Michael Zhang - Safari, An O'Reilly Media Company. - Teaching With Google Classroom (2021)

Teaching with
Google Classroom
Second Edition
Save time and stay organized while delivering online

and in-person classes
Michael Zhang
BIRMINGHAM—MUMBAI
Teaching with Google Classroom
Second Edition
Copyright © 2021 Packt Publishing
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To my loving wife, who continues to support me each and every day.
To my rambunctious daughter, who was the main source of distraction
while writing and is the greatest joy in my life. To the editors, project
managers, and team members of Packt Publishing, who kept me on track.
To Jason Renner, who helped test all the Apple devices and is always willing
to discuss ideas. To all my teaching colleagues who shared their thoughts.
Thank you all.
– Michael Zhang
Contributors
About the author
Michael Zhang is a Google for Education Certified Trainer. He has an education and
science degree from the University of Alberta and works within the Edmonton Public
Schools division in Canada. He applies Google's Workspace for Education daily within
his classroom. Michael has spoken at several teaching conventions and facilitates
technology training in Google Apps, Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Cloud, Windows
and Apple products, and other software. His experience helps him to communicate about
technology in a comprehensible manner to his audience. He believes that technology
should save time and improve productivity and hopes that this book does just that for
its readers.
About the reviewer
Benita Moyers is a kindergarten teacher in Alabama. She serves on the board of directors
for the Alabama Education Association. As a board member, she volunteers throughout
the state to provide in-person and virtual educational technology training workshops.
In 2019, she became a Certified Google Trainer. Since the pandemic began in 2020, she
has used that training to help educators, parents, and students learn how to use Google
Classroom and other Google Workspace for Education tools to navigate the new virtual
learning environment. Due to her experience with Google, she was asked to serve her
school community as the virtual kindergarten teacher for the 2020–2021 school year.
During this time, she also worked with the National Education Association to write
a blended learning module for social and emotional learning, which she facilitates
on their learning management system. She has assisted fellow writers by providing
mini-coaching sessions for Google Workspace tools.
Table of Contents
Preface
Section 1:
Getting Started
1
Getting to Know Google Classroom
Creating your first Google Class 4 Adding files and resources to your
Classroom 17
Navigating around Google
Classroom 8 Reordering materials in your Classroom 24
Storing files in your Classroom 25
Personalizing your virtual
Classroom 10 Inviting additional teachers 26
Changing the Classroom's theme 10 Accessing Classes from Google
Uploading a banner image 13 Classroom's home page 28
Managing resources in your Class16 Summary 30
2
Inviting Students to Their Virtual Classroom
Setting up Google Classroom on Allowing students to join using
student's devices 32 the class code 48
Setting up Chrome on computers and Joining a classroom with the class code 48
Chromebooks 33 Inviting students to your Class with an
Installing the Classroom app on tablets invite link 52
and phones 44 Making changes to the class code and
invite link 53
Managing students in your Class 54 Emailing students in your classroom 59
Manually inviting students to your Class 54
Summary 60
Removing students from your classroom58
Section 2:
The Basics
3
Sending Your First Announcement
Creating an announcement 64 Disabling all email notifications 79
Scheduling a time to publish an Disabling email notifications for
announcement 67 certain classes 80
Advanced features in announcements 68 Customizing email notifications 81
Making changes to an Commenting on announcements82

announcement in the Stream 75 Replying to comments 84
Reusing a previously created Managing comments 84
announcement 76 Disabling comments in the Stream 88
Managing announcement email Summary 89

notifications 78
4
Starting an Online Discussion with Questions
Creating a question 92 Creating multiple-choice
Additional features in a question post questions 103
not found in an announcement post 93 Grading a question 106
Leaving a question ungraded 110
Creating short-answer questions95
Viewing a returned grade 110
Student view 97
Summary 112
Replying to student responses 101
5
Handing Out and Taking In Assignments
Creating an Assignment post 114 Adding additional files to assignments 136
Sharing files in assignments 118 Unsubmitting and resubmitting
assignments 141
Viewing student files 120
Turning in assignments late 142
Viewing student files in Google
Classroom 120 File ownership for assignments 142
Viewing student files in Google Drive 129 Summary 143
Turning in assignments 134
Section 3:
Diving Deeper
6
Grading Written Assignments in a Flash
Assigning a grade using the Using a rubric to grade
Grading Tool 148 assignments 170
Providing feedback with private Creating a rubric in the Grading Tool 170
messages and comments 152 Grading an assignment using a rubric 177
Adding comments to student files 153 Reusing a rubric from another
Using the Comment bank 156 Assignment post 180
Replying to and resolving comments 159 Creating a rubric using Google Sheets 182
Managing comments in Google Docs 161
Using a tablet to provide
Suggesting changes to a student file 164 written feedback 185
Monitoring student progress with
Version history 165
Viewing all student grades 190
Avoiding plagiarism with Originality Summary 192
reports 167
7
Creating Multiple Choice and Fill-in-the-blank Quizzes using
Google Forms
Creating a Google Form 195 Grading Google Forms quizzes 212
Adding questions to a Google Form 197 Manually releasing grades to students 216
Changing the theme of a Google Form 201 Linking a Google Sheets spreadsheet 217
Converting a Google Form into a quiz 203
Tips and tricks when creating
Creating an answer key in Google Forms206
Google Form assignments 220
Assigning a Google Form in Summary 227
Google Classroom 210
8
Keeping Parents in the Loop
Inviting parents to receive Creating a website for Google
guardian emails 230 Calendar 239
Sending emails to guardians manually 234 Sharing the Google Site 245
Sharing Google Calendar Summary 249

with a URL 235
9
Customizing to Your Subject
Weighted categories in Google Adding letters with accents in
Classroom 252 Google Docs 265
Citing references in Google Inserting math and science
Docs 255 equations in Google Docs 268
Using the Citations feature 256 Deleting extensions and
Creating citations with EasyBib 259 add-ons 270
Add-ons in Google Sheets and Slides 264 Summary 272
Section 4:
Going Digital
10
Hosting Classes Online Using Google Meet
Enabling and managing Google Presenting a screen to students 297
Meet in Google Classroom 276 Writing on a Jamboard 304
Changing the Meet link 278 Enhanced engagement features 306
Getting started with Google Considerations when recording

Meet 279 meetings 317
Google Meet audio and video settings 279 How does this recording reflect on me? 318
Google Meet conference controls 286 What are your school division's policies?318
Does the recording have to be live? 319
Engaging students within
Google Meet 292 Summary 319
11
Strategies for a Successful Online Class
Plug into the internet 322 Consistency 333
Looking your best in Google Structuring resources in the online class334
Meet 323 Where can students find support? 336
How you sound is more important Assessment 337
than how you look 324
Summary 340
Lights! Camera! Action! 325
Why subscribe? 341
Pedagogy in an online class 331
Other Books You May Enjoy

Index
Preface
Google Classroom is designed to help you create online courses and deliver classes in
an interactive manner. Using Google Classroom saves you time spent organizing and
communicating information to students and parents. This updated second edition of
Teaching with Google Classroom covers the modern features of Google Classroom that
meet the current needs of online teaching.
This book is written from a high-school teaching perspective but is applicable to
teachers and educators of all age groups. If you're new to Google Classroom or you're an
experienced user who wants to explore more advanced methods with Google Classroom,
this book is for you.
With hands-on tutorials, projects, and self-assessment questions, you'll learn how to create
classes, add students to those classes, send announcements, and assign classwork. The
book also demonstrates how to start an online discussion with your students. Later, you'll
discover how you can involve parents by inviting them to receive guardian emails and
sharing Google Calendar with a URL. This will help them to view assignment deadlines
and other important information. The edition has two new chapters, where you will learn
how to use Google's online video conferencing tool, Google Meet, and strategies for
teaching classes online. The book goes step by step through all the features available and
offers examples of how best to use them to manage your classroom.
By the end of this book, you'll be able to do more with Google Classroom, managing your
online or in-person school classes effectively.
Who this book is for

This Google Classroom book is written by an educator, for educators. It's for anyone
who wants to teach effectively with Google Classroom. There are rich examples, clear
instructions, and enlightening explanations to help you put this platform to work.
viii Preface
What this book covers

Chapter 1, Getting to Know Google Classroom, is an introduction to the layout and features
of Google Classroom. It prepares classes for the subsequent chapters. By the end of this
chapter, you will be able to create a class in Google Classroom, change its theme, and add
files.
Chapter 2, Inviting Students to Their Virtual Classroom, introduces students to Google
Classroom. It covers adding students to their classes and connecting their devices to
Google Classroom. By the end of this chapter, you will be able to instruct students in
joining a class, add students directly to a class, and access Google Classroom on desktop
and mobile devices.
Chapter 3, Sending Your First Announcement, is your first foray into interacting with
students within Google Classroom. It explores the class stream and the features of
announcement posts. By the end of this chapter, you will be able to send announcements
to students within Google Classroom.
Chapter 4, Starting an Online Discussion with Questions, explores the simplest assignment
type—questions. It covers asking discussion questions and providing peer and teacher
feedback to student answers. By the end of this chapter, you will be able to assign
a question, provide feedback, and assign grades to students' answers.
Chapter 5, Handing Out and Taking In Assignments, will focus on attaching files to
assignment posts and best practices when it comes to file types and distributing
assignments within Google Classroom. It includes instructions for guiding students
to submit completed assignments and setting a due date. By the end of this chapter,
you will be able to add a file to an assignment, distribute it to students, and show students
how to submit finished work.
Chapter 6, Grading Written Assignments in a Flash, covers the built-in grading features,
such as the grading tool, rubrics, and originality reports. By the end of this chapter, you
will be able to set up and grade written assignments with a rubric.
Chapter 7, Creating Multiple-Choice and Fill-in-the-Blank Quizzes Using Google Forms,
continues from the previous chapter. It focuses on creating multiple-choice and
fill-in-the-blank questions using Google Forms and automatically grading with the
Quiz feature. By the end of this chapter, you will be able to create an assignment in
Google Forms, assign it in Google Classroom, and grade the answers.
Preface ix
Chapter 8, Keeping Parents in the Loop, addresses Google Classroom's inability to grant
access to parents and others who do not have a Google G Suite for Education account.
It explains how Google Classroom's assignments are connected to Google Calendar.
It provides strategies in sharing Google Calendar so that parents can view assignment
deadlines and other important information. By the end of this chapter, you will be able
to share Google Calendar using a URL or a Google site.
Chapter 9, Customizing to Your Subject, provides subject-specific examples of third-party
apps, add-ons, and extensions that diversify the types of online assignments available. The
subjects covered in this chapter include the humanities, second languages, mathematics,
and the sciences. By the end of this chapter, you will be able to add and remove apps and
extensions from the Chrome store and add-ons in Google Docs.
Chapter 10, Hosting Classes Online Using Google Meet, explores teaching in an online
classroom. It covers how students join a meeting, how to present content to students,
and engagement features. By the end of this chapter, you will be able to facilitate online
learning in Google Meet.
Chapter 11, Strategies for a Successful Online Class, discusses concepts and techniques
beyond Google Classroom and Google Meet to improve the quality of online teaching.
It includes audio and video recommendations and lessons learned from teaching online
during the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of this chapter, you will be able to improve
the audio and video quality of your online teaching and will have a deeper understanding
of setup, management, and assessment within a virtual classroom.
To get the most out of this book

To effectively utilize this book, you will need a Google account and should understand
basic navigation through a web browser. While a standard @gmail.com account can use
many of the features found within this book, to have access to all the features, a Google
Workspace for Education account is needed. Furthermore, there are many tiers for this
type of account. Therefore, knowing which tier your school division subscribes to will
help you determine which features are available to you.
x Preface
While not required, familiarity with other Google apps such as Gmail, Google Calendar,
Google Drive, and Google Docs would be helpful. These apps, along with Google
Classroom, are only accessible in a web browser. A reliable connection to the internet is
required to explore any of the apps.
Whether you are using a digital or paper version of the book, we encourage you to
follow along in Google Classroom. Creating a Class to test some of the features will
avoid potential errors when facilitating similar activities with students.
Because Google Classroom has a teacher interface and a student interface, being part of
a professional learning community or exploring this book with a colleague can help you
when experimenting with features. A colleague can enroll in a practice class as a student
so that you and your colleague can see both interfaces.
Download the color images

We also provide a PDF file that has color images of the screenshots/diagrams used
in this book. You can download it here: https://static.packt-cdn.com/
downloads/9781800565920_ColorImages.pdf.
Conventions used
There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book.
Code in text: Indicates code words in text, database table names, folder names,
filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles.
Here is an example: "Mount the downloaded WebStorm-10*.dmg disk image file as
another disk in your system."
Bold: Indicates a new term, an important word, or words that you see onscreen. For
example, words in menus or dialog boxes appear in the text like this. Here is an example:
"Select System info from the Administration panel."
Tips or important notes

Appear like this.
Preface xi
Get in touch
Feedback from our readers is always welcome.
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Section 1:
Getting Started
Here, you will set up your Google Classroom so that you can hit the ground running. In
this section, you will create and personalize classes and add students to them.
We will cover the following chapters in this section:
• Chapter 1, Getting to Know Google Classroom

• Chapter 2, Inviting Students to Their Virtual Classroom
1
Getting to Know
Google Classroom
Google Classroom is a learning management system (often abbreviated to LMS) offered
by Google to teachers. It provides a central location to communicate with students, share
resources, pose questions, and create assignments. In an increasingly digital world, Google
Classroom helps facilitate online learning for today's digital learners. As with many new
applications, Google Classroom comes with a unique look and feel. Since your method
of setting up your physical classroom is as unique as your method of teaching, Google
Classroom begins as a blank canvas. Before we can add students into Google Classroom,
you will need to create online Classes for your physical classes.
First, you will get comfortable with where everything is in Google Classroom. Being the
teacher of the Classroom will provide access to options that are not visible to students and
will allow you to change settings, such as what students can do in Google Classroom. You
will be able to add students to the Classroom, create announcements and assignments,
and upload course materials from this teacher view of the Classroom. But first, you will
need to create and set up your first Class.
4 Getting to Know Google Classroom
In my Classes, I tend to spend most of my time thinking about the structure of the online
Class before creating it. As creatures of habit, establishing online expectations through
Google Classroom, similar to what we do in person, will help us and our students know
where to turn. Examples of some of the questions I ask myself when planning an online
Class include: How do students ask questions? When is it appropriate for them to ask
questions? Where do they find resources? How are they dismissed? By establishing this
structure at the beginning, you will feel less guilty about not responding when a student
contacts you at 7:30 in the evening with a question.
In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:
• Creating your first Google Class

• Navigating around Google Classroom
• Personalizing your virtual Classroom
• Managing resources in your Class
• Inviting additional teachers
• Accessing Classes from Google Classroom's home page
Note
Within this book, Class references a Google Classroom Class and class
references a bricks-and-mortar classroom.
Creating your first Google Class

To begin, open Google Chrome and navigate to https://classroom.google.
com/h.
Choosing the right internet browser

While Google Classroom is accessible in any web browser, the Google Chrome
web browser is built to be compatible with all of Google's other apps. Therefore,
some features may be incompatible or will not function correctly in other web
browsers. Consider discussing with your school IT staff if Google Chrome is
not installed on your computer.
Creating your first Google Class 5
If this is your first time opening Google Classroom using a Google Workspace for
Education account, it will ask you to confirm your email account and then select whether
to assign a teacher or student role to your account. Be sure to correctly select the teacher
role, otherwise your account will be set up as a student account. You will not be able to
create or manage Classes unless your role is a teacher in Google Classroom.
The following screenshot depicts the teacher role being selected:
Figure 1.1 – Selecting your role
Note
If your account is set to a student account, you will need to contact your
IT department so that they can change your Google Classroom role to
a teacher role.
Using a personal @gmail.com account or a Google Workspace for Business account

will not have the Pick your role page. Instead, all users will be able to create Classes in
Google Classroom.
Another method of accessing Google Classroom is to use the app launcher. If the IT
department has enabled this feature, click the waffle-shaped icon at the top-right corner
of another Google app, such as Gmail, to see whether the Classroom icon is available.
This is illustrated in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.2 – Classroom app in App Launcher

Once you select the teacher role, the next page will point you toward a plus symbol + in
the top-right corner to create your first Class, as illustrated in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.3 – Creating your first Class

When you click on the + symbol, a menu will appear for you to select whether to create a
Class or a join a Class. Click on Create class to create your first Class.
Creating your first Google Class 7
Note
As a teacher, you can join another teacher's Class as a student by clicking on
Join class and filling in the Class code. These instructions are covered in detail
in Chapter 2, Inviting Students to Their Virtual Classroom.
A dialog box will appear, for you to name the Class and provide a section number. While
the Class name field is mandatory, the Section number, Subject, and Room fields are
optional. Depending on your school policies, specific Classes may already have section
numbers that you can add here.
In Canada, many middle and high schools use section numbers for the timetable schedule,
which is another option to fill in for this field. Since students will also see the section
number, using the Timetable section number will be more applicable to them. While the
Subject and Room fields can be helpful, these are not visible in Google Classroom by
default.
The following screenshot provides an overview of the Class information:
Figure 1.4 – Information for the Class in Google Classroom

Once these fields are filled in and the Create button is clicked, you will be taken to your
new Class in Google Classroom, as illustrated in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.5 – Class information

Now that the Class is created, in the next section you will explore the different features of
this online Class.
Navigating around Google Classroom

Now that your first Class is set up in Google Classroom, you can see its different parts—
the banner, menu, sidebar, and content area, as illustrated in the following screenshot:
Navigating around Google Classroom 9
Figure 1.6 – Parts of a Google Classroom Class

Let's take a look at each of these parts, as follows:
• The banner displays a banner image, class name, section, Class code, and the
Google Meet link functionality. The banner is the first thing students see when they
enter the Classroom and this allows them to quickly identify which Class they are
accessing in Google Classroom. The students' view is slightly different—the Class
code field and the link to change the theme are missing.
• The menu allows teachers and students to switch between the different sections of
Google Classroom. The menu has the following sub-sections:
The Stream section is where announcements, notifications for new assignments,
discussion questions, and materials from the Classwork section appear. How
to create an announcement within this section is elaborated upon in Chapter 3,
Sending Your First Announcement.
The Classwork section is where resources, questions such as polls, and assignments
are found. Information on organizing and implementing features within this section
can be found in Chapter 4, Starting an Online Discussion with Questions, and
Chapter 5, Handing out and Taking in Assignments.
The People section displays a list of all teachers managing and all students enrolled
in the Class. Teachers can email students from this section and change student-
related settings in Google Classroom. The features of this section are elaborated
upon in Chapter 2, Inviting Students to Their Virtual Classroom.
The Grades section displays the grades for questions and assignments found in
the Classwork section. This page organizes all questions and assignment grades
into a table for easy viewing. The features of this section are found in Chapter 6,
Grading Written Assignments in a Flash.
• The sidebar displays upcoming assignments when in the Stream section and
a Topics list when in the Classwork section.
• The content area displays the current section in the Class.
Now that we are familiar with creating the main features of Google Classroom, it's now
time to setup the Class and start adding content.
Personalizing your virtual Classroom

Similar to how teachers have a couple of days before students arrive at school to prepare
for their classroom, you want to take some time to add information to your online
Classroom before students are invited. These are the tasks you can perform in Google
Classroom:
• Changing the Classroom's theme

• Uploading a banner image
Changing the Classroom's theme

The Classroom banner is the most prominent part of your Class. It creates an atmosphere
for students when they arrive. Google Classroom will automatically apply a theme that
is appropriate to the Class name for common subjects. This is why the theme banner has
laboratory equipment for the Science class created in the previous section.
Personalizing your virtual Classroom 11
The theme also changes the colors of the headings and icons throughout the Classroom.
To change your Classroom's theme, follow these steps:
Click on Select theme at the bottom-right corner of the banner image, as illustrated in the
following screenshot:
Figure 1.7 – Select theme link

1. Select the desired Google Classroom-provided banner image. The colors within the
Classroom will change to match the banner. Click the Select class theme button, as
illustrated in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.8 – Theme Gallery

Here is your Class with the new theme:
Figure 1.9 – Heading colors change to match the theme

Google Classroom also offers several categories to help find the banner appropriate for
your Class. Simply select a tab in the dialog box to view available banners within each
category, as illustrated in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.10 – Categories in the Theme Gallery
Try different themes

If this is your first foray into Google Classroom, try different themes before
choosing one for the Class. The most prominent colors in the banner image
will suggest which colors the theme will use for the background and the menu.
Uploading a banner image

Another alternative to using the images found within Google Classroom is to upload your
own picture. The following steps will guide you through uploading a banner image:
1. Click on Upload photo at the bottom-right corner of the banner image, as

Figure 1.11 – Upload photo link

2. Click on the Select a photo from your computer button, as illustrated in the
Figure 1.12 – Upload photo dialog box

3. In File Explorer, select the desired image and click the Open button, as illustrated in
the following screenshot:
Figure 1.13 – Selecting an image in File Explorer

4. If the image is too large, crop it by resizing the frame and move it to the desired
location on the image. Then, click the Select class theme button, as illustrated in the
Figure 1.14 – Cropping an image

The following screenshot shows how the Class looks after uploading the image in
the previous steps:
Figure 1.15 – Screenshot of a custom image theme

The accent color for the Class web page changes to match the banner color. The color is
shown throughout the Class in links, headings, and icons. At the time of writing, there is
no way to customize this accent color.
Choosing the right image

Size matters when it comes to your banner image. Google Classroom will
only use images with a pixel dimension of at least 800 x 200. The text on the
banner will always remain white. Lighter-colored images, such as the one in the
previous example, will be darkened to ensure the legibility of the text.
Once you have chosen the appropriate theme to personalize your Google Class, you can
now start adding resources.
Managing resources in your Class

Students and co-teachers will be able to find links to other Google apps associated with
Google Classroom and resources related to the Classroom in the Classwork section of the
Stream section. To navigate to this section, click on the Classwork tab in the menu, as
Figure 1.16 – Classwork tab

With your newly created site, the Classwork tab will be blank. At the top of the Classwork
section, there are icons and links to other Google apps that are associated with this Class,
as shown in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.17 – Links to Google apps linked to the Class

This section is where you distribute files, ask questions, and assign assignments. Many of
these features are explored in later chapters. In this section, you will create a topic and add
files to the topic. If you already have a course syllabus and other files in a digital format,
filling in this section can be made easy by adding those files to this section.
Managing resources in your Class 17
Adding files and resources to your Classroom

There are two areas where you can add files to Google Classroom—the Stream section
and the Classwork section. Files uploaded to the Stream section are for short-term uses,
such as announcements or worksheets, whereas files uploaded to the Classwork section
are relevant for the duration of the course, such as a course syllabus. Because students will
access these files for the duration of the course, adding topics in an organized fashion will
help them find material more easily.
Note
While you don't have to create a topic to add files and other materials to the
Classwork section, students will use the Classwork section more frequently
if they can easily find the files they are looking for.
Creating a topic in Classwork

To create a topic, use the following steps:
1. Click on the Create button and then select Topic, as illustrated in the following
screenshot:
Figure 1.18 – The Topic option in the Create menu

2. A dialog box will appear. Enter the Topic name and click the Add button, as
Figure 1.19 – Creating a topic

The topic will now appear in the Classwork section, as illustrated in the following
screenshot:
Figure 1.20 – Screenshot of a topic in Classwork
Adding a file from Google Drive

Files can be added from Google Drive or uploaded from your computer. Furthermore,
you can also link videos from YouTube and link websites. In this section, you will add
a file from Google Drive to the Classwork section, as follows:
1. In the Classwork section, click on the Create button, then select Material,
as illustrated in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.21 – The Material field in the Create menu

2. A dialog box will appear. In the Title field, give the resource a title. Then, click the
Add button and select Google Drive, as illustrated in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.22 – Required information in a Material field

3. In the Google Drive dialog box, select your file and click the INSERT button,
Figure 1.23 – Selecting a file in Google Drive

If you do not see the desired file, you may need to find it in the MY DRIVE tab,
Figure 1.24 – The MY DRIVE tab in the Google Drive dialog box
4. In the Topic drop-down menu, select the desired topic. Then, click the Post button,
Figure 1.25 – Selecting a topic and posting the material
Adding multiple files

If you would like to add more files under the same title, simply repeat the
preceding steps and select another file to add from Google Drive.
Your file will now be available to students and co-teachers. The added material will be
displayed as a post in the Classwork section, as illustrated in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.26 – Screenshot of material in Classwork

Adding a file from your computer

If you do not use Google Drive regularly or still have many files on your computer, the
steps to upload files directly from your computer are similar to those for adding a file
from Google Drive. These steps are listed here:
1. Create a Material post in the Classwork section.

