Integrating Google's Free Products Into Your Lesson Plans
In this day and age it's hard to avoid this behemoth of a company; from online searches to cell phones no matter where one turns, you bump into Google. Google Docs, Gmail, Maps, Chrome, Drive and Calendar are all well known tools for completing work and organizing ourselves. They offer collaboration and have transformed our online landscape in terms of both communication and the storage of information. Now comes Google Classroom, an educational tool for both teachers and students, it brings with it the ability to share and collaborate with one another. Thousands of teachers and students make use of Google Classroom, using this guide hopefully you can harness the power of Google in your class!
What is Google Classroom?
According to the tech giant, Google Classroom is a means of making “teaching more productive, collaborative, and meaningful.” Essentially, it’s a platform that encompasses the entire Google G Suite tools and is at the disposal of both students and teachers. With it, teachers are able to store and disperse class materials electronically for students to read, edit and modify as they see fit. Google offers a broad spectrum of tools and services, so feel free to pick and choose those that you wish to incorporate into your online classroom.
Who Can Use Google Classroom?
The short answer is, anyone can! Google Classroom is a free service for anyone with a Google account! Most schools that I’ve been a part of have provided an account to their students and staff at the beginning of the year. That being said, the accounts are free so if you haven’t been provided one by your school, sign up and make one! Google Classroom is a service that is useful for not only teachers but administrators and home-schoolers as well.
How to Use Google Classroom?
Google Classroom can be used in a variety of ways due to its flexible nature. With it, teachers are able to:
Electronically arrange, disperse and gather course material, assignments and other work. Educators are able to post assignments that they have modified or reused from a previous year. With Google Classroom, you are able to have a more eco-friendly approach to education by reducing the amount of paper used in a class.
This service allows educators to streamline their classrooms by increasing efficiency. Rather than assigning work to students and then reminding them of the deadline, when work is assigned on Google Classroom students also receive a due date on their class calendar.
Communication with students regarding classwork is paramount, with Google Classroom, teachers are able to easily post announcements and reminders about assigned work. Here, it's easy to keep track of what work has been completed by which student. As there is transparency in submissions, both students and teachers are able to be on the same page regarding all submitted work (the days of "I thought I submitted it already" or "my printer ran out of ink" or "maybe it was misplaced" and "my dog ate my work" are now over).
With communication comes feedback, using all Google Classroom allows students to receive feedback on their submitted work in a timely fashion. Teachers are able to make and share assessments (through Google Forms) such as multiple choice quizzes which are graded immediately and automatically, without teacher input! This allows the teacher to spend less time grading and simultaneously allows students to receive constructive feedback instantaneously.
Setting Up Google Classroom
The process of creating your very own Google Classroom is intuitive and simple. That being said, Google has a Teacher Centre that offers videos for teachers to watch and follow along in case they need assistance. These videos include “how to create a new class,” creating quizzes, adding materials and more! Additionally, there are a multitude of YouTube tutorials on the subject and you should have no difficulty finding solutions to most issues you may face during the creation of your very own Google Classroom.
Differentiation in a Virtual Classroom
Google Classrooms offers educators the ability to efficiently create, disperse and gather virtual exit tickets in addition to assessments (multiple choice & short answer). Through this, it is easy and quick to gain valuable feedback on your students’ educational development. That being said, Google Classroom is not a closed system, there are a variety of online assessment tools that now offer Google Classroom integration.
With Google Classroom, it's a breeze to create customized (modified or varying) assessments for individual students or groups in the class. Educators also have the ability to privately check in with a student or groups of students to enquire whether they require assistance or clarification. As such, the ability to differentiate through an online means allows an educator to do so in a less obvious manner compared to in class where a student may feel discriminated.
The Interactive Digital Classroom
Multimedia integration is a key aspect of the Google Classroom, here as an educator you can post images, sites, videos and other forms of media. With Google Classroom, students can respond to questions in a variety of ways such as through videos, drawings, mind maps, comments and more, thereby increasing the differentiation of assignments.
Stream is a feature found in Google Classroom which allows a class to have a feed of constantly updating information. Here, teachers are able to place announcements, post due dates and more. It is the first thing a student sees when they log in and can function as a class agenda or a virtual homework board! Students can also interact with one another by posting on the stream and commenting on each other’s posts.
Hopefully this post has been illuminating in terms of what Google Classroom is capable of doing. If you run into any issues during your time with Google classroom, I have found that "Googling" the issue is extremely helpful and may lead you to multiple solutions through various YouTube videos and forums. That being said, if you are ever in doubt or need assistance feel free to message me through the "contact" link found in the menu above. You're not alone as a teacher, we're all here to help one another!
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