Slaughter's Innovative Moment
Google Classroom - Getting Started
Everything seems a little scary in the beginning, but the end can be so fantastic! Watch this video to see what I mean!
What Is It and Why Should You Use It?
Wondering about blended curriculum or flipped classroom, please check out my other Smore Newsletters by clicking on the blue underlined links.
Getting Started
Things to keep in mind-
Creating multiple classes can be useful for different subjects, periods, or levels of differentiation.
Students can quickly join a class through given join codes, which makes movement easy.
Name classes carefully, it is best to set up an organized system of naming.
3 Tabs at the Top
- Stream- This is similar to Twitter or Facebook feed. The Stream is where all of the action occurs.
- Students- You can see what students are in your class, add students via email addresses, or you can use the provided classroom code in this section to help students to join your class.
- About- A great place to add documents, videos, slides, class information that students will need for long term.
Sidebar
- To-Do- Shows upcoming assignments and lets you know where tasks are in the process.
- Topics- A organization tool, you can add different topics that will create a separate stream section. (Alice Keeler suggests hashtagging your assignments and numbering them to create a more organized stream, make it easier for you to share when discussing with students, and organize the backend of the Stream. Each time you create an assignment, it creates a folder to contain all assignments on your drive. Again, creating a consistent naming system helps you keep it clear.)
Create Opportunities to Engage
Announcement- Use this to share a link to something such as a site or a Google Form; class materials such as slides, videos, or documents; or you can directly share some vital information. (By default, announcements are put in by date and time, but you can move them to the top if needed.)
Question- Ask a short answer or multiple choice question. You can decide to allow or not allow students to respond to one another and whether they can edit their responses after submitting. You can schedule questions or only ask certain students.
Assignment- Create assignments that can be edited together or choose to create a copy for each student automatically. Like questions, assignments can be scheduled and/or sent to certain students.
The Stream is an easy way to share a link to a shared doc, sheet, slides, etc. I love that no matter what you choose (an announcement, assignment, or a question) you can attach files, add drive items, upload YouTube, or add hyperlinks to create engaging opportunities.
On the Fly and Right-On-Time
We have all been in the situation when we see a moment of spark. Classroom makes it simple to use those moments to engage students in a task that is right-on-time! Have a group running ahead, add a task that pushes them or allows them to delve deeper while you pull a group for small-group instruction. Notice you have five or six students that are not getting it, assign them a Khan Academy Video or remediation for just those students.
Use Google Classroom to Foster the 4 Cs
Communication and/or Critical-Thinking
Example 1:
Students are learning about metaphors and similes and have to submit an example of each.
Example 3:
Students must read an article, section of a book, or watch a video concerning a specific topic. Given specific criteria, they have to share their ideas or thoughts concerning the issue.
Example 3:
A teacher was looking for a great example of osmosis. She could spend much time looking for just the right one or she could assign her students to find what they thought was the best video. Give them criteria for what must be included, and suddenly they are delving deep into osmosis. They submit their link in the discussion to the question. Other students can see those videos.
Some will say, "Well how do you know they won't just use a video another person submitted?" That is the point of the criteria. Have them submit a Google Doc explaining how their video choice met the criteria and why their video should be the winning video.
Students can go to the Classroom question, where the video links were submitted as answers. They can be asked to watch them and choose two videos that were good/poor, and they have to tell why using the criteria as inspiration for the critique.
More ideas concerning discussion boards or using visuals can be found when clicking on the blue links.
Collaborate
You will be able to see revision history which shows which students contributed. You can add comments and feedback, then return the document for revisions.
All of this can be done through Google Classroom with no file transfer through email, thumb drive, etc.