2. Give a title to the material, and in the Add drop-down menu select File instead
of Google Drive, as illustrated in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.27 – The File option in the Add menu of a Material post
3. Click on the BROWSE button to open the computer's Windows File Explorer,
Figure 1.28 – UPLOAD dialog box

4. Find and open the file in the Windows File Explorer, as illustrated in the following
screenshot:
Figure 1.29 – Selecting the a in Windows File Explorer

5. The file will automatically be uploaded to Google Drive and will appear in the
Material section, as illustrated in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.30 – Screenshot of how a file appears in the Material section
Adding resources from the internet

To add YouTube videos or links to websites, click on the appropriate icon for each item.
You will need the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) to add them to the About page,
Figure 1.31 – Options in the Add menu that use a hyperlink

It is currently not possible to easily add Google Drive folders to Google Classroom.
A simple workaround is to use the Get link share feature of Google Drive and add
it as a link in Classroom. This feature is illustrated in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.32 – The Get link option for a Google Drive folder
After adding materials to your Classroom, you may decide to rearrange their order.
Reordering materials in your Classroom

To change the order of materials in your Classroom, drag and drop the material
(and other post types) to the desired order using the following steps:
1. Hover the mouse over the material to be moved, as illustrated in the following
screenshot:
Figure 1.33 – Hovering the mouse over a post

2. Click and drag the material to the desired position. The material post will shrink to
a small rectangle. Other posts will move to make space as you drag the post around,
Figure 1.34 – Clicking and dragging a post

3. Releasing the mouse button will expand the selected post to its original size.
Storing files in your Classroom

Whenever you upload files to Google Classroom, the files are stored in Google Drive.
Files uploaded within a post, such as materials, are saved to Google Drive's default folder,
My Drive. Moving or renaming a file in Google Drive will not affect Google Classroom's
link to the file. When students begin submitting files for assignments, they will be
accessible in the Class Drive folder functionality. An icon and link to the folder can be
found in the Classwork section, as illustrated in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.35 – Class Drive folder hyperlink in the Classwork tab

Uploaded files will appear in the Google Drive app, as illustrated in the following
screenshot:
Figure 1.36 – Screenshot of files uploaded to Google Drive

These files can be further organized into folders within the Google Drive app. Then, in
subsequent Classes, you can add files to your Class directly from Google Drive. Having
files organized in Google Drive will also help share resources with other teachers who
teach the same subject. In fact, when sharing my resources with other teachers, I often
share the Google Drive folder and invite them to relevant Classes in Google Classroom.
Inviting additional teachers

You might share teaching responsibilities with colleagues who also need access to the
Class on Google Classroom. By inviting other teachers, those teachers will be able to do
anything that you can do, except delete the Classroom.
Inviting additional teachers 27
Note
Be sure that whoever you invite as a co-teacher is proficient with Google
Classroom because they can change and delete content, and there is no
recorded history of what they do.
To invite another teacher to your Classroom, proceed as follows:
1. In the People section, click on the Invite teachers icon in the Teachers heading,
Figure 1.37 – Icon to add a co-teacher

2. Search for the teacher using their name or email address. Select the account and
then click the Invite button, as illustrated in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.38 – Invite teacher dialog box

The invited teacher will appear grayed out in the Teachers section until the teacher
accepts the invitation, as illustrated in the following screenshot:
Figure 1.39 – Screenshot of an invited teacher in the People tab

Now that your first Class is ready to go, you can apply the techniques in this chapter to
create additional Classes as needed. If you teach primary students, colleagues often create
classes for specific subjects; if you teach secondary students, each class usually has its own
Class in Google Classroom.
Often, extra-curriculars such as clubs or athletics groups will use Classes in Google
Classroom to communicate with students. Therefore, viewing and managing all your
Classes in Google Classroom is essential.
Accessing Classes from Google Classroom's

home page
Google Classroom's home page displays all classes in which you are a teacher or a
student. The classes are arranged like cards on the page. The next time you go to Google
Classroom, you will first arrive at the home page where you can select the desired class,
Figure 1.40 – Classroom Class dashboard

Accessing Classes from Google Classroom's home page 29
Classes in which you are enrolled as a student will have an image of the teacher on the
Class card.
Note
To rearrange Classes on the home page, drag and drop the Class cards.
When you are in a Classroom, you can switch to a different Class by clicking on the
hamburger menu icon at the top-left corner of the banner, as illustrated in the following
screenshot:
Figure 1.41 – Hamburger menu

The menu will appear and you can select the desired Class from it, as illustrated in the
Figure 1.42 – Sections of the dashboard menu

The menu is separated into Classes that you are teaching and Classes in which you are
enrolled as a student. In addition, you can return to the Google Classroom home page,
view the Google Classroom calendar, access archived Classes, and change the settings
from this menu.
Summary
You have now created your first Class and personalized it before adding students to
the Class. You then added information and materials to the Class, as well as inviting
a co-teacher.
After creating a Class, you changed the theme of the Classroom by using the various
themes and patterns in Google Classroom. In addition, you uploaded a new image to
use as a theme.
Then, you added the Class resources to the Classwork section, where you uploaded files
from Google Drive and your computer. Finally, you invited another teacher to the Class.
Now that the Class is all set up, it's time to invite the students. In the next chapter, we
will learn what it takes for students to access Google Classroom, as well as how to invite
students to your Classroom.
2
Inviting Students
to Their Virtual
Classroom
It's the start of the term and your physical and Google Classrooms are set up and ready
for students to enter, and for learning to commence. While students simply walk into
your physical classroom, sometimes with a school map in hand, in your virtual classroom,
students must join the classroom from a computer or mobile device. As we mentioned in
the Preface, Google Classroom excels in classrooms where computers or mobile devices
are readily available or in an online environment. Furthermore, students will use the tool
more frequently if it can be accessed from their own personal devices.
Being the teacher, you may need to guide a class of students with different types of
computers, tablets, and smart phones in installing and setting up Google Classroom.
This chapter provides instructions for several different types of devices. We will explore
the various methods of inviting students into a Google Classroom and managing those
students within the class.
32 Inviting Students to Their Virtual Classroom
Parts of this chapter have been written from a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) context,
where students may bring a variety of devices to class and the teacher acts as technology
support for the class. Some sections may appear repetitive, such as installing Google
Chrome on Windows and then on macOS. If this is your first time using Google
Classroom, reference the sections relevant to your devices and use the other sections when
students require support.
• Setting up Google Classroom on student's devices

• Allowing students to join using the class code
• Managing students in your class
Setting up Google Classroom on

student's devices
Like all of Google's apps, Google Classroom can be accessed on any computer or mobile
device that is connected to the internet. However, not every student will access Google
Classroom from the same type of device. Therefore, it is important that you can help guide
your students in setting up Google Classroom.
The best time to invite students to Google Classroom is at the beginning of the term.
During the first days of class, you will acclimatize your students to your classroom
expectations and familiarize your students with the course's syllabus. Setting up student
devices can easily be integrated into this process so that students are ready to use
Google Classroom at the start of the term, reducing the chances of technical difficulties
occurring later.
Choosing the best time to invite students to Google Classroom

In general, I suggest inviting students to Google Classroom and ensuring all
their devices are properly set up at the beginning of the term. However, this
does not mean this has to be done on the first day. In Canadian high schools,
students often have a couple of weeks to change their courses and thus change
their timetable. Therefore, it may be more beneficial to wait until the majority
of these changes are complete before you invite students to Google Classroom.
It may save you having to make a lot of manual changes as the term progresses.
Setting up Google Classroom on student's devices 33
When students set up their devices, have them set up Google Classroom on the device
they will use to access it the most frequently. If your school already has a computer
lab, mobile laptop, or Chromebook cart, your students will not need to set up those
devices. For student populations with a high number of personal laptops, tablets, and
smartphones, devoting class time to setting up their personal devices will increase student
use of Google Classroom.
Also, another great advantage of students using their personal tablets and phones is
that the Google Classroom app on iOS and Android provides push notifications to
those devices. Therefore, encourage your students to use the Google Classroom app on
their smartphones so that they will always be notified whenever an announcement or
assignment is posted in Google Classroom:
Figure 2.1 – Classroom app notifications

This way, you do not have to worry about students checking their school issued emails for
these notifications.
Setting up Chrome on computers and Chromebooks

Since Google Classroom and the rest of Google's G Suite for Education only requires
an internet browser, all laptops that run Microsoft Windows, Apple macOS, or Google's
Chrome OS already have access to Google Classroom. While Microsoft Windows uses
Microsoft Edge (or the older Internet Explorer) and Apple macOS uses Safari, Google
develops and maintains its own internet browser – Google Chrome.
Using Google's internet browser ensures the greatest compatibility with Google
Classroom. Google's Chrome OS can be found on Chromebooks that already have Google
Chrome installed; however, personal laptops used by students may not have Google
Chrome installed.
Note
Google's Chromebooks are the easiest to set up because they already have
Google Chrome installed and set up, regardless of whether they are personal or
school Chromebooks.
Google Chrome can be installed on Windows or macOS computers without
administrator privileges. Therefore, if a student does not have an administrator
account on their personal device, the student can still install Google Chrome.
Installing Google Chrome on Microsoft Windows

To install Google Chrome on Microsoft Windows, follow these instructions:
1. Open another web browser, such as Microsoft Edge:
Figure 2.2 – Microsoft Edge icon

2. In the address bar, navigate to https://www.google.com/chrome/.
3. Click on the Download Chrome button:
Figure 2.3 – Download Chrome buttons

4. A pop up will appear at the bottom of the window. Click on the Run button. The
web page will also direct you through the necessary steps:
Figure 2.4 – Microsoft Edge download menu

5. Windows User Account Control will ask for Administrator permissions. This
section may ask for a password.
6. A dialog box will show the progress of downloading and installing Google Chrome.
7. Once the installation is complete, Google Chrome will automatically launch:
Figure 2.5 - Google Chrome

A Google Chrome logo will appear on the Desktop:
Figure 2.6 – Google Chrome icon
Installing Google Chrome on Apple macOS

Installing Google Chrome on Apple macOS is similar to installing it on Windows. The
following instructions outline installing Google Chrome on macOS:
1. Open another web browser, such as Safari:

Figure 2.7 – Apple Safari icon

2. In the address bar, navigate to https://www.google.com/chrome/:
Figure 2.8 – Address bar of Apple Safari

3. Click on the Download Chrome button.
4. A dialog box will appear, asking you to confirm whether to install an Intel chip
version or an Apple chip version. As of November 2020, Apple switched to using
their own chips in their computers. At the time of writing, most Apple computers
still use Intel chips. You can follow the on-screen instructions under Check which
version of Chrome to install to determine which download is correct. It will likely
be the Mac with Intel chip button that you will use:
Figure 2.9 – Chrome version install dialog box

5. macOS may show a dialog box asking the user to confirm the download. An image
of the dialog box is shown here. Click the Allow button if it appears:
Figure 2.10 – macOS security dialog box

6. Double-click on the file that appears in the Dock. The file is named
googlechrome.dmg:
Figure 2.11 – Downloads folder in the macOS Dock

7. macOS will verify and open the program.
8. A dialog box will appear so that you can copy Google Chrome into the
Applications folder. Click and drag the Google Chrome icon into the
Applications folder:
Figure 2.12 – Window for copying Chrome to the Applications folder

Google Chrome is now accessible in the Applications folder.
Installing Chrome without administration permissions
If a student does not have the password to the administration account, Google Chrome
can still be installed on macOS. However, they will not be able to copy Google Chrome
into the Applications folder. Instead, they can click and drag the Google Chrome
icon to another location where the student's account has permission to save the files. One
location is the Desktop in the student's account.
Adding a Google Chrome shortcut to the Dock

For quick access to Google Chrome, click and drag the Google Chrome icon from the
Applications folder to the Dock.
Note
The first time a student launches Google Chrome, several dialog boxes will
appear. These dialog boxes confirm opening a file that's been downloaded
from the internet, as well as asking whether the student wants to set Google
Chrome as their default browser (the browser opens whenever a link is clicked
in another program).
Setting up Google Chrome

Once Google Chrome is installed, it must be linked to the student's account so that any
bookmarks, Google Chrome apps, and extensions will sync with their personal computer.
To complete the setup with Google Chrome, follow these steps:
1. Launch Google Chrome.

2. Click on the user icon at the top-right corner of the browser:
Figure 2.13 – User icon in Google Chrome
Note
If the student already has Chrome installed on their computer, they may also
have sync turned on with a personal account. In this scenario, the student can
either log out of their personal account or add the school account profile to
Chrome. The +Add button is shown in the following figure, at the bottom of
the Other people section.
3. Inside the dialog box, click on Turn on sync…:
Figure 2.14 – User dialog box

4. Sign in by entering the required email address on the first screen and then the
password. Each screen has a Next button so that you can continue the sign-in
process:
Figure 2.15 – Sign-in screens for Google Accounts

5. If Google Chrome displays another dialog box with the heading Link your Chrome
data to this account?, click on the Link data button:
Figure 2.16 – Link account dialog box

6. A Turn on sync? dialog box will appear. Enabling this feature will synchronize
Google Chrome on multiple devices. It is up to the discretion of the student whether
they enable this feature:
Figure 2.17 – Turn on sync? dialog box

7. The user icon will now display the profile picture of the user. If no profile picture
is set, then the first letter of the user's first name will appear:
Figure 2.18 – User profile picture in Google Chrome

Installing the Classroom app on tablets and phones

Many students may also need assistance in setting up Google apps on their tablets and
phones. Apart from downloading the apps from different app stores, installing Google
Classroom is the same for Android and Apple iOS tablets and phones. For Google
Classroom to function properly, additional Google apps are required.
The following steps outline installing Google Classroom on either Android or iOS:
1. Open the app store on the mobile device. For Android, the app store is called
Play Store (left); for iOS, the app store is called App Store (right):
Figure 2.19 – Application managers on Google Android and Apple iOS

2. Tap the search icon at the bottom of the App Store in Apple iOS or the search field
at the top of the screen for Android and search for Google Classroom:
Figure 2.20 – Search on the Google Android and Apple iOS application managers
3. Tap the Install button beside the app. On iOS, you will need to tap Get and then
Install. You may also need to input the user's Apple ID password:
Figure 2.21 – Install button for Google Classroom

4. The first time you open the app, hit the Open button. Every time after that, locate
and tap the app on your device's home screen:
Figure 2.22 – Open button for Google Classroom

5. Click the Get Started button:
Figure 2.23 – Start screen of Google Classroom on mobile devices

6. If another Google Account is already associated with the tablet or phone, a list
of Google Accounts will appear. If the school account is listed, select the school
account; otherwise, select Add account on Android or Add another account
on iOS:
Figure 2.24 – Add another account option in Google Classroom

7. Enter the username and password and complete any subsequent pages, such as
accepting the Terms of Services shown, to finish the setup.
8. For Apple iOS devices, there will be a popup asking whether Google Classroom can
send notifications. Click on the Allow button:
Figure 2.25 – Apple iOS notifications dialog box

To use Google Classroom effectively, additional Google apps also need to be installed
on the mobile device. Simply follow the same steps shown here to install those Google
apps. The following figure lists the Google apps that can be integrated with the Google
Classroom app:
Figure 2.26 – List of Google apps

For Android devices (such as tablets and phones), many of these additional apps are
already installed.
Guiding students in using the classroom projector

When guiding students in installing Google Classroom and additional Google
apps, connecting a mobile device to the classroom projector can help the
students with the installation process. Android devices may have built-in
screencasting tools such as MHL or Miracast, whereas iOS devices can use an
HDMI adapter to connect directly to a projector or third-party software such as
AirServer. Middle and high school students most likely already have experience
in installing apps on their mobile devices. Therefore, displaying which apps
are needed on the projector is most likely all that is required to ensure that the
students install all the necessary apps.
Now that the students have the appropriate apps to use Google Classroom on their
computers and mobile devices, it is time for your students to join your Google Classroom.
Allowing students to join using the class code

Students can join specific classes in Google Classroom using Class codes, invite links,
or by you manually inviting students to individual classes. Class codes are a combination
of letters and numbers that identify the unique class in Google Classroom, whereas invite
links are internet hyperlinks. Any student with a school email can join your classroom if
they have access to either the class code or the invite link.
Note
A student can use any device to join a classroom. Furthermore, once the
student has joined your classroom on a device, they will be able to access your
classroom from any other device where they have logged in with their school
email.
Joining a classroom with the class code

Use the following steps to guide students to join your classroom:
1. On a laptop or Chromebook, open Google Chrome and in the address bar, navigate
to https://classroom.google.com/h. On a tablet or smartphone, tap the
Classroom app:
Allowing students to join using the class code 49
Figure 2.27 – Open Google Classroom on desktop and mobile

2. Click or tap on the + icon at the top-right of the page. On mobile, the + icon
appears at the bottom-right of the screen:
Figure 2.28 – Plus symbols to add a new Class on desktop and mobile
3. Enter the Class code number provided by the teacher and then click on the Join
button:
Figure 2.29 – Class code dialog box

4. The students will immediately enter your Google Classroom class and the class will
appear on the home page of their Google Classroom app:
Figure 2.30 – Screenshots of the student's view of Google Classroom on desktop and mobile
Displaying the class code

Google Classroom can display the Class code number in large font. If your class is
equipped with an interactive whiteboard, projector, or television connected to a computer,
you can display the Class code number so that students can easily see it. Let's take a look:
1. In the banner, click on the full-screen icon beside Class code:
Figure 2.31 – Full-screen icon in the Classroom banner

2. The Class page will darken, and a dialog box will appear with the Class code
enlarged. This dialog box also has a full-screen icon at the bottom right so that you
can enlarge the Class code further:
Figure 2.32 – Full-screen icon in the enlarged Class code dialog box
3. Clicking on the full-screen icon in the dialog box will enlarge the dialog box so that
it fills the entire web page window, as shown here:
Figure 2.33 – Screenshot of the fully enlarged Class code dialog box
Display the class codes in your physical classroom

At the beginning of the term, display your Class codes in your classroom
so that any students who are added to your classroom later can easily join.
A corner of a whiteboard or bulletin board is an excellent location for this.
Using Class codes is the only method where students can self-enroll in a Class. For
extra-curricular activities such as clubs and sports, teachers can create classes that
manage those activities. In such situations, posting the Class code number on bulletin
boards or other in-school communications is an easy way for students to sign up!
Inviting students to your Class with an invite link

If you have students such as primary students, who have challenges in typing a series of
numbers and letters correctly, emailing an invite link that they can click on may be an
easier solution. Use the following steps to find the invite link:
1. In Stream, click on the full-screen icon beside the Class code number in the Class
banner:
Figure 2.34 – Full-screen icon in the Classroom banner

2. Click on Copy invite link:
Figure 2.35 – The Copy invite link icon in the class code dialog box
3. Now that the link has been copied, you can send it to your students through your
school's communication system. My division uses an internal digital bulletin board
to post messages to students and parents; however, something as simple as emailing
your students the link will allow students to join the class with the invite link.
Making changes to the class code and invite link

Once all your students have joined your classrooms, you can prevent other students from
joining your classes by either resetting or disabling the Class code number and invite
link. Resetting both will generate a new code and hyperlink for students to use to join
your classroom. This change will not affect the students already within your classroom.
Disabling the Class code number and invite link will prevent students from joining the
class; however, you will still be able to manually invite students by going to the People tab
of the class, shown later in this chapter. To reset or disable the Class code number and
invite link, follow these instructions:
1. In Classroom, click on the settings gear in the top-right corner:
Figure 2.36 – Settings gear in Google Classroom

2. Scroll down to the General section and click on the dropdown menu for Manage
invite codes. Select either Turn off or Reset:
Figure 2.37 – The manage invite codes dropdown menu

You can display the Class code full-screen dialog box or copy the required Invite link
from the settings too!
Managing class codes and invite links on mobile

