Remove Students from Google Classroom at Year’s End

Remove Students from Google Classroom at Year’s End

Google Classroom is a fantastic tool, with diverse uses for teachers from K-12. It is, however, so important that at the end of each school year we REMOVE STUDENTS FROM CLASSES THAT HAVE ENDED. When we don’t remove students, our classes remain on their screen into the new school year, and they no longer have the power to unenroll themselves from classes.

Further, it is an important privacy practice to remove students from educational apps at the end of each school year. Whether we have enrolled them in a typing program, a video creation app, or a communications app, it is so important to not leave their personal information unattended in apps they are no longer actively using.

If you haven’t removed past students from educational apps you’ve used, please make that a top priority to take care of!

10 Tips for Online Instruction

10 Tips for Online Instruction

Teaching in a distributed learning environment (formerly called a blended learning environment), has its own pedagogical rules. While many scenarios translate easily from classroom teaching to online teaching, there are some aspects of instruction and learning that are different.

In conversation with teachers, administrators, parents and students, coupled with the educational research on distributed learning environments, we have compiled these ten tips for teachers to improve everyone’s experience when using Google Classroom.

The CESD Resource site (Teachers Share) is a brand new endeavour (#10 in the above image). To ease the burden of distributed teaching, we ask that teachers share assignments they have created (share to Michelle Baragar), and take what you can need from this site. The more we share, the lighter the load for everyone!

Google Classroom Hack You Need

Google Classroom Hack You Need

I discovered this little trick by accident. But it made a HUGE difference to me as a teacher.

For the past 18 years, I have taught Technology in a junior high. I had my students twice per week for 40 minutes. That meant that my total number of students to issue grades for by November was in the range of 360. To boil that down – I had a HEAP of missing assignments to try to track down. It was HARD. Of the 360 students I was teaching, generally about 220 of them were grade sevens, new to our school, and unfamiliar to our teaching staff. So, I didn’t even really know which students to even keep an eye on. Here’s what I discovered.

I would start a blank document in my own Google Drive and I’d put the assignment name on it. It didn’t matter if it was a doc, a sheet or a slides assignment. I’d start a blank one with the assignment name on it, and then I’d close it down. Weird right?

Then I’d type up my assignment instructions in Google Classroom. I’d attach that blank document to the assignment and then I’d change the drop down menu to say “Make a copy for each student”. (It’s still a blank document!)

What that did, was it gave me a thumbnail view in the “Unsubmitted” view. Students who were taking the assignment and running with it would have typing appear on their thumbnails. Students who were not making progress continued to have shiny white (blank) thumbnails. I knew at a glance which of my students were needing me to intervene. It saved me SO MUCH WORK AND SO MUCH STRESS! This little discovery was a game-changer for me.