Is there any benefits of using Google Classroom for students?

Hi Molly and welcome to the community!

There are TONS of useful tools for enhancing online learning experiences for students. A lot of what will narrow down your choices is the scope of what you're trying to cover. 

The free version of Google Classrooms actually sounds like covers a lot of what you mentioned (the only thing I'm not sure of is if messaging is embedded in it or if they count on you using other Google messaging options). And there's simple documentation for helping you get started. The biggest challenges I've heard teachers mention about it are getting used to the platform quirks, getting students used to checking the platform regularly, and student confusion if different teachers are using different online platforms.

It does look like the free option is currently available at the school level, not the individual teacher level. So if you're an individual teacher looking to experiment on your own, this might not work. Or you may need to get your administration to apply for you. But if you're looking at adopting an online learning platform for an entire school or entire district, though, it looks easy to move forward with.

If you have minimal to no budget, there are some other inexpensive online learning platforms to check out, like Moodle LMS. And I've known some teachers who have just made their own websites or leveraged existing social media platforms to do some of the resource sharing and live conversation you mentioned. They aren't all-in-one solutions, but they're easy to set up and simple for an individual teacher to get going on their own.

If you have budget for paid platforms, that opens things up a lot. For instance, there are higher levels of Google Classroom that give you access to additional features. And while I'm not personally familiar with the LanSchool product you linked to, there are lots of online learning platforms like it on the market now that are specifically designed for K-12 or higher ed and only have paid versions. If that's the direction you want to go, you can shop around and be picky—there are lots of different user interfaces and price points.

Whatever direction you go, though, typically all these solutions are free from a student perspective. If costs are involved, they're usually handled by the school or school district, not the students themselves.