The ole "my dog ate my homework" excuse is going the way of eight-track tapes thanks to online programs for schools.

Teachers in the tri-town now have access to Google Classroom, a set of free online applications that give students and teachers a way to organize assignments, discuss work and collaborate on projects. And with that new access, other teachers are hoping the trend catches on for their peers and students.

The applications are “both pedagogically better for teaching and easier to manage for students and teachers,” said Sarah Jacobsen, a sixth grade social studies and writing teacher at Old Hammondtown School.

Even before Google Classroom, Jacobsen used a number of Google’s applications in her day to day teaching.

“I was completely besotted with these tech tools for my students. I have been gradually rolling them out, and last year my students adopted these tools much faster than I could possibly have foreseen,” she said.

On team projects, she could monitor which students had contributed to a document, what changes they’d made, what comments they wrote to each other and even whether or not they had logged on at all.

Google Docs, similar to Microsoft Word, also allows Jacobsen to “live edit” her students’ work, offering comments throughout the process.

Additionally, a review pane gives users the ability to check out their progress and go back to older versions of any document.

“You will never hear a student say, ‘Oh, I deleted it all.’ There is no deleting in Google Docs,” said Jacobsen.

The online platform’s accessibility also prevents the “I forgot my assignment in my locker” excuse. All users can open Google Classrooms from their home computers, smartphones and other devices.

Teachers do need to check whether their students have access to internet at home, and if not give them extra time on in-class computers or at the computer lab, said Sue Wheeler.

At Old Rochester Regional Junior High, Wheeler, district technologist, has encouraged teachers and administrators to use Google’s applications for four years.

“We decided that we were going to push the wave,” Wheeler said.

By giving junior high students an opportunity to use the applications, Wheeler wanted to see them be trendsetters once they got to the high school.

Wheeler said setting everything up online can be a little tedious ­– creating sign-ins and uploading documents, but said, “It’s like setting up your classroom.”

Once everything is ready to go, Wheeler said using the programs in the classroom is “seamless.” Now she and Jacobsen hope to convince more teachers of the usefulness of the applications.

While some teachers like Jacobsen jumped in with both feet, others need more help. Jacobsen and Wheeler have held two seminars to introduce more teachers to the versatility of Google Classroom.

Teachers from every subject are using the programs in a variety of ways. Spanish teacher Carla Cafarella plans to use Google Earth to give her students a virtual tour of Madrid. David Hamer (better known as Doc) will display lab results from his science courses for students to draw conclusions on experiments.

In October, the teachers will meet again to “steal” each others' ideas on how they’ve been using the various applications. Jacobsen said it’s all a process of trial and error, even for those who are more tech savvy.

Wheeler said Google Classroom will not be mandatory for any teachers, but for those who do use it, the programs can be a benefit to student’s education.

“I think we’re moving out of the time where technology is a horse and pony show, and it’s something that they’re expected to be responsible for as part of their daily academic life,” she said.