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Google Classroom Cheat Sheet - Google Slides

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Google Classroom Cheat Sheet - Google Slides

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Integrating Forms in Google Classroom - YouTube

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Integrating Forms in Google Classroom - YouTube

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3 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom | Edudemic

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3 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom | Edudemic

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Google's advance in the education field has brought to schools around the globe affordable devices and effortless access to educational content. Google's latest solution for learning is called Google Classroom. Although Google Classroom will be available at the beginning of the school year to all schools that have adopted Google Apps for Education, the Mountain View based company granted access to Google Classroom to a select few individuals in July. I was fortunate enough to be one of these early adopters/testers of Google Classroom, and I can honestly say that I am impressed by its simplicity, and its ability to seamlessly integrate Google Docs, Sheets, Drive, Gmail, and more in order to provide a wonderful and highly productive user experience.

Overall Design & Purpose

Google Classroom's design is absolutely stunning. Following the latest design trends, the interface is simple, elegant, and free of unnecessary distractions, created to help the user focus on productivity. Google Classroom features some of the best tools teachers can use to manage and distribute assignments and class announcements. Also, it provides teachers and students with a safe environment to communicate with each other and exchange ideas and comments on educational content. Of course, all these perks come absolutely free, and because this is a Google product, you are guaranteed a user experience of superb quality.

Paperless Classrooms

Regardless of the subject you teach, Google Classroom is a fantastic tool for teachers who wish to create a paperless classroom environment that allows the teacher to have instant access to student work, and manage every aspect of the classroom workflow digitally. With Google Classroom a teacher can manage multiple classes. Within the Google Classroom environment, the teacher can create and distribute assignments and announcements to each class, edit and return student work for revision, grade student work, initiate and participate in whole class or private discussions, and have overall a seamless paperless assignment workflow that eliminates all the tedious and time consuming tasks that take up a lot of instructional time. This extra time can be allocated to learning.
The true power of Google Classroom lies in the fact that it weaves together Google Docs, Sheets, Gmail, and Drive to eliminate the need for hard copies. This allows teachers to:
* Create a document, a spreadsheet, a presentation, or a form
* Distribute this assignment to students
* Customize due dates, organization of content, and copies of the assignment for every student

Obviously, Google Classroom can be a useful tool for 1:1 and BYOD settings, where every student is able to access class content on his/her device, and receive real-time feedback from their teacher.

Flipped Classrooms

Google Classroom may be the perfect tool a teacher can use to flip a lesson or an entire class. The flipped classroom's ability to personalize learning to all students and make them take ownership of their learning can be greatly enhanced with Google Classroom. For instance, videos, presentations, and other material can be delivered to students outside of class using Google Classroom. Students can not only access and review content, but also have a safe avenue for online discussions with their teacher or other students that can clarify misconceptions and help students master the content. In addition, due to the fact that often many students have the same questions, Google Classroom's discussion threads, which are visible to all students, can be a lifesaver for many students, especially for the ones who are too shy to ask questions overtly.

Professional Development

Google Classroom's primary purpose is be used in the classroom by teachers and students, however, nothing can stop us from finding more creative ways to take advantage of such a wonderful tool of content delivery and organization. Since we are approaching the beginning of the school year, naturally, professional development might be one of the areas that comes first to mind.
Google Classroom can be used by schools and districts to organize and deliver professional development content for teachers. In fact, our school will be one of the first schools in the country that will use Google Classroom for this purpose this coming school year. Trainers/presenters can create a class/training and import the participants/teachers in the class, or simply send them an email with the code to access the class. Before, during, or after the training, the presenter can share with the participants a number of resources such as presentation slides, multimedia files, and other documents. The participants can communicate live with each other during the training, exchanging ideas and working collaboratively on projects. Finally, after the training, due to the fact that when someone uses Google Classroom, a folder is created in their Drive and all content is saved in that folder automatically, the participants will have access to all of the materials they used or developed in the training, not to mention the fact that during the training they will have gained a lot of knowledge about how to use Google Classroom with their own students!

Nikolaos Chatzopoulos currently teaches 4th grade Math and Science at Plato Academy, in Clearwater, Florida. He is a technology enthusiast, and enjoys discovering ways to incorporate technology in the classroom in meaningful ways, in order to provide opportunities for authentic learning experiences.

Nikolaos can be reached at chatzopoulosn@platoacademy.net and on Twitter @chatzopoulosn

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3 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom

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Google's advance in the education field has brought to schools around the globe affordable devices and effortless access to educational content. Google's latest solution for learning is called Google Classroom. Although Google Classroom will be available at the beginning of the school year to all schools that have adopted Google Apps for Education, the Mountain View based company granted access to Google Classroom to a select few individuals in July.

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We are learning how to use Classroom in art to

receive our "Artist Daily's" (daily work log and class info.)

and turn in our assignments (written and artworks).

Classroom was designed hand-in-hand with Google Apps for Education teachers to help them save time, keep classes organized, and improve communication with students.

Creating and submitting Google Docs with Artist Research.