The Google Classroom app also displays a settings gear at the top of the Class
Stream where you can copy, reset, or disable the Class code and invite link.
Tapping the Class code or invite link will automatically copy them. You can
reset or disable them by going to the menu beside Student invitation settings
rather than Manage invite codes.
Now that we have seen various ways students can join your class, let's explore how to
manage them.
Managing students in your Class

The full class list of all students can be found on the Students page of your classroom.
Here, you can make changes to the students within your classroom, as well as send emails
to individual students or to the entire class.
Manually inviting students to your Class

When students are added to your class late in the term or a student is having difficulties
joining with a Class code or invite link, you can manually invite students to your classes.
You should use this method as a last resort because manually adding several dozen
students to a class is tedious and time-consuming. Follow these instructions to manually
invite a student to your class:
1. In Google Classroom, click on the People tab from the main menu and click on the
Invite students icon on the Students heading:
Figure 2.38 – Invite students icon

Managing students in your Class 55
2. Type in the name or email address of the student you want to invite. Google will
autocomplete this with any contacts in your Gmail's My Contacts and any directory,
such as the school district's staff and student directory. Select the required student
from the SEARCH RESULTS area:
Figure 2.39 – Student contact found in SEARCH RESULTS

3. Repeat step 2 to invite additional students. Once all the students have been selected,
click the Invite link:
Figure 2.40 – Invite link
Note
Whenever possible, use an email address instead of the name of the student.
Large districts will have several students with the same first and last names.
For a few years, there was a student named Michael Zhang at my school. There
were several incidents where emails were not sent to the correct recipient.
4. Once you've invited the student, the student will appear grayed out until they accept
the invite:
Figure 2.41 – Invited student who has not joined the Class
5. The student will need to accept the invitation by clicking the link in the email
invitation or logging into Google Classroom from a computer/Chromebook (left)
or mobile device (right) and clicking or tapping on the Join button:
Figure 2.42 – Join button on Google Chrome and the Classroom app
Another rare situation where you may need to manually invite a student to your class is if
the student unenrolls from the class. Students can unenroll themselves from a class from
the Home screen of Google Classroom. At the time of writing, there is no way of disabling
this feature for students:
Figure 2.43 – Unenroll option in the Classroom dashboard

Removing students from your classroom

When students withdraw from your class, you will also need to remove them from your
class in Google Classroom. While this is not mandatory, the withdrawn student will
still receive announcements and assignments through Google Classroom if they are still
enrolled in your class. Follow these steps to remove a student:
1. In Google Classroom, click on the People tab:
Figure 2.44 – The People tab

2. Click on the checkbox beside the student. (You can also select additional students
if you need to remove multiple students.) Then, click on the Actions drop-down
menu:
Figure 2.45 – Selecting students in the People tab

3. Select the Remove option:
Figure 2.46 – Remove option in the Actions menu
Emailing students in your classroom

When you need to communicate with an individual or small group of students, you can
send an email directly from Google Classroom. However, Google Classroom has an
Announcement feature for when you need to communicate with the entire class. This
Announcement feature will be discussed in Chapter 3, Sending Your First Announcement.
To email students from Google Classroom, follow the steps in the previous section.
Instead of selecting Remove, select Email; a new email message window will appear
addressed to the selected students.
If you are emailing a single student, the Kebab menu beside each student in the People
tab has an email option you can use, as shown here:
Figure 2.47 – Menu for a student

Summary
If this is your first time inviting students to your virtual classroom, the steps in this
chapter may appear daunting. However, through past experience, today's middle and high
school students already have a proficient understanding of technology and will complete
these tasks quickly. When I teach with Google Classroom, the setup process only takes
about 15 minutes with high school students. This chapter has provided you with the tools
for those students that have never used Google Classroom, which, as the years go by, will
decrease.
You are now able to install Google Chrome on Windows or Apple computers, as well as
guide students in installing Google Classroom and other Google apps on their mobile
devices. You can display the Class Code number to allow students to join your classes,
as well as manually invite or remove students with an invite link or through Google
Classroom as needed. Finally, you can email students directly from Google Classroom.
This chapter recommended that you only email students individually or in small groups.
In the next chapter, you will explore using the Announcement feature to communicate
with your entire class.
Section 2:
The Basics
Now that the Classroom is ready, start connecting with your students! In this section,
you will send announcements, ask questions, and take in assignments.
• Chapter 3, Sending Your First Announcement

• Chapter 4, Starting an Online Discussion with Questions
• Chapter 5, Handing Out and Taking In Assignments
3
Sending Your First
Announcement
Now that your online classroom is set up in Google Classroom and your students are
enrolled in their classes, you can begin using Google Classroom's features to communicate
with your students. One of the simplest forms of communicating with students within
your classroom is to send announcements. Announcements in Google Classroom is like
sending your class an email (in fact, when you create an announcement, students also
receive an email containing the necessary information).
For announcements, you can add files from your computer or Google Drive, and even add
links to websites or YouTube videos, just like we did with the Material post in Classwork,
which we discussed in Chapter 1, Getting to Know Google Classroom. Students can even
reply to your announcements directly from the classroom's Stream. An Announcement
is a type of post that appears in this Stream. Using announcements in Google Classroom
instead of sending emails also makes it easier to find announcements in the future and use
them in other classes.
64 Sending Your First Announcement
• Sending and receiving announcements

• Parts of an announcement
• Replying to announcements
• Editing announcements
• Reusing announcements
• Authorizing and managing students in the Stream
Creating an announcement
An announcement appears at the top of the classroom's Stream. Whenever new
Announcement posts or Classwork notifications are added to the Stream, they will be
added to the top of the Stream. Therefore, older posts in the Stream are moved lower
down the Stream, but they are not deleted.
To create an announcement, go to the desired classroom and follow these steps:
1. Click on the box at the top of the Stream. The field will say Announce something
to your class before you click it:
Figure 3.1 – Create Announcement box

Creating an announcement 65
2. Type your announcement into the field. The field will say Announce something to
your class before you type your message. Rich text formatting buttons will appear at
the bottom of the text field to bold, italicize, underline and bullet text:
Figure 3.2 – An announcement box
Note
Late in the production of this book, rich text formatting was added to all
posts. While the above image was updated before print, all other images of
Announcement, Question, Assignment, and Material posts within this book
do not have the rich text formatting buttons in their text fields.
3. If you would like to post this announcement in multiple classes at the same time,
click on the name of the class to select the additional classes:
Figure 3.3 – Class drop-down menu

4. Click the Post button when you are ready to post:
Figure 3.4 – The Post button

5. Click the Post button in the confirmation dialog box:
Figure 3.5 – Confirmation dialog box

If you are not ready to post the announcement, you can save it as a draft by clicking on the
drop-down menu beside the Post button and selecting Save draft:
Figure 3.6 – Selecting Save draft

Google Classroom places drafts at the top of the Stream:
Figure 3.7 – Announcement drafts save location

While saving posts as drafts is a useful way of preparing for classes, there are several
instances where you may want to schedule a post to be released on a certain date and
time instead.
Scheduling a time to publish an announcement

Teachers can schedule when Google Classroom will publish a post. This feature allows
you to set up announcements, questions, assignments, materials, or quizzes and post
them at appropriate times during the lesson. A simple example of utilizing this feature is
posting a Question post as Do Now at the start of class, followed by another Question
or Assignment post halfway through the lesson to assess the students' understanding, and
then ending the lesson with an Assignment post containing practice questions. To schedule
a post, from the drop-down menu of the Post button, select Schedule, as shown here:
Figure 3.8 – Selecting Schedule

The following screenshot shows the dialog box you must use to set the date and time when
Google Classroom will publish the post. Clicking on the Schedule button confirms the
publishing time and saves the post:
Figure 3.9 – Schedule announcement dialog box

Just like drafts, scheduled posts appear in the Saved Announcements section, above
the Stream.
Advanced features in announcements

Announcements can communicate more than a simple text message. Some additional
features of an announcement include the following:
• Attaching a file from your computer

• Attaching a file from Google Drive
• Including a YouTube video
• Including a link to a website
When to add resources to the Stream or to the About sections

You may have already noticed that these options are also present in the
Materials post described in Chapter 1, Getting to Know Google Classroom.
Adding files to specific posts instead of a Material in the Classwork section
indicates that the included resources are for the specific post in the Stream
instead of for the class in general. Posts will move lower down the Stream faster
than they will in the Classwork section. Therefore, resources attached in the
Stream are for short-term tasks, whereas resources attached in the Classwork
section are for the duration of the class.
The following diagram shows where many of these features are in the announcements
dialog box when you're creating an announcement:
Figure 3.10 – Overview of Announcement post options

We will have a look at each of these features in the following sections.
Attaching a file from your computer

When you attach a file from your computer to a post, the file will be available to the
students when they view the announcement. Follow these steps to attach a file from your
computer when creating an announcement:
1. Click on the Add menu in the announcement dialog box and then select File:
Figure 3.11 – File option in the Add menu

2. Click on the Browse button of the dialog box:
Figure 3.12 – Upload dialog box

3. Navigate to the desired file and click the Open button:
Figure 3.13 – File Explorer dialog box

4. Click on the Post button of the Create Announcement dialog box to post an
announcement, as shown in the following screenshot:
Figure 3.14 – Announcement with file attachment

Note
To add multiple files, repeat the preceding steps to add additional files before
clicking on the Post button.
Files that are uploaded are stored in the My Drive folder in Google Drive, just
like the files that are uploaded in the Classwork page.
Attaching a file from Google Drive

Attaching a file from Google Drive is like attaching a file from your computer. The steps
are as follows:
1. Click on the Add menu in the announcement dialog box and then select File:
Figure 3.15 – Google Drive option in the Add menu

2. Navigate to the desired file in Google Drive. Select the file and then click the
INSERT link at the bottom of the dialog box:
Figure 3.16 – Inserting a file from Google Drive

3. Click on the Post button of the Create Announcement dialog box to post an
announcement.
Including a YouTube video

The YouTube dialog box appears when you click on the YouTube option in the Add
drop - down menu. From the Insert video dialog box, you can search for and add
a specific video:
Figure 3.17 – Searching for a YouTube video

If you have already saved the video on YouTube, another method is to copy the YouTube
address and paste it into the field of the URL tab:
Figure 3.18 – The URL tab of Insert Video

Once the YouTube video file has been added, it will appear at the bottom of the post,
just like the file attachment did in the previous section.
Including video files in a post

At first glance, Google Classroom does not appear to play videos that have
already been saved to your computer. However, Google Drive uses a built-in
video player such as YouTube. Therefore, you can attach a video file to a post
and students will be able to watch the video. Google Drive has a 5-terabyte file
size limit and can play WebM, mpeg4, mp4, 3gpp, mov, avi, mpegps,
wmv, flv, and mts video files.
Making changes to an announcement in the Stream 75
Including a link to a website

Before we move on, let's quickly see how we can include a website link in the post. After
clicking on the Link option in the Add dropdown, a dialog box will appear. Paste the URL
and click on Add link, as shown in the following screenshot:
Figure 3.19 – Add link dialog box

The link and a small thumbnail of the web page will appear at the bottom of the post.
With the ability to add so many resources to an Announcement post, it is easy to publish
a post before including all the necessary attachments. (For me, it is almost a weekly
occurrence.) The next section will guide you through editing an already published post.
Making changes to an announcement in the

Stream
You may need to make changes or outright delete an announcement or another type of
post once the post has been published to the Stream. Each post has a vertical line of three
dots, indicating a menu of actions that can be performed on the post:
Figure 3.20 – Kebab menu in an Announcement post

From this menu, you will be able to perform the following actions on the announcement
(or any other type of post) in the Stream:
• Move to top will place the announcement at the top of the Stream.
• Edit will allow you to make changes to the announcement.
• Delete will remove the post and all comments and attachments associated with the
post from the Stream.
• Copy Link will provide a direct link to the post. This feature is the most useful
when you're sending a student to an announcement lower in the Stream.
Teachers and co-teachers can move to the top, edit, and delete each other's posts.
Emphasizing specific posts with Move to Top

Keeping specific posts at the top of the Stream will help remind students of
important announcements. These announcements may include reminders for
school-wide events, deadlines, and field trip forms.
Reusing a previously created announcement

Your classes may not be learning at the same pace. Therefore, you may have a class that
needs the same post as a faster-paced class. Instead of retyping or copying and pasting
that information, Google Classroom provides a feature that copies an entire post from
one class and reposts it in another class. Follow these steps to reuse a post:
1. In the class where you wish to repost a previous announcement, click on the Reuse
post icon on the right-hand side of the Announce something to your class box:
Figure 3.21 – The Reuse Post icon

Making changes to an announcement in the Stream 77
2. Click on the class that contains the previously created post:
Figure 3.22 – Selecting a class that will reuse a post

3. Select the desired post and click the REUSE button. Attachments are copied to the
new post by default:
Figure 3.23 – Selecting the post to reuse

The Create Announcement dialog box will appear, with all the information filled
in from the previous post. You can make changes before posting the announcement
in the new class. (A Science class is shown reusing the Science post that was
made previously.)
When you create an announcement by following any of these methods, an email
notification will be sent to co-teachers and students. While teaching at a high school,
there are Google Classroom Classes for in-person classes I teach; other teacher classes
who teach the same subjects; extra-curricular activities such as athletics or clubs; and
a class with all staff for school-wide announcements. With so many classes, my email
inbox can easily become flooded with notifications from Google Classroom.
In the next section, we will explore how to manage the emails that Google Classroom sends.
Managing announcement email notifications

By default, students will receive email notifications when you post an announcement (or
any other type of post) to the Stream:
Figure 3.24 – Email notifications of announcements

These emails contain the title of and link to the post in Google Classroom. Another
method where students receive notifications is through the Google Classroom app on
their smart device.
Teachers will receive even more email notifications. Examples of additional notifications
include when students comment on announcements or other posts, send private messages
about assignments, or when scheduled announcements are posted. Students and teachers
may choose to customize the email notifications they want to receive.
Managing announcement email notifications 79
Disabling all email notifications

If you or your students do not wish to receive email notifications whenever a co-teacher
or student posts in the Stream, you can disable email notifications from within Google
Classroom as follows:
1. In Google Classroom, click on the burger menu button:
Figure 3.25 – Burger menu

2. Scroll to the bottom of the menu and click on the Settings icon:
Figure 3.26 – Settings gear

3. In the Notifications section, turn off the switch for Receive email notifications:
Figure 3.27 – Receive email notifications switch
Note
Despite being the same icon, the settings gear in the burger menu has settings
that affect the Google Classroom app, whereas the settings gear at the top of
each Class provides the settings for the individual Class.
Another method to get to the settings screen is to click on the unsubscribe link, which
can be found at the bottom of an email notification, as shown in the following screenshot:
Figure 3.28 – Unsubscribe link in an email notification

Clicking on this link will take the user to a screen similar to the one shown in Figure 3.27.
Here, we can turn off the switch for receiving email notifications.
Disabling email notifications for certain classes

There are many situations where a teacher may be enrolled in a class as a co-teacher or
student. Examples include testing what students see in a Classroom, team teaching, and
collaborating with another teacher or supervising teachers.
In these instances, you may want to receive notifications for the classes you teach but
want to disable notifications for other classes. Specifying which classes that you want
to receive notifications about can be found in the same menu where you can disable
all email notifications.
In the Notifications section of Google Classroom's settings, click on the Class
notifications drop - down arrow to expand the section:
Figure 3.29 – Drop - down arrow to expand the section

Managing announcement email notifications 81
Click the switch beside your classes to turn off notifications for that Class:
Figure 3.30 – Switches for each Class to enable or disable email notifications
Customizing email notifications

In the same Notifications settings area where you can enable or disable email
notifications, there are additional switches you can use to select what type of email
notifications to receive. Options include whether to receive email notifications whenever
someone publishes a comment on a post or invitations to join a class as a co-teacher or
student. Be sure to explore these settings to determine which events in Google Classroom
you want to receive email notifications for and which ones you do not.
Note
At the time of writing, customizing which events in Google Classroom will
send email notifications to you will apply to all classes where notifications
are enabled.
As the teacher, managing notifications will help in reducing the number of emails
that are sent to your inbox. Some schools use Google Classroom Classes to manage
extra-curricular activities such as athletics and clubs, which results in teachers having
many Classes per year.
Without changing your notification settings, it becomes easy to receive dozens of
emails per day, which will flood your inbox. Now that we've looked at one form of
communicating with published posts, in the next section, we will explore another
communication feature within a post's comments.
Commenting on announcements
Once posts have been published to the Stream, students and co-teachers will be able to
comment on the announcements. These comments promote discussions and are similar
to having students ask questions after you provide a verbal announcement during class
time. Furthermore, in other types of posts, such as Questions and Assignments, students
can use this commenting feature to reply to specific questions within the post. For
students to comment on a post, they must follow these steps:
1. In the classroom's Stream, click on the Add class comment… row at the bottom
of the post:
Figure 3.31 – Adding a class comment field

2. A field will appear for the student to enter text in. Direct the students to click on the
Post icon when they have finished writing their comment:
Figure 3.32 – The post icon
Note
Comments on a post are displayed for everyone in the class. Inappropriate use
of the commenting feature in Google Classroom can detract from the learning
environment. Later in this chapter, in the Muting students section, you will
learn how to manage students who abuse the commenting system.
Commenting on announcements 83
As shown in the following screenshot, it does not take long for students to comment on
a post in the Stream. Students will often respond to other student comments and guide
a discussion without needing too much additional input from the teacher:
Figure 3.33 – The comment thread of an Announcement post
Tip
Using online discussions can be a great method for shy or quiet students to
utilize an alternative environment where they may feel safer to communicate.
When there are several comments, Google Classroom will collapse the comments
in the Stream to save space. To expand all the comments of a post, click on the
comments heading:
Figure 3.34 – The comments heading

Replying to comments
As more students and teachers comment on posts, more individuals can comment on
specific posts. Replying to a specific comment on a post automatically adds that user as
a mention. However, the comment appears at the bottom of the thread instead of directly
below the comment that is being replied to:
Figure 3.35 – A student mentioned in a comment

To reply to a comment, click on the reply icon that appears when you hover your mouse
over the comment. Then, continue writing your comment, as you usually would:
Figure 3.36 – Reply icon of a comment
Managing comments
Since comments are published immediately, student comments may need to be managed
and monitored. There are several tools that can help teachers control which students
can comment.
Editing and deleting comments

Teachers and the comment's creator can edit and delete a comment. Deleted comments
are immediately removed from the Stream, but as a teacher, you will be able to view
deleted comments and posts. To edit or delete a comment, click on the three vertical
dots to display the actions you can perform:
Figure 3.37 – Kebab menu of a comment

Note
You can only edit your own comments. Comments created by other teachers
or students will only show Delete in the Kebab menu. If there are replies to
a comment, they will remain as comments on the post.
If you need to view deleted posts and comments in the Stream, turn on the switch for
Show deleted items in the Class settings.
Click on the settings gear at the top of the Class:
Figure 3.38 – Settings gear of the Class

In the General section, click the switch beside Show deleted items:
Figure 3.39 – Show deleted items switch

Sometimes, a student may post multiple comments that need to be deleted. Instead of
constantly moderating the comments, specific students can have their commenting
privileges revoked.
Muting students
If there is a student that is particularly inappropriate on the Stream, you can disable that
student's ability to reply to another classmate's work, post, or comment in the Stream. To
mute or unmute a student, click on the three vertical dots menu of the comment to display
the mute action:
Figure 3.40 – Muting a student from the comment menu

In the Stream and in the student list, a mute icon will be displayed beside the student's
name so that you can easily see which students are muted:
Figure 3.41 – Mute icon beside a student's name

If a student is muted within a class, other classmates will not be able to see the mute icon
beside their names. Only teachers and co-teachers will be able to see this icon.
Note
Muting a student prevents the student from submitting work that is visible to
other students, reply to classmates' work, or comment and post in the Stream.
Another method for muting students can be found in the People section. This method
also allows you to mute or unmute multiple students at once. To use this method, follow
these steps:
1. In Google Classroom, navigate to the People section using the tabs at the top of
the Class:
Figure 3.42 – The People tab

2. Check the checkboxes beside the students that you wish to mute (or unmute):
Figure 3.43 – Selecting students to mute

3. Click on the Actions menu at the top of the student list and select Mute
(or Unmute):
Figure 3.44 – Mute option in the Actions menu
Viewing all muted students at a glance

You can see the mute icon beside all the student names in the class list. Therefore, finding
muted students in this list is easier than finding muted students in the Stream:
Figure 3.45 – Mute icons beside student names in the People section
Note
Muting students may hinder class discussion on the Stream. An alternative
to using the comment feature is to post a question, which will be discussed
in Chapter 4, Starting an Online Discussion with Questions.
Disabling comments in the Stream

Despite all the comment managing features in Google Classroom, you may decide that
your class is not ready for this feature or that you prefer your students to not comment in
the Stream. It is possible to completely disable the commenting feature by following
these steps:
1. In Google Classroom, click on the Settings gear at the top of the Class:
Figure 3.46 – Settings gear of the Class

2. In the General section, click on the Students can post and comment drop-down
menu for the Stream setting to display a menu of different options for student access:
Figure 3.47 – Stream post and comment settings menu

3. Select the desired permission level for posting and commenting in the Stream.
You can change the level of student access to the Stream at any time. As a means of
classroom management, you can enable comments temporarily and then disable them
(or vice versa), depending on your needs and the behavior of your students.
Summary 89
Summary
This chapter provided you with a foundational knowledge of posting to a class Stream.
While we only discussed the Announcement post, many of the features that can be
found in the Announcement post, such as attaching files, links, and YouTube videos,
are available for all the other post types. As you continue to use Google Classroom,
the Stream will become a central location for you and your students to view most
announcements, assignments, and discussions, which saves time in terms of organization
and assessment.
You are now able to create an Announcement post in Google Classroom, attach resources
to the post, and reuse posts in other classes. In addition, you can comment on posts
and manage student comments by deleting individual comments, muting students,
or disabling the comment feature entirely.
For situations where you wish to disable comments, or you prefer other means of
interacting with your students, you can use the additional features of the Question
post type. We will look at this in the next chapter.
4
Starting an Online
Discussion with
Questions
In 2018, Google Classroom went through a major layout change. The Classwork section
was added to provide teachers and students with a separate page to view all materials,
questions, and assignments. Each type of post has a different set of features that allow
teachers to communicate with students in different ways. While the previous chapter
discussed announcements and how students can comment on announcements, you
may have situations where you want to record who responded to a post and even grade
that response. An example of this situation is when you want to have a dialogue like
a classroom discussion but through Google Classroom.
There are several advantages to having discussions through Google Classroom.
In a generation of Instagram and Snapchat, many students will feel comfortable
communicating through an online tool. Furthermore, students do not have to be in the
same location to participate. During my time teaching, there were times when students
were absent on critical discussion days and could not be assessed. In addition, students
can take time to formulate their responses, rather than being put on the spot during
a discussion. Therefore, students tend to feel more secure discussing things online
instead of in an in-person class because of its familiarity and a lower chance of failure.
92 Starting an Online Discussion with Questions
Important – online or offline discussions

