In this computerized era, Google is the most commonly used tool in everyday life; from starting a day with Google News to saying good night to a friend using Hangouts, many things can be done with Google. It is basically a search engine enabling everyone to connect with the world in various ways. Along with several common uses, Google has a significant role in education. Google’s numerous products such as Scholar, Gmail, Drive, Books, News, Calendar etc. are very helpful in enriching a student’s learning experience.

1. Google Scholar is specially designed for researchers to search for scholarly literature from multiple sources. By using an RSS feed for this tool, all the latest abstracts, articles, theses and books can be directly downloaded to the mail box. Along with its regular use, the tool also enables students to track citations for their publications. Moreover, students can create a public profile.
2. Gmail is one of the most commonly used tools among Google products. It is helpful in sharing information with other students and teachers. Mails from different sources can be organized by using folders which reduce time to search for required mails and attachments.
3. Google Alerts provide flexibility in getting updates on a particular topic directly to the student’s mailbox, so that they can be up-to-date with the latest information related to the topic of their choice.
4. Google Talk and Hangouts tools help students connect with the folks in their network. By using these tools, students can chat and make video calls for free. Up to 10 individuals from different computers can have a chance to connect through a video call at the same time. Students can use these options in various ways such as doing combined studies, discussing doubts, and sharing views without travelling long distances.
5. Google Drive has various options to create files like documents, presentations, spreadsheets, forms and drawings where assignments can be done and shared with other students or teachers. It enables students to create different folders which can be used to upload the data and organize it. Moreover, all content on that drive can be accessed from any computer with Internet connection.
6. Google Books is one of the best tools for students, which helps them find millions of books and preview or read it for free. With the help of this tool students have an option to refer to numerous books for a specific topic to enrich their level of knowledge on that matter.
7. In Google Calendar students can schedule when to submit their assignments, exam time table and other events. They can share their schedule with other students and view schedules that others have shared with them. They can also get an event reminder via email. Furthermore, students can enable an option to send a text message to their mobile phone that helps them submit their assignments on time.
8. Google Classroom has become very popular among educators recently. With the help of Classrom it’s very easy to get all students in one place. It makes it very convenient for teachers to assign tasks and for students to submit their work. With Google Classroom you can easilty create lessons, share resources, eliminate cheating, make class announcements, communicate with students and notify those who need help.

In a nutshell, Google and its products enable students to access a plethora of information, and help them save and share required data. Moreover, these tools allow a student to interact with their peers for free. With appropriate use of Google, students can succeed easily in their academic life.

Author bio: Ben R. is an educator, author and scholar living in SF, California. His expertise includes classroom teaching, academic writing, and school leadership. He has recently written an article on  top 100 descriptive essay topics which is frequently used by students worldwide.