Teachers' Essential Guide to Google Classroom - Common ...

Google Classroom makes it easy to customize assignments for individual students or small groups. Teachers can give modified or differing ... ForParents ForEducators ForAdvocates UsermenuSignin Join Browseallarticles Teachers'EssentialGuidetoGoogleClassroom Topics:  ClassroomManagementEdTech Share KateMcGinnis May26,2021 Lookingforanalternative?ReadouressentialguidetoSeesaw! WhatisGoogleClassroom?Andhowareteachersusingit?Learnmoreaboutthispopularplatformandhowtouseitwithyourstudents. KateMcGinnis|May26,2021 Editor'snote:ShaunLangevincontributedtothemostrecentupdateofthisarticle. Google'smostpopulartools-- Gmail,GoogleCalendar,andGoogleDocs--arestaplesforgettingorganizedandgettingworkdone.Thesecollaboration-friendly toolshaverevolutionizedthewaywecommunicate, worktogether,andstoreinformationonline.Forteachersandstudents,theeducation-friendlyplatformGoogleClassroombringsthebenefitsofpaperlesssharing,assessment,anddigitalcollaborationtoclassrooms.TensofmillionsofteachersandstudentsuseGoogleClassroominthousandsofschoolsworldwide,makingitoneofthemostpopularedtechtoolsaround. Readontofindanswerstoteachers'mostcommonlyaskedquestionsabouttheplatform, withallkindsofinformationonhowyoucanuseGoogleClassroomwithyourstudents. Also,besuretocheckoutourguideforparentsandourdetailedreview ofGoogleClassroom'slearningpotential. Usetheselinkstojumptoanysectionbelow: WhatisGoogleClassroom? IsGoogleClassroomanLMS? WhocanuseGoogleClassroom? HowdoteachersuseGoogleClassroom? CanteachersuseGoogleClassroomforassessmentsandgrading? DoteachersuseGoogleClassroomtoteachlive,likewithZoom? HowdoIsetupGoogleClassroom? HowcanGoogleClassroomsupportdifferentiationintheclassroom? HowcanadministratorsandcurriculumcoachesuseGoogleClassroom? HowcanfamiliesandparentsstayintheloopwithGoogleClassroom? What'snewinGoogleClassroom? HowcanImakeGoogleClassroommoreengagingandinteractiveformystudents? WhatotherappsandwebsitesintegratewithGoogleClassroom? WhatisGoogledoingwithmystudents'data?ShouldIbeworriedaboutprivacy? WherecanIfindmoreideasaboutusingGoogleClassroom? WhatisGoogleClassroom? GoogledescribesGoogleClassroomas"missioncontrolforyourclassroom,"which mightbetheeasiestwaytothinkaboutit.Simplyput,it'saplatformthattiestogetherGoogle'sWorkspacetools(formerlyknownasGSuite)forteachersandstudents.Italsoactsasadigitalorganizerwhereteacherscankeepclassmaterialsandsharethemwithstudents--allpaperless-ly.Fromthere,you canpickandchoosethefeaturesyou wanttoincorporate.Thisflexibility and seamlessintegrationwithGoogle'spopulartoolshavemade GoogleClassroomoneofthemostwidelyusededtechtoolstoday. IsGoogleClassroomanLMS? Technically,no.GoogleClassroomisnotastand-alonelearningmanagementsystem(LMS),coursemanagementsystem(CMS),orstudentinformationsystem(SIS).Thatsaid,GoogleregularlyaddsnewfunctionstoGoogleClassroom.AsofApril2021,GoogleClassroomcansyncdatawiththeSkyward2.0andInfiniteCampusstudentinformationsystems.AccordingtoGoogle,moreSISintegrationscurrentlyarebeingpilotedorareindevelopment. AsGooglecontinuesto addfeatures,itmaystarttolook,andfunction,morelikeanLMS.Butfornow it'sbesttothinkofthetoolasaone-stopshopfor classorganization. WhocanuseGoogleClassroom? Anyone!GoogleClassroomisincludedasafreeserviceforanyonewithapersonalGoogleaccount. It's alsofreefororganizationsusingGoogleWorkspacefor EducationorGoogleWorkspacefornonprofits.Inmostcases,teachersandstudentscanaccessGoogleClassroomusingaGoogleaccountprovidedbytheirschool.WhileteachersandstudentsinschoolsaretheprimaryusersofGoogleClassroom,therearealsofeaturesthatadministrators,families,clubs,after-schoolprograms,andhomeschoolerscanuse. HowdoteachersuseGoogleClassroom? Becauseit's