There is a delicate balance between the use of online and in-class discussions.
Favoring one form of discussion can reduce the effectiveness of the other.
Consider incorporating both types of discussion. Some examples of methods of
incorporating both online and in-class discussions include asking a discussion
question online and then asking a follow-up question in class the next day or
discussing different topics in class and online.
Another use of question posts is to quickly check student understanding. In Alberta,

teachers use formative assessment to gauge whether students comprehend the current
concept before moving to the next concept. Since question posts allow students to respond
in short sentences or answer multiple-choice questions, a question in Google Classroom
can show you whether the majority of your students understand the current lesson.
In this chapter, you will learn how to create short-answer and multiple-choice questions
using a question post in the Classwork section, and then reply to and grade the student
responses.
We will cover the following topics in this chapter:
• Creating a question
• Creating short-answer questions
• Replying to student responses
• Creating multiple-choice questions
• Grading a question
Important
Google Classroom calls a student's response to a question post an answer.
However, because of the teaching philosophy of the author, this chapter will
refer to them as responses.
Creating a question
With the different types of posts, many of the features, such as attaching a file, use the
same steps as the announcement and material posts. However, posts such as questions and
assignments have additional features. If you are reading this book out of chapter order,
refer to the previous chapter, Chapter 3, Sending Your First Announcement, for the features
that are also found in announcements.
Creating a question 93
You create questions in the Classwork section by selecting the Question option under the
Create button, as shown in the following screenshot:
Figure 4.1 – The Question option in the Classwork section
Additional features in a question post not found in an

announcement post
The following screenshot shows the dialog box that appears when creating a question post:
Figure 4.2 – Main sections of a question post

There are three fields where an announcement post only has one. Furthermore, question
posts have question options that affect the type of question and how students interact with
each other within the question:
• The Question field is where you write your question. It only allows you to include
text without formatting. (If you need to include an image with your question, you
can use the attachment features.)
• The Instructions field is where you can write additional steps or expectations of the
question. For example, you may want to instruct students that they must also reply
to another student's response.
• The Points field is where you can change the assessment value of the question. The
points are only numeric but can be disabled if not needed.
• The Due field allows you to assign by when students must have their responses
submitted. This field includes the option to select a specific time and date.
Questions (and assignments) do not require a due date. Within the drop-down menu
for Due date & time, click the X beside the date to disable the due date:
Figure 4.3 – Cancelling the due date of a post

While not necessary, having due dates on questions and assignments will add the events
to the Google Calendar linked to Google Classroom. In Chapter 8, Keeping Parents in the
Loop, you will learn how to allow parents to view the calendar.
The question options, found below Topic, depend on the question type – short-answer
or multiple-choice. Each subsequent section will explore these options.
Creating short-answer questions 95
Creating short-answer questions

The short-answer question type is the default question type. Depending on how the
question options are set, the short-answer question type can perform two different tasks:
student collaboration or teacher assessment. The Students can reply to each other
question option allows the teacher to determine whether students can see and reply to the
responses of other classmates. By disabling this option, only the teacher (and co-teachers)
will be able to see the responses and assess each student's response individually. However,
by leaving this option enabled, students can reply to each other's responses, encouraging
student collaboration through online discussion.
The second option for short answers is Students can edit answer. By enabling this
option, students will be able to edit their responses after submission. By leaving this
option disabled, a warning prompt, shown as follows, will appear before confirming the
student's submission:
Figure 4.4 – Submit confirmation dialog box for students
Tip – when to allow student edits

Generally, it is better to leave this option disabled. Preventing students from
altering their submission is not available in assignment posts, discussed in the
next chapter. Even when they are unable to edit their submission, students can
add private comments to their responses. In online collaboration, a student
is able to reply to their own response. Therefore, using private comments and
replies leaves the response unaltered in case it needs to be referenced in the
future.
Students will be able to see how many points the assignment is worth. While this value
is changeable after students submit their answer, changing its value to the appropriate
number or to ungraded will cause less confusion in the future.
Once all the necessary fields are filled in and the appropriate question options are set,
clicking on the Ask button will post the question, as follows:
Figure 4.5 – The Ask button for a finished question post

Questions in Classwork appear with a question mark icon, and you will be able to
see how many students have answered the question as well as when the question is due.
This is shown in the following screenshot:
Figure 4.6 – The Teacher view of a question post

Making changes to a question post, such as editing and deleting, require the same steps
as for an announcement post. Refer to the previous chapter, Chapter 3, Sending Your First
Announcement, for the steps.
When publishing a question post (or any other post in the Classwork section),
a notification will appear in the Stream, as shown:
Figure 4.7 – A question post notification in a Class Stream

How published posts in Classwork appear in the Stream can be changed in the Class
settings. Classwork notifications show condensed notifications by default but can show
all details and attachments or be hidden altogether.
Students will see the same notification in the Stream; however, their view of the question
post in the Classwork section will be slightly different than the teacher's view.
Student view
Students will only see the question and will be able to respond to the question and submit
their response directly on the post. If a student clicks on the notification in the Stream,
they will be directed to the full question post, where they can submit their response.
However, if a student clicks on the question in the Classwork section, they will have to
click on the View question button before they can respond to the question:
Figure 4.8 – The question post in the Classwork section

Inside the question post, students can view the instructions and enter their response in the
answer box on the right column. When a student is ready to submit their response, they
will click the Turn in button:
Figure 4.9 – The answer box and Turn in button of a question post
Once the student's answer is submitted, if the question option is enabled, they will be able
to see how many other students have replied to their response, as well as viewing other
students' responses. In the answer box, a button will appear to See classmate answers.
In addition, tabs will appear at the top of the question post for Classmate answers and
Your answer:
Figure 4.10 – Button and tab to view classmate responses

The following is a screenshot of the Classmate answers section to a question:
Figure 4.11 – The Classmate answers page of a Question post

Google Classroom utilizes several Google apps to communicate with students. Not
only does Google Classroom send an email, because this question has a due date, but
it will also create an event on the due date to remind the student in Google Calendar.
Furthermore, when the student goes to the Stream in Google Classroom, the first box in
the sidebar, shown in the following screenshot, will contain the question:
Figure 4.12 – Upcoming posts with due dates

Students are still able to submit responses after the due date. The question post will show
a Missing indicator at the top of the post, as shown here:
Figure 4.13 – Missing indicator for posts not turned in

Once the response is submitted the post will indicate that the question was responded
to late:
Figure 4.14 – Turned in late indicator for posts

At the time of writing, there is no way to prevent students from turning in work late.
Furthermore, once a due date is passed, the upcoming events box in the Stream
(Figure 4.12) no longer displays the post regardless of whether the task is turned in.
Replying to student responses 101
Replying to student responses

Teachers and students can reply to student responses. Replying to a response is not
the same as commenting on a post in Classwork. Commenting on a question post is
about the content of the question. For example, a student may comment on a question
to ask whether the due date can be extended. Replying to a response is only about that
individual's response. Once on the Student answers page, teachers and students reply to
student responses in the same way. Since the previous section demonstrates how students
navigate the Classmate answers page, the following steps walk through a teacher replying
to a student's question response:
1. In the Classwork section, expand the question post by clicking on its title, then click
View question. The next page will show all the student responses:
Figure 4.15 – The View question button of a question post

2. Click on the Reply icon below the response:
Figure 4.16 – The Reply icon below a student response

3. Type a reply and click the post icon:
Figure Fig 4.17 – The post icon

The reply is now visible under the post:
Figure 4.18 – A reply to a student question response

In the question post, teachers will see a Student answers tab where students see
a Classmate Answers tab. The main difference, apart from the name of the tab, is that
the teacher is able to assign a grade to a student's response, which is explained later in the
chapter:
Figure 4.19 – The Student answers tab in the Teacher view

Creating multiple-choice questions 103
If the replies to responses become too numerous, click on the reply count directly below
the student's response to collapse all replies for that response:
Figure 4.20 – The collapsed reply button
Creating multiple-choice questions

Question posts can either be short-answer or they can be multiple-choice. To switch
between short-answer, which is the default option, and multiple-choice, use the first
drop-down menu in the question options, as shown:
Figure 4.21 – The Multiple choice option

Each question can only have a single multiple-choice question. Chapter 7, Creating
Multiple Choice and Fill-in-the-blank Quizzes using Google Forms, shows how to create
assignment posts with several multiple-choice questions. After selecting the Multiple
choice option, radio buttons will appear below the question options. To add more
multiple-choice options, click on Add option in the list:
Figure 4.22 – Adding another multiple-choice selector to a question post

Multiple-choice questions only have one option: Students can see class summary.
The checkbox is found below the Topic section of the question post. The results will be
displayed on the post after the student has submitted their results. An example of this
option, which is enabled by default, is shown as follows:
Figure 4.23 – The class summary of student responses

Creating multiple-choice questions 105
In the preceding screenshot, the darker-gray sections on the left visually represent the
number of times the choice is selected while the numbers on the right indicate the total
number of students who selected that option.
Tip – when immediate feedback is bad

During my teaching, I found that disabling immediate feedback provided more
meaningful feedback than letting students see the class summary immediately.
With immediate feedback, students who completed the question quickly
could not see the rest of the results without refreshing Google Classroom and
the stragglers could wait and see what most of the class selected and choose
accordingly. Instead, I found that revealing the summary after the majority of
the students had completed the question worked better. Clicking on the title of
a published multiple-choice question post will go to the summary of responses.
More about this page in the next section.
For multiple-choice questions, placing the stem of the question in the Instructions
section of the question post instead of the title allows students to see the entire stem
on the Classwork page. Then, students can answer the question without opening the
question post. An example of how the title and instructions appear in the question post
in Classwork is shown in the following screenshot:
Figure 4.24 – The title versus instructions of a question post when viewed in Classwork
Once all the necessary fields are filled in and the appropriate question options are set,
clicking on the Ask button will post the question. Once students have responded to the
question post, you can grade their responses.
Grading a question
Question posts allow teachers to track which students have responded to the question, as
well as assigning grades to those responses. Use the following steps to assign a grade:
1. In the Classwork section, expand the question post by clicking on its title, then click
View question. The next page will show all the student responses:
Figure 4.25 – The View question button of a question post

2. If necessary, in the menu, click on the points drop-down menu to change how
many points the question is worth:
Figure 4.26 – Question post points drop-down menu

Google Classroom will notify already-graded students when the total points
of a question or assignment change and it does not give an option to adjust
already-graded questions to the new point total. Therefore, you will have to go
back and change all the previously graded questions to the equivalent value for
the new total:
Grading a question 107
Figure 4.27 – Updating the points value of question post
Important
For question and assignment posts, the total points must be a numerical value.
In Canada, many primary schools use a letter grade system to assess students.
If your system is similar, a solution is to relate letter grades to a number value.
For example, an A grade will be 4 points, a B grade 3 points, and so on.
3. Assign the grade to the right column beside the student. Continue assigning a grade
to students until all students are graded:
Figure 4.28 – The grade column

Google Classroom orders students by whether the question is turned in. However,
you can change the student list to order by the student's first or last names by using
the drop-down menu directly above the student list:
Figure 4.29 – The Sort by status drop-down menu

4. As grades are assigned to students, the checkbox beside the students will be
checked. To return the graded question to students, click on the Return button in
the menu. Google Classroom will only notify students that have their checkboxes
checked:
Figure 4.30 – Returning to selected students
Important
Students will not be able to see the grade you have determined until you return
the question or assignment. However, they will immediately be able to see any
private comments you write.
5. A dialog box will appear listing all the students whose graded questions will be
returned. There is also a line to add a private comment. Each student will receive
the private comment separately:
Figure 4.31 – Returning grades with a private comment
Important
If you want to give individual feedback using the Private comment feature, you
must return the assignments one at a time.
It is possible to return question post responses to students who have not turned in
a response. I often return questions and assignment posts that are not turned in so that I
can send a private message to each student who has not completed the post requirements.
Students will still be able to turn in the question and assignment posts even if they have
already been returned to them.
When you have completed grading all the student submissions, you can export the grades
from Google Classroom into a spreadsheet. Click on the settings gear above the student
responses and select Download these grades as CSV:
Figure 4.32 – Downloading question grades as a CSV file

The two other options, Copy all grades to Google Sheets and Download all grades as
CSV, will export all question and assignment grades within the class. Depending on your
Student Information System (SIS), CSV files exported from Google Classroom may be
easily imported into your school's SIS.
Important
At the time of writing, Google Classroom has built-in synchronization
functionality with the Infinite Campus, Skyward 2.0, Capita SIMS, Follett
Aspen, and Aeries SISes. If Google Classroom can synchronize with a third-
party SIS, implementing grade categories into your question and assignment
posts may improve your marking and reporting workflow. These steps are
found at the beginning of Chapter 9, Customizing to Your Subject.
Leaving a question ungraded

Another option when grading a question is to not assign a point value. If the points
were not changed to ungraded when the question was created, it can also be changed in
the points drop-down menu. When returning the question, you will still be able to give
feedback with private comments:
Figure 4.33 – Selecting Ungraded in the points drop-down menu
Viewing a returned grade

Once the question is returned to the students, they will be able to view the grade and
private comments. Students can access a returned question by clicking on the provided
link in the email notification or clicking on the title of the question post in the Stream.
Furthermore, the question post in Classwork will also indicate in the top-right corner
that the question has been returned:
Figure 4.34 – A question post in Classwork that is graded and the returned indicator
The student's answer page will display the grade below the question title. Private
comments will appear at the bottom of the right column:
Figure 4.35 – The Student view of the returned grade and private comments
Students can add a follow-up private comment after the question is returned. This private
comment thread is similar to a student following up on a paper assignment in person.
Summary
The question post provides several tools that enhance what you can do with the Stream
to promote discussion within your class. It allows you to easily track which students have
responded to the question that is posed and grade those responses. When integrating
question posts into your teaching, they can be used to enhance class discussions, as well as
promoting out-of-class discussions for your students.
You are now able to create short-answer and multiple-choice question posts within
the Stream of your Classroom, assign a due date, and grade and return questions with
feedback. Students are now able to reply to each other's responses and your feedback.
The grades, student responses, and feedback are all stored in the post, which can be easily
found on the Classwork page.
This chapter did not explore every feature of grading in Google Classroom. Some features,
such as how a student views all question and assignment grades and how teachers view
student grades and assignments in a spreadsheet-like view, will be explored in Chapter 5,
Handing out and Taking in Assignments, when there are more student grades to view.
In the next chapter, we will explore the final post type: the assignment post. With this type
of post, students will be able to respond by submitting documents.
5
Handing Out
and Taking In
Assignments
In previous chapters, you have learned how to use Announcement posts in Stream,
Material, and Question posts in Classwork. In this chapter, you will learn about the
next post type found in Classwork: the Assignment post. This post allows you to assign
documents stored in Google Drive, then have students edit files and then turn them in
for grading.
This chapter will focus on assigning and taking in assignments because the grading
process is similar to grading a Question post. However, there are some additional features
available when grading assignments rather than questions, which the next chapter will
explore. Furthermore, these question types heavily incorporate Google Docs and Google
Drive, which are additional apps in Google's Workspace for Education.
114 Handing Out and Taking In Assignments
In this chapter, we will explore the following topics:
• Creating an Assignment post

• Sharing files in assignments
• Viewing student files
• Turning in assignments
• File ownership for assignments
Creating an Assignment post

Similar to the Question post, much of the Assignment post's features are found in all
three previous post types.
Note
If you are not reading the chapters in order, consider reading Chapter 1, Getting
to Know Google Classroom; Chapter 3, Sending Your First Announcement; and
Chapter 4, Starting an Online Discussion with Questions.
To create an Assignment post, execute the following steps:
1. In the Classwork section, click on the + Create icon and then click on Assignment:
Figure 5.1 – The Assignment option in Classwork

2. Fill in the Title and Instructions fields:
Creating an Assignment post 115
Figure 5.2 – The Title and Instructions fields of the Assignment post
3. In the right column, select the classes, students within the classes, points the
assignment is worth, due date, and topic for the assignment:
Figure 5.3 – Class, students, points, due date, and topic options of the Assignment post
4. Use the Add menu icon to add files to the assignment (this step is covered
extensively in Chapter 3, Sending Your First Announcement):
Figure 5.4 – Add files from Google Drive or your computer

5. If necessary, add additional links to websites and YouTube videos during this step.
6. Click the Assign button to post the assignment:
Figure 5.5 – Completed Assignment post ready to assign

Creating an Assignment post 117
7. While not necessary, attaching files to an Assignment post separates its features
from the Question post. Where the Question post allows the grading of student
responses to the post, the Assignment post allows the grading of the files attached
to the assignment. In the following screenshot, you will see that the Assignment
post, like the Question post, also tracks how many students have turned in the
assignment when viewed in the Classwork section:
Figure 5.6 – View how many students have turned in the assignment
The Assignment post also includes settings for a rubric and to check for plagiarism. These
two settings are explored in Chapter 6, Grading Written Assignments in a Flash.
When teaching in person, there are documents that you may present on a project,
documents that every student may be able to mark up, and documents that are
photocopied for each student. When attaching files to Assignment posts, there are
additional settings for Google Docs that resemble each use case.
The next section outlines how to set student permissions to only view the file, edit the file,
or have an individual copy made for each student.
Sharing files in assignments

If you attach a file from your computer or Google Drive, you will notice an additional
option beside the file that is not present in other post types. This new option, displayed
in the following screenshot, allows you to choose how students receive this file:
Figure 5.7 – Assignment-specific Google Docs share settings

Each sharing option allows a different level of student interaction:
• Students can view file does not let students interact with this file. They are only able
to read, download, or print the file.
• Students can edit file allows all students to edit the same file. Therefore, you and
your students will see each other's changes in real time.
• Make a copy for each student will create a copy of the file in your Google Drive for
each student. Students will not see what other students write in the document.
Note
You can further prevent students from downloading or printing the file.
However, those are advanced settings found in Google Drive and are beyond
the scope of this book.
Choosing when to use which sharing permission depends on the purpose of the file. For
example, if students are practicing editing a document, an assignment could be similar to
the one shown in the following screenshot:
Sharing files in assignments 119
Figure 5.8 – An example of an assignment where students edit the file

Another example is if you want students to critically respond to work. You can attach
some files with the Students can view file option and then attach the document that you
want them to complete with the Make a copy for each student option:
Figure 5.9 – An example of an assignment where students have individual files

To utilize the full features of the Assignment post, ensure that the files you assign the
Make a copy for each student option are documents created in Google Docs or converted
into the Google Docs format. Students will only be able to edit the Google Docs file
formats for Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
Note
It is important to decide file permissions before you post the assignment. If a
file's permission is set to view or edit, it cannot be changed to make a copy for
each student afterward.
Now that you have published the Assignment post, students will be able to turn in
their work. In the next section, you will then be able to easily see their responses to the
assignment.
Viewing student files

The Assignment post has greater complexity than the other posts because there are files
associated with the assignment. There are two different locations to access files turned in
by students – Google Classroom and Google Drive.
Viewing student files in Google Classroom

To access student files in Google Classroom, regardless of whether they have turned in
their work or not, follow these steps:
1. In the Classwork section, click on the title of the post and then click on View
assignment:
Figure 5.10 – Opening the assignment in the Classwork tab

2. You will now be on the Student work page. This page only shows thumbnails of the
first attachment for each student. To view all files a student turns in, click on the
name of the student in the left column:
Figure 5.11 – Selecting a student to view attachments
Note
If you have been using Google Classroom before the 2018 major updates or
coming from the previous version of this book, clicking on the title of the
Assignment post notification in the Stream will also take you to the Student
Work page.
3. Click on the file you want to view:
Figure 5.12 – Selecting a student's assignment attachment

4. A new tab will open with the Grading Tool. This page allows you to switch between
students, view student files, grade the assignment, and leave comments. The
following screenshot highlights the navigation tools within the page:
Figure 5.13 – Navigation on the Grading Tool page

5. When you attach a file using the Make a copy for each student setting, the copies of
the file will not be created until the student accesses the assignment. Therefore, you
may have some students that do not have an assignment file created when you view
the Student Work page:
Figure 5.14 – Aiden has not opened the assignment yet

6. If the files are available, another method of viewing files from students is to click on
the file thumbnail in the main section of the Student Work page as shown in the
Figure 5.15 – Student assignment files thumbnail

The Google Classroom mobile app is another method to view student files.
Viewing student files on the Google Classroom mobile app

If you have a smartphone or tablet, viewing student files on your mobile device is a great
way to multitask during class time. I have opened student files on my mobile device while
managing the class countless times. Changes are visible in real time so that you can see the
changes that the students are making without having to look over shoulders. The following
steps will use the Google Classroom app on a Google Android device. Using the app on an
Apple iOS device will use similar steps:
1. On the Home Screen, tap the Classroom app:
Figure 5.16 – Google Classroom app

2. Tap on the class:
Figure 5.17 – The class in the Google Classroom app

3. Tap on the Classwork icon at the bottom of the app:
Figure 5.18 – The Classwork icon in the Google Classroom app

4. Tap on the title of the assignment post:
Figure 5.19 – The Assignment post in the Classwork tab

5. Tap on the student's name:
Figure 5.20 – Selecting the student in Student work

6. Tap on the file to view it:
Figure 5.21 – Tap file for turned-in student work

7. The file will open in Google Docs:
Figure 5.22 – Preview of student's turned-in file

In Apple's iOS, the first time you open a file from Google Classroom, dialog boxes will
appear after step 5 asking for permission to access the Google Drive and Google Docs
apps on the iPad or iPhone.
On Apple's iOS and Google's Android, the Google Drive and Google Docs apps must be
present on the device. If they are not already installed, refer to Chapter 2, Inviting Students
to Their Virtual Classroom, for comprehensive instructions.
If the Assignment post was assigned recently, clicking on the notification in the Stream
will save a few taps from the previous steps. Just like on the website, the Stream is the first
section visible in the app. An image of the Stream on mobile is shown in the following
screenshot:
Fug 5.23 – The Assignment post notification in the Stream

