opt-out-1.4694939
Wired. (2020, March 4). Denmark Banned Google From Its Schools. Here’s What That Means for the Rest of the World. https://www.wired.com/story/denmark-google-schools-data/