Taking photos (in-progress images) of work to evaluate our progress, work-ethic and development of planning.

Student's can now contribute to The Idea Factory!(class blog)

Google Classroom is similar to Blackboard and can work in conjunction with Blackboard. Your student receives an email regarding any announcements or new assignments that have been posted. In essence, they can get a jump start on their assignment before it is physically assigned in class! I'v received positive feedback from students. They like the look of the classroom and the ease of use to turn in assignments and communicate with me about their work. Student's can turn in research and images of in progress work and in some cases final product images to be viewed by their teacher. We have spent the last two days learning about how to view and submit items to our Google Classroom.
Link to Learn

Google Classroom Things to know:

1. Due dates still apply in GC. The program date and time-stamps student work once submitted. The student may "unsubmit and resubmit" until the due date. After the due date, the item may still be submitted (and should be) but it will be marked late within the system. Should the item not be turned in within two days (per our syllabus) the student will complete in FNL.

2. Absence policy still applies here as well.

3. Students can submit work from anywhere! YAY!!!

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We are learning how to use Classroom in art to receive our "Artist Daily's" (daily work log and class info.) and turn in our assignments (written and artworks). Classroom was designed hand-in-hand with Google Apps for Education teachers to help them save time, keep classes organized, and improve communication with students.

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Cool Trick: Review Discussions in Google Classroom - YouTube

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Cool Trick: Review Discussions in Google Classroom - YouTube

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Cool Trick: Review Discussions in Google Classroom

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This video discusses how teachers can connect with their students through simple Google Classroom announcement for out of school review discussion.

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Assign a Google Forms Quiz using Google Classroom - YouTube

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Assign a Google Forms Quiz using Google Classroom - YouTube

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Assign a Google Forms Quiz using Google Classroom

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Uploaded by Antonio Martín on 2015-10-21.

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12 great ways to start using Google Classroom now | Ditch That Textbook

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12 great ways to start using Google Classroom now | Ditch That Textbook

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After waiting all summer, Google Classroom is finally available to all Google Apps for Education teachers and students.

Google's venture into the world of learning management systems seems to be a pretty solid one. My first impressions:

It looks and feels like a Google product (which it should and which is a good thing)

It's clean and simple (which hopefully will make it easy to use)

It provides a home base for everything you do in Drive

For those of us that used lots of Google scripts (i.e. Doctopus, gClassFolders) to manage our classes - and for those of us that didn't know those existed! - Classroom should make life easier.

After taking Google Classroom for a spin, here are some features I know I'm going to take advantage of:

1. Set the class theme. This was the first thing I did after creating my classes. I love the breathtaking photos and the color schemes that go with them. Several photos will be a perfect fit for certain classes (i.e. there are a few nice ones for science).

2. Use the "About" page to provide information and important links for/about your class. After opening your class in Classroom, click the "About" tab at the top. Your "About" page can be a central hub for your class with clickable links (make sure to use http:// before links) and information students will need throughout the year.

3. Attach YouTube videos, Google Drive files and links to announcements. What better way to show students what you want them to do or inspire their work than with a video? Create a video to teach a new concept, to excite students about a new project or provide answers to frequently asked questions. Or choose a video available on YouTube. Attach photos from the classroom from your Google Drive in an announcement. There's a LOT you can do with this feature!

4. Choose how to deliver files to students in assignments. If you include a file to distribute to students in your assignment, you choose the editing rights they receive. Select whether to let them edit the file or only view the file. You can also make each student his/her own individual copy of the file (so everyone isn't typing notes on the same document).

5. Start a conversation/backchannel in announcements. When you post an announcement in Classroom, anyone in the class can comment on it. Post a conversation starter and let students reply to it, creating a digital conversation. Backchannels like this are a great way to make sure EVERY student is comfortable to contribute ... not just the ones that are willing to raise their hands in class.

6. E-mail students from within Classroom. Using the "Students" tab at the top, send an individual student e-mail by clicking the mail button to the right. Or highlight several students and e-mail them at the same time. There's no need to leave the app to send messages!

7. Provide an example of the work you'd like them to do. Within the description of an assignment, provide a link to an example you want students to emulate (and again, remember the http:// so it's clickable).

8. Provide a collaborative space for students to work. Distribute a place for collaborative class notes. Create a Presentation and give everyone a slide as their own space to work on a class activity. If you create files that everyone can work in, teamwork takes place online.

9. Track student progress with submission history. Follow the changes students made to their assignments by clicking a student's assignment in the "Assignment Status" section (after you click on the assignment) and "See submission history."

10. Revisit previous work in your class folder. Classroom creates a new folder for submitted student work in your Drive when you create a class. It creates a new folder for each assignment so files aren't jumbled together (like they were in your "Shared with me" or "Incoming" folder when students shared them with you!).

11. Toggle your e-mail notifications on and off. This is a nice feature if you don't want an e-mail every time something happens in Classroom. Change it under "Settings" when you click the menu button at the top left of your class (the three lines button ... sometimes called the "hamburger button").

