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Google Chrome Quick Tip: Create Custom QR Code

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Google Meet: How to Keep Students from Joining or Rejoining a Meet without You

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Use this sound board for clips during your virtual meetings

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Teachers need to Archive classes for student to no longer see them. It cleans up the clutter.

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When you're done teaching a class, you can archive it. When a class is archived, it's archived for all students and teachers in the class. If you don't archive a class, students and teachers in the class continue to see it on their Classes page.

Teachers and co-teachers can archive a class, but only the primary teacher can delete a class. Students can't archive or delete a class.

What happens to an archived class?

Archive or restore a class

Archive a class

1. On the class card, click More Archive.

2. Click Archive to confirm.

View an archived class

1. At the top, click Menu .

2. Scroll down and click Archived Classes.
Note: If you haven't archived any classes, this option won't be in the menu.

3. Select the class you want to view.

Restore an archived class

1. At the top, click Menu .

2. Scroll down and click Archived Classes.
Note: If you haven't archived any classes, this option won't be in the menu.

3. On the class card, click More Restore.

4. Click Restore to confirm.

Delete a class

When you decide you'll never use a class again, you can delete it permanently. You have to archive a class before you can delete it. Only the primary teacher can delete a class. Co-teachers can't delete a class.

To delete an archived class:

1. At the top, click Menu .

2. Scroll down and click Archived classes.
Note: If you haven't archived any classes, this option won't be in the menu.​

3. On the class card, click More Delete.

4. Click Delete to confirm.

Related articles

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When you're done teaching a class, you can archive it. When a class is archived, it's archived for all students and teachers in the class. If you don't archive a class, students and teachers in the class continue to see it on their Classes page.

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Google Meet Breakout Rooms by Robert Hudek. Google Classroom integration, Slider Control, Nicknames, Help tutorials

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I wish I would have known about Edpuzzle sooner! Since remote learning is the new normal, we are all learning about awesome, new-to-us tools. Teaching will never be the same, but I think that is a good thing. Let's talk about Edpuzzle.

Edpuzzle Features

Edpuzzle is an easy-to-use platform where you can:

1. Make any video your lesson (from YouTube, Khan Academy, or self-made)

2. Find video lessons created by other teachers, including formative assessments

3. Adapt videos by embedding your own questions or audio

4. Assign a video to your students and get beautiful, hassle-free analytics

5. See which students watched the video and their level of comprehension

Students can re-watch the video as many times as they need at their own pace, while you can easily check their progress from your account.

Since I had not used Edpuzzle before, I took a look to see just how easy it would be to create a video lesson. I was able to easily filter through videos based on subject, grade level, topic, and even down to a specific skill.

Finding and Editing Video Lessons

I found a thorough video explaining how to teach elimination using substitution in the video library. Great start! The video was around 6 minutes long - a perfect length for middle schoolers who have limited attention spans and are not in an actual classroom setting. My favorite part was seeing 7 checkpoints already embedded in the video forcing students to stop, evaluate what they are listening to, answer multiple choice or open ended questions, and/or rewatch the previous segment for optimal retention. You can make a copy of this video lesson and change any of the checkpoints to best suit your students. You can even add audio in the beginning and end of the video giving students directions or just to say hello! While I do want my students to hear me teach each lesson, this option cuts down on many of the steps involved in recording live lessons. You do also have the option to remove all of the audio from the video and record your voice teaching instead.

Let's summarize all the ways you can edit the video:

Edpuzzle allows you to crop the video.

Edpuzzle has a voiceover tool that allows you to add emphasis or include additional information.

Edpuzzle allows you to add questions. Check students' understanding right away by adding multiple choice or open-ended questions.

Take a look at this video showing these features.

EDPUZZLE IS TEACHER FRIENDLY

It has an app that students can use to watch videos and answer questions from their phones.

Students cannot skip ahead to the questions. They have to actually watch the video. And if students leave the page, the video automatically pauses. They have thought of everything! You have to select this feature, but what a brilliant option!

It has math symbols and functions that you can input for questions and answer choices.

You can give automated feedback responses if students choose a certain answer choice. Example: "This answer choice is not simplified" or "Pay attention to the decimal point" if students answer incorrectly.

Closed captioning is an option on many videos. Some videos allow you to use closed captions in a different language.

You can share Edpuzzle videos to any LMS including Canvas, Schoology, Moodle, Blackboard, PowerSchool, or Blackbaud.

Your students do not have to have an Edpuzzle account. They can complete their work on Edpuzzle inside your LMS of choice.

Many teachers in our Facebook Group have been using Edpuzzle with our FREE Remote Lesson videos. Here are a few of the videos we have found of Maneuvering the Middle videos edited by teachers that already have questions embedded for you. Thank you, teachers!

What else is awesome about Edpuzzle? How do you use it? I keep thinking about how a teacher could use this inside the classroom as well. Stations, tutoring, end-of-year testing review...there are so many opportunities!

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I wish I would have known about Edpuzzle sooner! Since remote learning is the new normal, we are all learning about awesome, new-to-us tools. Teaching will never be the same, but I think that is a good thing. Let's talk about Edpuzzle.

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How to create student blogs in Google Slides for FREE

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How to create student blogs in Google Slides for FREE

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Creativity

Blogging has really democratized the world of writing. Now, you don't have to pass through a gatekeeper (book publisher, magazine editor, etc.) to get your ideas out there. You can start a blog, publish, and share it with the world. You might not have a massive audience, but you do own a little piece of digital real estate when you publish on a blog.

Blog writing isn't just for adults. Student writing benefits from an audience, too.

When students don't have an audience for their work, they're just doing work for their teacher.

Want to motivate students to write? Give them an audience to write for.

Want to kick that motivation into overdrive? Let their audience interact with them about what they've written.

