Things I Would Change About Google Classroom

The end of the 2019-2020 school year came at us all like a wrecking ball.  Teachers, students, and parents were forced to learn through a computer or device instead of in-person.  For many of us, that means using Google Classroom.  Even though we were thrust into this medium, teachers worked tirelessly to engage their students from afar, and children and parents worked tirelessly to complete assignments and keep the learning going.

Now that we are continuing online learning this fall, I have some beef with Google Classroom.  Don't get wrong; it's an amazing online tool that I already used in my classroom once in a while.  It has many useful features, but after using it as my ONLY classroom, I have some suggestions for Google to make it function better for teachers and students.

1. The "newsfeed" format just doesn't work for a classroom.  I wish the classroom page had buttons to pages for students, not a feed in which posts and announcements get lost.  I wish teachers had a space at the top of the page that functioned like our bulletin or whiteboards in our actual classrooms.  We need to post learning targets and announcements.  Having a space at the top of the content in Google Classroom for the learning target and reminders would be so helpful.  Below that, have buttons for pages like "Classwork" and "Discussion Forum".  Move the feed from the front page to a separate page that the teacher can add discussion topics to and students can respond to those topics.  The feed just doesn't work!

2. Student Groups.  I teach middle school and have anywhere from 70-90 students enrolled in the same course over different periods.  Since they all learn the same thing, I put them all in the same Google Classroom.  However, we are required to accommodate and modify for different learning styles and needs.  Right now, you can click on individual students to send assignments to.  I can send modified assignments to the 15 students who need it, but then I have to go through and click the other 65 kids who DON'T need that modified assignment.  Talk about a time-waster!  If I could create subgroups within each class, I could have a group of gen ed students, sped students, and 504 students.  Subgroups would save me so much time, and my students would get the correct assignment for their learning style.

3. No more blank work!  I wish Google had a feature that could prevent students from submitting blank work.  I had several students who would just click "Turn in" or "Mark as done" without doing any work.  So, on their side of things, they could show their parents that all of their work was turned in!  Time to play video games!  If Google could create a feature to prevent that, it would save teachers time and keep kids accountable, as well. 

As we embark on a digital school year, I am so thankful that we are in the information age and there are so many tools out there for teachers and students to engage in meaningful learning.  Google supplies A LOT of those tools, including Google Classroom. With just a few changes, Classroom can be the best tool for teachers and students during remote teaching!

Cheers,

Kasey

Middle School Theatre Arts: Grading Made Easy!

I realize that my last post about Theatrefolk podcasts seems a bit rushed.  It was very rushed; I tried to blog on my conference.  HA!  I tried to be productive on my conference; imagine that.  I've decided if I'm going to write a coherent and helpful post I should wait until I'm not at school.  Also, we've started our musical (Legally Blonde, Jr.!) so I'm hoping my posts won't disappear.  No promises.

I had an interactive notebook quiz last week with all seven of my classes.  In the past, they were quizzed over their warm ups and it was a disaster.  I would ask what the entry was for four different dates and they would be writing the entire period and many failed because, let's face it, middle school students do not do warm ups.  My school loves them, and I do, too, because they help to focus the kids and give them a task to do before and after the tardy bell so I can deal with issues before we start each class.  Anyway... I don't want my kids to fail and putting so much weight on a warm up was not efficient.  Instead, I am quizzing them on their interactive notebook.  It's an open-notes quiz, and multiple choice.  Instead of writing the entire period, they fill in a bubble on an answer document.  Instead of spending too much time grading, I hold the answer document up to the camera on my laptop and it grades it for me!  How, you ask?

GradeCam.

This little website is amazing!  First you must create an account.  I always use my school information when creating an account, that way I will always know it.

When you log in, your dashboard looks like this:

You must add all of your students.  This seems daunting, but many gradebooks have an export feature.  My district uses GradeSpeed and this link is on the left.  You must click this link for each period and section you teach.  It will automatically go to your Downloads folder.

In GradeCam, click on Classes and add a new one.  Import your students through the file you created and hit next until they are all there.  Do this for every class.  It seems tedious, but it's worth it.

Once all of your classes are made, create an assignment.  Make sure you create a key that is accurate!

To print forms for students, click on Forms.  There are different options for the choices and such.  I printed four copies, then cut and taped them to one paper and made several copies from there and use a paper cutter to cut them.  Saves paper.

When students take the quiz or assignment, they must bubble in their GradeCam ID, which is the same as the last four digits of their ID that was imported with your roster.  TIP: have them also write their name on the top.  We know them by name, not numbers.  So much easier when handing back.

Students can use pencil or pen.  When you're ready to grade, click on the assignment and correct class period, and hold the answer document up to the camera until it makes a little noise. Viola!  Graded!  When I enter them into my district gradebook, I make each browser small and put them next to each other and just enter the grades.  BAM!  They are done in a few minutes!  I cannot express how much time and paper and stress this little tool has saved me and it's only been one quiz!

For absent students, I place the class set of the questions with extra answer documents in a labeled folder in the dish rack I have next to the bookshelf.  When a student presents me with an excused slip and asks what they missed, I can easily give them the documents and they can take the quiz in the hall.  I can grade it in seconds and the grade is saved online to enter in later.

This can be used for quizzes, tests, take home assignments, etc.

We all need more time, and GradeCam gives us a bit more in our busy educator lives.

Cheers!