12. Give Google your feedback. Use the little button in the bottom right corner to send Google your praise, your frustrations and your suggestions. You never know if the next feature they unveil could come from you!

What are your favorite Google Classroom features? How will you be using this new tool? Share in a comment below!

(For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links, "like" Ditch That Textbook on Facebook and follow @jmattmiller on Twitter!)
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Check out our online courses. ALL under $50!

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12 great ways to start using Google Classroom now

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After waiting all summer, Google Classroom is finally available to all Google Apps for Education teachers and students. Google's venture into the world of learning management systems seems to be a pretty solid one.

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10 ways Google Classroom will make learning better | Ditch That Textbook

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10 ways Google Classroom will make learning better | Ditch That Textbook

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Google's launch into the learning management system world was received with a lot of buzz.

Classroom, a centralized place for teachers and students to communicate, work on assignments and have discussions, is scheduled for release in September 2014.

As a teacher who utilizes Google Apps for Education every day in his classroom, this has certainly piqued my interest. I've been gathering any resources about Google Classroom I can find, including:

Not all of the details are out there yet as Google is still making changes before making Classroom available in beta this summer and to everyone in the fall. But as details come out, here's how I'm hopeful it will make life easier.

It could ...

1. Put all of our Google Apps work in one place - My students do a lot of bouncing around in their use of Google Apps. We have a class website with links to important documents. We turn in and collaborate on documents via gClassFolders. Classroom will probably save time and headaches in trying to find scripts, add-ons and solutions to making Google Apps work with what teachers want to do.

2. Make more features available to teachers of all tech ability levels - This year, I've managed and tweaked Google Apps by using Doctopus, Autocrat and Flubaroo to make my Google products work for me. I know how to install and modify these features, but many teachers don't. Classroom appears to integrate many of these favorite geeky Google features into Classroom in a way that makes them accessible to anyone.

3. Centralize communication between teachers and students - In Google Apps, among others, there are comments within files, chats within files and Gmail. As far as a home base for a class, the options are few (aside from creating a website for your class). Classroom is supposed to integrate Gmail, class announcements and a question-and-answer feature for one-stop classroom communication.

4. Simplify providing feedback on assessments to students - I have struggled to find a good solution to giving assessment feedback to students. Autocrat will create documents with data from a spreadsheet for each individual student. Flubaroo will grade assessments made in Google Forms. Classroom looks to do what other learning management systems (like My Big Campus, Canvas and Schoology) do and give teachers an easily accessible place to provide assessment feedback.

5. Make classroom creation a breeze - Creating shared folders in gClassFolders has been a huge time saver for me. But it's not easy - especially if you've never created them before. Classroom incorporates an invite code - much like Edmodo does - to streamline and simplify the process.

6. Make other learning management systems shudder - This will be a byproduct of Classroom, and it will improve learning. If other LMS's want to stay at the table and stay relevant, they're going to have to pull out all of the stops.

7. Become a permanent fixture for Google - This is one huge concern about Classroom I have. I became a fan of Google Reader, which collected blog posts and other publications to RSS in one easy-to-access place. Then Google discarded this service - one that had a very loyal user base. Google has a history of doing this to features that don't meet its needs anymore. If I'm making the switch to Classroom, I'd like to know that Google has committed to it.

8. Save some trees and sore muscles - Hauling papers around is a huge hassle. Google Apps for Education has saved me time, paper and tired arms. Google Classroom will certainly do that, too.

9. Provide a grade-recording interface - Logging grades has been handled by most schools in separate software. Google Classroom appears to have a grade management option (see screenshot). With powerful communication tools incorporated, sharing grade information with the right audiences could be really easy with Classroom.

10. Become a hub for all Google Apps work for all classes - Not only can Classroom become a go-to location for your class, it can become the place for all of a school's classes. In my school, teachers house their digital work in various locations. Having it all in one place will certainly streamline efforts.

What else interests you about Google Classroom? What features does it need to have? Share your comments below!

(For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links, "like" Ditch That Textbook on Facebook and follow @jmattmiller on Twitter!)
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PowerED Up (June 2-3, Perry Central Jr/Sr High School, Leopold, Ind.)

Tippecanoe School Corp. technology integration workshop (June 3-4, Tippecanoe County, Ind.)

Infinite iPossibilities Conference (June 10, Center Grove High School, Greenwood, Ind.)

YCS WeLearn Conference (June 12, Yorktown High School, Yorktown, Ind.)

Knight Time Technology (June 13, East Noble High School, Kendallville, Ind.)

Making Waves with eLearning (June 17-18, West Lafayette High School, West Lafayette, Ind.)

Conference on a Couch (June 20, Danville Community High School, Danville, Ind.)

Digipalooza (June 24-25, Scottsburg Middle School, Scottsburg, Ind.)

trAnSfoRM (June 25-26, South Vermillion High School, Clinton, Ind.)

C4: Connect, Collect, Collaborate, Create (July 8, Clay Middle School, Carmel, Ind.)

Greater Clark Connected Conference (July 21, Jeffersonville High School, Jeffersonville, Ind.)

