Google Classroom Changes Coming for Fall

Google Classroom Changes Coming for Fall

Google is rolling out some fantastic changes to Google Classroom with the expectation that they will be up and running for fall 2021.  Keep providing your suggestions to Google via the question mark icon in the bottom left corner of Google Classrom; we have more proof that the Engineers at Google are listening to us!

 

Google Classroom Student Data - fall 2021

Student Data

Perhaps the most exciting of the new features is the improvement to the student metrics. In the updated Google Classroom, teachers will be able to see when a student was last active in Google Classroom, what and when their last submitted assignment was, as well as the most recent comment (which are often questions from students) from students.

This feature is a class-by-class feature that will provide teachers with some excellent data for both in-person learning as well as online!

Improved Photo Tools in the Google Classroom app

Thanks, in large part, to feedback from teachers around the world using Google Classroom, they are adding camera access inside the Google Classroom app. So, students who operate their Google Classroom through their phone will be better equipped to photograph (it will be built more as a scanning type app that utilizes the phone’s camera) completed work and easily submit it to the teacher for grading.  At first, this will only be on Android devices, but will come to Apple devices once the Android app is running smoothly with this new feature.

Offline Mode

Many of our rural students who live in areas with limited wifi access already use offline mode with their Google Drive. Now this feature is going to include Google Classroom. Students will be able to access classroom while at school, and then when they get home, their device will have retained the data to allow them to have access to this important data while at home, or away from wifi.

Originality Reports

Teachers and students will both have access to enhanced originality reports. Students can run a report prior to submitting a written assignment so as to have clarity as to the success of their personal writing.  

Rubrics

The creation of rubrics in Google Classroom has also improved – teachers can now export their rubric to sheets, or import a rubric from sheets.

Full Webinar

Below is the full 30-minute webinar that Google offered this morning to bring us all up-to-date with respect to the changes to Google Classroom!

Bitmoji Math Manipulatives Classroom

Bitmoji Math Manipulatives Classroom

Here is a one-slide example of a Bitmoji classroom with links. This particular slide contains 17 links to various math manipulatives. 16 of the manipulatives are on the shelving unit of this classroom and are represented by their icons from the sites they link to. Additionally, the clock on the wall contains a link to an interactive time-telling site.

Just swap my bitmoji out for yours, and you’re ready to go!

Bitmoji Classrooms

Bitmoji Classrooms

The past [almost] 12 months with the Covid quarantine have created some challenges for educators, but they have also spurred some massive creativity amongst teachers. One of the emerging trends for instruction has been the creation of Bitmoji Classrooms. 

In a nutshell, a Bitmoji classroom is a Google Slide, decorated to look like a classroom (some teachers have even made their slide look like their REAL classroom), with interactivity built in.  If you teach in div 1 especially, a Bitmoji classroom can be an effective way to guide students through some of the daily events by using the visual nature. (For example your class calendar  – embed a calendar right onto the slide with this important information contained in it!)

The slide deck to the right contains 20 classroom images that you may take and use to create your own Bitmoji Classroom. Additionally, there are almost 350 extra furnishings and extra accessories contained in the slides at the end of the classrooms to help you get started in decorating your own Bitmoji Classroom.

Beyond the images contained within this slide deck, you may wish to use the Google Search that is built right into slides to find other images to bring into your little virtual classroom. When you use the image search inside of slides, everything that comes up is marked for reuse, meaning you need not worry about copyright! The images have already been filtered for you! The video below may act as a guide if you are uncertain where to start!

Combatting Online Learning Fatigue

Combatting Online Learning Fatigue

Keeping students engaged in online learning can be challenging. The Google Meet Fatigue is real, and teachers experience it too. Online fatigue is real. Distracted students are real. Teacher frustration is real. So what do we do?!?!

Thankfully there are a few ideas and techniques teachers can bring to bear to try to spice it up and keep both ourselves and our students engaged.

The infographic presented here was built from a variety of resources, including the book Engaging Learners Through Zoom.

Click the image below to access the .pdf of ideas!!

Putting Work Online

Putting Work Online

There’s an old saying: “There is more than one way to skin a cat”.  This is true of putting work online for students.  We are going to look at pen-and-paper type work in this post.

First, there is the .pdf way. A worksheet can be scanned on your school’s copier to .pdf and loaded to Google Drive. Staff and students have access to Kami for annotating on .pdf files. If you choose “Create Kami Assignment” on your classwork tab in Google Classroom, that should force the assignment to open in Kami for all students. If you’re not familiar with Kami, I did a 15 minute crash course blog entry recently.

A screenshot set as the background in a Google Slide is another way to make a paper-and-pen assignment accessible for students to respond to. (Taking a screenshot on a chromebook is easy) and once you’ve got that screenshot, you can set it as a background image and students can apply textboxes over it as needed.