Finding a blogging platform for students can be tricky. For example ...

Blogger is Google's free blog platform. But can clunky to set up and use for students in a class.

Kidblog is a great full-fledged student blogging platform, but it's not free.

Edublogs has a free plan, but it's limited.

Many other blog platforms that aren't made for education aren't compatible with features and student privacy needs.

Plus, things get complicated and time-consuming with the more tools and apps and sites you use.

Thankfully, you don't need yet another app to do easy, quick blogs ...

Quick student blogs with Google Slides

In a Google Slides student blog, a single slide presentation serves as the blog itself. Each slide serves as a blog post. A Google Doc or Google Site serves as a home base where students can access each other's blogs quickly. Students can visit each other's blogs and leave comments.

When I need to dream up an activity to do in the classroom, my tool of choice often is Google Slides. It's super versatile and, of course, it's FREE.

Google Slides is a tool students likely are already familiar with.

The user interface of Google Slides is similar to other productivity tools like Docs and Sheets.

Google Slides divides work up in individual slides, which keeps things neatly organized.

Commenting and real-time collaboration is built into Google Slides.

If your students already have a school Google account, they won't need yet another username and password.

What is a blog?

A blog is a website that allows the creator to update the site regularly with posts: articles, images, other items, etc. The word "blog" comes from the word "weblog," which computer programmers used to catalog changes made to a website. Common features of a blog:

A home page where you can see all of the posts

A reverse chronological organization, putting the most recent post at the top

Posts written by an author (or co-authors) with text, images, embedded videos, etc.

Comments from readers to create conversation about a blog post (with responses from the author)

How can we use student blogs in a classroom?

Blogs can be a great forum for writing and creation for the classroom. When the blog is shared with others, it gives students an audience for their work. Plus, it creates great opportunities to interact with others around a given topic.

Teachers can set up student blogs to encourage students to ...

Reflect on characters, events, settings, and plots they read about (or watch in movies)

Talk about their learning and their process for solving problems

Document activities they do (like science labs and math problems)

Share about their day to day lives and their feelings

Report on happenings at the school and in the school district

If you want blogging to become a serious part of your class or your school, you might want to check out Kidblog ( kidblog.org), which I've used in the classroom and is solid.

But if you want a quick, no-frills way to do blogging with a platform you already have in place, you can get started in Google Slides in a matter of minutes!

How to set up quick student blogs with Google Slides

If you run your student blogs in Google Slides, it's easy to get them up and running. You can create all of the files and do all of the set-up to get it started pretty quickly. Plus, you can share it with your students in your Google Classroom or learning management system (LMS) to get them to work quickly.

Step 1: Decide what kinds of blogs students will create

One of the first decisions you'll want to make is whether to use individual student blogs or a single class blog.

Individual student blogs: Each student has his/her own blog. The student is the only one who creates posts to that blog. Others visit to view the blog and leave comments. With individual student blogs, it can take a while for the blog to feel full, or rich with content. But individual blogs are more likely to create a sense of personal ownership than a whole-class blog.

A single class blog: In this blog, different students write posts for the blog. A single class blog can be where students share their best, most favorite work with an audience (parents, families, the community, etc.). It can serve as a news outlet for what your students are doing. Because the whole class is working on it, it can fill up with content much faster. However, it isn't as personal has having your own space to share your own work.

This blog post focuses on creating individual student blogs. Honestly, if you want to create a single blog for your whole class, it might be easier to use one of the blog platforms mentioned above -- or even a free commercial blog platform like WordPress.com. That will make it easier to share with others and navigate. You can take student writing and post it to the blog for them.

Step 2: Create a home base for your student blogs.

If all of your students are going to have blogs, you'll want a home base where you -- and your students -- can easily access each other's blogs. There are lots of options, but here are a few of my favorites:

Google Docs: This is about as no-frills as it gets. Create a document. In a bulleted list, put each student's name on its own line. That's where students will add a link to their blogs (in a step below).

Google Sites: This takes a little more set-up but gives you lots of design freedom and ability to add more things. Google Sites are much easier to share with other audiences. You'll add links to the students' Google Slides blogs from this site.

Wakelet: Wakelet (wakelet.com) is a tool for building collections. It's kind of like an education-focused version of Pinterest. In a Wakelet collection, you can add links to students' Google Slides blogs to make them easy to access for the class. Plus, you can share a Wakelet collection with others.

No matter the platform, you'll likely want to give your home base a title (Mr. Miller's English class blogs) and add some text about norms and expectations. (More on that later.)

Step 3: Students create Google Slides file(s) for their blogs

It's easy to create a new Google Slides file: open Google Drive and click the "New" button, then choose "Google Slides." You can also type " slides.new" into your web browser to generate a new Google Slides file without opening Google Drive.

An important question: Who creates the Slides file? The person who creates the file is the file owner.

You could create all of the Google Slides files for the student blogs if you wanted. This might be appealing if you want to set everything up and have it ready to go when you see the students next. However, I suggest something different -- and much easier for you.

Have students create their own Google Slides blog files. During class, ask students to create a single Google Slides file. They give the file a filename with their name in it (i.e. "Max Smith's English class blog") and then proceed to the next step.

If you'd like to format what their blogs will look like, you can create a Google Slides file, share it with your students, and let them make a copy (File > Make a copy).
Pro tip: You can create a link that forces students to make a copy of a file. Click the Share button, then create an "Anyone with the link can view" link. Copy the link. Then, after you paste it, delete the word "edit" and anything after it, replacing it with the word "copy". When students click on that link, it'll ask them to make their own copy of your file.
Or you can use this very simple student blog template I've created (below). Just give them this link and it'll prompt them to make a copy.

Step 4: Students give you a link to their Google Slides blogs

You'll need to collect links to the students' Google Slides blogs. Then, you can share them in the home base you created earlier and students will be able to access each other's work.