If you have an Apple iPad with Apple Pencil or a pen-enabled Android tablet, this
mobile view will also be beneficial for leaving teacher feedback, which is covered in the
succeeding chapter.
Files can also be viewed within the Google Drive app, which the next section explores.
Viewing student files in Google Drive

Google Drive is an online file storage and management app for Google Apps. All files
uploaded or created in Google Classroom are stored in Google Drive. Since it is possible
to view student files directly from the Google Drive app, it can be more convenient to
access student files there if you already use Google Drive frequently. Oftentimes, if I am
viewing images or other non-Google files, I will use Google Drive.
There is no limit to how much data you can store in Google Drive for Google Apps for
Education and Google Apps for Work accounts; however, standard Google accounts
(emails that end in @gmail.com) have a 15 GB total storage limit. For standard Google
accounts, Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files do not contribute to the 15 GB maximum.
Use the following steps to view student files from the Google Drive app:
1. In Google Chrome, navigate to https://drive.google.com. An alternative

is to click on the app launcher in another Google app (such as Gmail or Google
Calendar) and then click on the Drive icon:
Figure 5.24 – The Drive icon in the App Launcher

2. Click on the folder named Classroom:
Figure 5.25 – Classroom folder in Google Drive

3. Click on the folder with the class name:
Figure 5.26 – Class folder

4. Click on the folder with the same title as the assignment post:
Figure 5.27 – Assignment post folder

5. Click on the assignment you wish to view:
Figure 5.28 – Thumbnail preview of student file

6. The file will open in a new tab in Google Docs:
Figure 5.29 – Student file open in Google Docs

As Google Drive defaults to a thumbnail view of files, you can view files in a details
list. In the following screenshot, you can see that the filename is cut off, obscuring
the student name. Click on the List View icon in the menu:
Figure 5.30 – The List View icon

Your files will no longer show a thumbnail of the first page. Instead, only the file
format icon and the filename will be visible. Additionally, two columns containing
more details about the document will appear. The following screenshot shows the
List View of Google Drive:
Figure 5.31 – Student files in List View

Downloading student files from Google Drive

Depending on your use case, it may be more efficient to download all the files within an
assignment folder and use a program on your computer to view the files. An example
of this use case is if students are primarily attaching image files. During the COVID-19
pandemic, many math and art teachers at my school instructed students to attach photos
of their math question solutions and artwork.
Teachers would then download the files and open the images in the computer image
viewer, where they could more efficiently switch between images.
Give clear instructions for filenames

If you plan on downloading files using this method, be sure to give your
students clear instructions on how the files must be named. Since my school's
grading software orders alphabetically by last name, I instruct my students
to name files as last name, first name – assignment name whenever I plan on
downloading their assignment files.
To download a ZIP file of the Google Classroom folder, navigate to the folder in Google
Drive, then click on the menu in the folder path and select Download:
Figure 5.32 – Download a folder from Google Drive

Windows and macOS both have built-in software to extract the folder of student files from
the ZIP file. While double-clicking the ZIP file in macOS will automatically extract the
ZIP file contents into a folder, in Windows, it will open the ZIP file in Windows Explorer.
To extract the files from the ZIP file in Windows, click on the Extract all button in the
ribbon, shown here:
Figure 5.33 – Extract all button in File Explorer for ZIP files
Turning in assignments
If students are new to using Google Classroom, they may also need guidance for turning
in their assignments through Google Classroom. During my time teaching, I learned that
if I did not explicitly show students how to turn in assignments, I would receive them
incomplete or through email. To save extra work in collecting assignments, take a few
moments at the beginning of the first few assignments to show students how to properly
turn in assignments. After assigning the assignment, have a student log into a computer
connected to a projector so that you can show the students the steps to correctly submit
the assignment.
For assignments with Google Docs, sharing files with the Make a copy for each student
setting is the simplest method for students to turn in an assignment. With the Bean
Sprout Lab example, the assignment contains one Google Doc that the student needs to
edit. Since it was shared with the Make a copy for each student setting, when the student
opens the Google document, a TURN IN button will appear in the menu as shown in the
Figure 5.34 – TURN IN button in a Google document

When the student finishes the assignment, they can click the TURN IN button in the
Google document and they will confirm the submission in the dialog box that appears:
Figure 5.35 – Confirmation dialog box in Google Classroom

For the first few assignments, use this method exclusively. It is the easiest method for
students to turn in assignments because there are fewer steps for the student. Once
students are comfortable turning in Google Docs assignments with the Make a copy for
each student setting, then I provide more complex assignments where students can add
additional files to the assignment.
When a student turns in an assignment, the icon beside the assignment in the Classwork
section changes from colored to gray. Therefore, a student can easily see which
assignments in the Classwork section still require submission:
Figure 5.36 – Icon color change beside an Assignment/Question post in the Classwork section
The icons beside Assignment post notifications within the Stream do not change.
Adding additional files to assignments

As students become more proficient in turning in assignments in Google Classroom, they
will be able to complete more complex assignments. Students can create additional Google
Docs files for their assignments before turning them in. To do that, guide them through
these steps:
1. In the Classwork section, have students click on the title of the assignment, then
click on View assignment:
Figure 5.37 – Open the Assignment post

2. Click on the Add or Create drop-down menu. Then, click on the Docs icon or text:
Figure 5.38 – Create a Google document in an Assignment

A blank Google document will open in a new tab. Because it is created inside an
Assignment post, it will also have the Turn in button in its toolbar.
Despite Google Docs often referencing the document editor app, it can also reference the
entire office suite of apps including Google Slides and Google Sheets.
Students are also able to attach files directly from Google Drive or their computer. In the
Add menu, they can choose Google Drive or File to add additional files.
Using mobile devices with assignments

If students use the Google Classroom app, they will be able to use additional features
found within the Google Classroom mobile app. Students are able to take photos and
videos directly from the app and attach them to the assignment:
1. On the mobile app, students can tap the Assignment post title in the Classwork
or Stream sections:
Figure 5.39 – Assignment post in the Classroom mobile app

2. Tap or swipe up from the Your work section:
Figure 5.40 – The Your work section of the Assignment post in the Classroom app
3. Tap on the Add attachment button:
Figure 5.41 – The Add attachment button

4. Tap the Take photo or Record video options as needed:
Fig. 5.42 – App specific photo and video attachment options

5. Using this camera feature, students can take pictures or videos and attach them to
the assignment:
Figure 5.43 – Image and video files attached to an Assignment post

Using mobile devices with Google Classroom fosters creative learning and assessment.
If there are enough mobile devices in the class, students can submit skits, songs, oral
analysis, laboratory demonstrations, graphs, and more by simply taking pictures or
recording video directly from their smartphone or tablet. If there are not enough mobile
devices, consider incorporating these assignments in group work. Students may forget to
attach a file or want to update a file after turning in the assignment.
The next section explores how a student can make those changes.
Unsubmitting and resubmitting assignments

At any time after they have submitted their assignment, students are able to make changes
to their assignment. First, the student needs to unsubmit the assignment, which they can
do by clicking on the title of the Assignment post in the Stream. Below their work will be
an Unsubmit button as shown in the following screenshot:
Figure 5.44 – The Unsubmit button in the Assignment post

Once the assignment is unsubmitted, students will be able to make changes to their files
before turning them in again. If students unsubmit and turn in their assignment after the
due date, Google Classroom still flags the assignment as late. At the time of writing, there
is no way to disable the Unsubmit button.
Once a student has unsubmitted an assignment, you will be able to see when students turn
in new submissions. In the Student Work tab of the assignment, clicking See history,
shown in the following screenshot, will display a list of when the student turned in the
assignment:
Figure 5.45 – The See history link

Turning in assignments late

Students are able to turn in assignments late. However, if they do, Google Classroom will
flag the assignment as late:
Figure 5.46 – Assignment post Turned in late indicator

At the time of writing, there is no simple method for creating a hard deadline where
students are unable to submit assignments after the deadline.
In Chapter 8, Keeping Parents in the Loop, you will learn how to set up Google Classroom
to email parents regularly with upcoming and missing assignments.
With students' assignments turned in, the next section explores how the permissions of
the assignment files change when the assignment is turned in.
File ownership for assignments

Just like with physical assignments, ownership of the student's assignment transfers to
the teacher when students turn in assignments. Therefore, if you view a student's file
in Google Drive, turned in assignments will display me for the owner instead of the
student's name:
Figure 5.47 – Owner column in the Google Drive folder

Summary 143
While seemingly inconsequential, students have limited privileges with turned-in files.
For example, they will not see any changes or comments to the assignment until it is
returned to them.
If students unsubmit their assignment after you have graded it but before you have
returned it, the student will be able to see your changes or comments but will not see
the grade. Grades are only visible to the student when the assignment is returned.
Another limitation for students is that they are only able to view the turned-in files and
cannot make any changes unless they unsubmit the assignment. Thus, having ownership
transfer to you until you grade and return the assignment ensures that there are no
unexpected surprises during the grading process.
Summary
Assignment posts allow you to manage and consolidate your assignments in a single
location. You neither have to keep track of which students have turned in their
assignments or which ones have not; nor do you need to worry about misplacing
assignments at home, in the classroom, or somewhere in between. In addition, you are
no longer limited to text. Now you are able to attach any type of file, such as images and
videos or links to websites or YouTube videos.
You are now able to create Assignment posts and know the ins and outs of adding
content to the posts, how students turn in assignments, and where you can find all the
assignments in Google Classroom and Google Drive. You have learned how to recognize
when students unsubmit their assignments or turn them in late.
In the next two chapters, we will go through various methods of grading assignments in
Google Classroom. We will focus on providing meaningful feedback and tools to speed up
the grading process.
Section 3:
Diving Deeper
Now that there are assignments, the next step is assessment and grading. This section also
includes communicating with parents or guardians and customizing classes with add-ons
for specific subjects.
• Chapter 6, Grading Written Assignments in a Flash

• Chapter 7, Creating Multiple Choice and Fill-in-the-Blank Quizzes Using
Google Forms
• Chapter 8, Keeping Parents in the Loop
• Chapter 9, Customizing to Your Subject
6
Grading Written
Assignments
in a Flash
Now that you have your student files, it's time to grade them. Marking assignments is
one of the necessary evils for teachers. There is never time during the day to mark all the
assignments students turn in. Therefore, we teachers also have constant homework, where
we are marking assignments at home. Thankfully, Google Classroom and other Google
Apps help reduce the time it takes to grade and return assignments. Not to mention, this
reduces your environmental impact by reducing the paper use within your classroom.
This chapter will focus on grading written assignments, whereas the next chapter will
focus on creating and grading multiple choice, numeric response, and fill-in-the-blank
type questions.
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
• Assign a grade to an Assignment post

• Publish a private comment in an Assignment post
• Create comments and give suggestions in a Google Doc
• Save and use comments in the Comment bank
148 Grading Written Assignments in a Flash
• Reply, resolve, and manage Google Doc comments

• Monitor student progress in a Google Doc with Version history
• Create and grade an assignment submission using a rubric
• Mark an assignment submission using a tablet
• View all student assignment and grades
With such a jam-packed chapter, let's jump right in!
Assigning a grade using the Grading Tool

The Google Classroom web page for assignment submissions is the same page you
use for Question post submissions, which you learned about in Chapter 4, Starting an
Online Discussion with Questions. Check out that chapter for in-depth steps regarding
changing how many points an assignment is worth and other tips. Assignments have an
additional page where grades can be assigned – the Grading Tool. To assign and return
an assignment using the Grading Tool, follow these steps:
1. In the Classwork section, click on the Assignment post title, and then click on
View assignment:
Figure 6.1 – Opening the Assignment post in Classwork

Assigning a grade using the Grading Tool 149
2. In the main section of the assignment's Student Work page, click on the thumbnail
of the student's assignment to view the document in the Grading Tool:
Figure 6.2 – Student assignment submission thumbnail
Note
Compatible documents such as Google Docs or media files will open in the
Grading Tool. All other files will download to your computer.
3. Assign a grade to the student in the right sidebar:
Figure 6.3 – The Grade field in the Grading Tool

4. When you are ready to return the assignment, click the Return button at the top
right of the Grading Tool:
Figure 6.4 – The Return button in the Grading Tool

Assigning a grade using the Grading Tool 151
5. A dialog box will appear to confirm that the assignment is being returned:
Figure 6.5 – The confirmation dialog box

If you want to return multiple assignments, click on the drop-down menu beside the
Return button and select Return multiple submissions. The confirmation dialog
box will have checkboxes beside each student's name to select which students'
assignments to return:
Figure 6.6 – Return multiple submissions option
Adding a private comment when returning multiple assignments

When returning multiple assignments in the Grading Tool, there is no field to
enter a private comment for all selected students like there is on the Student
work page of the Assignment post. Oftentimes, I go back to the Assignment
post when I'm returning work so that I can add that final private comment for
each student.
In the drop-down menu beside the Return button, there is another option, Return this
submission, which performs the same action as the Return button.
Once the assignment has been returned, like the Questions post, students will receive an
email notification and will be able to see the feedback in Google Classroom. In the next
section, we will see how we can provide feedback to the assignment.
Providing feedback with private messages and

comments
Usually, teachers are encouraged to provide meaningful feedback in addition to a grade
so that students can receive guidance to improve their work. You can provide written
feedback through private messages within the Grading Tool and comments within the
submitted Google Docs.
Private messages are feedback for the entire assignment. They are similar to writing
a couple of sentences at the end of an essay or lab report. In the Grading Tool, there is
a field to add a private message. Once the message has been written, clicking the send
icon will publish the message. Here, the student will receive an email notification and
can respond to the private message:
Figure 6.7 – Private comments section in the Grading Tool

Providing feedback with private messages and comments 153
Don't Delay! Publish Private Comments Right Away!

Private messages are not saved. Therefore, remember to publish them
immediately. If you close the Grading Tool page or navigate to another
student's assignment submission, you will lose any unpublished Private
comments for the current student.
Adding comments to student files

While you can add private comments to the assignment, comments can also be added
directly to the content of a Google Doc. You can add a comment to a Google Doc, Google
Slide, Google Sheet, and image file. This method of feedback allows you to highlight
specific parts of the assignment to comment on. With the Google Doc submission open
(or open in the Grading Tool), use these steps to add a comment to a Google Doc from
the Grading Tool:
1. In the Grading Tool, if the student's Google Doc is not open, select Google Doc
in the Files section of the right sidebar.
2. In the Google Doc, highlight the content you wish to comment on:
Figure 6.8 – Highlighting text for commenting

3. An icon to add the comment will appear on the right margin of the Google Doc.
Click this icon to open the Comment dialog box:
Figure 6.9 – The Add Comment icon

Other ways to start a comment is to click the icon present in the toolbar to add the
comment or by going to the Insert menu:
Figure 6.10 – Alternative Add Comment buttons

4. Type in your comment and click on the Comment button:
Figure 6.11 – The Add Comment dialog box

When the comment is published, it will float in the right margin near the comment,
which will now be highlighted in a light yellow, as shown in the following
screenshot:
Figure 6.12 – A published post
Aligning Comments with Text

When there are many comments near each other, the comment boxes may not
align with the commented text. Clicking on either the text that's highlighted or
the comment box will align them.
Mentioning users in a Comment

When multiple students are working on a single Google Doc, it is possible to indicate who
the comment is directed at. That student will then receive an email, indicating that they
were mentioned in a comment. To reference a user, type in their email immediately after
an @ or + symbol (for example, @mzhang2@gtrainerdemo.technerdservices.
com). An easier way of mentioning a student (or another user) in a comment is to start
with an @ or + symbol and immediately type in the user's name. Then, a drop-down list
will appear for you to select an email address:
Figure 6.13 – Mentioning another user in a comment

Using the Comment bank

If you are like me and have several comments that are used over and over again, saving
and retrieving comments from Comment bank will be a major time saver. At the time of
writing, Comment bank is rudimentary, and there is no way to categorize comments or
specify individual comments for an assignment. However, there is a search feature that
helps with finding a specific comment when needed.
Creating a comment in the Comment bank

Follow these steps to create a Comment in the Comment bank:
1. In the Grading Tool, click on the Comment bank icon:
Figure 6.14 –The Comment bank icon

2. Click on the + Add to bank button:
Figure 6.15 – The Add to bank button

3. An Add comment dialog box will appear. Type in the comment and click the
Add button:
Figure 6.16 – The Add comment dialog box

4. The comment will now appear in the Comment bank sidebar:
Figure 6.17 – A finished comment saved in the Comment bank

If you have already written the comment in a Google Doc, while in the Grading tool,
click on the comment's kebab menu, which will have an option to add the comment to
Comment bank.
Editing and Deleting Comments in the Comment Bank

Each comment in Comment bank has a kebab menu with the option to copy
the comment to the clipboard, edit the comment, or delete the comment.
Another page to edit and delete comments can be found at https://
classroom.google.com/g/cm.
Selecting comments in the Comment bank

There are several different methods to select a comment in Comment bank so that you
can place it in a Google Doc comment. The simplest way to find the desired comment in
Comment bank is to hover your mouse cursor over the desired comment, and then click
the copy icon that appears in the comment box, as shown in the following screenshot:
Figure 6.18 – The Copy icon within a comment in the Comment bank
Now that the comment text has been copied, it can be pasted into a comment in the
Google Doc. However, I find this method tedious and time-consuming when there are
many comments stored in Comment bank. Finding the right comment may require
a large amount of scrolling through it. Instead, I use the search Comment bank feature.
To search through Comment bank, when starting a comment in a Google Doc, type the
# symbol and words from the comment to add. Then, a drop-down menu will appear
consisting of matching comments that were found in Comment bank:
Figure 6.19 – Searching the Comment bank when adding a comment

After selecting a comment from Comment bank using this method, the # symbol will
disappear from the comment text.
Note
Comment bank does not work well with the private message section of the
Grading Tool. While it is possible to copy and paste comments from Comment
bank into the private message, starting the message with a # symbol will not
search Comment bank.
Replying to and resolving comments

The comments feature in Google Docs allows anyone with editing permissions to reply
to comments within the document. After the assignment is returned, students can then
respond to your comments. To reply to a comment, follow these steps:
1. Select the comment by clicking on the highlighted comment or the comment

box itself:
Figure 6.20 – Selecting the comment

2. Click inside the Reply or add others with @ field:
Figure 6.21 – The Reply or add others with @ field

3. Type your reply and click the Reply button:
Figure 6.22 – Inserting text and the Reply button

By default, the owner of the document and the author of the comment will receive
email notifications of the reply.
If a comment is no longer needed, it can be hidden by resolving the comment. To resolve
a comment, click on the checkmark icon of a comment, as shown in the following
screenshot:
Figure 6.23 – The mark as resolved button

Depending on your pedagogy, it may be important to instruct students in the class or in
the comment to resolve the comment when they have addressed it. When comments are
resolved, you will receive an email notification stating that the feedback comments have
been addressed, and that the assignment is ready for reassessment.
Managing comments in Google Docs

When you're working with several comments in a Google Doc, viewing all the comments
in a single location saves you time scrolling through the entire text. In Google Docs, all
comments, including resolved comments, are found in the comment history section.
To view this comment history, click on the comment icon in the top-right corner of the
Google Doc:
Figure 6.24 – The comment history icon

If you are in the Grading Tool and don't see the comment icon, expand the Google Docs
menu by clicking on the icon to show the menus at the end of the toolbar:
Figure 6.25 – The Show the Menus icon

At the top of the comment history, there is a Notifications menu, where you can select
whether to receive email notifications for all comments, replies to your comments, or
none. Beside the Notifications menu, there is another icon to add the comment. A
screenshot of both icons is shown here:
Figure 6.26 – The Notifications and Add Comment buttons

The comment history then scrolls through all the comments that had been found within
the Google Doc. Clicking on any comment thread will scroll the document until it finds
the comment's location within it. Within the comment history, students and teachers can
view and create new replies. The following screenshot is an example of how a comment
appears in the comment history:
Figure 6.27 – A comment inside Comment History

Each comment has a drop-down menu that has options to edit, delete, resolve, or link
to the comment. (If you are in the Grading tool, there will also be an option to add the
comment to Comment bank.) Because the triangle icon for the drop-down menu can
easily be missed, here's a screenshot of the menu:
Figure 6.28 – The comment's drop-down menu

If the comment has been resolved, then the drop-down menu will have an option to
re-open instead of resolve the comment.
The Usefulness of Linking to a Comment

For longer papers such as post-secondary term papers or the extended essay
for the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, linking to a comment is
a hidden gem. The link to this comment feature creates a web address directly
to the comment. On multiple occasions, I have emailed comment links to
students and collaborators so that they can easily navigate to the section of the
paper the email is referencing.
Suggesting changes to a student file

Another method of adding comments is to suggest changes that should be made to
the text. Google Docs will record changes you make to the document. This method
of feedback is great for providing feedback for sentence structure, wordiness, and
conciseness in essays, lab reports, and other long documents. The suggesting feature is
similar to Track Changes in Microsoft Word. To enable suggesting mode in a Google
Doc, click on the editing icon and select Suggesting, as shown in the following screenshot:
Figure 6.29 – The Editing mode icon and menu in the toolbar
Now, when you write in the document, it will display the changes and add a comment:
Figure 6.30 – Suggesting changes in the text

Monitoring student progress with Version history

Depending on the type of assignments you're working with, there will be times where
you may want to give feedback on the assignment's completion process, as well as the
results. One example is to determine whether a student has modified the data that's been
collected from an investigation after processing the data to calculate a more accurate
result. Formally called Revision history, Version history takes snapshots of a Google Doc
as content is added. It is a digital paper trail that allows you and your students to view
previous versions of the document.
While it saddens me, students do occasionally cheat on assignments. If you are suspicious
of the authenticity of a written assignment that a student submits, checking the revision
history of a document may provide clues as to whether the student copied and pasted
a premade assignment into the document. To activate Version history, select Version
history in the File menu and then click on the See version history option, as shown in
the following screenshot:
Figure 6.31 – Version history option in the File menu

