Google Classroom is an excellent tool for any classroom that frequently uses G Suite products like Google Docs, Slides, or Sheets. The ability to create and manage assignments is the core component of Google Classroom. After creating a document, teachers can assign a copy of it to students. If a teacher doesn't create a document beforehand, students can simply click a button to create one that's linked to the assignment. Upon completion, students turn in the assignment for grading. Teachers can also give assignments that don't have any attachments or documents. For example, they might provide students with directions in text or a video to participate in a math warm-up on the board. Once a student has completed the task, they can mark it as done.
Google Classroom takes on all of the organization. Folders are created in the teacher's Google Drive for each class, and each class has folders for each assignment. Teachers use this folder or the assignment from within Google Classroom to check in on student progress before students turn in the document. With all of this folder and document management handled automatically, educators have more time to focus on students and teaching. Google Classroom also makes it easy to reuse assignments in future classes.
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How to Assign Group Work in Google Classroom
Group Work Roles That Promote Shared OwnershipGoogle Classroom is similar to a learning management system (LMS) that helps teachers manage workflow and communication with their students (it's available as a website, an Android app, and an iOS app). When teachers log in, they have a section for each of their classes. Each class can be given a color and different banner to help teachers and students differentiate between multiple courses. The teacher and student dashboards are very similar: Announcements and discussion questions appear on the Stream page. Although assignments also show up on the Stream page, they're now created and interacted with on the Classwork page. The Classwork page also houses materials like links, videos, and other documents that teachers and students will need to reference. Important deadlines or upcoming events are displayed on the side. Teachers can invite other teachers to their Google Classroom, which is useful for team-teaching situations.
The Grades page has improved some since Google Classroom launched years ago. Teachers can now create categories such as homework, classwork, projects, etc., and give them different weights toward the final grade. A handy new addition is the Docs grading tool, which allows teachers to give grades and written feedback while viewing the student document. Should teachers choose, they can now grade assignments even if the student hasn't turned them in, which is useful for when students forget to turn in the assignment.
Teachers can also choose to turn on parent summaries, which are emails that parents or guardians can receive about their kids. The summaries are limited to missing assignments, upcoming assignments, and announcements; parents won't get information on their kids' grades.
The quality of the learning experience with Google Classroom depends on the teacher. Aside from being able to streamline document management, teachers can ask polling questions and foster fruitful discussions; students who find participating in oral discussions difficult may find it easier to contribute in an online format. Once comfortable with all of these features, teachers can use their Google Classroom as a nexus point, easily linking and directing students to other tools on the internet. This maintains a high level of organization, allows kids to get where teachers want them to go efficiently, and continuously breathes new life into the tool. Coaches and administration can also find it useful for organizing information and learning for their teaching staff.
As far as assessment is concerned, teachers can only give grades on a 100-point scale, and there's no standards-based grading option. Other LMS products integrate with Common Core standards and allow teachers to upload their own rubrics, a feature that Google Classroom doesn't have. Google is testing integration with student information systems (SIS) so that grades entered in the gradebook will transfer to the system that a district is using. Once this is available, the Grades page might be more appealing for some teachers. Teachers can create quizzes that use Google Forms, which make use of traditional questions such as short answer, long answer, and multiple choice. Teachers looking for dragging labels on an image, number lines, charts and graphs, or other advanced question types need to look elsewhere.
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