Students click the Share button in their Google Slides blog files. Then, they change the access to "Anyone with the link can comment". With this link, students can view their fellow classmates' blogs. They can make comments on each other's blogs. But they won't be able change each other's files around. Students give you the "comment" link. There are a few ways you can do this:

Ask them to drop the link in a Google Doc. Create a Google Doc. It can be a very basic document that you'll use to copy links over to a Google Site home base for your blogs. Or, if you created your home base (above) with a Google Doc, you can just share that document with the students. Either way, in your document, use the Share button to create an "Anyone with the link can edit" share link. Copy that link.

Share the link to that document with them in Google Classroom or their learning management system (LMS). You can even pre-load that document with their names -- one name per line. When they get in that document, they just paste the link to their slide presentation next to their name.

If you chose to use a Google Doc as your home base above, this document can become the home base that students will use to access each other's blogs.

If you chose to use a Google Site or Wakelet as your home base, you can pull the student Google Slides blog links off this document. Add those links to the Google Site or Wakelet so students can access each other's work.

When the home base has working links to each student's Google Slides blog, share the link to that home base in an easy to access place in Google Classroom or your learning management system (LMS).

Step 6: Start writing!

Now is when the fun begins! Now that everything is set, you can create your first blog assignment. Students work from a new slide moved to the top of the slide presentation. You call the shots, so you get to tell them what they're writing about, what to include, etc. Or you can give them lots of control and flexibility. The choice is yours.

When students are done, they can go to your home base and click on each other's blogs to reach each other's posts. This is where the commenting part takes place. Remember, earlier, students created "Anyone can comment" links for their blogs. When a student goes to your blog home base and clicks through to another student's blog, that student can leave a comment on the other student's Google Slides blog. The student can click on an item on a slide (a title, a text box, etc.) and click the comment button (a speech bubble with a plus sign). All students -- the original blog author and other students -- can reply to each other's comments, making it like a comment conversation.

When you ask students to comment on each other's blogs, there are two main possibilities I see:

Assign the students to write a post. After everyone is done (maybe the next day), encourage students to read each other's posts and comment. This isn't immediate, but it does mean everyone gets to see everyone else's finished product.

Assign a post. Then, as students finish, they can leave comments immediately while others are still writing. This does mean that not everyone gets to see the finished products, but it does provide immediacy and an outlet for students who finished early.

Although both of the above have advantages, I'd lean toward the first one. It won't rush those that take longer to finish. Plus, it lets everyone put finishing touches on their work and leads to less distractions.

Set norms and expectations

Without setting up some norms and expectations for student blogging, unwelcome behaviors could rear their ugly heads and poison the collaboration you're trying to build. Think through how you'd like students to use the space, how you'd like them to treat each other, and what they should accomplish with their writing. Post it in your home base, and talk about it. There's no shame in making changes as you go forward, and discussing those changes with your students will help them understand and follow along. In fact, the students may have valuable input on what the class norms and expectations should look like.

Some things to consider:

What topics should students write about? Are there topics or is there language that's out of bounds?

What purpose do comments serve? Are they for sharing opinions and examples? Are you looking for feedback on student writing? (If so, I recommend this article by Mark Gardner in Edutopia.)

You may want to encourage students to treat others respectfully, as they would if they were talking face to face.

You may want to discuss how students should handle comments that they don't agree with, comments that go against what they believe or feel, or comments that make them upset.

How have you used blogs in your classroom? What advice or tips to do you have for doing student blogging? Share your ideas in a comment below!

Ready to take your tech skills -- and student learning -- to another level?

Sign up for Tech to Learn online course! Just $49

©2020 Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller.

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How to create student blogs in Google Slides (for FREE!) - Ditch That Textbook

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Creativity Blogging has really democratized the world of writing. Now, you don't have to pass through a gatekeeper (book publisher, magazine editor, etc.) to get your ideas out there. You can start a blog, publish, and share it with the world.

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Adds an Edpuzzle button next to YouTube™ videos to quickly start editing them in Edpuzzle

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Easily create beautiful interactive video lessons for your students you can integrate right into your LMS. Track students' progress with hassle-free analytics as you flip your classroom!

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Education

Group Product Manager, Google for Education

Published Aug 11, 2020

50 new features in Meet, Classroom, G Suite and other products for students, parents and teachers.

Read more

Editor's note: On August 11, 2020 Google for Education kicked off a global back-to-school event, The Anywhere School. Check out the full recap of product launches and our collection of announcements.
Google has always aimed to invest in products, programs and philanthropy that make learning possible for everyone, anywhere. This year we've been especially inspired by the teachers and students around the world who have used our tools in new creative ways and at unprecedented scale.

As schools start this next semester, we're excited to share the many new capabilities we're bringing to Meet and Classroom, to support teaching and learning, no matter where it's taking place. Let's start with what's coming to Meet.

Control for moderators

Over the next few months, we're giving moderators of Education meetings more controls for managing their virtual classes. Here are new capabilities, arriving in September, that moderators will have:

Prohibit participants from joining meetings after they've been ejected or after they've been denied entry twice (launching later this month)

End meetings for all participants when class is finished

Manage join requests with ease by accepting or rejecting them in bulk

Disable in-meeting chat and set restrictions on who can present during a meeting

A setting that requires the teacher to join first

Interactivity in Meet

Opportunities for interactivity are critical for distance learning and we're sharing new features to increase engagement with your students virtually:
Launching in September Launching in October

Blur or replace backgrounds so everyone feels more comfortable during distance-learning classes. Note: Admins can disable custom backgrounds as needed.

