What's In Your Google Classrooom?
Easy to use! Effective! Exciting!
Are you ready to go paperless in your classroom?
No matter what stage you are in, there are always new ways to dive into and use the Google Classroom! I hope this edition will help those who are not using the Classroom to adventure inside! For those of you who are already in the Classroom, I hope this edition will inspire you to take your Google Classrooms to the next level!
Happy exploring everyone!
Carrie
A Look Into The World of The Google Classroom!
BCMS Teacher Testimonies!
Jennifer Kadilak - 6th Grade English
I use Google Classroom in English. The students wrote their first argumentative essay in Google Classroom. It was a wonderful treat not to drag home piles of papers each night to assess their writing throughout the process. At the click of a button, I could review what each student had accomplished during the class period. I easily highlighted sentences and made comments in the margins of their writing. This saved on Post-it notes! It is possible to view each student’s editing history. So, when revision was expected, I could see what the students actually did to make their writing better. It showed words and sentences the students added and crossed out as they worked. The students did not send their work through my email account. I’ve learned that this is very difficult to manage. I accessed all the documents through Google Classroom in a very organized way. I graded the essays online and posted their grade on their document.
When my classroom projector was broken, I discovered another use of Google Classroom. I created a teacher modeled essay and attached it in Google Classroom. Students opened my document, and as a class we talked about how to revise the writing. The students were thrilled to watch their many colored cursors pop up on the screen as they took turns making changes to the document that we could all see.
I have also attached documents that listed several website links to articles the students were researching. They easily opened the document in Google Classroom, chose the article they wanted to read, and connected with the links.
Honestly, I’m learning to attach almost everything to Google Classroom so that it has become an archive of our learning.
Chuck Schiffhauer - Physical Education
Allison Morgan - 8th Grade Science
I am having a hard time pushing forward with Google Classroom due to being caught in my ways :). However, I can tell you how I would like to use it in the future! I introduced Google Classroom the first week of school, using a flier I made for students, and intend on assigning students assignment through that.
As early as next school year, I would like to go completely paperless (or as close as I can possibly get to paperless). Roadblocks include students not having their own devices. That could prolong the process for me.
In the coming weeks, my students are doing a project where they have to create a solution to beach erosion. They will design an experiment to test their new solution that they come up with. I am going to send the assignment to students through Google Classroom and they will submit their experimental design to me through Google Classroom. They will work collaboratively to complete this assignment, that way they can troubleshoot and navigate Google Classroom together.
Joyce Zitkovich - 7th Grade English
1.) listed student work and posted in GC for students to view and cast votes.
2.) templates to record personal reading stats from which students can set goals.
3.) set up project help folders containing information from tips to guidelines.
4.) created a template for students to list all user names (i.e. Moby Max)/school email address and passwords, teacher codes, locker number/combination, etc. so all of that could be in one place for students or ME to access in the classroom (this might my most valuable idea!; created as an assignment and then turned in to insure that all student's information is recorded in one place for easy access--for the teacher, it's like a Rolodex of because not all of that info is in Progress Book
5.) set up assignments for students to manage parts of the writing process for research report for Social Studies assignment.
Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities!
I look forward to helping you explore and implement the Google Classroom and move in the direction of becoming paperless!
Carrie
Step By Step instruction to create and use the features in your Google Classroom:
Google Classroom Resources
Google Classroom Tips and Tricks: http://ditchthattextbook.com/2014/10/16/the-google-classroom-quick-start-guide-tips-and-tricks/
50 Things you can do with Google Classroom: http://www.alicekeeler.com/teachertech/google-classroom/
How to use Google Classroom on an IPad: http://ictevangelist.com/resources-to-learn-how-to-use-google-classroom-on-ipad-as-teacher-or-student/
20 Best Google Resources for Teachers: http://blog.learn2earn.org/best-google-education-resources-for-teachers/