afairlyflexibleplatform,educatorsuseitsfeaturesinalotofdifferentways.WithGoogleClassroom,teacherscan: Streamlinehowtheymanageclasses.TheplatformintegrateswithGoogle'sothertoolslikeDocs,Drive,Forms,Meet,andCalendar,sotherearemanybuilt-in"shortcuts"forclassroom-managementtasks.Forexample,ifyou post anassignmentwithaduedate,it'sautomaticallyaddedtoyourstudents'classcalendarforthemtosee. Digitallyorganize,distribute,andcollect assignments,coursematerials(think:videos,websites,PDFs,andmore),andstudentwork.Teachersalsocanpostanassignmenttomultipleclassesormodifyandreuseassignmentsfromyeartoyear.Ifyourstudentshaveregular accesstodevices,GoogleClassroom canhelpyouavoidsome tripstothephotocopier andcutdownon someofthepapershufflingthatcomeswithteachingandlearning. Communicatewithstudentsabouttheirclasswork.Youcanusetheplatformtopostannouncementsandremindersaboutassignments,andit'seasytoseewhohasorhasn'tcompletedtheirwork.You canalsocheckinwithindividualstudentsprivately,answertheirquestions,andoffersupport. Givestudentstimelyfeedback ontheirassignmentsandassessments.WithinGoogleClassroom,it'spossibletouse GoogleFormstocreateandsharequizzesthatareautomaticallygradedasstudentsturnthemin.You'llnotonlyspendless time grading,butalsoyourstudentswillget instantfeedbackontheirwork.TeacherscanviewindividualandclassdatawithinFormsoranautomaticallygeneratedGoogleSheet. CanteachersuseGoogleClassroomforassessmentsandgrading? Yes.GoogleClassroomcanhelpteachersstreamlinesummativeandformativeassessments.Forexample,youcanusetheplatformtoquicklycreate,distribute,andcollectdigitalexitticketsorauto-gradedassessments.Teachersalsocanposediscussionquestionsforquickinsightsintowhatstudentsarethinking. Withthesesametools,teachersalsocancreatesummativeassessments,likeunittests.Thesetestscanincludetraditionalquestiontypeslikemultiplechoice,shortorparagraphanswer,checkbox,andmore.Therealsoareoptionsforstudentstouploadfiles(likemoviesorphotos)whenrespondingtoaquestionorprompt,allowingstudentstosharetheirknowledgeinavarietyofways.Ofcourse,thereareplentyofotherformativeandsummativeassessmenttools outthere,manyofwhichnowofferGoogleClassroomintegration. RecentupdatestoGoogleClassroomhaveincludedfeaturesforgradingandrubrics.Teacherscansimplyassignpointstodifferentassignments,orgivedifferenttypesofassignments(essays,classwork,homework,etc.)differentweights.YoucancreaterubricsrightinGoogleClassroom,andstudentscanviewtheseastheywork.Turned-inworkcanbegradedusingtherubric,andthescorewillbeautomaticallycalculated.Takenote,however,thatitisn'tpossibletousestandards-basedgrades(atleastnotyet). DoteachersuseGoogleClassroomtoteachlive,likewithZoom? SometeachersuseGoogleMeet asavideoconferencingsolution(insteadofZoomoranothersimilartool).GoogleClassroomintegrateswithGoogleMeet,andteacherscansetupvideomeetingsfromwithinGoogleClassroomforlive,or"synchronous,"instruction.Bydefault,studentscan'tbeginameetingbeforetheteacher,orrejointhemeetingiftheteacheristhelastpersontoleave.MeetvideoscreatedfromwithinGoogleClassroomareonlyaccessiblefromschool-managedGoogleWorkspaceforEducationaccounts. Inadditiontolive-videocapabilities,therecordingfeatureinGoogleMeetgivesteachersaneasytoolforcreatingprerecordedvideolessonsforasynchronouslearning,wherestudentscould watchontheirowntime.The GoogleforEducationTeacherCenter hashelpfulvideotutorialsaboutGoogleMeet tohelpteachersgetstarted. HowdoIsetupGoogleClassroom? Thebasicsetupprocess for GoogleClassroomisprettyintuitive,evenforfirst-timeusers.TheGoogleforEducationTeacherCenteroffersseveraltutorialsfor gettingstarted--thisisyourbestbetifyou'relookingforthemostup-to-datevideosandinformation.Therearealsoplentyofdo-it-yourself tutorialsonYouTubepostedbyteachersandtech-integrationspecialists. Manyoftheseteacher-createdvideosincludepracticaltipsandtricksthey'velearnedfromusingtheplatformintheirclassrooms. HowcanGoogleClassroomsupportdifferentiationintheclassroom? GoogleClassroom