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Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail!

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10 ways Google Classroom will make learning better

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Google's launch into the learning management system world was received with a lot of buzz. Classroom, a centralized place for teachers and students to communicate, work on assignments and have discussions, is scheduled for release in September 2014. As a teacher who utilizes Google Apps for Education every day in his classroom, this has certainly piqued my interest.

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Everything You Need To Know In Google Classroom (Part 1) | The Gooru

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Everything You Need To Know In Google Classroom (Part 1) | The Gooru

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Google Classroom: 6 Tips to Level Up | Teacher Tech

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Google Classroom: 6 Tips to Level Up | Teacher Tech

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Please feel free to use this poster with students or to train teachers. Please do not publish it to your blogs or public sites or in other publications.
6 Steps to Get Started with Google Classroom

Click Here to link to Google Drawing.

I was working with a group of teachers yesterday getting them set up with Google Classroom. I created this poster after the session to remind them of some tips I gave them of where to start and to build up to. I have a blog post on "10 Things to Start with in Google Classroom" and "Google Classroom: 8 Essential Tips Infographic" that might also be helpful.

Using Google Classroom to distribute worksheets does not change the learning environment, it simply makes it more efficient to pass out things. It takes time to learn a new tool and a level of frustration as well. Technology does not always work correctly; this can lead to frustration as well. My philosophy is that when introducing a new technology tool it better make for a better learning environment to make all the time and hassle worth it.

1) Stop giving directions

Post your directions in Google Classroom. All of them. Stop giving directions and stop repeating yourself. Information should not be ephemeral. Students who are absent or not paying attention miss the directions. This causes frustration on both ends. Even students who are paying attention can not memorize every word you say.

Posting directions in Google Classroom allow students to start immediately working. If they are not waiting for directions, students have more time in class to be actively involved in their learning. This allows you to spend more time working with students. Posting all directions in Google Classroom also makes a sub day a lot less stressful. Students are already used to getting their directions in Google Classroom rather than from the teacher. A sub day is no longer a lost day of learning.

Tip

Create a Google text document with the assignment directions and attach it as the first asset in Google Classroom. This allows you to format the text and insert images.

2) Have the students do the work

3) Use collaborative Google Slides

Learning new technology should feel like it is worth it. Having students type on a text document does not feel different than students write on paper or using other word processors. The big advantage to using Google Apps is "collaboration." While students can collaborate on Google text documents, using Google Slides feels magical. Using Google Slides allows you to see all the students work at one time. It is less steps to create and share a collaborative Google Slides with students through Google Classroom than it is to learn how to annotate PDF's and distribute to students.

Start with Google Drive. Click on the "NEW" button and choose "Slides."
Name the Slides presentation. Leave the slides BLANK!
Close the presentation.
Go to Google Classroom.
Create a new assignment.
Select the Slides presentation you just created.
Change the viewing permissions to "Students can edit file."
Press "ASSIGN."

Collaborative Google Slides can be done for almost any assignment or activity. Think of the slide as a single page or a canvas. Students can write on the slide, draw on the slide or insert pictures onto the slide. Students can even do their work on paper and use the insert menu to insert an image and "Take a snapshot." Students hold their work up to the webcam and insert a picture of their work.

The Google Slides app on mobile devices is amazing. Students are able to easily open the collaborative Google Slides presentation from the Google Classroom app on their mobile device. Using the camera feature, students can insert pictures of their work or screenshots of their work.

Do a lot of activities using collaborative Google Slides. This will allow you to regularly integrate collaboration into your lesson plans.

4) Use collaborative Google Sheets

Once the kids are screaming to have you do anything else besides collaborative Google Slides, move onto Google Sheets.

Spreadsheets are an important tool for anyone in a management position. Having students use spreadsheets is an important life skill. Google Sheets, like the other Google Apps, is collaborative. Students can work on the same document at the same time. Google sheets is great for collecting student ideas to start a discussion. Instead of having students raise their hand to share on a discussion topic, all students can contribute their idea to the same spreadsheet. This allows all students, including quiet students, to have a voice in the discussion. All students hear from all students.

Like in Google Slides where each student can create their own slide, students can each do work on their own sheet. Students click on the plus icon in the bottom left to create a new sheet. Double-clicking the tab allows the student to rename the tab to their name. This again gives the teacher one document to look at in order to assess and provide feedback. Try out alicekeeler.com/rubrictab. This creates a tab for each student on your roster automatically.

The process for creating a collaborative Google Sheets is the same for creating Google Slides. Create a blank spreadsheet in Google Drive, name it, close the document, attach in Google Classroom as "Students can edit file."

5) Use Google Text Documents

Giving students feedback before the assignment is due changes your comments from being punitive to being formative. As soon as students start to work on their document you have access to the documents.

6) Use Google Classroom for everything

Google Classroom can help transform your class into a more collaborative environment, where students are more independent and receive feedback faster. Use Google Classroom as your central hub for all of your activities in your class.