Attendance tracking to see and track which students attended virtual class (G Suite Enterprise for Education)

Breakout rooms so educators can split classes into simultaneous small group discussions (G Suite Enterprise for Education)

Launching later this year

Hand-raising to help you identify students who may need help or have a question

Q&A features to provide a way for students to ask questions without disrupting the flow of the class discussion or lesson, and polling to engage students to share their voice (G Suite Enterprise for Education)

Additionally, we'll launch temporary recordings later this year, which will be available to all Education customers for free (premium recordings will still be part of G Suite Enterprise for Education). With this new feature, any meeting host can record a meeting and share the recording within their domain for up to 30 days before the video expires. Given disparities in internet access, temporary recordings are intended to help students or meeting participants replay a class or session they couldn't attend live. Temporary recordings cannot be shared outside the host's domain or downloaded. We're granting continued free access to premium recordings until temporary recordings are available later this year (note: this is replacing the promotion for access to premium Meet features including live streaming and meetings of up to 250 participants that will be ending on September 30th).

Now, let's cover new features you can expect in Classroom.

Spot missed citations with enhanced originality reports

Originality reports, which are built into Classroom and Assignments, provide educators with flags for potential plagiarism in student work and also help students quickly identify passages that may need citations. Now, we're making originality reports even more helpful.

First, we're raising the number of originality reports that educators can use per class from three to five. (Educators with G Suite Enterprise for Education licenses will continue to get unlimited originality reports.) Educators will also be able to print, save and download reports to share with students, parents and administrators. Soon educators and students will be able to run originality reports on Google Slides, in addition to Google Docs, as well as in multiple languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Swedish, Indonesian and Italian.

More visibility and tools for Classroom admins

Coming soon, we're rolling out additional tools for admins who want to troubleshoot Classroom issues or gain deeper insights into usage across their domain. For example, all Education admins will now have access to Classroom audit logs, and admins with an Enterprise license will also be able to export their logs to BigQuery or create a customizable dashboard on Data Studio to see a slate of engagement metrics.

More support from partners

With the new features in Google Classroom, you'll also see that many apps are also launching new features that make their tools easy to use alongside Classroom. Explore these apps to learn how teachers and students can continue to stay organized, interactive, and collaborative with Classroom: Canva, Nearpod, Screencastify, Achieve3000 and Adobe, to name a few.

Classroom features coming soon

In the coming month, we will provide a more detailed roadmap to help education leaders and teachers understand and prepare for other improvements that will launch to Classroom throughout the school year. Here's a sneak peek at some of the specific areas we'll be working on:

Student engagement metrics: Educators will be able to see stats that help track how students are interacting in Google Classroom each day.

Deeper integration with other teaching tools. With Classroom now playing a role as "mission control" for many classes, we'll enable more seamless integrations with the content and learning tools schools are using alongside Google's tools.

Mobile offline improvements. We know that home and mobile internet connections aren't always available or reliable, so we're working to update the Classroom mobile apps to work much better even with intermittent connectivity.

Integrated admin capabilities for deploying and managing Classroom. Provisioning classes for an entire school system can be time-consuming, especially given the scale of many of our customers. We're building integrated tools to make it easier to create and manage courses at scale.

If we can't all physically be together in our schools this year, we're committed to making Classroom and Meet even better to bring everyone together online. Please continue to share your feedback, and we'll keep adapting our tools to meet your evolving needs.

50 new features in Meet, Classroom, G Suite and other products for students, parents and teachers.

Read more

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More details on what's coming to Meet and Classroom

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Education Group Product Manager, Google for Education Published Aug 11, 2020 50 new features in Meet, Classroom, G Suite and other products for students, parents and teachers. Read more Editor's note: On August 11, 2020 Google for Education kicked off a global back-to-school event, The Anywhere School.

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How to Make a Voice Recording on a Chromebook

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You can capture pictures and videos to share and upload to your Google Suite! Capture teaching moments, student work, and more.

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Handy Cheat Sheets - Microsoft Office | CustomGuide

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Get free cheat sheets for Microsoft Excel, Word, Access, Outlook, PowerPoint, Windows 10, and more! These handy quick references can be printed or shared.

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Add some personal touches

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When using digital tools try to put yourself into them to help students feel there is a teacher guiding them through the lesson. Bitmoji's are great for adding "you" along with some personality into digital resources. Google Forms are awesome for flipped learning, formative assessment, checks for understanding, and so much more. Bitmoji AND Google Forms... the awesomeness meter here might explode.

Bitmoji

If you do not have a Bitmoji go to bitmoji.com and create one. (Note: if students ALREADY have a Bitmoji, they are really fun for students to include in their work as well. I hesitate to recommend having students create them since some of the images are not fully appropriate for school. Parent permission on this would be a high recommendation.)

Chrome Extension

The Bitmoji Chrome extension allows you to DRAG Bitmoji's straight onto Google Docs or Google Slides. This is awesome for designing digital documents and also for feedback. Sadly, you can not do this with Google Forms.

Google Forms

To add images to a Google Form you must select that you're inserting an image. No dragging of images!

You can add an image as part of the Form by clicking on the image icon in the floating toolbar. You can also add an image to a question or an answer choice. Hover over a question or answer line and the image icon will appear. Click on the icon.

Bitmoji Link

You still can NOT drag Bitmoji images from the Chrome extension. Instead, click on the Chrome extension and right click on the Bitmoji of choice and choose "Copy Image Address."

Google Form

When inserting an image into a Google Form the default is to upload an image, however, notice there are several other options along the top. Choose "By URL," the 3rd option. Paste (Control V) the Bitmoji image link into the box. You should see a preview of your Bitmoji.

You can resize your Bitmoji in the Google Form after you select and insert the image.

