Google Classroom

Google Classroom is designed to share documents with pupils and to assign work to pupils. It is easy to correct work and give feedback, and you can also use it in the classroom, as the title suggests.

Also check out the google step by step guides for teachers:

• https://storage.googleapis.com/teachfromhome.appspot.com/en-toolkit.pdf

• This wonderful step by step guide provided by Maresa in primary.

• https://help.kamiapp.com/en/articles/647844-how-to-use-the-free-version-of-kami-with-google-classroom (We have the paid fully integrated version).

• How to add the Kami toolbar and submit work via Kami

To start

Log in to your google account and click on the square with squares on the right top, click on "more" and click on "Classroom". You will now have an empty screen. Click on the + sign on the right top to create your first class. For example "Geo Yr4". You will now see the following screen:

Now click on "Students" on the top. On the left you will see some options, go through them, and you can find the class code. You can send this code to your pupils, so they can use it to be added to this class or you can invite with their e-mail address. You can use the email group of your class, there is no need to add them one by one.

Share documents

When you go to "My Drive" you will notice a folder called "classroom" with a subfolder for each class you have created or are part of. You can create documents here or upload documents as explained in the Drive and Documents section of this website. Whatever you put in the subfolder, you can share via announcements or assignments with all the pupils in the class. No more endless printing! Organisation of documents/topics happens via the Google Classroom, not the drive. Don't worry about the order of the documents in the folder. It just needs to be there, don't waste time organising it.

Create topics

You can organise the curriculum in different topics. Create a new topic by clicking on "add topic" in the box on the left hand side of the home screen.

Announcement

Click on the plus button in the left bottom corner and click on "Create announcement". You can use it to share a document or a link with everyone in the class by using the buttons at the bottom. When you are ready, click on "post".

I have used it to share a weather forecast spreadsheet with the class and now my homescreen looks like this:

Create Assignment

The next option when clicking on the button at the right bottom corner is to create an assignment. You can ask your pupils to write a short essay, or read a document. Once again you have the option to link a document to the assignment for reference. You can include a due date, which will end up in the calendar of the pupils, so this is the way to assign homework. No more excuses that a pupil was absent or the dog ate the homework, it is all there, accessible for all, whether they attended a class or not.

And on your homescreen you can see how many have submitted their assignment. Also, when you add a document, you can choose your sharing settings. If you select "each individual student gets their own copy", you will have one copy for each student in your drive when they have submitted it, with their name attached to the file. Simply click on the down arrow next to the filename to select your choice.

Create Question

With the third option you can ask your pupils to answer a question and to set a due date. This can be used to set a grade and to return this to the pupil.

If you would like to create a Quiz (Test), please read this.

Reuse post

The last option when clicking on the plus button will allow you to use assignments and posts from one year to the next.

Calendar

Finally, in the left top you can find the main menu (the little lines) to access your classes, work (a good overview) and calendar:

On internet you can find a lot of howto's and tips from other teachers. Here are some that I came accross:

• https://www.slideshare.net/JohnSowash/google-classroom-set-up-and-tips-for-teachers

• http://juliannakunstler.com/googleforms_quiz.html (you can share the form with classroom)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdn7JlGpkKM For how it works from a student perspective

• http://blog.whooosreading.org/20-best-google-classroom-tips-from-google-pros