Description:

Many UL faculty use Moodle as their LMS likely because it has been the standard LMS for years, yet many faculty seem to trudge through the inefficiencies of Moodle unaware that GC is accessible to them and is much more efficient, seamless, and inclusive for students and faculty alike. Google Classroom (GC) is not only part of the UL Google suite license, but it is significantly easier to use than Moodle, connects to student/faculty email, calendars, and Google docs allowing assignments and grading to be streamlined in one place. Faculty who do know about GC are hesitant to make the jump due to the difficulty of learning a new LMS. However, I have found the benefits of using GC to far outweigh the hurdle of learning a new LMS. During this session, I will lead faculty first through a pre-made course to show how GC looks and then will lead faculty in creating and developing their own GC, showing tips, tricks, and best practices to use GC. Additionally, we will discuss how students use GC in high school and, thus, face fewer technology barriers to learning in their college classrooms.

Objectives:

1. Faculty will learn the benefits of GC including but not limited to the following: inclusivity for students because many have used it before in HS, fully-integrated with Google docs and calendar, decreased frustration in grading, and more streamlined organization than with other LMSs.

2. Faculty can opt to create their own GC during the session by learning how to set up classwork, create assignments, set due dates, post materials, ask discussion questions, post videos, and create rubrics for grading.

3. Faculty will be enrolled to the Google Classroom Crash Course (created to help faculty create their own course) so they can use the training for later.

4. Faculty will hear about the pros, cons, and best practices of using the GC.