Sample

Click Here for Google Form

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2016

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Insert a Bitmoji Into Your Google Form - Teacher Tech

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When using digital tools try to put yourself into them to help students feel there is a teacher guiding them through the lesson. Bitmoji's are great for adding "you" along with some personality into digital resources. Google Forms are awesome for flipped learning, formative assessment, checks for understanding, and so much more.

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Google Keep: creating comments in student's Docs

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Google Keep: creating comments in student's Docs

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Using Google Keep for Grading Comments in Docs

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See how to use Google Keep to store and organize your comments for grading student work, and how to select and insert those comments in Google Docs with the integrated Keep tool.

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You can use keyboard shortcuts to complete some tasks more quickly. To find shortcuts on this page, press Ctrl + f and enter what you want to find. To find ke

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Chrome

1. At the top of the "Clear browsing data" window, click Advanced.

2. Select the following: Browsing history. Download history. Cookies and other site data. Cached images and files. ...

3. Click CLEAR DATA.

4. Exit/quit all browser windows and re-open the browser.

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Clear your web browser's cache, cookies, and history

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Organize your lessons

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Wondering how to organize Google Classroom? This post will give you the six most common organizational strategies for the Classwork page and topics.

Many teachers are struggling with finding the best way to organize Google Classroom assignments on the Classwork page.

Deciding what topics to create and how to organize your assignments on this page has been trial and error. What works for one teacher, doesn't work for others.

I decided to put this question to the Shake Up Learning Facebook group and find out what teachers are doing with this new setup.

I did notice some trends, so I thought it would be useful to share these in a blog post.

This post is about the different topics teachers are creating to organize their Classwork page in the way that works for them.

Below are 6 Ways to Organize Assignments in Google Classroom.

Create and Organize Topics in Classwork Page

The heart of the new Classwork page is TOPICS. Topics allow you to group assignments into categories.

By default, new topics are added to the bottom of the classwork page, so this requires moving topics up and down to suit your needs. This seems to be one of the biggest troubles for teachers using the new Classwork page. Rearranging topics and assignments is going to be part of all of these options unless you want students scrolling to the bottom of the page.

We also have the ability to add materials to the Classwork page. This is typically those resources you share with students that are not necessarily associated with one assignment. These are things that students need to reference frequently like the Class Syllabus, Class Rules, Teacher website link, etc.

After working with and talking to hundreds of teachers, I've discovered the five most common ways to organize assignments in Google Classroom.

6 Ways to Organize Assignments in Google Classroom

1. Organize By Units or Modules

To organize by unit of study, teachers create topics for each unit and put all of the assignments for that particular unit under that topic (like the screenshot below). I believe this method was Google's original intention with the redesign.

2. Organize By Week

Many teachers are creating a new topic for each week, either naming them "Week #1," or naming something like, "Week of Sept 10th-14th." I don't even want to think about what this looks like after several weeks of school, but if this works for you-go for it!

3. Organize By Type of Assignment

In this method, teachers organize assignments by the type of work, like "Daily Work," "Projects," "Tests," etc. Keep in mind the organization is for both you and your students. Will students understand the work types? Remember to keep it student-friendly for the age group you teach.

4. Organize By Subject Areas (best for elementary)

Organizing by subject area seems to be the most logical for elementary teachers who teach multiple subjects.

5. Organize By Adding "Today" Topic

This one is usually combined with one of the above methods. I've seen this suggestion from many teachers, including fellow blogger, Alice Keeler. The idea is to create a special topic named, "Today," where you manually move each item that you want students to focus on that day. Then, move the "Today" topic to the top of the page so it is front and center for your students.

6. Organize by Learning Target

Thank you to Layla Gregory for sharing this in the Shake Up Learning Community. As a fan of standards-based grading, this organization makes perfect sense!

Layla assigns numbers and letters to each learning target and includes that in the topic and assignment.

Even if you are not using standards-based grading, this is a great way to help students make the connection between the assignment and the goal of the assignment.

In my post, How to Package Your Digital Assignments, I give you ten things to include in your assignment package, including the learning goal! (See infographic below.)

Tip: Disable Assignment Alerts in Stream

(Thanks to Shannon Oliver for sharing this!)

One feature that seems to drive some teachers crazy is that the assignments are also announced in the "Stream." If this is a thorn in your side, you can disable this feature to avoid confusion.

To disable this feature, go to your class and click on the settings icon near the top-right.

Scroll down to "General."

Next to "Classwork on the stream," click the drop down and select, "Hide notifications."

Tip: Create a Topic for Past Assignments

One trend I'm noticing is that some teachers like to move old assignments out. Unfortunately, you cannot have assignments disappear after they have been completed.

Create a topic called "Past Assignments," or something that makes sense for you and your students to understand. Drag this topic to the bottom of your Classwork page. Once an assignment is complete, or you are no longer accepting work, move it to this topic.

Of course, this means that you may be giving up some of the organization above, so do what works for you.

What Works for You

The bottom-line here is to find what works for you and your students. Every teacher is different. I'm sure that many teachers have already made decisions about how they will organize differently next semester or next year. We will learn together.

I know this is just scratching the surface, but I hope it helps give you new ideas on how to organize your assignments in Google Classroom.

Want even more ideas about how to create and "package" your online assignments? Be sure you check out this infographic and blog post with 10 awesome ideas!

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How to Organize Assignments in Google Classroom

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Wondering how to organize Google Classroom? This post will give you the six most common organizational strategies for the Classwork page and topics. Many teachers are struggling with finding the best way to organize Google Classroom assignments on the Classwork page.

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New Green Screen in the Media Center!

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1000+ Great Green Screen Background Photos Pexels · Free Stock Photos

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Need ideas of presenting work or grading?

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Teachers everywhere are using Google Forms in the classroom for making self-graded assessments. But Google Forms can be used for so much more!

Which do you want to try? Scroll down and find links to detailed articles for how to accomplish each new way in your own classroom.