Now that you have access to student work before the due date, consider creating feedback dates. Let students know you will be giving feedback on a certain day before the due date. They will want to have a rough draft completed by that time to allow you to give feedback to help students before they are done. Your comments and feedback mean more when you provide formative feedback.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2015

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Google Classroom: 6 Tips to Level Up - Teacher Tech

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Please feel free to use this poster with students or to train teachers. Please do not publish it to your blogs or public sites or in other publications. Click Here to link to Google Drawing. I was working with a group of teachers yesterday getting them set up with Google Classroom.

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10 Tips To Use Google Classroom Effectively Infographic - e-Learning Infographics

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10 Tips To Use Google Classroom Effectively Infographic - e-Learning Infographics

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10 Tips To Use Google Classroom Effectively Infographic

Google Classroom was designed hand-in-hand with Google Apps for Education teachers to help them save time, keep classes organized, and improve communication with students. Google Classroom is now available to all Google Apps for Education schools.

Google Classroom Infographic Best Practices

1. Kick off in-class discussion when you post topics and questions to the Stream.

2. Use Google Classroom for any subject and attach relevant videos, websites, documents and more.

3. Save time at the photocopier when you use the "make a copy for each student" feature.

4. Upload any file - PDFs, Office files, images - to Google Drive and assign them to students in Google Classroom.

5. Access Google Classroom from a web browser on any device to stay on top of work at school or on-the-go.

6. Connect with shy students online through the communication tools in Google Classroom and Google Docs.

7. Save trees (and money) when you go paperless with Google Classroom.

8. Share announcements with your whole school by putting all teachers and students in a "class"

9. Create a class for each subject or learning level and assign different materials to personalize learning.

10. Set up Google Classroom for younger students who don't use Gmail by having your admin create Drive accounts for them.

Also, you are more than welcome to check our Google in eLearning awesome resources!

Via: www.google.com

Embed This Education Infographic on your Site or Blog! Copy and Paste the following code!

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10 Tips To Use Google Classroom Effectively Infographic - e-Learning Infographics

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Google Classroom was designed hand-in-hand with Google Apps for Education teachers to help them save time, keep classes organized, and improve communication with students. Google Classroom is now available to all Google Apps for Education schools. Kick off in-class discussion when you post topics and questions to the Stream.

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60 Smarter Ways To Use Google Classroom
by Terry Heick

Google Classroom is quietly becoming the most powerful tool in education technology.

It may lack the visual appeal of iPads or the student credibility of a BYOD program. It may not be as forward-thinking as we'd like here at TeachThought, but Google Classroom excels in providing solutions for a broad swath of teachers who have a variety of expertise and comfort levels with education technology. It also uses Google's familiar template that many teachers have used for years. As such, it scratches the itch for many teachers in many classrooms right here, right now.

So below are (at least) 60 things you can do with Google Classroom. We'll be updating this list as new ideas come in, the platform changes, and we learn more about its subtleties on our own.
60 Smarter Ways To Use Google Classroom

1. When an assignment, lesson, or unit doesn't work, add your own comments-or have students add their own feedback), then tag it or save it to a different folder for revision.

2. Align curriculum with other teachers.

3. Share data with your professional learning community.

4. Keep samples of exemplar writing for planning.

5. Tag your curriculum.

6. Solicit daily, weekly, by-semester, or annual feedback from students and parents using Google Forms.

7. Share anonymous writing samples with students.

8. See what your assignments look like from the students' point-of-view.

9. Flip your classroom. The tools to publish videos and share assignments are core to Google Apps for Education.

10. Communicate assignment criteria with students.

11. Let students ask questions privately.

12. Let students create their own digital portfolios of their favorite work.

13. Create a list of approved research sources. You can also differentiate this by student, group, reading level, and more.

14. Post an announcement for students, or students and parents.

15. Design more mobile learning experiences for your students-in higher ed, for example.

16. Have students chart their own growth over time using Google Sheets.

17. Share due dates with mentors outside the classroom with a public calendar.

18. Email students individually, or as groups. Better yet, watch as they communicate with one another.

19. Create a test that grades itself using Google Forms.

20. Control file rights (view, edit, copy, download) on a file-by-file basis.

21. Have students curate project-based learning artifacts.

22. As a teacher, you can collaborate with other teachers (same grade by team, same content across grade level).

23. Encourage digital citizenship via peer-to-peer interaction that is documented.

24. Use Google Calendar for due dates, events outside the classroom, and other important "'chronological data.'

25. Communicate digitally with students who may be hesitant to 'talk' with you in person.

26. Streamline cross-curricular projects with other teachers.

27. Aggregate and publish commonly-accessed websites to make sure everyone has the same access, same documents, same links, and same information.

28. Vertically-align student learning by curating and sharing 'landmark' student assignments that reflect mastery of specific standards.

29. Encourage a common language by unpacking standards and share district-wide.

30. Encourage students to use their smartphones for formal learning. By accessing documents, YouTube channels, group communication, digital portfolio pieces and more on a BYOD device, students will have a chance to see their phone as something other than a purely for-entertainment device.

