The Complete Guide to Google Classroom

The Complete Guide to
Google Classroom

By Ben Sondgeroth

In partnership with

A Note from Ben

Thank you very much for taking the time to read through this book on Google Classroom. I would love to hear any feedback on the book or regarding any work I can do with you moving forward. I have a passion for helping teachers discover effective ways to leverage technology in the service of learning. I hope this book helps you in your journey. If I can ever be of assistance by working with you or your school, please do not hesitate to reach out!

This book was written in partnership with EdTechTeacher during my time working for them. If you are looking for quality professional development on all things educational technology please contact them!

Keep Exploring,

Ben Sondgeroth
bsondgeroth@ltcillinois.org

Table of Contents

01 - What is Google Classroom?
02 - Editing Your Class Settings
03 - Adding Students to your Classroom
04 - Creating a Workflow with Google Classroom
05 - Sharing to the Stream
06 - Using Google Calendar with Google Classroom
07 - Leveraging the To Do Area
08 - Organizing Classwork with Topics
09 - Google Classroom on Mobile Devices
10 - Moving Forward
11 - About Ben Sondgeroth

01
What is Google Classroom?

Defining Google Classroom

At the beginning of the 2014 school year, Google released Google Classroom, an innovative online platform that allows teachers to manage the creation, distribution, and grading of assignments from one centralized, web-based location. Since its launch, Google Classroom has seen widespread adoption in schools across the country, with thousands of teachers and students signing on to use it every day. Even with this explosive growth, however, only a fraction of teachers who could be using classroom are taking advantage of this valuable tool.

Google Classroom manages to occupy a sweet spot between Learning Management System and Content Management System. Most Learning Management Systems have lots of great features, including many of the features offered by Google Classroom, but the scope of their feature-sets can make them difficult to use, and too complex for teachers who are less comfortable with technology. Content Management Systems, on the other hand, are primarily made to dispense information to students, and so they lack many of the features that teachers need, such as online assignments and gradebooks.

The great thing about Google Classroom is that it combines the best of both of these systems, making it more of a “Workflow Management System.” By providing a simple, user-friendly platform for sharing content, creating assignments, and grading, Google Classroom can be a great first step for teachers who are looking to get started in a digital teaching environment.

How does Google Classroom actually work?

When you dive into the world of Google Classroom, the immediate inner workings and language of Google Classroom may be difficult to decipher. To that end, let's dive into how Google Classroom works!

Posting and Sharing

Google Classroom acts as a central location to store and share online resources for classes. Teachers are able to post links to important class websites, share YouTube videos, and post files for students - all in one easy-to-access online space. This is a very efficient way to distribute class materials to students, and it's one of Google Classroom’s most beneficial features. Items can be shared in both the About section and the Stream. We'll explore both these areas in greater depth later.

Integrating with Google Drive

Google Classroom provides an organized Google Drive folder structure, automatically creating file naming conventions that are standard for every student. Essentially, Google Classroom does all the back-end work for the digital classroom and allows teachers and students to readily access digital artifacts with limited searching.

What can you do with Google Classroom?

Google Classroom Supports Limited Paper Use in Your Classroom

Google Classroom supports teachers migrating to a digital environment by creating an organized environment through which they can create and share Google Drive files with their students. With its ability to make copies of Google Drive files for each student, Google Classroom can help teachers reduce the amount of paper documents that are created and submitted.

Creating a Paperless Classroom, with Google Classroom

A tangible way that Google Classroom makes teachers’ jobs easier is in the way that it handles documents. Traditionally, if teachers want to create an assignment for students, they have to create it in a word processor, print it out, make photocopies, hand it out to their students. Subsequently, they have to hope that no one loses it (which, of course, someone always does), and then collect it when the students complete it.

With Google Classroom, this process is immeasurably easier. Teachers can create the assignment in Google Docs, share it with their class, giving each student their own unique, editable copy. It even comes complete with a big blue turn-in button at the top. There’s no printing, no photocopying, no lost work, and teachers can even receive notifications on their own devices as students submit their work.

Getting Started
with
Google Classroom