Take a look at this awesome list of new ways to use Google Forms in the classroom! Click on each one for details.

When students create something digitally using a Google tool, like a Google Doc, or Google Slides, they can turn it in by uploading it to a Google Form.

This generates an organized list of files you can easily access. No more missing student email submissions or searching for shared documents!

It seems everyone is making Escape Rooms lately. They are so much fun! But you do not need to invest in actual combination locks to do it. All you need is a Google Form!
***Teaching Tip!*** Always check to be sure your Google Form is working properly BEFORE giving it to your kids. Do this by using the "view" button at the top. Go though the whole thing just like you were a student. I have found SO many mistakes.
Information is important! Data about student behavior is so helpful when deciding how best to help our students.

But, to be honest, when I am in the middle of teaching, or helping other students, it is hard to stop everything and record student behavior.
Google Forms makes data collection a breeze!
Related: Looking for more ways to use technology in the classroom? - so simple you can Here are my three favorite online tools learn how to use all three in less than fifteen minutes!

Some students get overwhelmed by large assignments. They benefit by having tasks broken down, step by step. Google Forms is a great way to do this so that they only get one piece at a time!

Regular self reflection is a powerful tool for motivating students to do their best. It is also great tool for encouraging a growth mindset.

Using Google Forms will make self reflection easy, and give your students (and you) quick access to valuable data.

You or your students can create digital portfolios of their work using Google Forms. For the teacher, this is a great way to track growth and keep a collection of assignments as data.

How do you know which students in your class need extra help and who is ready for more? Daily monitoring of student progress is so important - and it does not have to be hard, or take a long time!

What awesome ways do you use Google Forms in the classroom? Let us know in the comments! Sharing is caring!

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Seven NEW Ways to Use Google Forms In the Classroom - Teach Every Day

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Teachers everywhere are using Google Forms in the classroom for making self-graded assessments. But Google Forms can be used for so much more!

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Don't recreate the wheel...

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Sometimes, a content area teacher may not want to worry with the trouble of having students start a technology project from scratch. Instead, he or she may want to use an already-prepared template so that students can focus more on the content than on the mechanics of the technology. Here are some great Google templates for students to use either as their project starting block or for ideas. Note: Make sure you make a copy of the template before you begin using it!

Cross-Curricular Resources

Ask and Respond Template - Use this template and Google Slides to get information from your students about something they've read or studied, what they're thinking, or their favorite band.

Baseball Review Game - This great review game in Google Slides is technically for teachers and not students. But it was so great that I just had to share it with you.

BreakoutEDU Student Reflection - The most critical part of any breakout is the reflection done by the students at the end. This is a nice template to help them with that process.

Build a Jack-o-Lantern - Carve a pumpkin with this Google Slides deck.

Class Twitter Account - This Sheets template provides a way to manage Tweets sent out by your students from your classroom Twitter account.

Collaborative Yearbook - Let your students celebrate their school year by creating a Google Slide yearbook together.

Flippity - Flippity provides nine different templates that are designed more for teacher use, but could also be used by students. All of them take data from a Google Sheet and transform the information. My favorite is the Mad Libs one.

General Resources and Templates - There are a ton of different templates available at this website, including a cartoon template, a character map, Cornell note-taking form, and an iPhone Message template that could be great to have students create a conversation between two literary or historical characters.

Google Drawings Chess and Checkers - If only as a way to have students learn more about how Drawings works, these templates are a valuable classroom addition.

Google Drive Mastery - Gamify student mastery of Google Drive with this template.

Graphic Organizers - There are 30 different graphic organizers in this collection for Google Drawings.

Greeting Cards - Use Google Drawings to have your students create wonderful holiday greeting cards.

Infographic Templates - Eight different templates for creating beautiful infographics are available. Infographics are an excellent way for students to organize and summarize key information that they've learned.

Jigsaw Activity Template- Use this Google Slides template whenever students are placed in groups for a jigsaw learning activity.

Meme Template - There's nothing students love more than creating memes. Turn them to an education use by having them create one that demonstrates their learning using this Google Drawings template.

More than 40 Google Drawings Templates - These are amazing templates that are perfect for students of all ages in math, ELA, science, and notetaking/organizing information.

Motivational Poster Template in Google Drawings - Have your students use either the horizontal or the poster to share a favorite quote, a main idea, or something important to them.

New Templates from Google - Google has released a variety of new templates, including a nice book report template from Reading Rainbow.

Personalized Scratch-Off Templates - This website offers a fun and easy way to create personalized scratch-off cards that can be printed. The template is included.

Power Up Your Spring with Flowers - Use Google Slides to help your students create beautiful flowers for a special someone. Have them list words that describe their creations or, for older students, have them create a poem or short story about them.

Print Custom Sticky Notes - This great resource from Tony Vincent includes a Google Slides template along with specific instructions on how you can design and print your own sticky notes.

Problem/Solution - Works great for makerspaces or real-life problems students are trying to solve.

Stop Motion Animation with Google Slides - This innovative idea has hundreds of potential uses in the classroom.

Tammy Worcester Tang's Favorite Templates - Our favorite convention speaker, Tammy, has 40 templates perfect for student use.

Topic vs. Topic Infographic - Use this topic to have students create an infographic sharing the differences between two concepts.

Twitter Fictional Account Template - Use this Google Drawing template to have students create fictional Twitter accounts for literary characters, famous people in history, scientists, and more. The creator of this template also offers an infographic template, Harry Potter's Daily Prophet newspaper, templates for Time Magazine and National Geographic, and a comic book template.

Vocabulary Slide Deck - This great template based on the Frayer model is a perfect way to learn any new words.

Wanted Poster - This template is perfect for learning about famous people in history or characters in literature.

Did You Know?

TCEA offers amazing learning events for educators to level up their learning. Learn more about our events.