31. Create and publish 'power standards' (with students, other teachers, and other schools) for transparency and collaboration.

32. Promote peer-to-peer and/or school-to-school interactions-students with other students, students with other teachers, and teachers with other teachers.

33. Create 'by-need' groups as classes-based on reading level, for example.

34. Check which students have accessed which assignments.

35. Provide student with feedback.

36. Add voice comments to student writing (this requires a third-party app to do so).

37. Help students create content-specific YouTube channels.

38. 'Closed-circuit publish' annotated research papers according to specific styles (MLA, APA, etc.) or other otherwise 'confusing' work.

39. Share presentations.

40. Create a digital parking lot"' for questions.

41. Administer digital exit slips.

42. Instead of homework, assign voluntary 'lesson extensions' for students. When questions arise about mastery or grades, refer to who accessed and completed what, when.

43. Create folders of miscellaneous lesson materials. digital versions of texts, etc.

44. Enjoy smarter conferencing with students and parents with easy-to-access work, data, writing, feedback, access data, and so on.

45. Save pdfs or other snapshots of digital resources in universally accessed folders.

46. Create a data wall but with spreadsheets and color-coding.

47. Make substitute teacher work or make-up work easy to access.

48. Collect data. This can happen in a variety of ways, from using Google Forms, extraction to Google Sheets, or your own in-house method.

49. Give prompt feedback for learning.

50. See who's completed what-and when-at-a-glance.

51. Track when students turn in work.

52. Since access is tracked, look for patterns in student habits-those that access assignments immediately, those that consistently return to work, and so on-and communicate those trends (anonymously) to students as a way of communicating 'best practices in learning' for students who may not otherwise think

53. Differentiate instruction through tiering, grouping, or Bloom's spiraling.

54. Create groups based on readiness, interest, reading level, or other factors for teaching and learning.

55. Use Google Forms to poll students, create reader interest surveys, and more.

56. Model a 'works cited' page.

57. Create reference sheets.

58. Design digital team-building activities.

59. Create a paperless classroom.

60. Share universal and frequently-accessed assignments-project guidelines, year-long due dates, math formulas, content-area facts, historical timelines, etc.

60 Smarter Ways To Use Google Classroom

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60 Smarter Ways To Use Google Classroom by Terry Heick Google Classroom is quietly becoming the most powerful tool in education technology. It may lack the visual appeal of iPads or the student credibility of a BYOD program.

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Learning With Mrs. Parker: Google Classroom in Kindergarten

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Learning With Mrs. Parker: Google Classroom in Kindergarten

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Have you tried Google Classroom? Google Classroom is a blended learning platform for schools. It is part of the Google Apps for Education (#GAFE) tools.

I never in a million years imagined using it with kindergarteners. But, guess what?! I did!

I was amazed with my students ability to navigate the system and its overall ease of use.

Via Google Classroom I am able to give my students assignments, links to websites and send announcements. We primarily used Google Classroom to learn about various Google tools such as Google Docs, Google Drawings and Google Slides. Yes, you could use Google Drive to get to these tools but Google Classroom is much less work and easier to navigate. Trust me. I tried both ways.

What I loved about this platform was that it gave my students the opportunity to create, collaborate, learn and explore. Students discovered that they were capable of creating digitally.

Rarely did students finish assignments in one sitting. That was okay. I made sure to provide time throughout the week as well as to make sure that the assignment did not have an immediate due date. For early finishers, I was able to differentiate by adding a writing component, having them help other students or giving them a different assignment.

Want to learn more about how to get started with Google Classroom? Sailing into Second Grade has a great blog post about Google Classroom basics.

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Have you tried Google Classroom? Google Classroom is a blended learning platform for schools. It is part of the Google Apps for Education (#GAFE) tools. I never in a million years imagined using it with kindergarteners. But, guess what?! I did! I was amazed with my students ability to navigate the system and its overall ease of use.

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EdTechnocation: 3 Ways to Have Online Discussions with Google Classroom

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EdTechnocation: 3 Ways to Have Online Discussions with Google Classroom

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We often just don't have enough class time for those deep and thought-provoking conversations with our students. Online tools like a Google+ Community and a Google Group Web Forum allow you to extend the conversation beyond the walls of the classroom. But how do you use these tools in conjunction with Google Classroom? Let me show you 3 ways you can have online discussions with
Google Classroom!

Use the Comment Thread in a Google Classroom Assignment

Every Google Classroom Assignment (and Announcement) has a built in public comment thread. Any comments made in this thread can be seen by everyone in the Classroom. The comment thread can be the most convenient way to have an online discussion with students. When students are finished with their required portion of the discussion, they can click the"Mark as Done" button to receive a grade from the teacher. If you simply want an online discussion, you don't have to attach anything to the assignment. However, a video or resource link could definitely enhance the quality of the discussion.

Some other benefits to using the Comment Thread are:

The teacher receives an email notification every time a student posts a comment.

The teacher and students can mention each other in a comment. If you are mentioned, you will receive an email notification.