makesiteasytocustomizeassignmentsforindividualstudentsor smallgroups.Teacherscangivemodifiedordiffering assignmentstospecificstudentsorgroupsinaclass.Youalsohavetheoptiontocheckinwithastudentprivatelytoseewhethertheyhavequestions orneedextrahelp.Anonlinedifferentiationstrategylikethis can makeyour efforts lessconspicuoustotheclass,so studentswon't feelsingledoutinthewaythattheymightwithothertypesofin-person differentiation. WithorwithoutatoollikeGoogleClassroom,differentiationisalwaysgoingtobeamatterofcreativeproblem-solving,andthere's nooneor"right"waytodoit.Luckily,lotsofteacherssharetheirtips,tricks,andcreativesolutionsonline.Here'sanexampleofhowoneteacherusesGoogleClassroomtomeetstudentsattheirlevels. HowcanadministratorsandcurriculumcoachesuseGoogleClassroom? GoogleClassroomisn'tjustforteachers.Superintendents,principals,andcurriculumcoachescanbenefitfromusingGoogleClassroomtoorganizestaffnotes,announcements,dates,documents,andotherresourcesforteachersandotherschoolstaff.WhenutilizingGoogleClassroominthisway,administratorscanintentionallymodelmanyofthetechnologicalskillsandproficienciesthey'dliketeacherstouse. Curriculumcoachescancreateanonymousquestionnaires(usingGoogleForms)toreceivefeedbackonrecentprofessionaldevelopment.Coachescouldevengoastepfurtheranduploadvideosofmodellessonsforteachersintheirdistricttoview--agreatwaytobringteacherswhoarenewtoaschoolordistrictuptospeed. HowcanfamiliesandparentsstayintheloopwithGoogleClassroom? GoogleClassroomhasoptionsforteacherstosendoutupdatesaboutstudents'classwork,butitdoesn'tofferthelevelofcommunicationyou'llfindintoolslikeSeesaw,ClassDojo,orRemind.Googlereferstoparentsandfamiliesas"guardians"whocanoptintoreceiveemailsummariesaboutmissingwork,upcomingwork,andotherclassactivity.However,itdoesn'tincludedirect-messagingfeaturesforfamiliesorallowfamiliestocommentontheirchildren'swork. What'snewinGoogleClassroom? Theplatformhasbeenupdatedquiteabit sinceitslaunch,andGooglecontinuestointroduce newfeaturesregularly,oftenbasedonfeedbackfromteachers.Forexample,grades,rubrics,andGoogleMeetintegrationall arefeaturesthatwereaddedrecently.Anothernewfeature called"originalityreports"isessentiallyaplagiarism-checkingtoolthatchecksastudent's GoogleDocument againstwebpagesandbooksreadilyavailableontheinternet.Ifthefeatureisturnedon,studentscanrunreportsbeforesubmittingassignments--teacherscanrunthemafter.Teachersmaywanttousetheoriginalityreportsfeatureasanopportunitytoteachtheimportanceofcitingsources. HowcanImakeGoogleClassroommoreengagingandinteractiveformystudents? Tomakelearningwithdigitalcontentmoredynamicforstudents,considermixingupthetypesofresourcesyousharewiththeminGoogleClassroom.Inadditionto GoogleWorkspacetoolslikeDocsandSlides,teachersandstudentscanshareothertypesofmedia,including images,linkstowebsites,YouTubevideos,andscreencasts.SometeachersevengivestudentsavarietyofoptionsforsubmittingtheirworkwithinGoogleClassroom.Forexample,youmightofferstudents thechoicetorespondtoareadingassignmentwithacomment,videoclip,ordrawingthatshowstheirthinking(seeoursectionondifferentiationabove). Ifyou'relookingtocreateaninteractivehubforstudents,youmightconsider doingthisonGoogleClassroom's Streampage.WithinGoogleClassroom,theStreamisafeedwhereeveryoneintheclasscanfindannouncementsandupcomingassignments,andit'sthefirstthingstudentsseewhentheylogin. AliceKeeler,awell-known bloggerwhowritesextensivelyaboutGoogleClassroom,recommendsusingtheStreamtopostyourclassagendaandsuggestsusingScreencastifytopostvideo messagesforstudents. SometeachersusetheStreamtosetupclassdiscussionboards,wherestudentscaninteractonlinebyaskingquestionsorcommentingoneachother'sposts.Thesediscussionboards