Elementary Templates

Elementary Student Newspaper - This is the perfect way for elementary students to create a classroom or project newspaper. It includes room for several articles, ads or quotes, graphics, and even a graph. The template is available for both a one-page and a two-page newspaper. Older students may use this template with four articles and accompanying graphics. If your students need to create a newspaper about colonial times, this template and accompanying rubric will work well.

Leprechaun Scene - This activity has younger students create a scene with the drawing, graph their items, and complete word/number sentences.

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish Sorting Template - Have your elementary students do this fun activity to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday on March 2.

Pattern Block Templates and Activities - Google Drawing makes this template very easy to use for both you and your students.

Pixel Art Template - This template, at its simplest level, is a paint-by-number activity great for younger students. At its more complex, students can use the template to create fun pixel art.

Presidents Day Hyperdoc - This great template for grades K-2 is perfect for February.

Super Digital Citizen - Have your students in grades 2-5 practice their digital citizenship with this innovative template.

Self Evaluation - This is a very simple evaluation form for elementary students to complete about themselves. It asks them "How is it going for you?" in several different subjects: writing, reading, and math.

English/Language Arts

Build a Snowman and Write a Story - This is a simple to use template in Google Slides that lets students get creative while building a snowman and then describing it, for vocabulary practice, or writing a story about the snowman. You can use the same idea with anything that students can build, from the parts of a plant to a gingerbread house.

Cloze Test Generator - Scroll to the bottom of this page to download a copy of a great cloze activity template in Sheets.

Frayer Model Vocabulary - Allows students to use words, definitions, and drawings to learn vocabulary words.

Prediction Chart - Ask students to make predictions before and after reading a book.

Reading Chart - Use Google Forms to create a live reading log. Instructions are available here (scroll down to the third activity).

Reading and Writing Tools - Here are 12 more templates perfect for the ELA classroom. They include different charts and concept maps, as well as a plot diagram and a journal.

Shades of Meaning Linear Array - Show how five words are interconnected.

Short Story Graphic Organizer - This Google Slides template helps students to organize their thoughts when writing a short story.

Springtime Magnetic Poetry - Have your students create wonderful poems about spring using Google Drawings.

St. Patrick's Day Magnet Poetry with Google Slides - This template includes more than 60 words and phrases that students can use to create fun poetry or a story.

Valentine's Magnetic Poetry with Google Drawings - This idea of using Drawings to create a template with words that students can use to create their own poetry is genius. You can reuse the basic template for other holidays and themes, simply changing the graphics to match.

Writing Prompts - With these templates, you have a choice of writing prompts with pictures or journal templates with blank layouts. As always, make sure to Make a Copy of the template before you begin using it.

Mathematics

Adding Fractions - Basic showing of how to add fractions

Analyzing Shoe Sizes - The "Analyzing Shoe Sizes" activity contains many mathematical concepts and student activities for students to complete. Ideally, this activity would be appropriate for students in the 6th through 8th grade using Google Slides.

Area of Shapes Scavenger Hunt - Using Google Slides, students can document shapes they find around them and then calculate the perimeter and area of those shapes.

Battlesheets - Have your students practice grid coordinates and logical thinking as they play the familiar Battleship game in Google Sheets.

Discovering Pi with Google Sheets - Eric Curts provides another excellent lesson and template. In this lessons, students "measure real life circular objects, examine some calculations, look for patterns, and discover what Pi is and what it means."

Division Brownies - This fun template will help students solve a very real-world problem of how to fairly divide a pan (or pans) of brownies.

Exploring Surface Area - This is an excellent template with lessons for exploring surface area using Google Slides.

Exploring Tangrams with Google Drawings - This site includes a free blank template with all the tangram pieces already created, a dozen pre-made tangram puzzles to solve, and detailed directions on how to manipulate the shapes using tools in Google Drawings and create your own tangram puzzles.

Frieze Patterns - Illustrate reflection, translation, and rotation.

Game-Based Learning with Google Slides: Coordinate Plane Battleship - This is a great way to incorporate some fun into Algebra class.

Google Graph Paper for Math - If you're a math teacher, you will love these seven different templates for graph paper.

Interactive Clock Face - This is a really clever template that lets students learn about telling time using an analog clock and two interactive hands.

Math Dice - This is a great game for elementary students to play.

Word Problem - Allows students to create their own problems and illustrate them.

Templates for Science/Social Studies

Drag and Drop Solar System - Allows students to group the planets in different ways as they learn about the solar system.

Exploring Human Heredity - High school students work in groups of three to investigate human heredity with this template.

Historical Facebook - Students can plan a "fake" Facebook page for a historical figure. A literary Facebook template is also available.

Historical Tweets - Using this Google Slide template, students can create "fake" Tweets from historic (or literary) figures they are studying.

Infographics Toolbox - Challenge your older students to take existing data they would normally just read over and create amazing infographics highlighting key points with this beautiful template.

Labeling - The example is the parts of the brains. But students could use any subject.

Map of the United States - Use this colorful map of the US to study any type of geographic, political, or historical data.

Planet Research - Help students know what kind of information to gather while studying the planets.

Virtual Museum - Have students create their own museums to showcase their learning with Google Slides.

Technology Applications - To help your students master Google apps, you can use the Google Docs Scavenger Hunt and the Google Slide Scavenger Hunt.

For one final all-encompassing resource, be sure to check out this Wakelet of Twitter-sourced resources for students to use. These are all for Google Slides.

If you would like to learn how to create your own templates in Docs, this four-minute video is perfect. And learn how to take basic templates to the next level with - an innovative lesson in Google Docs that contains everything the student will need. You can find additional HyperDocs by searching the hashtag #hyperdocs in Twitter.
(Update: Additional resources for this blog were added on January 22, 2020.)

