Reflection

I have been wanting to set up a classroom as another way to engage with my students and I'm excited to learn more about it! 

I plan on using the tricks found in this video to more efficiently use Google Classroom. I will use the color codes and emojis to help students navigate the page.   This semester I am going to take advantage of google for assessments by integrating quizzes directly into the classroom. The big thing I learned is how to reuse posts which will save an immense amount of time in preparation for posted work. 

I have used Google Classroom for years, but this was a good reminder of the usefulness and limitations of this particular LMS. I use Classroom to varying degrees depending on the class, with the most use coming with my American Cultural & Media Studies class, which uses the platform as both a place to submit assignments and a place for students to access one another's work and comment on it. I plan to continue to lead my students by example in using tech responsibly and as a tool for building learning communities.

This gave me a great review of the basics when setting up a new Google Classroom. It had me get a start on this years classrooms too. I learned some things about customizing colors that will make it easier when teaching so many sections.

This was a great refresher course for me. I have used Google Classroom for the past several years, but I didn't know how to make a customized header. I plan to continue using Google Classroom as a way for my students to comment on what they are reading and work on projects that I link to it. I have found that using Google Classroom for these two things helps to keep my students engaged in our daily or weekly reading. 

This was a refresher for me. Google Classroom is very helpful for me when I am wanting to communicate with my chorus or musical kids who are in multiple class sections. I was able to refresh my skills for uploading recordings and videos for the kids to practice with.

Having set up a classroom before, this was a great refresher. A new skill I learned was to create an image in Canva and use is as the class heading picture. I just had to play around with a few sizes but it worked! 

Learning how to create and manage Google Classrooms online will impact my teaching in several ways. First, it gives me the confidence to create professional development courses for the staff in OP. Second, it motivates me to create Google Classrooms for my students, which is an excellent way to get organized and share activities/resources throughout the year. Lastly, it's an effective way to better communicate and share updates with families. 

Google Classroom gives me a way to easily distribute electronic materials, share web links and direct student learning. It is also a great way for me to have students submit their work. I love that I can make last-minute changes and not have to worry about running to the copier to make more copies!

Creating a Google Classroom for my students will allow me to communicate information with them even when I do not have them present in my room. It is an efficient way to make sure all students are receiving the same information even if they are in different sections. I can control what they can comment and post on, but also make it simple for them to join and gather the information needed to complete classwork and be aware of important announcements. This aligns with my goals of making sure students are taking responsibility for their learning. 

This was a great refresher for me. I have usually been a coteacher of a GC. I did set up a GC for some of my RR classes, but never used GC to its full capabilities. I see how some teachers and my daughter's teachers use GC and I would love to use it efficiently.