If the student wrote the assignment in Google Docs, there will be several versions in
the right sidebar, and you will see highlighted text that the student has added within
the version. An example of the Version history area of a Google Doc that a student has
completed is shown in the following screenshot:
Figure 6.32 – Changes within the selected version of the Google Doc
If a student copies an assignment, there will only be two revisions available – a blank
document and the complete document.
Copy and Pasting from Microsoft Word

If a Google Doc's Version history only has a single version, the student may
claim that the assignment was completed in Microsoft Word and then copy
and pasted into the Google Doc. If that is the case, since 2016, Microsoft Word
and other Office products also have a Version history feature. If the student
also submits the Microsoft Word file, then its Version history can be found
in File | Info.
For smaller assignments, Version history can show more granular changes to the
document. Each version can be expanded into subversions to show smaller increments
of changes within the content.
For more detailed records of student activity within a Google Doc, you can use a Google
Chrome extension called Draftback can visualize all the changes within a Google Doc.
You'll learn how to install this extension in Chapter 9, Customizing to Your Subject.
Avoiding plagiarism with Originality reports

Instead of catching students in the act of cheating, Google Classroom offers a tool
to detect and prevent plagiarism within a Google Doc. Originality reports check for
authenticity by comparing student work to online sources (including digital versions of
books). These reports identify parts of the assignment that relate to other online sources.
Originality reports can also help educate students about plagiarism because they can run
the report before submitting their assignment.
In the student's view, there is a Run button in the Your work section of the assignment,
Figure 6.33 – The Originality reports Run button for students

To enable Originality reports, click on the Check plagiarism (originality) checkbox

at the bottom of the Assignment post sidebar:
Figure 6.34 – Check plagiarism (originality) button of the Assignment post
Enterprise Advantages
A Google Classroom Class can only use Originality reports in five
assignments. A dialog box appears, displaying the number of remaining
uses whenever this feature is turned on. If your organization uses Google
Workspace for Education Enterprise, this limitation is removed.
One strategy that some grade 10 teachers use for the first assignment is to enable
Originality reports after students submit their work. (In the school system I am part of,
grade 10 is the start of high school.) Then, they can build a mini-lesson wherein students
can see whether the assignment has been flagged by the Originality report. Subsequent
assignments will then have Originality reports turned on so that students can check
whether their assignment contains plagiarism prior to submitting their work.
To view an Originality report, click on the Check plagiarism link (originality) button
under the file in the Grading tool. If Originality reports is enabled before students turn
in their assignments, it will already show if the Originality reports had flagged any issues:
Figure 6.35 – Originality report link in the Grading Tool

The following is a screenshot of an Originality report where there is significant plagiarism:
Figure 6.36 – Sample Originality report

Note
Google continues to improve this feature. In mid-2021, it added a feature where
it can detect similarities, even if submissions include letters that have been
changed to symbols (such as an a or an e). In the future, Originality reports
will also compare submissions with other Google Docs within the organization
to detect if a submission is plagiarizing another submission.
Now, you know how to assign grades and publish feedback in private messages and
comments. While these tools are an effective assessment practice, many assignments
standardize assessments through a rubric, which we'll explore in the next section.
Using a rubric to grade assignments

When you're grading long documents such as essays and lab reports, you may use a rubric
to provide feedback to your students. In Google Classroom, rubrics can be created for
individual assignments. This section will provide an overview of how to create and assess
assignments using a rubric.
TIP
Oftentimes, I still include a rubric in the Google Doc instructions of the
assignment, because students have provided feedback where it is easier to view
the rubric within a Google Doc than through the Assignment post in Google
Classroom.
Creating a rubric in the Grading Tool

You can create a rubric while creating an Assignment post or you can add it to an
Assignment post after publishing it. Oftentimes, I find myself adding it to the assignment
afterward because the rubric is already within the assignment instruction's Google Doc.
To create a rubric for an assignment, perform the following steps:
1. Whether you are creating a rubric while creating a new Assignment post or editing
a previously created Assignment post, click the + Rubric button below the Topic
section of the right sidebar. Then, click Create rubric:
Using a rubric to grade assignments 171
Figure 6.37 – Create rubric option of the Assignment post

2. By default, the rubric will have scoring enabled, where each criterion in the rubric
is worth a set number of points, and the points are ordered in descending order.
Set each property as needed:
Figure 6.38 – Score and score order settings
Note
It is possible to change whether scoring is enabled after students turn in an
assessment. However, if scoring is disabled and some student assignments have
already been graded, those assignment's rubric assessment scores will be lost.
3. Type in the Criterion title and Criterion description properties. The criterion is
the row of a rubric. In a Science lab report, these are often the sections of the lab
report, such as observations, calculations, and so on. On the other hand, in English
papers, these criteria are often components of the essay, such as ideas, grammar,
and cohesiveness:
Figure 6.39 – The Criterion title and description fields

4. Type in the Points, Level title, and Description properties for the first level of
the criterion. The levels are the columns of the rubric. Oftentimes, these columns
represent points that have been awarded or descriptors such as Exemplary,
Proficient, Adequate, and Limited:
Figure 6.40 – The Criterion level points, title, and description

5. Click on the + button beside the level to add an additional level. Continue adding
levels until the criterion is complete:
Figure 6.41 – Adding a level to a Criterion

6. Continue adding criterions using the + Add a criterion button until the rubric
is complete:
Figure 6.42 – The + Add a criterion button

To rearrange, duplicate, or delete a criterion, use the kebab menu at the top-right
corner of the criterion:
Figure 6.43 – Kebab menu of a criterion

7. Click the Save button at the top right of the page:
Figure 6.44 – Save button of the rubric

The rubric will appear in the right sidebar, indicating the number of criteria and
total points:
Figure 6.45 – Rubric icon and information in the Assignment post

Note
You may notice that the total points of the rubric do not match the total points
of the assignment, which is 10. The next section will demonstrate the behavior
between the rubric and assignment points.
Clicking on the criteria icon in the Assignment post will open the rubric in a dialog
box where the criteria, levels, and points are visible:
Figure 6.46 – Dialogue box containing a summary of the rubric
Note
The kebab menu in this dialog box has options for editing, deleting, and
exporting this rubric.
Students can view the criteria in the Assignment post instructions. There, the rubric will
appear below the assignment instructions, as well as any attachments for the Assignment
post, shown in the following screenshot. Students can expand the entire rubric or
individual criteria:
Figure 6.47 – Student view of the Assignment post with a rubric

There are alternative methods of creating a rubric that reuse a previously created rubric
or import a template from Google Sheets. You will learn how to do this in the Reusing
a rubric from another Assignment post section later in the chapter.
Grading an assignment using a rubric

When assessing student submissions for an assignment with a rubric, much of the
grading will occur in the Grading tool. The right sidebar will sandwich the rubric between
assigning a grade and leaving a private comment. Each criterion appears collapsed with
a gray box to indicate each level of the rubric. Clicking on the title of a criterion will
expand it so that you can view the text within each level. The following is a screenshot
of the rubric in the Grading tool:
Figure 6.48 – The rubric in the Grading Tool

To grade with a rubric in the Grading tool, click on the appropriate level, either expanded
or collapsed, for each criterion. The selected levels are highlighted in blue:
Figure 6.49 – Selecting and deselecting criterion levels

If the rubric uses points, the criterion points will accumulate at the top of the rubric. If
the total points of the rubric are not the same as the total points of the assignment, the
assignment grade will automatically adjust from the rubric points to the assignment
points. For example, 17/20 will adjust to 8.5/10 for the Bean Sprout Lab, as shown in the
Figure 6.50 – Rubric points being converted into assignment points
Note
After grading with a rubric, the grade can be adjusted afterward. In the
preceding example, if your pedagogy does not use part marks, then the grade
can be changed to an 8 or 9. However, making any changes to the rubric will
recalculate the grade from the rubric.
When marking with the Grading tool, using all its features effectively can dramatically
speed up the marking process. Oftentimes, I print a copy of the rubric for reference
and then use comments in the comment bank, select levels from the rubric, and then
write a sentence or two in the private comments to grade and provide feedback. Then,
in the Grading tool, I will navigate to the next student and repeat this process. While it
seems daunting, with a little preparation in Comment bank and the assignment rubric
(and a peppy Spotify playlist and a fun drink), the marking process can be enjoyable.
Reusing a rubric from another Assignment post

Just like reusing a post, it is possible to reuse a rubric. To reuse a rubric, perform the
following steps:
1. Whether you are reusing a rubric while creating a new Assignment post or editing
a previously created Assignment post, click the + Rubric button below the Topic
section in the right sidebar. Then, click Reuse rubric:
Figure 6.51 – Reuse rubric option within the Assignment post

2. A dialog box will appear. In the drop-down menu at the top, select the class that has
the Assignment post with the desired rubric:
Figure 6.52 – Class drop-down menu in the Reuse rubric dialog box
3. Select the Assignment post and then click the Select button:
Figure 6.53 – Assignment post containing the rubric
Note
Clicking the Preview button in the dialog box will open the summary view of
the selected rubric in another dialog box.
4. The rubric will appear in the Rubric section of the right sidebar. If necessary, click
on the rubric to begin editing it:
Figure 6.54 – Rubric icon and information in the Assignment post

By reusing rubrics, over time, you will be able to reuse rubrics from previous courses and
classes while only making slight modifications.
Creating a rubric using Google Sheets

Most likely, you already have rubric templates in tables in Microsoft Word or Google Docs
or spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. Instead of rewriting all those rubrics,
it is possible to import a Google Sheet as a Rubric. To import a Google Sheet, it must have
the information in the correct format.
To get started, create a Google Sheets copy of the point rubric (tns.tips/gclass-
points-rubric) or the no points rubric (tns.tips/gclass-rubric). In the
following steps, we will use the points rubric:
1. Open Google Chrome and navigate to tns.tips/gclass-points-rubric in

the address bar:
Figure 6.55 – Address bar containing the rubric shortlink

2. Click the Make a copy button:
Figure 6.56 – Make a copy button of the Google Sheets template

3. A copy of the template will open and be saved in your Google Drive.
4. If necessary, copy and paste Criterion Title to Level Description to add
more criteria:
Figure 6.57 – Section of the template to copy and paste

5. Replace the Criterion Title, Criterion Description, Points, Level
Title, and Level Descriptions sections of each criterion:
Figure 6.58 – Filled in rubric template
Note
For rubrics with points, no two levels of a criterion can have the same point
value. For rubrics without points, no two-level titles can be identical.
6. Open the Assignment post in edit mode and select Import from Sheets:
Figure 6.59 – Import from Sheets option in the Assignment post

7. Select the Google Sheet from Google Drive and click the Add button:
Figure 6.60 – The Add button of the Google Drive dialog box
Using a tablet to provide written feedback 185
8. Save the newly converted rubric:
Figure 6.61 – Rubric converted from a Google Sheet

Rubrics, comments, and private messages are all feedback activities that use a desktop or
laptop computer. However, tablets such as the Apple iPad and Android tablets have an
additional feature for providing feedback to students.
Using a tablet to provide written feedback

There is something to be said about the ability to mark up a student assignment with
circles, arrows, and scribbles. Using a pen-enabled tablet, such as the Apple iPad with an
Apple Pencil or a Samsung Galaxy Tab S tablet with an S-Pen, yields a more enjoyable
experience in comparison to using a tablet with a third-party silicon tip stylus.
At the time of writing, this feature is not available for Windows computers. The following
steps include screenshots that have been taken from a Samsung Galaxy Tab S6. The steps
will be similar on an Apple iPad:
1. Open the Google Classroom app:
Figure 6.62 – The Classroom app on Android

2. Tap on the class:
Figure 6.63 – Classes in the Classroom app

3. Tap on the Classwork section at the bottom of the app:
Figure 6.64 – Class sections at the bottom of the Classroom app

4. Tap on the Assignment post:
Figure 6.65 – The Assignment post in the Classroom app

5. Tap on a student's name to view their assignment files:
Figure 6.66 – Students on the Student work page

6. Tap on the Google Doc:
Figure 6.67 – Google Doc file submission

7. Tap the pencil icon to edit the document in the toolbar:
Figure 6.68 – Edit icon in Google Doc preview

8. Mark up the Google Doc. Use the editing toolbar at the bottom of the app to change
your pen settings:
Figure 6.69 – Editing toolbar at the bottom of the app

9. Tap the save icon in the toolbar when you're done:
Figure 6.70 – Save icon in the toolbar of the app

Google Classroom will save a PDF file containing the annotations you've made and
attach it to the assignment's submission:
Figure 6.71 – Attached PDF of submission with annotations

To make additional annotations, open the PDF file. This method of providing feedback is
the closest to traditional pen and paper, and it's considerably lighter to take home too!
Viewing all student grades

As assignments are taken in and graded, often, you will want to see an overview of your
students' achievement. Traditionally called a gradebook or marksheet, Google Classroom
has a tab titled Grades where you can view the class gradebook, as follows:
Viewing all student grades 191
Figure 6.72 – The Grades page in Google Classroom

In this gradebook, each assignment has a kebab menu that contains options to edit, delete,
or return all submissions. For each student, you can modify any assignment grade; view
any assignment, which will open the Grading Tool; or return an assignment submission:
Figure 6.73 – Kebab menu for individual student assignment submissions

Google is working on integrating Google Classroom with a wide range of Student
Information Systems (SIS) so that grades can be easily imported into other tools. If your
school district is using a compatible SIS, head on over to Chapter 9, Customizing to Your
Subject, for additional steps on setting up weighted categories.
Summary
In this chapter, you learned about the grading and assignment feedback features within
Google Classroom. Then, you enhanced those features with the commenting and
suggesting features found within Google Docs. Next, you learned about Google Doc's
Version history, which you can use to view previous snapshots of a Google Doc.
The latter half of this chapter focused on grading with a rubric. Here, you learned how to
create and grade assignments with a rubric. Additional methods of creating a rubric by
reusing one or importing a Google Sheet were also explored.
Finally, we learned how to mark up a student submission using a pen-enabled tablet and
the Google Classroom app, which creates PDFs of your annotations on the Google Doc.
This is akin to traditional paper marking techniques.
Because this chapter explored many methods of providing feedback for written
assignments, it is important that you take the time to evaluate which methods work best
in your assessment workflow. You do not need to use each method to provide effective
feedback and often, less is more. After assessing a handful of assignments with your
preferred method, it will become more natural and intuitive.
In the next chapter, we will explore how to use Google Forms to create multiple choice,
numeric, and fill-in-the-blank questions. These forms can then be converted into quizzes
that Google Classroom can grade.
7
Creating Multiple
Choice and
Fill-in-the-blank
Quizzes using
Google Forms
Now that we have explored using grade-written assignments with a rubric, the Quiz
feature of Google Forms will help grade multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and numeric
questions. First, you will need to create the assignment and deploy it on Google
Classroom. Google Forms' app within Google's Workspace for Education allows you to
create online surveys, which you can use as assignments. The results are found within
Google Forms or are linked to a Google Sheet.
194 Creating Multiple Choice and Fill-in-the-blank Quizzes using Google Forms
After using Quiz with Google Forms for assignments, you may decide to also use it for
exams. However, while Google Forms provides a means for creating the assessment and
Google Classroom allows you to easily distribute it to your students, there are limited
tools for maintaining the security of an assessment. Security for Google Forms can only
be ensured when students are using Chromebooks enrolled in the school network.
Therefore, if you choose to use this tool for summative assessment, you will need to
determine an appropriate level of security. (Often, there is nothing that prevents students
from opening a new tab and searching for an answer or messaging classmates when
completing a form remotely.) For example, in my classroom, I adjusted the desks so that
there was room at the back of the classroom to pace during a summative assessment.
Additionally, some school labs have a teacher desktop that includes software to monitor
student desktops. Whatever method you choose, take precautions to ensure the
authenticity of student results when assessing students online.
Google Forms is a vast Google app that would require its own book to fully explore its
functionality. Therefore, the various features you will explore in this chapter will focus
on creating and assessing multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank assignments. However,
once you are familiar with Google Forms, you will find additional applications for it. For
example, in my school, I work with administration to create forms to collect survey data
from stakeholders such as staff, students, and parents.
Recently, for our school's annual Open House, I created a form to guide prospective
students through selecting their first-year courses (the COVID-19 pandemic prevented
in-person consultations with schools during registration). Also, during our school's major
fundraiser, I developed a Google Form for students to record donations so that reports
could be generated from the information more quickly than ever before. The possibilities
of using Google Forms within a school environment are endless!
In this chapter, you will explore the following topics:
• Creating an assignment with Google Forms

• Assigning a Google Form in Google Classroom
• Tips and tricks when creating Google Form assignments
Note
Google Forms' Quiz feature focuses on ease of use rather than functionality.
In the previous edition of this book, this chapter explored the third-party
add-on Flubaroo, which requires more setup but offers additional features
such as giving partial marks when selecting multiple items from a list. At the
time of the previous edition's writing, the Quiz feature was new and did not
have the same functionality as is explored in this chapter.
Creating a Google Form 195
Creating a Google Form

While it is possible to create a Google Forms quiz from Classroom, these steps will
begin in the Google Forms app so that you can create Google Forms for a wider range
of purposes.
Since Google Forms is not as well known as Gmail or Google Calendar, it may not
be immediately visible in the app launcher. To create a Google Form, follow these
instructions:
1. In the app launcher, scroll down within the launcher and click on the Forms icon:
Figure 7.1 – Forms icon in the app launcher
Tip
If there is still no Google Forms app icon, open a new tab and type forms.
google.com into the address bar.
2. Click on the Blank template to create a new Google Form:
Figure 7.2 – Blank form thumbnail in the Forms app

3. To name the Google Form, click on Untitled in the top left and type in the name.
This will change the name of the form. If necessary, you can click on the form title
to change the title afterward:
Figure 7.3 – Form filename and title

4. Optionally, you can add a description to the Google Form directly below the
form title:
Figure 7.4 – Form description field

Note
Often, I will use the description to provide further instructions or information
such as the time limit, whether dictionaries or other reference books are
permissible, or even website addresses for where students can find information
related to the assignment.
Adding questions to a Google Form

By default, each new Google Form will already have a multiple-choice card inserted
into the form:
1. In order to access the options, click anywhere along the white area beside
Untitled Question:
Figure 7.5 – Inactive question card

The question will expand to form a question card where you can make changes
to the question:
Figure 7.6 – An active question card

2. Type the question stem in the Untitled Question line. Then click on Option 1
to create a field to change it to a selection:
Figure 7.7 – Multiple choice selectors

3. To add additional selectors, click on the Add Option text below the current selector
or simply press the Enter key on the keyboard to begin the next selector.
Because of the large number of options in a question card, the following screenshot
provides a brief description of these options:
Figure 7.8 – Question card features

The description of each option is as follows:
1. Question title: The stem of the multiple-choice question.

2. Move option indicator: Hovering your mouse over an option will show this
indicator, which you can click and drag to re-order your options.
3. Question options: Contains advanced settings such as randomizing the option
order.
4. Move question indicator: Clicking and dragging this indicator will allow you to
reorder your questions within the assignment.
5. Question title image icon: Clicking this icon will add an image below the title text.
6. Question type drop-down menu: There are several types of questions you can
choose from: short answer, paragraph, multiple choice, checkboxes, dropdown,
linear scale, multiple choice grid, date, and time. However, not all will work with the
Quiz feature.
Note
Google Forms' Quiz feature matches the responses of the students with an
answer key. It cannot effectively grade answers in sentence or paragraph
form. The only questions fields that offer automatic grading are short answer,
multiple choice, checkboxes, dropdown, multiple choice grid, and checkbox
grid.
7. Question selector image icon: This icon appears only when the selector is active
or the mouse is hovering over the selector. Clicking this icon will upload an image
for the selector. The image still requires text in the selector.
8. Remove option icon: Deletes the multiple choice option.
9. Duplicate question button: Google Forms will make a copy of the current question.
10. Delete question button: Deletes the question card.
11. Required question switch: When this option is enabled, students must answer the
given question in order to complete the assignment.
12. More options menu: Depending on the type of question, this section will provide
options to enable a hint field below the question title field, create non-linear
multiple-choice assignments, and validate data entered into a specific field.
Once you have completed editing your question, you can use the side menu to add
additional questions to your assignment. You can also add section headings, images,
YouTube videos, and additional sections to your assignment. The following screenshot
provides a brief legend for the icons:
Figure 7.9 – Google Forms content menu

To create a fill-in-the-blank question, use the short answer question type. When writing
the question stem, use underscores to indicate where the blank is in the question. You may
need to adjust the wording of your fill-in-the-blank questions when using Google Forms.
An example of a fill-in-the-blank question follows:
Figure 7.10 – Sample fill-in-the-blank question
Identify your students

Be sure to include fields for your student's name. Furthermore, Google
Forms also has an option to automatically collect the respondent's email in
the Google Form's settings, found in the gear icon. Often, I enable automatic
email collection so that I can confirm the name submitted in the Google Form
matches the email account used to complete it.
If you teach a specialization such as a second language or a science such as chemistry,

check out Chapter 9, Customizing to Your Subject, for helpful tips and third-party add-ons
that can add functionality to your forms.
Changing the theme of a Google Form

Once you have all the questions in your Google Form, you can change the look and feel of
the Google Form. To change the theme of your assignment, use the following steps:
1. Click on the paint pallet icon in the top-right corner of the Google Form:
Figure 7.11 – Customize theme icon

2. For colors, select the desired color from the THEME COLOR section. The
BACKGROUND COLOR section will then suggest new colors to match. If you
want to use a custom color, click on the plus icon in the THEME COLOR section:
Figure 7.12 – Add custom color icon

3. A color grid will appear, where you can select the color and shade. Alternatively,
if you know the hexadecimal code for the specific color, you can enter it in the
Hex field:
Figure 7.13 – Custom color options
Note
While customizing the theme color is possible, Google Forms does not provide
an option to customize the background color with colors other than those the
app offers.
4. If you would like to add a header image, click on the Choose image button in the
HEADER section:
Figure 7.14 – Add header image button

5. When choosing a theme image, you can narrow the type of theme visible by clicking
on the appropriate category in the left sidebar:
Figure 7.15 – Theme image categories

