Updates To Google Classroom (So Far)

Keeping Up With The Google

A Summary of Recent Updates to Google Classroom

@joe_edtech / @LisaBerghoff

Last week at both DHS and HPHS, we had a chance to show several people some of the recent updates to Google Apps. However, we know that this is a busy time of year for a lot of you (in fact, we haven't really found a time of year when teachers and technologists aren't busy!) So, over the next two weeks, rather than introducing new Web 2.0 tools to you, we are going to summarize some of the major updates we've seen in Google Apps for Education this Fall. This week's blog will focus on Google Classroom and next week's post will look more closely at Drive, Docs, and Sheets.

Google Classroom

I've been saying it for some time now, but this tool is getting better and better every day. It isn't a full learning management system, but Google Classroom has become a great way to organize your class, share content with and from your students, and host classroom conversations! 

Share to Classroom:

Closing the gap quickly on Hapara as a classroom management tool, Google released a new extension called "Share to Classroom." It allows a teacher to take resource they found on the web and immediately share it with their students in Classroom. If the students are logged into Google Classroom, the resource will open in a new tab on their device, whether they are using one of the school's Chromebooks or not. Simply go to the Chrome Webstore and add the extension to your browser.

From Google For Education Blog

Integrate Zaption or EDpuzzle Assignments directly to Google Classroom:

A lot of teachers have been using tools like Zaption or EDpuzzle to flip lessons or provide extra opportunities for students to interact with and master content and skills. However, those tools have always existed "outside" of Google Apps. No longer, on many Web 2.0 tools, when you have a completed project to "share," you'll see a "Share to Google Classroom" icon. If you click the button, you can add your Zaption or EDpuzzle creation directly to your Google Classroom. Here's Zaption's quick video on Sharing to Classroom:

Sort Students for Grading:

When it is time to grade an assignment, you can now sort assignments based on whether or not they have been completed, or based on student first or last name. One cautionary tale is, and we learned this from Hapara sometime last year, some of our students names appear to be reversed (I think that has to do with the way we set up accounts in Google Apps, but I'm not sure. This is also a very sporadic problem.)

Google Calendar Integration:

The biggest complaint I had with Google Classroom when it was first introduced was that it didn't automatically add things to a Google Calendar for students. FINALLY, that problem has been solved. There is a calendar for every class you create in Calendar, and assignments automatically get added to the calendar and shared with all of the students. Here's a short video explanation from Google Certified Trainer Jenn Scheffer:

Post Short Answer Questions:

Earlier in the year, it became possible to add Google Form Quizzes to your Classroom Stream. But, what if you just want to ask one question to check for understanding or spur a deeper conversation? Now you can ask short answer questions in Classroom the same way you post assignments or announcements. On the lower right-hand side of your Classroom Stream, you'll see a "+" sign. Click that and select "Create question." You can ask your question live in class, or you can give it a due date and give the students time to think. As with assignments, it is easy to see who has completed the question and who has not. And you can decide whether or not you will allow students to see and respond to other answers posted in the class.

Copy Grades To Google Sheets:

Just recently, in response to teacher requests, Google added a feature that is found in the "gear" for downloading grades.  You are still given the option to download as a CSV file for the purposes of importing into a gradebook.  What's new is that teachers can now copy all assignment and question grades for a class to Google Sheets. The spreadsheet automatically includes average grades for individual students and for the whole class. 

Include a Private Comment When Returning Assignments:

The final update may be not so new for those of you who are using Google Classroom everyday.

You may have noticed that you can now add a private comment when returning student work.

You can send a comment to one or a group of students. It will appear as a private comment as opposed to sending a message to the whole class.  This helps personalize and individualize feedback right when you are hitting that return button.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Have you tried Google Classroom yet? If not, why not?