canhelpincreaseclassparticipationandofferstudentsmoreequityinhaving theirvoicesheard(orread)bytheclass.Withdiscussions,youcanuse the Streamasaclosedsocialnetworkofsorts,anditcanbeagreatwaytohelpkids practiceusingallkindsofdifferent digitalcitizenshipskills ina"walledgarden"typeofsetting. WhatotherappsandwebsitesintegratewithGoogleClassroom? Therearenowhundredsofexternalappsandwebsites thatintegratewithGoogleClassroom.SomeoftheseappsmaypartnerwithGoogle,whileotherscreateandpublishtheirownthird-partyadd-ons asChrome extensions.Ifyou'reusingGoogleClassroomextensively,integratingotheredtechtoolscanbeawayto streamline yourinstruction. Forexample,sayyouwantyourstudentstostudysomevocabularywordsusingQuizlet;youcanusetheGoogleClassroomintegrationtodirectlyshareandassignaparticularflashcardsettoyourclass.Or,ifyou'relookingforother learningcontentonline,thereareintegrationswithpublishers likeNewsela,KhanAcademy,and BrainPop,amongothers-- you'llfindallkindsof articles,videos,andothereducationalcontenttosharewithyourstudents. OurarticleNineAppsandWebsitesThatIntegratewithGoogleClassroom coversahandfulofthese,butthelistcertainlydoesn'tendthere.Ifthere'sanedtechapporwebsiteyoulikeusingwithyourstudents,chancesarethere's awaytolinkitwithinGoogleClassroom. WhatisGoogledoingwithmystudents'data?ShouldIbeworriedaboutprivacy? Asaneducator,protectingyourstudents'privacyanddatashoulddefinitelybeaconsiderationwheneveryou're choosingadigitaltoolforyourclassroom.Anytime atoolmightcollectdatafromstudents,it'sessentialtoaskquestionsabouthowthecompaniesinvolved aresecuring,using,orstoringstudentdata.Formoreinformation,besuretoreadourfullprivacyreviewofGoogleClassroom. GooglesaysthatdataprivacyandsecurityarehighprioritiesforallGoogleWorkspaceforEducationproducts.However,educatorsshouldkeepinmindthatparentsandfamilieshavearighttooptoutiftheydon'twanttheirchildrentouseGoogleproductsinschool.BeforelaunchingGoogleClassroom,schooladministratorsandteachersmightwanttohaveanalternativeplaninplaceforstudentswhomayoptout. Inthepast,someeducators,families,andadvocateshaveexpresseddoubtsaboutGoogle'sabilitytodeliveronpromisesaboutprivacyanddataprotection.What'smore,theprominenceofGooglebrandingandproductsinschoolshasraisedquestionsaboutthetrade-offsofallowingGoogletobuilditsbrandinschools.WhetheryouuseGoogleClassroomornot,it'simportanttogetstudentsthinkingcriticallyaboutdataprivacy andthecommercializationweseeindifferentaspectsofourlives--includingourclassrooms. WherecanIfindmoreideasaboutusingGoogleClassroom? Ifyou'relookingforofficialinformationaboutGoogleClassroom, checkoutGoogleforEducation'sTwitterfeedforproductupdates,ideasforteachers,videos,andevenanewsletteraboutGoogleWorkspaceforEducationproducts.ManyGoogleClassroomfans arealsotweeting,blogging,andeven podcastingaboutallthewaysthey'reusingtheplatform withstudents.Withmillionsofteachersandedtechspecialistsfield-testing,experimenting,andinnovatingwithGoogleClassroom,it'seasy tofindtipsandinspirationfromfelloweducatorsonline. Asyou'reusingGoogleClassroom,don'tbeafraidtogetcreativewithyourownstrategies,hacks,and innovativeusesfortheplatform.Likemostedtechtools,GoogleClassroomiswhatyoumakeofit,andhowitworks willprobablylookverydifferentfromclassroomtoclassroom.What'smostimportantistofindthestrategiesandtoolswithinGoogleClassroomthatworkbestforyouandyourstudents.Youcansharethewaysyou'reusingGoogleClassroomwithyourstudentsbyleavingaTeacherReviewtoday. ImagecourtesyofAllisonShelley/TheVerbatimAgencyforAmericanEducation:ImagesofTeachersandStudentsinAction. RelatedContent Article 9GreatAppsandWebsitesThatIntegratewithGoogleClassroom Video HowtoAssignGroupWorkinGoogleClassroom Article Seesawvs.GoogleClassroom:What'stheBestManagementAppfor...