Additional categories not shown in the screenshot include Party, Just kids, Wedding,
Night out, Sports and games, Travel, and Other.
Another option is to upload your own image as the theme. Click on the UPLOAD tab
at the top and browse for an image or select one from your Google Photos using the
PHOTOS tab.
Note
When adding a header image, Google Forms will overwrite the current
color theme to match the header image. You can still adjust the theme and
background color afterward.
The applications for Google Forms within the classroom are vast. With the preceding
features, you can add images and videos to your Google Form. Furthermore, in
conjunction with Google Classroom assignments, you can add both a Google Doc and
a Google Form to the same assignment. An example of an application is to create an
assignment in Google Classroom where students must first watch an attached YouTube
video and then answer questions in a Google Form. Then, Google Forms will grade the
assignment and you can email the students their results.
Converting a Google Form into a quiz

Using the Google Form quiz template simplifies the setup for grading Google Forms.
However, only short answer, multiple choice, choose from a list, dropdown, and grid
questions are the question types that Google Forms can grade automatically. Therefore, it
does not allow for paragraph questions.
Question types that cannot be automatically graded can still have points assigned to each
question. Someone will have to assess and manually enter the points received for each
submission. Since this chapter started with a non-quiz Google Form, to convert a Google
Form into a quiz, use the following steps:
1. Click on the settings gear:
Figure 7.16 – The Settings Gear icon

2. Click on the Quizzes section:
Figure 7.17 – The Quizzes tab in the Form settings

3. Click on the Make this a quiz switch:
Figure 7.18 – The Make this a quiz switch

4. The first quiz option determines whether a student will be able to access the quiz on
any device or only a school-enrolled Chromebook. When locked mode is enabled,
students cannot use other apps, some extensions and keyboard shortcuts are
disabled, and if the student pre-emptively closes the quiz (without submitting) or
opens another tab while completing the quiz, you will receive an email:
Figure 7.19 – Quiz locked mode switch

5. The other quiz options set whether Google Forms will automatically email students
after their submission and what information they will receive. For example, a
student can view the correct answer to the questions within the form. The following
is a screenshot of all available options:
Figure 7.20 – Forms quiz options

6. Click on the Save button at the bottom of the dialog box to save the changes.
Summative assessment settings

Whenever I create an assessment where I am recording student results, I
change the quiz settings to release the grades after manual review and uncheck
all settings for what the students can see (missed questions, correct answers,
and point values). Then, the email students receive when their score is released
will only contain their results.
Creating an answer key in Google Forms

Now that the Google Form is a quiz, each question card will have a new link called
an answer key, at the bottom of the card. Use the following directions to add an answer
key to a multiple choice, dropdown, or checkbox question card:
1. Click on the Answer key link at the bottom of the question card:
Figure 7.21 – The Answer key link

2. Assign the points value for the question at the top right of the card (I often
accidentally forget this step):
Figure 7.22 – The points value of the question

3. Click the answer that is correct:
Figure 7.23 – Selecting the correct answer to the question

You can select multiple options; however, the Google Form answer key grades some
question types differently. For multiple choice or dropdown questions, any correct
option will mark the answer as correct; however, checkbox questions require all
selections to mark the answer as correct.
4. Clicking the Done button will save the answer and return you to the question
card. A checkmark will appear beside the correct answer when the question card
is expanded:
Figure 7.24 – The correct option indicator in the question card

For short answer questions, the answer key allows you to input correct responses. It is
possible to have multiple correct responses so that you can account for the multiple ways
that students may enter information. For example, a student may choose to capitalize
a word, or they may accidentally add a space after the word.
The answer key will not adjust for these differences. Therefore, to minimize fixing after
students submit their answers, inputting multiple versions of the same answer can help
the form grade student responses correctly. An example of possible correct answers for
a question is as follows:
Figure 7.25 – Multiple correct answers for short answer questions

Note
The Tips and tricks when creating Google Forms assignments section of this
chapter will include strategies to mitigate this problem.
Providing answer feedback

The answer key can also automatically provide feedback to students. Question feedback
could include text, web page links, or even a YouTube video. If the question type is one
that Google Forms can automatically grade, different feedback can be given depending
on whether the student answers the question correctly or incorrectly. To add feedback to
questions, use the following steps:
1. In the answer key section of a question card, click on Add answer feedback:
Figure 7.26 – The Add answer feedback link

2. In the dialog box, the default tab is Incorrect answers. Add text, website links,
and/or YouTube videos, as necessary:
Figure 7.27 – Feedback dialog box

3. If desired, click on the Correct answers tab to add different feedback for when the
question is correct:
Figure 7.28 – Correct answers tab

4. Click on the Save button to save changes:
Figure 7.29 – Complete the question feedback

For question cards that cannot automatically grade (such as paragraph questions),
the feedback will be automatically given to each student. Later in the chapter, in the
Grading Google Forms quizzes section, additional features such as giving individual
feedback are explored.
Note
Be careful when giving feedback automatically using this method. If the quiz
is set to return the student's grade immediately, they will see the feedback
right away. Students may be able to identify which questions they correctly
submitted from the feedback the email provides them.
Assigning a Google Form in Google Classroom

Before you assign your Google Form to your students, preview it. By doing this first, you
will catch any errors before sending the assignment to your students, and it will be easier
to find when you have to grade the assignment later. Click on the eye-shaped preview icon
in the top-right corner of the Google Form to go to the live form:
Figure 7.30 – The preview live form icon

Fill out the form with all the correct answers. To find this entry later, I usually enter KEY
in the name field and my own email address for the email field. Once you've checked that
the Google Form behaves as expected (especially with releasing grades), it is ready to be
assigned in Google Classroom.
In Google Classroom, once students have submitted a Google Form, Google Classroom
will automatically mark the assignment as turned in. Therefore, if you are adding multiple
files to an assignment, add the Google Form last and avoid adding multiple Google Forms
to a single assignment. To add a Google Form to an assignment, follow these steps:
1. In the Classwork section, create an assignment post by selecting Assignment. Do

not select Quiz assignment:
Figure 7.31 – Create an assignment in the Classwork section

Selecting Quiz assignment creates an assignment post with a blank Google Forms
quiz. Because a quiz is already created, the regular assignment post is used instead.
Assigning a Google Form in Google Classroom 211
Note
While it is possible to create an assessment using the quiz assignment, through
collaboration, I have found that teachers tend to create the assessment first,
then add it to the Google Classroom assignment. This order of operation
makes it easier to organize assessments in Google Drive and create and manage
multiple versions of an assessment.
2. Add a file from Google Drive:
Figure 7.32 – Add a Google Drive file

3. Select the Google Form and click the INSERT button:
Figure 7.33 – Google Drive dialog box

By default, the assignment enables Grade importing. This feature links the Google
Form to the assignment so that the results of the Google Form can be automatically
imported into Google Classroom. This process will overwrite the points within the
Classroom assignment with the total points of the Google Form:
Figure 7.34 – The Grade importing switch in the assignment post

This feature also limits each student to one response, collects email addresses, and
restricts responses to users in your domain. Changing any of these features within
the Google Form will disable Grade importing.
4. Add any additional information and assign the assignment. If the assignment uses
a Google Forms quiz, no additional steps are required.
Once the students have completed the Google Form, it is ready to be assessed and
returned.
Grading Google Forms quizzes

The student submissions and grades are found in the Google Forms app. To view the
Google Form responses, click on the Responses tab at the top of the Forms app:
Figure 7.35 – The Reponses tab of the Google Forms app

The Responses tab will also show the current number of Google Form submissions.
Within the Response page, there are three additional tabs –Summary, Question, and
Individual. Many assessment grading tools such as Scantron and SmarterMarks have
similar statistical breakdowns of the assessment. Therefore, many of these tabs may
be familiar.
The Summary tab provides an overview of the results, including the average, median,
and range. It also provides graphs and tables to view student scores and the frequency of
answers for each question. An image of the Summary tab is shown in the following figure:
Figure 7.36 – Google Form responses Summary page

The Question tab provides in-depth information about each question. Only one question
is viewable at a time and the page provides buttons to change whether a specific response
is correct or incorrect and the points value of each response. An image of the Question
tab is shown here:
Figure 7.37 – Google Form responses Question page

The Individual tab provides a view of each student's submission. In this view, each
question response has an Add individual feedback button:
Figure 7.38 – The Add individual feedback button

Clicking this button opens a dialog box where you can add text, website links, and
YouTube videos.
This section is also where you can assign points to question types that are not
automatically graded, such as paragraph questions. These questions appear incorrect until
points are assigned. Any changes to the points of an individual submission must be saved:
Figure 7.39 – A paragraph question requiring manual grading

Manually releasing grades to students

If you have been following along through this chapter, students will not receive their
Google Forms quiz results until you release them. There are two places in Google Forms
where you can release the students' scores. The first is the Release scores button found in
the Scores section of the Summary page, shown here:
Figure 7.40 – The Release scores button on the Summary page

Clicking this button will bring up a dialog box where you can write a message and select
which students receive their results:
Figure 7.41 – Release scores dialog box

The second location to release scores is the Release score button found at the top of
a response's Individual page, shown here:
Figure 7.42 – The Release score button on the Individual page

Clicking this button will bring up the same dialog box as the Release scores button on the
Summary page. However, only the current student will be selected by default, rather than
all students.
Linking a Google Sheets spreadsheet

Responses from Google Forms can also be linked to a Google Sheets spreadsheet
(often called a Google Sheet). There are several advantages to linking to a Google Sheet,
such as spreadsheet formulas for statistical analysis (for bell-curved courses), custom
graphing, and sharing only the responses through the Google Sheet instead of the entire
Google Form.
To link a Google Sheet to a Google Form, start on the Google Form's Responses page:
1. Click on the Google Sheets icon:
Figure 7.43 – The Google Sheets icon

2. Select whether to create a new Google Sheet or add the responses to an existing
Google Sheet:
Figure 7.44 – Google Sheets destination dialog box
Note
If creating a linked Google Sheet, it will be found in the same folder as the
Google Form in Google Drive. Reorganizing the Google Form or Google Sheet
location will not break the link.
Most often, creating a new Google Sheet is the primary selection. However, there may be
instances, such as when releasing similar Google Forms to different classes, where having
all the responses in one Google Sheet improves the workflow.
Data travels from the Google Form to the Google Sheet, but not in the other direction.
Therefore, making any changes to fields in the Google Sheet, such as the points column,
will not make changes to the Google Form. Furthermore, any custom changes in
the Google Sheet will be overwritten by the Google Form. For example, if you are
updating points in the Google Sheet and you then press the Release scores button in
the Google Form, the Google Form will re-populate the points column with data from
the Google Form.
Once a spreadsheet is linked, the Form menu on the spreadsheet will have options to go
to the live Google Form and edit it, as shown here:
Figure 7.45 – The Form menu in Google Sheet

The applications of data collected through Google Forms and processed through Google
Sheets are many (they extend far beyond the scope of this book). The next section
provides some additional suggestions and advanced features to improve your workflow.
Tips and tricks when creating Google Form

assignments
Now that you have created a Google Form and graded it with the Quiz feature, there are
several additional settings in Google Forms that are beneficial in the classroom. Here are
10 tips and tricks that you can use when creating Google Form assignments and exams for
your students:
1. If a student needs to resubmit a Google Form quiz, delete the first submission from
the Individual page of Responses:
Figure 7.46 – Delete response icon
Note
If you have a linked spreadsheet, deleting a response does not remove that
submission from the spreadsheet.
Tips and tricks when creating Google Form assignments 221
2. You can choose whether to make a Google Form accessible to anyone or limit it
to users within the school district. The drop-down menu to change this setting is
found within the settings gear of the Google Form. Be sure to click the Save button
at the bottom of the settings popup:
Figure 7.47 – Restricting a Google Form to users in the organization

3. By default, students can submit a Google Form multiple times. Google Forms
quizzes will display all submissions from a student in the Responses section, and
Google Classroom will mark the assignment as turned in after the first submission.
While this feature may be useful so that students have an opportunity to achieve
a higher grade if they redo the assignment, you may want to prevent students
from resubmitting a Google Form, for example, if you use a Google Form as
a quiz. In the settings gear, you can check the checkbox beside Limit to 1 response
(requires login):
Figure 7.48 – The Limit to 1 response checkbox in the settings gear

4. Google Forms can shuffle the order in which questions appear. This feature can
prevent students from copying a classmate's answers because there is a lower
likelihood that a student will be able to follow another student's screen. By checking
the checkbox beside Shuffle question order found under the Presentation section,
when students complete the assignment, Google Forms will shuffle the order of the
sections. Questions will need to be created in separate sections:
Figure 7.49 – The Shuffle question order setting

When using this selection, have the Google Form automatically collect the student's
username, else the Name and Email fields will be shuffled among the rest of the
questions within the assignment.
Shuffling questions with media

For questions that require students to view an image, video, or other media
and answer multiple questions, separate questions using page sections so that
Google Forms will shuffle the page sections instead of each individual question.
5. Similar to shuffling the question order, you are also able to shuffle the selections
within a multiple-choice question. In the more options menu of the question card,
select Shuffle option order:
Figure 7.50 – Shuffle option order in the question card menu
Note
Neither shuffling questions nor shuffling multiple-choice selections will affect
the quiz template. The Responses section and linked Google Sheet display
each question result in columns that are unaffected by the shuffling within the
Google Form.
6. Another feature of multiple-choice and dropdown question types is having specific

selections navigate the student to a different question. For example, if a student
chooses the correction selector, they will go to a harder question, but if they get
the question wrong, they will go to an easier question. You will need to create each
question in its own section and select Go to section based on answer in the more
options menu of the question card. Then, each selector will have a drop-down
menu to choose where the student will navigate next. You can even have a selector
to submit the Google Form:
Figure 7.51 – Non-linear quizzes using multiple-choice questions

7. Response validation in short-answer questions can confirm whether an entry
matches a specific pattern such as an email or URL. This feature is found in the
more options menu of the question card:
Figure 7.52 – Response validation in question card menu

Using Response validation will also reduce the chances of students entering
something that is not the correct answer. A simple solution for numeric response
questions is to set Response validation to check whether an entry is a number.
8. Another application of Response validation is password protecting your Google
Form. In the data validation settings of a short answer, change the validation type
to Regular expression, which matches a pattern. The pattern field will be the
password. To ensure the password is exact, begin the password with ^ and end it
with $. Whatever is between the two symbols will be the password. For example, the
correct password for ^Cookies$ is Cookies. Set the question to a required question
and place it in its own section at the start of the Google Form. Users will not be able
to continue until they input the correct password:
Figure 7.53 – Sample password question card

I have password protected my Google Forms for quizzes and exams so that students
cannot start early. It also prevents students who are not in class from accessing the
Google Form. Once the quiz or exam is complete, I disable Accepting Responses
in the Responses tab of the Google Form.
If you choose to use this feature in your Google Forms, you will not be able to
shuffle the question order because then, the password section may not be the first
section the students will see.
9. You can change the text that appears on the confirmation page once the form is
submitted. If you place a URL in this section, students will be able to click on it.
The confirmation page settings are found in the Presentation section of Settings:
Figure 7.54 – Presentation tab in Settings

Summary 227
10. Google Forms also contains add-ons! You can explore additional third-party
add-ons that can enhance your forms. To open Add-ons, click on Add-ons in the
Google Forms more options menu:
Figure 7.55 – The Add-ons option found in the Kebab menu

I have heard many stories of Google Form assessments going sideways because of
improper settings. For example, a teacher accidentally gave all students edit access to a
Google Forms quiz. Not only did the students have all the correct answers to the quiz,
but they also modified many questions. The teacher had to reschedule and create a new
assessment because of the mistake. Following some of these tips and tricks may help you
avoid these problems when using Google Forms within Google Classroom.
Summary
Throughout this chapter, you have learned how to create a Google Form, convert it to
a quiz, create an answer key, assign it in Google Classroom, and grade it. Using Google
Forms and Google Sheets to enhance Google Classroom shows how the apps in Google's
Workspace for Education interact with each other to provide a powerful tool for you.
Not only does Google Forms allow you to create and assign multiple-choice and fill-in-
the-blank questions, but you now also have tips on shuffling question order, password
protecting your forms, and ensuring that students only submit a Google Form once.
With Google Forms, your Google Classroom assignments can include non-linear
question orders, multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate their understanding,
immediate feedback, and automatic grading. What began as a chapter to save time on
grading multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions has provided tools to expand
the types of assignments you can give your students. Google Classroom no longer only
manages assignments, but it can also manage quizzes and exams.
With grading assignments in Google Classroom covered by Google Docs and the Grading
tool from the previous chapter and Google Forms and Google Sheets in this one, in the
next chapter, we will explore how Google Calendar and Google Sites can help easily
communicate information within Google Classroom to parents.
8
Keeping Parents in
the Loop
Google Classroom shines when it comes to organizing information between the teacher
and students. However, parents and guardians are important stakeholders in this
communication too. Google Classroom can send email summaries to parents invited
as guardians within Google Classroom. This method must be enabled by the school or
district's IT department. If your school or district uses another method of communication
with parents, they may leave this feature disabled because of its inherent security risks.
(For example, my current school employer disabled Google Classroom's guardian emails
so that emails can undergo a verification process within an in-house system.)
If your school does not allow guardian emails, by using Google Calendar, you are still
able to inform guardians about important due dates from Google Classroom. Back in
Chapter 1, Getting to Know Google Classroom, I mentioned that each class created in
Google Classroom has a Google Calendar created for the question and assignment due
dates. This chapter will explore how to use guardian emails within Google Classroom and
the class's Google Calendar to communicate with parents and guardians.
Note
For the rest of this chapter, parents will refer to both parents and guardians.
230 Keeping Parents in the Loop
Before diving into this topic, each school district is different in how it provides
information to parents. Therefore, you may have to adapt the information you find in
this chapter to best suit your school district's online resources. For example, in my school
district, administrators, teachers, parents, and students are all included in an intranet
designed for communication between stakeholders.
Not only is there classroom-specific information, but the school can also post
announcements of major events and deadlines to this intranet. I have also worked in
school districts where the only means of communication with parents is through the
school website. Therefore, this chapter will explore using the guardian emails feature and
two different methods of keeping parents in the loop with Google Calendar: using Google
Calendar website and using Google Sites to create a class-specific website.
• Enabling and inviting parents to receive notifications from Google Classroom

• Activating sharing for the Google Calendar and identifying its website URL
• Creating a Google Site and embedding the Google Calendar into the web page
Inviting parents to receive guardian emails

Guardian emails provide parents with daily or weekly email summaries of upcoming
assignment deadlines and announcements, as well as highlighting outstanding
assignments not yet turned in on Google Classroom. To enable and invite parents
to receive guardian emails, use the following steps:
1. Click on the settings gear:
Figure 8.1 – Google Classroom's settings gear

Inviting parents to receive guardian emails 231
2. In the General section, click on the switch for Guardian summaries:
Figure 8.2 – The Guardian summaries switch in the General section

3. A dialog box will appear requesting confirmation. It will also have a checkbox
to activate guardian emails in all the other classes:
Figure 8.3 – Guardian summaries dialog box

4. Click on the Save button to save and exit the settings:
Figure 8.4 – Save button for Settings

5. In the Student list of the People page, click on Invite guardians:
Figure 8.5 – Invite guardians' button in the Student list

6. In the dialog box, type in the parent email and click on SEARCH RESULTS:
Figure 8.6 – Invite guardians dialog box

7. If necessary, add additional guardian emails and then click on the Invite button:
Figure 8.7 – Invite button in the Invite guardians dialog box

8. The invited email address will be displayed beside the guardian name until the
parent accepts the invitation as shown here:
Figure 8.8 – Guardian email that is invited but not confirmed

Inviting parents to receive guardian emails 233
9. Once the parent accepts the invitation, the parent's name will appear instead of their
email address, as shown here:
Figure 8.9 – Confirmed guardian email
Note
If a parent uses an email that is not linked to a Google account, they will be
redirected to an account creation page that can link their non-Google email to
an account.
For parents to access their email notifications settings, direct them to Google Classroom's
website (https://classroom.google.com/gs). Google Classroom will display the
student and allow them to change between receiving email notifications daily, weekly, or
not at all. An example of the guardian settings is as follows:
Figure 8.10 – Guardian summaries settings

Next, we will look at how to manually send emails to guardians.
Sending emails to guardians manually

Guardian emails allow teachers to send an email to all guardians within a class. A new
Email all guardians button appears at the top of the Students list, as shown here:
Figure 8.11 – Email all guardians button in the Students list

In addition, the three-dot menu beside each student in the student list contains options
to email the student's guardian, invite additional guardians, or remove current ones. An
example of this menu is shown in the following screenshot:
Figure 8.12 – Email the guardians of a single student from the Student list
Using guardian emails is one of the easiest methods of connecting with parents. Once
they sign up, parents will continue to receive summary emails. Furthermore, they only
need to sign up once. Therefore, if parents sign up for guardian emails in their child's
early school years, they will continue to receive summary emails throughout their child's
school experience.
Sharing Google Calendar with a URL 235
Sharing Google Calendar with a URL

Sharing the Google Calendar of a class is an alternative to the guardian emails if they
are unavailable within your district. If your school district already has a web page or an
intranet that connects the school with parents, this method may be the simplest one to
deploy. Since parents already have a website to go to for school information, it is easiest for
them to find the link to your calendar on the school website.
Before we include that link, we must make sure that the calendar associated with your
classroom is publicly available by following these steps:
1. In the Classwork section, click on the Google Calendar button:
Figure 8.13 – Google Calendar button

2. On the left sidebar, you will see a list of calendars. Hover your mouse over the
calendar with the same name as your Google Classroom class and click on the
Kebab menu:
Figure 8.14 – Calendar Kebab menu

If you do not see a list of calendars under the My Calendars heading, click on the
sideways triangle beside the heading as shown here:
Figure 8.15 – Expand icon for My calendars

3. Click on Settings and sharing:
Figure 8.16 – Settings and sharing option

4. Under the Access permissions section, check the checkbox beside Make available
to public. The drop-down menu beside this option should also be See all event
details:
Figure 8.17 – Make available to public checkbox

Sharing Google Calendar with a URL 237
5. A warning box will appear. Click the OK button to confirm:
Figure 8.18 – Warning box for calendar sharing