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Looking for a template to get your students started on a project? We've found some great Google Docs and Slides templates for your classroom.

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Copyright on the Internet and Why You Should Care

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Copyright on the Internet and Why You Should Care

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Copyright on the Internet and Why You Should Care

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Copyright is a big deal on the Internet, and it has a huge impact on everyone, whether you create content or just read the stuff produced by sites like MakeUseOf.

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Talltweets.com

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Duolingo is the world's most popular way to learn a language. It's 100% free, fun and science-based. Practice online on duolingo.com or on the apps!

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8 ideas to help engage students in the classroom.

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With the new school season, teachers are experimenting with ways to engage kids better. And parents are always looking to avoid the "pulling-out-the-hair" moments with homework. Of course, what both groups want is to make sure the kids understand the concepts and demonstrate in real-life.

Like everything else, technology can be used for better or for worse. Here are some great ways to engage the kids better and ease them into difficult-to-grasp concepts through technology.
1. Involve them in the making
Involving kids in creating little guides and survey questionnaires around concepts can be a great way to engage them. Creating a classroom community blog or a class webpage where children can put up their ideas/presentations/ survey results/pictures of projects can boost interest and engagement tremendously.
2. Get them to present abstract concepts
Abstract concepts, in subjects like science, are grasped better by using apps like the iMovie. In this example, students are encouraged to record every phase of the lab assignment and then explain what they had done. The videos are then edited by the students themselves and presented to the class or a bigger audience to demonstrate their understanding of the concept. To take it a step further, teachers can even encourage them to self-publish their work with services like Lulu or iUniverse.

iMovie for windows is also available.
3. Provide out-of-school experiences
Our school memories are filled field trips and events outside of the school than within them. Getting them to document their observations through pictures, movies and presentations encourages them to not only develop exotic skills like photography but also allows them to put down their thoughts and present it with a unique perspective.
4- Use storytelling in classroom projects
Storytelling is making a comeback as a major educational tool. Many teachers use the power of stories to connect with the child. Stories are also a great way to promote a culture of collaboration among the students. Getting students to work in groups and create stories using digital media including images, pictures and music is a great way to promote empathy, learning and co-operation in a classroom.
5. Engage with Social Media
Why not get the students to encapsulate their learning in 140 words or less? Tweeting the lesson, or having a website where students can post their ideas on using a concept innovatively can be a great idea generation tool. For example, after a lesson on "Energy", the students can collect ideas on how to use Solar energy and collate them to present "101 original ideas on using solar energy!"
6. Use Webquests
A webquest is a guide for students to search for specific information on the internet very effectively.

For example, students may be asked to serve as the caretaker of a National Park, and they might be encouraged to find information on animal species - native and foreign, care tips, eating habits, natural habitats, steps for conservation, etc. It's a great way for teachers to integrate the power of the internet into their own curriculum.
7. Create podcasts
Have the students interview a real person in a particular job. For example, what does a museum curator's job entail? Or what does a project manager in a tech company do all day? They could interview real people, put them up as podcasts and engage the entire classroom in a conversation on career choices!
8. Get them to help someone
Get students to write a "how-to" piece on a specific piece of technology that could help a person who is not tech savvy, like their grandma. For example - how to set up the iPad, or how to connect with a friend on video chat. These kinds of exercises force children to think from a user perspective and hone their own understanding of technology.
About the author:
Devishobha Chandramouli is the founder and editor of Kidskintha- a platform dedicated to helping millennial parents raise happy kids. Get your own FREE copy of the eBook " 137 Proven Productivity Hacks For The Millennial Parent" now.

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8 Ways to Use Technology to Engage Students Better

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With the new school season, teachers are experimenting with ways to engage kids better. And parents are always looking to avoid the "pulling-out-the-hair" moments with homework. Of course, what both groups want is to make sure the kids understand the concepts and demonstrate in real-life.

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Quick reminders about YouTube with Alice Keeler

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When I am making videos for my online classes I strive to create 30 second video clips. 3 minutes is my upper limit, but I really try not to get anywhere close to that length for a video. Rather than one long video I record for 30 seconds at a time and put the collection of videos into a YouTube playlist. This allows me to name each segment of the video very specifically to allow students to find that one piece of the video that they were looking for. I use Snagit to do screen captures. For recording my face I upload directly to YouTube using the webcam.

If you hold down your mouse on the left hand side of the listed videos you can drag the order of the videos around. At the top you can add a description of the playlist so students will know what the overall theme is. Notice on the right hand side the run time of each video.

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When I am making videos for my online classes I strive to create 30 second video clips. 3 minutes is my upper limit, but I really try not to get anywhere close to that length for a video. Rather than one long video I record for 30 seconds at a time and put the collection of ...

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Eva's Story

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Eva's Story - When Messages Spread | Common Sense Education

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Common Sense is the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the 21st century.

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Ricardo's Story

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Ricardo's Story - Making Fun of Others Online | Common Sense Education

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Common Sense is the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the 21st century.

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Sometimes the easiest way to make a copy of something is to take a snapshot of your screen—this is what Snipping Tool does. Use it to save and share news stories, movie reviews, or recipes.

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Add this extension in the Chrome Web Store to engage your students via polling.

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Live feedback without leaving Google Slides

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Enhance your Google Slides presentation with an interactive poll powered by Poll Everywhere. Get started for free today.

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Screenshots can be handy when you need to preserve something you’re looking at on your display. They’re just a keyboard shortcut away in Chrome OS. Remember that unusual key we used to access Overview mode? It’s the one at the top of the keyboard that looks like a rectangle with lines coming off to the right. Press Ctrl and that key to take a screenshot. If your keyboard doesn’t have that special key, then Ctrl + F5 will work instead. Chrome OS will save your screenshot to your Downloads folder.