Are you a teacher? Then you have probably heard of Google Classroom, a free web service by Google to promote paperless learning in schools. Used properly, it can take off a lot of stress that comes with teaching and having to deal with students and their needs.
Follow the easy, detailed steps in this tutorial to familiarize yourself with Google Classroom. With over 40 million students and educators worldwide, it might be your turn to learn this platform.
Accessing Google Classroom
Although you can visit Google Classroom directly, if you’re using it for the first time, it is better to access it from your Gmail. Go to the Google “app symbol” on the top-right corner of your screen and click “more.”
You can see the Classroom icon easily in the Gmail window itself.
You should now be able to see the welcome page. Click “continue.”
For the first step, click the plus sign, and you can create or join your first class. Select “create class” as a teacher. We will later discuss how to join a class as a student.
You will see a disclaimer form that you must consent to, agreeing that your school/university will sign up for a free G Suite for Education account.
Give your class a name and provide a section and subject details.
Soon, you will see the homepage of your classroom. It requires a few finishing touches before you can start inviting students. You can either select a theme or upload a relevant photo to make your classroom more prominent.
If you’re uploading a picture from your computer, it should be at least 800 x 200 pixels. Crop and fit the image so that it can fill up the banner.
Creating Your Class
Your class should have an agenda. Click “share with your class” and add one or two lines about your class.
Google Classroom combines Google Drive, Google Docs, YouTube, Gmail and Google Calendar in one place. As your students are likely to be familiar with these tools, it makes Google Classroom very convenient for teachers. You can see the icons for file upload, Google Drive, YouTube and direct links right below the class description.
You can also search for relevant YouTube videos on the topic.
On the top-middle of the page, you can see “Classwork,” which is really the most useful section of Google Classroom. Here, you can create assignments, quizzes, ask questions, post materials or reuse previous posts.
To add an assignment, you will have to provide a description with additional instructions. You can optionally set up points or grades, schedule a due date and add files.
You can add relevant material such as PDF files, word documents (converted to Google Docs) or scanned images to ensure complete coverage of learning activities.
On the left corner, you can see an icon for “to do” items. This is the place for you to review student assignment submissions.
Go to “Settings” in the above screen, where you can set up notifications for the class. You can enable or disable them anytime to reflect your class requirements.
Look to the top-right to find another settings icon. This one is for classroom activities only. You might want to disable the option that allow students to post or comment, depending on their behavior.
After everything is done, you can post your class online. Alternatively, you can schedule the post for later.
Your class is now ready to share, and you have to invite students to come over and join the class.
Adding Students to Your Class
To add students to your class, go to “people” at the top-right corner.
You can add your students directly if they ever sent you an email to your Gmail account.
The students can join using a unique class code that you will need to send them. To join a class, they will require a G Suite account as shown below.
Setting Up G Suite Accounts
Schools and colleges have access to G Suite for Education, which is available for free. A simple form needs to be filled out by the administrator, and students will have individual accounts for Google Classroom.
If you are teaching at a non-profit institution, G Suite is available for them in select countries.
If you are a business user, you will have to set up G Suite Basic for learning on Google Classroom. The basic plan starts at $6/month.
As an instructor, you will need a domain and business details to set up Google Classroom for professionals.
Google Classroom greatly complements your blackboard teaching skills: you can assign homework, check tutorials, create quizzes and grade your students. Isn’t it all wonderful?
Have you been working with Google Classroom? Did you find the above steps useful? Share your experiences in the comments below.