After students click the "Mark as Done" button, the teacher can assign a grade.

Link to a Google Group Web Forum Post

Another great option for having an online discussion is to use a Google Group. One of the choices for a Google Group is a web forum, which can serve as a private, online discussion board. Sometimes, using the comment thread within Google Classroom can clutter the Stream. So a space like a Google Group web forum, can minimize the clutter and keep your discussions organized.

To set up an online discussion with a Google Group web forum, start by creating a new post in the Group. Every post has it's own unique URL. Copy the URL of the post and paste it as a link into a new Google Classroom Assignment. Student can then click on the link from the Assignment to participate in the conversation.

A few more reasons for using a Google Group web forum are:

The Google Group can be kept private, so only the teacher and students have access.

The teacher can directly add members to the Group, rather than using invitations. This is the quickest and easiest way to get students into the Group.

The teacher and students can subscribe to a post, which will send them an email notification every time there is a new comment on a post.

The teacher and students can receive a daily digest of all new activity in the Group via an email notification.

If your students are over the age of 13, they are allowed to use Google+, a social network created by Google. As the teacher, you can create a private Google+ Community for you and your students to have online discussions and share resources. The community can be used in the same way as a Google Group web forum. You can pose a topic or question for discussion in a new post in the community, and the students can add comments to participate in the discussion.

Every Google+ post in the community comes with it's own unique URL. To access that URL, click on the down arrow in the top right corner of the post to access the menu, then choose Link to post. You can then copy the URL of the post, and paste it as a link into a new Google Classroom Assignment. Students can click on the link to easily access the post.

Some more reasons for using a Google+ Community are:

Download the Google+ app (iOS & Android) to access the community on the go.

The teacher and the students can mention each other in posts and comments. A mention will create a Google+ notification.

When students are finished, they can return to the Google Classroom Assignment to click the "Mark as Done" button. The teacher can then assign a grade.

Which ever option you choose, consider the benefits of providing your students a venue for online discussions. You're promoting and helping students hone their communication and collaboration skills and encouraging positive digital citizenship. You're allowing them an extra space to express their opinions, ask their questions, and extend their learning. We often miss out on opportunities for deeper conversations in class because of a lack of time. But using an online space to continue these conversations can be powerful and beneficial to student learning.

Also, consider the added benefits of opening up your online space, (whether it's a Google Group or a Google+ community), to others beyond the class. Invite another class from somewhere else in the world to participate in the discussion, or invite the author or an expert to participate. Connecting your students to the world around them can redefine teaching and learning.

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3 Ways to Have Online Discussions with Google Classroom

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We often just don't have enough class time for those deep and thought-provoking conversations with our students. Online tools like a Google+ Community and a Google Group Web Forum allow you to extend the conversation beyond the walls of the classroom. But how do you use these tools in conjunction with Google Classroom?

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20 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom | Teacher Tech

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20 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom | Teacher Tech

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Google Classroom ( http://classroom.google.com) is available to schools with a Google Apps for Education (GAfE) domain. Classroom is a way to get all of your students in one place and allows you to easily assign work and for students to turn it in. Book: " 50 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom" now available on Amazon. For a tour of Google Classroom visit 50thingsbook.com.

20 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom

1. Sharing Resources: Google Classroom allows you to take a document, video or link and push it out to your students.

2. Create a Lesson: More than simply assigning work to students, Google Classroom allows you to build an assignment. Include a description and attach multiple documents, links and videos. This puts the entire lesson in one place.

3. Make Class Announcements: Google Classroom gives you a place to post your announcements. Unlike a website with one way communication, students can comment back on the announcement.

4. Go Paperless: Using Google Docs you no longer need to collect and pass out paper. You can assign students a blank Google Doc or use a template that your students will fill out. Google Classroom creates a copy for each student and gives them a turn in button for when they are done.

5. Simplify the Turn In Process: When using Google Documents, notoriously students forget to change the sharing settings or to turn in their work. Google Classroom eliminates this issue by placing the document in the teacher and the students Google Drive immediately. Students simply need to "turn in" within Google Classroom to signal the teacher they are ready to have their work assessed.

6. Protect Privacy: Rather than creating a global folder shared with all of the students in the class, Google Classroom restricts access to the documents to the teacher and the individual student.

7. Reduce Cheating: Since the entire classes documents are not in a shared folder the temptation to copy another students work is eliminated.

8. Classroom Collaboration: When sharing a document the teacher is able to choose if the students can view the document or can edit it. Creating a document and giving all the students in the class editing access to that same document allows every student to contribute their piece to a class project.

9. Create a Discussion: A spreadsheet can be utilized to collect student opinions on a discussion topic. The ability to have multiple tabs allows for multiple discussion questions. Sharing a single Google spreadsheet with student editing access gets everyone on the same page quickly and gives every student a voice in the discussion.

10. Organize Assignments with Due Dates: In creating an assignment in Google Classroom you are able to assign a due date that is clear for both you and the students.

