Classrooms are getting more and more digital as the new generations of students are increasingly more comfortable using technology and society is growing more dependent on gadgets. In today’s classrooms, class activities are often performed on some form of digital platform utilizing online software.
One tool which is placed firmly at the forefront of the digital pedagogical world is the free Google Classroom. Google Classroom is a great way for teachers and students to interact online with one another in an environment conceived for teaching and learning.
Although Google Classroom is a highly advanced software that promotes remote learning, if you really want your students to get the most out of their Google Classroom resources, you should integrate other management tools into their digital toolbox. Certain school planners are compatible with Google Classroom to ensure that your students reach their full academic potential.
What is Google Classroom?
Google Classroom is an online system that facilitates communication in and out of school, simplifies the distribution of homework, and makes it possible for teachers and students to share files on a secured domain.
Google Classroom offers multiple tools on its platform that encourage the sharing of information and learning resources amongst students and teachers. Students can utilize the features of Google Classroom to seek peer support from their schoolmates, or help from their teachers. Moreover, through Google Classroom, teachers can set and distribute homework that students can complete and submit online. Teachers are then able to mark and return the work to their respective students.
Help students manage tasks and projects in Google Classroom
What is the main purpose of Google Classroom?
The main purpose of Google Classroom is to improve student learning experiences. Not every student learns in the same way, and whilst some thrive in a classroom setting, others rely on the additional support that Google Classroom provides to get the most out of their academic career.
Google Classroom resources make it easy for students to engage and interact since it was designed to be a collaboration tool. Working with Google Classroom also makes life easier for teachers who can easily keep track of their students and their individual progress.
There are no Google Classroom alternatives that offer you the same level of support and resources for free. Google Classroom is a great way to encourage student success and autonomy. However, there are some areas in which the platform is lacking.
This is why Studyo created Today. Today is a learning platform that helps students manage tasks and projects from multiple sources, including Google Classroom, prompting them to initiate work, plan their next steps and pace themselves to reach their goals. This application can also be used by parents to add the chores their children must accomplish around the house!
Allowing students to seamlessly integrate Google Classroom with their online planner allows them to easily arrange and visualize all the work they have to do. This helps ensure that students do not fall behind on their homework and extracurriculars, while simultaneously becoming more self-aware and disciplined.
Why are planners helpful for students?
What are the best Google Classroom tools?
The best Google Classroom tools are:
- Announcement tool
- Collaboration tool
- Practical short-cuts
- Use comments
- Today
1. Announcement Tool
This is a tool for Google Classroom teachers that can improve how streamlined their content is for their students. Instead of having to create a new assignment every single time you want to share a useful resource, link, or piece of information, you can simply create an announcement instead. Your students will get a notification that you have added something to the classroom stream so they will be able to instantly see it and access it.
2. Collaboration tool
Being able to collaborate to accomplish a task is an important aspect of life that is first introduced in school for most students. Teachers can employ the collaboration tool featured on Google Classroom to easily divide up their classrooms into teams.
3. Practical short-cuts
Practical short-cuts may not be tools, but they are extremely useful to get familiarized with to swiftly control your Google Classroom activities or when navigating on the platform. When you click on the assignment title or the number of homework turned in while on the To-do page you will sadly stop seeing all the other important information on the To-do page. Hold on to the Control key (ctrl) or Command key when you click on assignments.
Rather than losing the To-do page to go on the assignment one, you will open the latter on a new tab. This will save teachers time as they won't have to reload the page every single time they consult features on the To-do page.
Additionally, note that:
- Alt-I = Invite
- Alt-M = Mute
- Alt-Shift-S = Share screen
4. Use Comments
The comments section on Google Classroom is one of the best ways to foster continuous improvement for students. Comments make it possible for students and parents to view instant feedback from teachers, establishing a stronger dynamism between home and school.
Teachers can add comments on specific assignments or send private comments to specific students if they think this will be more beneficial. When teachers grade assignments, parents and students can see the reasoning behind the grade. Moreover, if teachers find themselves saying the same thing to multiple students, they can save comments in their comments bank for later use, making life easier for them.
5. Today
Google Classroom makes it easier to assign multiple assignments and keep track of their submission for teachers. However, students often feel overwhelmed by the mountain of digital homework they see pilling up on their screen. This is why Studyo created a learning platform that can easily be integrated to Google Classroom. This complimentary app allows students to control their time and have an upper hand on deadlines.
Today’s system is designed to make life easier for students as it provides them the opportunity to break down their work on their student calendar into more manageable chunks. This approach has proven to be fantastic as it makes students more engaged in their learning since they quickly learn that good time management leads to more free time.
Although Google Classroom is a brilliant tool, complementary features, and tools such as Today should be amended to the student learning experiences of every school. Embracing technology in school early on will benefit students in today’s digital world.