Secondary Teacher FAQs

My student says he doesn't have good internet at home.

How can I make sure he can access his work for my assignment?

Time Savers:

I'm tired of "adjusting all the dials" from scratch for every Google Classroom assignment. Is there a quicker way?

Once you've made your first of a group of similar assignments (perhaps you just need to change the attachment and the due date), you can REUSE & edit it! WATCH A DEMONSTRATION HERE

My colleague and I both teach the same content (level AND subject). Is there a way we can work on the same assignment together and then just copy it to our own Classrooms?

If you form a Google Classroom course together where all of you in your PLC are co-teachers (no need for any students, except maybe a dummy account to quality check that a student can access links/attachments) - any assignment hosted in that PLC course can be "reused" by any co-teacher in that class! Here's a demonstration.

My colleagues and I are working on a Common Formative Assessment. Is there a way to "reuse" questions from a previous Google Form?

YES! It's called IMPORT QUESTION. It's on the menu whenever you create a new question inside a Form.

"Circulating" around the "room": Keeping in touch with students

What's the quickest way for students to get in touch with me about a particular assignment - without showing everyone else their question?

A student can email her teacher from the People tab, but if the question is about a particular assignment on Google Classroom, she simply clicks "View Assignment" from the Classroom tab in Google Classroom. She will see a cell to the right of the screen to send a "Private Comment." Whatever the student puts in that cell will go straight to her teacher and only that teacher. It will also designate that it was a Private Comment about that particular assignment. This video shows how to leave both public (if your classroom is set to accept public student comments) and private comments. CLICK HERE.

I get the feeling that some of my students in their small group project are letting others do all the work. Is there a way to prove who is contributing what?

Anyone in the editor's view of a file can see it's "Version History." It's a feature of many G Suite files: Docs, Slides, etc. Here's how to look at a file's full version history, with edits color-coded by user account. Read about it HERE. Watch a student made tutorial HERE. See the extra step you need to employ when getting into Version History from Google Classroom's student work pane.

Is there a way for me to watch my students working - even if I'm not in the room with them?

In order to see and give feedback or assistance to your students as they work, attach the files you want students to work in as "Make a Copy for Each Student". Doing this will mean you can see their work from start to finish, keeping tabs on possible plagiarism, or struggles in their writing/working process. You can come alongside of them via comments or "suggesting mode" in Google Docs (for example).

Collaboration:

How can I add a Co-Teacher to my Google Classroom?

HERE'S HOW

I'd like to show a colleague or supervisor my work and get their advice. Is there a quick way to do that?

You can assign a colleague to look at a certain passage in a file you're working on. It automatically let's them make suggestions (not edits). HERE'S HOW.

How do I make a quick comment to only one of my students without first navigating to Gmail?

How to direct a comment to just one of my students: PRIVATE COMMENT

Oops! I accidentally deleted another person's work inside a Google doc/Slide presentation!

All G Suite file types (except Forms) have something called "Version History". Your peer's work can be recovered!

CLICK HERE to learn how to restore a previous version.

Problems with file access

My students say they can only VIEW the Word document that I asked them to "fill out" in my Google Classroom assignment.

Teaching via Google Classroom requires the instructor to be aware of file types that block ease of access. Word documents should be Google Docs (for example). Convert your files BEFORE you attach them in your Google Classroom and ask your students to edit them. Here's how to convert individual files. Here's how to change the settings in your Google Drive so everything you upload into it will automatically convert (AWESOME!)

When I click to get into a Google file, it tells me I must "Request Access." What's an easy way to avoid that problem?

How to set your "Share" rights to a Google file: READ HERE. (tip: as of April 2020, most video tutorials are not accurate. The Share button has changed.) As of 2022-23, Google files in our aztecschools domain are set to automatically be viewed by anyone in our domain.

How to tell if your students are completing their work:

My students don't attach their work until just before they turn it in. How do I know they don't need help if I can't see them working?

Some students are telling me they did their work in an assignment, but in my grading pane, it lists theirs with the "Missing" work.

Always click the "Turn in" or "Mark as Done" button on the top right of your assignment (from a computer). This will keep your To Do list accurate.

CLICK HERE to learn more about your To-Do list in Google Classroom.