Reflection

The Classwork tab in Google Classroom is my go-to for staying organized. I use the "Topics" feature to create a section for each unit and then am able to post all of my unit materials and assignments in order by date. I love that I can use one class section to create and upload and then select all other sections to include the same information. I helps both me and my students to stay organized and provides remote classroom transparency in terms of daily lessons and assignments. My only complaint with the Classwork section is that when topics or items are moved there is not a way to move all sections simultaneously. For example, I sort topics and posted materials/assignments by chronologically, from newest to oldest. If I add a new topic/unit it will transfer to other class sections but the assignments/materials have to be moved/reordered by section rather than all at once. 

Using Google Classroom will help me stay organized with assignments I post and also my students. By organizing each assignment into sections, students will be able to find their assignments easily. The more I know about Google Classroom the more I can use this technology piece with my students.

I first started working with Google Classroom during COVID.  I was very overwhelmed, but I could see that Classroom had the potential to be a very powerful tool.  The technology department did an excellent job of supporting us, but GC seemed like a lot!  Every time I take a course on GC, I learn something new.  I added emojis to the topics on my GC Classwork page.  GC allows me to easily assign, monitor, and grade work.  I laughed when I learned that a teacher could have 100 topics on their Classwork page.  Attaching various kinds of assignments is seamless.  Grading and managing assignments is easy with GC, but I think it is important to continue to interact with students and their work on a one-on-one basis. I like to print out writing assignments and review their work with the students.  Obviously this is more powerful.  Fifth graders need to be taught how to edit, etc. and that is best done in real time with a teacher. 

Using topics in Google Classroom helps me keep my assignments and materials grouped together by unit. The use of topics also allows students to know where to locate work on the Google Classroom. I have a quarter long class so between the topics feature and the ability to copy a classroom, Google makes it very easy for me to keep my materials organized.

Using google classroom in this organized way really helps my students understand what is expected of them each day. I liked the helpful tip of adding an emoji to my topics. My topics are unit names and the emoji helps show students what that unit will be about. The emojis also help in the assignment posts. This is because if the assignment is homework- I add a pencil emoji to indicate this to my students. Lastly, re-using assignments is very helpful when posting assignments into google classroom.

Using topics in Google Classroom has been incredible to help students easily navigate classwork as well as compartmentalizing grading.  Managing and organizing assignments is now so easy in Google Classroom.  Reusing posts have been helpful for when one classroom is at a different pace than others.  Also, I have been working on a question of the day being integrated into Classroom.  I think using the quiz feature will work great.

I post homework nightly on Google Classroom - typically a Google Doc where each student gets their own copy. I have recently learned to create a Kami assignment for when students should use Kami on a PDF, as this links their work more easily. I also regularly post my teacher slides, any reminders, and links to quizzes as "Materials" in the Classroom for students to access. I'd like to try posting questions for students to interact with in the future. I have reused posts before, if I forget to post assignments to multiple classes upon post creation.

I have not used the "Reuse Assignment" enough. I have a student this year who needs to type all of their assignments. Therefore, I am uploading assignments to Google Classroom way more often than I have in the past. These assignments include warm up activities. Therefore, I am uploading their warm up document every two weeks. The Reuse Assignment option will be a great time saver. The "View your Work" is also a helpful feature to help students quickly recall any assignments they haven't turned in yet.