11. Capture the Middle of the Process: An important shift in the teacher student relationship is to get away from evaluator and focus on being a coach to your students. Google Classroom places all of the students work into a folder that is easily accessible from your Google Drive. While students are in the middle of working on their assignment you are able to go in and insert comments and guide them through the process.

12. Email Students: No longer do you need to create a group of student email addresses, Google Classroom allows you to email everyone at once.

13. Notify Students Who May Need Help: Google Classroom show you who has and has not completed an assignment. Send an email notification providing tips for success and encouraging the student to work on the assignment.

14. Assignment Q&A: When an assignment is posted to Google Classroom the students have the ability to comment on it. No longer do students have to wait to be called on to ask a question. This transcends the walls of the classroom to allow students to ask questions outside of class. When the teacher posts the response it is available to all of the students.

15. Create an Ad Hoc Playlist: Google Classroom allows you to attach multiple YouTube videos to an announcement or assignment.

16. Email Feedback: When returning work to students you can provide a global note to all the students or individually provide feedback. Google Classroom provides the ability to post a note to the assignment from the teacher, and allow the student to comment back. This replaces the one sided note in the margin of the students paper, providing a more dynamic experience.

17. Create Folders: What was once a cumbersome process in Google Drive is now done automatically. The teacher has a folder in Google Drive that contains a folder for each assignment. This makes locating student work a snap!

18. Link Directly: While Google Classroom places the student work into a folder for the teacher to find, a student list with a link to the students work is easily accessible directly from Google Classroom. This reduces the need of the teacher to dig through their Google Drive to find the work a student has completed.

19. Multiple Files in an Assignment: Google Classroom allows you to assign more than a single document. This means students can create a multi-stage project and submit all of their pieces in one place.

20. Easily View Student Submission: Google Classroom clearly counts how many students have and have not submitted an assignment.

Link to my follow up blog post: 15 MORE things you can do with Google Classroom.

Link to my follow up blog post: 10 additional things you can do with Google Classroom.
Thank you to Sean Junkins for creating a nice poster infographic based on this blog post. Click on the image to enlarge and print.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2015-2016

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20 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom - Teacher Tech

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Google Classroom ( http://classroom.google.com) is available to schools with a Google Apps for Education (GAfE) domain. Classroom is a way to get all of your students in one place and allows you to easily assign work and for students to turn it in. Book: " 50 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom" now available on Amazon.

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Instructional Fluency: 10 Google Classroom Routines that Work

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Instructional Fluency: 10 Google Classroom Routines that Work

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The school year is starting off more and more smoothly as my new groups of kids are more acclimated to apps for learning like Google Classroom. It's also nice to think about not having to learn an entire new platform - only the updates and added features.

Here are some routines we use in our Google Classroom.
1. Lesson Plans
Maybe save the three-page narrative for blogger, but Classroom is a great place to write lesson plans for a student audience. I write one post per week to avoid clutter on the stream and include essential questions, activities, materials, and homework assignments.

Google Apps for Lesson Plans 2. Stream Comments
Students can make comments on the stream. This is awesome because if they have a question, I get an email when the stream post is made, which means I can respond in a timely manner. The other benefit is that sometimes students have the same question and can see that it was asked and perhaps a response has already been posted.
3. Discussion Questions
It's important to be able to manage student responses and provide feedback in a timely manner. The Question tool is quick to use and allows teachers to comment and assign a score to each post.

4. PDF of Slide Notes
Discussion Ideas Providing the slides or notes can be very powerful. It's a great way to teach note taking skills like restatement and labeling groupings of details or ideas. Sometimes we take our work elsewhere to take in a new environment.

5. Link to Drive Folder
One of the easiest ways to share documents among students or from the crowd to one place is a Google Drive folder. Set the permissions to "anyone with link the can edit," and you can receive rich content like images. Click the images and Drive will provide a slideshow. Who needs PowerPoint, right?
Corwdsource with the Drive App

It's not the neatest way to do it, but it's quick and easy. Right click and print the stream. It will PDF or print whatever is loaded. I usually highlight the important parts and make notes to help the substitute understand the expectations.
7. Share YouTube Playlists
Why share video after videos on the stream. Share a YouTube playlist in the "About" tab via link. I usually make a playlist for each unit.
8. Share an "Auto-Copy"
The last chunk of text on a doc URL is "edit." Change "edit" to copy on the doc URL and share it if you want to ensure that the recipient makes a copy. When the "copy" link is clicked, users will be prompted to make a copy.

Other Google Drive Hacks
9. Quizlet Decks Folder
Why share each deck separately on the stream? It clutters and causes confusion. Put a link to a Quizlet deck folder in the "About" tab. Now, students know exactly where to go to practice vocabulary and background information.
10. Email Blast
This one is self explanatory. Sure, I would prefer to send short messages through Remind, but Classroom sets me up to quickly email a group of students with a similar issue like missing work, for example.

Thanks for reading!

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The school year is starting off more and more smoothly as my new groups of kids are more acclimated to apps for learning like Google Classroom. It's also nice to think about not having to learn an entire new platform - only the updates and added features.