6. Click the Get shareable link button:
Figure 8.19 – Button for the calendar link

7. A dialog box will appear with the calendar link. Click the Copy link button:
Figure 8.20 – Dialog box for the calendar link

8. Distribute the link to parents. When they click on the link, it will open a dialog box
in Google Calendar to add the calendar, as shown here:
Figure 8.21 – Dialog box to add a calendar to Google Calendar

Now that you have the calendar link, you can send it to whoever manages your school
website or add it to the school intranet. In my school district's intranet, I include the link
in the Homework section. I create an assignment that lasts until the end of the year and
then include a message and the calendar link. The message usually explains to the parents
that they can click on the calendar link to view their child's upcoming important dates for
my class in Google Calendar.
The calendar link from the preceding instructions requires the parents to have a Google
account. As part of the explanation to parents, I provide additional instructions for
parents that do not use Google products. I include an additional calendar URL found
in the Integrate calendar section of the calendar settings. The public URL shown in the
following figure displays the calendar as a web page and does not require an account
to view:
Figure 8.22 – Calendar website address

Creating a website for Google Calendar 239
Given here is an example of the calendar in an internet browser:
Figure 8.23 – Google Calendar web page

There has been no update to the Google Calendar web page. The next section explores
how to embed the classroom calendar into a Google Sites website. Not only will the
calendar look more modern, but you can add additional content to the website too.
Creating a website for Google Calendar

If your school district does not have an easy method for communicating with parents
online, you can use Google Sites to create a website for parents to access information from
your class. Google Sites is a what-you-see-is-what-you-get website editor that allows you to
create websites without using code. While sending a link home with your students for
a single calendar may be enough for your needs, Google Sites allows you to customize
your Google Calendars, have multiple calendars visible on a single page, and make content
from other Google apps accessible to parents.
Other uses for Google Sites include a more permanent location for classroom content.
Several teachers at my school still use their course Google Site created before Google
Classroom was available, thereby having a single location where students and parents have
access to all class content.
Since this book focuses on Google Classroom, this section will provide steps to add the
Google Classroom calendar to a Google Site. There are a plethora of other features found
within Google Sites that are beyond the scope of this book.
Use the following steps to create a Google Site and add the Classroom's Google Calendar
to it:
1. In the app launcher, click on the Sites icon. If there is no icon, open Google Chrome
and navigate to https://sites.google.com/new:
Figure 8.24 – Sites icon in the app launcher

2. Click on the Blank template in the start a new site section:
Figure 8.25 – Blank template icon in Google Sites

3. Title the Google Site. The name in the top-left corner is the filename for the site and
can be different from the title in the banner, which is what parents and other site
visitors will see:
Figure 8.26 – Site filename and title

4. On the right sidebar, scroll down to Calendar on the default Insert tab:
Figure 8.27 – The Calendar option in the sidebar

5. A list of Google Calendars will appear in the sidebar. Select the calendar linked to
the Classroom Class:
Figure 8.28 – List of Google Calendars
Note
To combine multiple Google Calendars into a single calendar, select multiple
calendars.
6. Click the INSERT button at the bottom of the sidebar:
Figure 8.29 – Insert button for adding a Google Calendar

7. Using the blue dots around the calendar, resize it:
Figure 8.30 – Frame resizing markers

8. By default, Google Sites inserts a Google Calendar in the agenda view mode. To
change this default view and other settings of the calendar, click on the settings gear
of the calendar:
Figure 8.31 – Calendar settings gear

9. The calendar settings dialog box will appear. You can adjust these settings to your
preference. These steps will change View Mode to Month. Don't forget to click the
Done button to save changes:
Figure 8.32 – View Mode in Calendar Settings

10. Your Google Classroom's calendar is now visible on a Google Site, displayed here.
The final step is to make the Google Site visible so that parents and the public can
view the site:
Figure 8.33 – Preview of the complete Google Site with Google Calendar
Now that we have created a website, let's look at how we can share this site.
Sharing the Google Site

To make the Google Site visible to the public, use these steps:
1. Click on the Publish button:
Figure 8.34 – Publish button

2. The web address is the ending of the website URL. While it is possible to change
it later, any stakeholders who have bookmarked the page will need to update their
bookmarks. Update the web address if necessary and then click the MANAGE link:
Figure 8.35 – Publish your site dialog box

3. Another dialog box will appear. In the Links section, click on the Change link:
Figure 8.36 – Site sharing dialog box

4. The Links section will expand. Click on the drop-down menu for the Published site
and select Public:
Figure 8.37 – Published site visibility drop-down menu

5. Click on the Done button to save changes:
Figure 8.38 – Set up sharing settings for Google Site

6. Back in the Publish your site dialog box, a new checkbox will appear. While
optional, I generally check this checkbox under Search settings. Click on the
Publish button to the Google Site:
Figure 8.39 – Search settings checkbox

7. Use the link icon to copy the website URL to distribute to parents:
Figure 8.40 – Google Site link icon

Summary 249
8. When anyone clicks on the link, they will be sent to your Google Site as shown here:
Figure 8.41 – Screenshot of the published Google Site

Now that you have added the Class calendar and published the Google Site, you can
add additional content from the sidebar. Experiment with adding section headers, text,
images, Google Docs, YouTube videos, and more! Many teachers use a Google Site to store
content that they use year on year in addition to their Google Classrooms.
Summary
With guardian emails and Google Calendar, the parents of your students will be able to
view the question and assignment posts within your classes. While implementing either
of these features may seem time-consuming to set up, it occurs at the beginning of the
year or semester and requires little maintenance throughout the year. Now that you are
able to invite parents or guardians to receive email notifications, you can share Google
Classroom calendars with parents through a URL or a Google Site.
Parents will be able to actively engage with their children's assignments and assessments.
Now that parents can view posts in Google Classroom, where you can manage and grade
their assignments, it unifies much of the administration and management aspects of the
classroom so that you can focus on teaching.
The next chapter explores additional features in Classroom and third-party apps that can
enhance your activities within Google Classroom.
9
Customizing to
Your Subject
Welcome to Google Classroom. Here you will explore how to set up Google Classroom
and deploy it effectively in your classroom…
You've been caught, haven't you?
If you have flipped all the way to this chapter first, you are not alone. Even if you have
been using Google Classroom and Google Workspaces for Education, I encourage you to
start at the beginning of the book. Jumping in near the end means missing out on valuable
tips and tricks on using Google Classroom and implementing it with other Google apps.
This chapter covers some extra tools to help with subject-specific needs. They will be
more like finishing touches, similar to icing flowers on a cake. Therefore, starting with this
chapter may not provide you with the resources you need to effectively implement Google
Classroom in your classes.
This chapter's format deviates from the rest of the book as it will showcase and reference
some of the apps that my colleagues and I have used in our classes. Subjects for which
Google Classroom often cannot be implemented effectively are sometimes limited to the
features within Google Workspace for Education. Here, we will explore native features
and third-party apps for English and social studies, second languages, science, and
mathematics. Google is continuing to develop Google Classroom's gradebook feature,
which this chapter will also explore.
252 Customizing to Your Subject
Some of these extra features come from third-party extensions or Google Docs add-ons.
Because this chapter focuses on providing suggestions for several subjects, only aspects
of some of the apps will be explored. If a third-party feature interests you, take the time
to explore the full functionality of the extensions or add-ons. This chapter will show you
how to add Google Chrome extensions and add-ons in Google Docs. In addition, it will
explore how to remove unwanted third-party add-ons.
• Setting up weighted categories for assignments

• Managing citations for written assignments in English and social studies
• Adding letters with accents for second language classes using the Special
Characters – Click and Paste add-on in Google Docs
• Inserting math and science equations in Google Docs
• Deleting the Chrome Web Store extension and Google Docs add-ons
Weighted categories in Google Classroom

Over the past year or so, Google's incremental updates to Classroom have incorporated
features from common Student Information Systems (SISes), such as an overview of a
class' assignments and grades, first shown in Chapter 6, Grading Written Assignments in
a Flash. At the time of writing, Google has begun linking Google Classroom to SISes such
as Infinite Campus and Skyward, with more on the way.
However, because of its currently limited compatibility, few teachers in my education
communities utilize the grading features because their class grades are managed on a
separate SIS program. However, if Google Classroom interfaces with your SIS, setting up
grading and category weightings can save time in your workflow.
Note
For the most up-to-date list of compatible SIS programs and instructions
on connecting Google Classroom to your SIS, head to Google's support
page, https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/
answer/9356588.
To set up Weighted by category grading, use the following steps:
1. In Classroom, click on the settings gear:

Weighted categories in Google Classroom 253
Figure 9.1 – The settings gear in Google Classroom

2. In the Grading section, select Weighted by category in the Overall grade
calculation drop-down menu:
Figure 9.2 – Drop-down menu for Overall grade calculation in class settings
3. Click the Add grade category button at the bottom of the Grading section:
Figure 9.3 – Add a category button for the Weighted by category setting
4. Fill in the Grade category and Percentage fields:
Figure 9.4 – Example grade category

5. Continue adding grade categories until their percentages add up to 100%:
Figure 9.5 – Category percentages totaling 100%

6. Click on the Save button:
Figure 9.6 – Save button for Class settings

Citing references in Google Docs 255
In the Grading section, there is also a switch to enable students to view their overall
grade. To enable this feature without using Weighted by category, the Overall grade
calculation drop-down menu must be set to Total points.
Once you have enabled category weightings, whenever you create a Question
or Assignment post, the right sidebar will have a Grade category drop-down menu,
shown here:
Figure 9.7 – Grade category in Question or Assignment post

Another reason why you may choose to set up grade categories is so that students can see
an accurate grade in Google Classroom. However, your district may already have a policy
for the frequency of communicating grades to relevant stakeholders. Therefore, constant
updating in two separate gradebooks can feel repetitive and of minimal value.
Citing references in Google Docs

With information becoming more and more readily available, properly citing sources
is being taught to students at a younger age. English and social studies classes require
a larger amount of writing with citations. Google Docs provides a Citations feature,
which can add inline and end-of-document citations.
In addition, the EasyBib Bibliography Creator adds the ability to search for the citation
of a work instead of manually typing in the information.
Using the Citations feature

The Citations feature allows students to enter and save citations in Google Docs. Then,
when the students are writing their papers, they can insert citations directly from the
citations sidebar. Furthermore, this feature formats the inline and end-of-document
citations to match formats such as MLA, APA, and Chicago. To enter a citation source,
follow the steps given here:
1. In a Google Doc, select Citations from the Tools menu. Citations will open in the
right sidebar:
Figure 9.8 – The Citations option in the Tools menu of a Google Doc
2. In Citations, select the citation format from the drop-down menu:
Figure 9.9 – Citation format drop-down menu

3. Click the + Add citation source button:
Figure 9.10 – The + Add citation source button

4. Follow the prompts for the citation source type. When the Source type and
Accessed by fields are chosen, additional fields will appear for Author, Title,
Publisher, and so on:
Figure 9.11 – Example fields for a new citation

5. When all desired fields are filled, click the Add citation source button at the bottom
of the sidebar:
Figure 9.12 – Confirmation button for new citation
Note
The Google Docs Citations tool will save a citation regardless of how much
or how little information is added. Therefore, students still require guidance
for which fields must be filled in before saving.
To add an inline reference to a work, hover the mouse over the citation source in the
sidebar and click on the Cite button:
Figure 9.13 – The Cite button to insert an inline citation reference

The Kebab menu for each saved citation source allows the user to edit or delete
the source:
Figure 9.14 – The Kebab menu for the citation source

When all citation sources are added and the paper is complete, clicking Insert
bibliography at the bottom of the Citations sidebar will add the bibliography into the
Google Doc.
Creating citations with EasyBib

The Citations tool provides an easy way to add inline citation references. However, its
bibliography page is lacking. For example, many papers now use a works cited page
instead of a bibliography. Moreover, because none of the Citations tool text fields are
required, the bibliography page may be incomplete. Finally, the tool does not flag typing
errors in the citation source.
Imagine Easy Solutions' EasyBib Bibliography Creator add-on solves many of the
problems Google Docs' built-in Citations tool has. While it does provide inline
referencing, it allows the user to search for a work and automatically fills in the
information for a citation format.
Follow these steps to enable and use the EasyBib Google Doc add-on:
1. In a Google Doc, select Get add-ons… from the Add-ons menu:
Figure 9.15 – The Get add-ons option in the Add-ons menu of a Google Doc
2. Because EasyBib is a popular add-on, you may be able to find it by scrolling through
the available apps. If so, click on it to view more information about the app. Else,
search for EasyBib in the search field:
Figure 9.16 – The EasyBib card in the add-ons Marketplace

3. Click on the Install button (it's comically big):
Figure 9.17 – The Install button of the add-on

4. A dialog box will appear to confirm the installation of the add-on. Click on the
CONTINUE button:
Figure 9.18 – Confirmation box for the add-on installation

5. Another dialog box will appear to confirm the Google account to link to the add-on.
You may need to re-enter your Google account password:
Figure 9.19 – Account confirmation box

6. The final dialog box will show the permissions that EasyBib requests to connect
with Google Docs. Click on the Allow button and the popup will close:
Figure 9.20 – Add-on permissions confirmation box

7. In the Add-ons menu of the Google Doc, click on Manage Bibliography under the
EasyBib Bibliography Creator submenu:
Figure 9.21 – Launching the add-on

8. In the EasyBib sidebar, search for the reference. Once found, click the Select button
beside the desired source:
Figure 9.22 – Search and select a citation source

9. Continue adding sources to the bibliography in EasyBib. The sources will be stored
until they are ready to be added to the end of the document. When ready, click on
the ADD BIBLIOGRAPHY TO DOC button below the Style drop-down menu:
Figure 9.23 – Insert a bibliography into the Google Doc
Note
If EasyBib cannot find the appropriate source in the app, their website, www.
easybib.com, can correctly format a source.
When working with citations, I often hear that teachers teach both the Google Docs
Citations tool and EasyBib. This combination uses EasyBib to add the bibliography
but uses the Citations tool for inline references. Instead of filling in all the fields in the
Citation tool, students only fill in the title and author.
Add-ons in Google Sheets and Slides

Google Sheets and Forms have a plethora of add-ons available for data collection and
processing. Google Slides' add-ons include integration to third-party software such as
Pear Deck and Slido in addition to adding new features to Slides. Explore these add-ons in
their respective apps.
Adding letters with accents in Google Docs 265
Third-party add-ons such as EasyBib can add more functionality for you and your
students in many of Google's apps. Even if you do not use citations in your classroom,
there is most likely an add-on that you will find applicable to your pedagogy.
Adding letters with accents in Google Docs

When learning a second language such as French or Spanish, an extra challenge is
correctly inserting letters with accents. Since most schools do not have special keyboard
layouts for second languages, historical methods include memorizing key combinations
or finding character maps on the computer to add an è.
While many extensions and add-ons exist, the Special Characters – Click and Paste
Chrome extension is a simple method of inserting accented letters regardless of the
keyboard layout.
To add this extension to Google Chrome of Chrome OS, use these instructions:
1. In Google Chrome or on a Chromebook, open a new tab and click on the Apps icon
in the bookmarks:
Figure 9.24 – The Apps button on the Bookmarks bar

2. Click on the Web Store icon in the center of the screen:
Figure 9.25 – Web Store icon on the Apps page

3. In the search bar, search for Special Characters – Click and Paste.
4. Under the Extensions section, click on the title of the extension:
Figure 9.26 – Extensions card in Web Store

5. A popup will appear. Click on the Add extension button:
Figure 9.27 – Installation confirmation box

6. When installed, an icon for special characters will appear beside the omnibar:
Figure 9.28 – Extension icon in the omnibar

In Chrome, extensions are hidden within the extension icon. To pin the extension to
the omnibar, click the extension icon and then click the pin beside the extension:
Adding letters with accents in Google Docs 267
Figure 9.29 – Extensions menu in the omnibar

7. To insert a special character, click on the special character and then paste it into the
text field or Google Doc:
Figure 9.30 – Sample extension menu
Note
Special Characters – Click and Paste is created by Benjamin Jones.
Chrome extensions are similar to add-ons, where there is a wide variety of tools, turning
Google Chrome into more than a browser. (Some of the images in this book were taken
using the Nimbus Capture extension). A few minutes of exploration of extensions can
save you a significant amount of time if you find the right add-ons and extensions.
Inserting math and science equations in

Google Docs
Mathematics integration is a greater challenge than for other subjects. With equations,
charts, and graphs, creating or having students create math-related content in Google
Docs can be a challenge. Google Docs has a built-in equation editor that is useful for math
and science documents.
To create equations in Google Docs, follow these instructions:
1. In a Google Doc, select Equation in the Insert menu:
Figure 9. 31 – The Equation option in the Insert menu of a Google Doc

2. A blue rectangle around the insertion point indicates that the equation editor is
active. Furthermore, an equation toolbar appears below the default toolbar:
Figure 9.32 – Equation toolbar

Inserting math and science equations in Google Docs 269
There are five menus within the equation toolbar:

1. Greek letters such as α
2. Miscellaneous operations such as ±
3. Relations such as ≥
4. Math operations such as fractions and square root
5. Arrows
3. Insert special formatting and symbols from the equation toolbar to complete the
equations. An example of the equation for the slope of a line is shown here:
Figure 9.33 – Sample mathematics formula
Note
When using the equation editor, it is easier to begin with the formatting
settings such as fractions and subscripts before adding in the text, because it
does not format previously entered text. Instead, the formatting buttons will
create fields in the appropriate format to be filled in.
Another example of using the equation editor in Google Docs is creating balanced
equations for chemistry and biology:
Figure 9.34 – Sample chemistry equation

The equation tool can create well-formatted equations; however, the interface may seem
confusing at first. After a few equations, the process will become easier. If you are teaching
your students how to create equations, plan for more time.
With all your experimenting with extensions and add-ons, there will be some that you
end up not using. The next section explores how to declutter your Chrome browser by
removing them.
Deleting extensions and add-ons

As you continue to explore different Chrome extensions and Google Docs add-ons,
there will be ones that you try and decide not to use. Leaving those unused add-ons can
slow down Google Chrome and Chrome OS. To maintain the best performance when
using Google Apps, delete these unused extensions and Google Docs add-ons whenever
possible.
To delete an extension, right-click on the extension in the omnibar and select Remove
from Chrome…, as shown here:
Figure 9.35 – Context menu of an extension

Removing add-ons in Google Docs requires a couple of steps:
1. In Google Docs, select Manage add-ons in the Add-ons menu:
Figure 9.36 – The Manage add-ons option in the Add-ons menu of a Google Doc
Deleting extensions and add-ons 271
2. Hover the mouse cursor over the extension and click on the Kebab menu:
Figure 9.37 – The Kebab menu of an add-on

3. Select Uninstall from the Kebab menu:
Figure 9.38 – The Uninstall option in the add-on's Kebab menu

4. A dialog box will appear to confirm the uninstallation. Click on the UNINSTALL
APP button to confirm:
Figure 9.39 – Confirmation box of add-on uninstall

With fewer add-ons and extensions, it will be easier to find the tool you are looking for.
Reviewing your add-ons and extensions occasionally (that is, once a year) can help ensure
only the relevant ones remain installed.
Summary
Third-party extensions and add-ons allow you to customize your Google Classroom
assignments to better fit your specific subject areas. This chapter explored several different
methods of adding functionality to the core components of Google Chrome and Google
Docs to enhance your Google Classroom experience. This chapter not only provided
several examples of third-party add-ons used in classes but the steps for you to explore
and find new features and functions. Google Apps for Education is a constantly changing
learning system. As it improves, it is important to continue and explore the new changes
that Google brings to this app suite.
If your classroom is in-person, this is a good stopping point in the book. The following
two chapters cover Google's online video conferencing tool, Google Meet, and strategies
for a successful online classroom experience. I hope this book empowers you to explore,
experiment, and grow with Google Classroom. As we teach that learning is lifelong,
we too need to practice what we preach and follow the ever-changing environment our
students are learning in to adapt our teaching methods in meaningful ways so that they
will find relevance in our words.
For those of you teaching in an online environment or an in-person and online hybrid
class, head to the next chapter to explore Google Meet.
Section 4:
Going Digital
Teaching online with Google Classroom and don't know what to do? Connect with your
students through video and explore strategies that appeal to online instruction. This
section is about how to not just survive online teaching, but to thrive.
• Chapter 10, Hosting Classes Online Using Google Meet

• Chapter 11, Strategies for a Successful Online Class
10
Hosting Classes
Online Using Google
Meet
In early 2020, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak
a global pandemic. Since then, companies have scrambled to pivot to at-home and online
operations. Schools around the world were no different. Hopefully, by the time you are
reading this chapter, COVID-19 is only referenced in historical archives, but it was the
catalyst for a global movement toward online teaching and learning tools. Google Meet,
a video conferencing app launched in 2017, expanded from hosting meetings of up to 30
attendees with limited features to being a large-scale communication tool.
From 2021, Google Meet can host online video conferences of up to 250 participants and
up to 100,000 view-only guests. At the time of writing, Google has already announced
several more features launching in Google Meet later this year. Because of the sudden
move to online teaching and learning, Google Meet is now an integral part of Google
Classroom. This chapter will focus on enabling Google Meet and provide an overview
of Google Meet's features, while the next chapter will provide pedagogical strategies for
teaching online.
276 Hosting Classes Online Using Google Meet
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
• Turn on Google Meet in Google Classroom.

• Join and direct students to join a meeting.
• Change settings such as audio and video inputs, student webcam layouts, and host
controls.
• Share content on your screen.
• Post Q&As and polls and place students in breakout rooms.
• Record a meeting.
Enabling and managing Google Meet in Google

Classroom
Because not every class in Classroom requires video conferencing, Google Meet is
disabled by default. To enable a unique Google Meet link, click on the Generate Meet link
button on the banner in the class Stream, shown here:
Figure 10.1 – Generate Meet link URL

A dialog box will appear with a button to generate the Meet link, shown below. It displays
the meet link and a switch to enable or disable the Meet link for students:
Enabling and managing Google Meet in Google Classroom 277
Figure 10.2 – Generate Meet link dialog box

After saving the Meet link settings, the Meet link will appear in the Stream banner, where
teachers and students are able to click the link to start the meeting:
Figure 10.3 – Meet link in stream banner

On mobile, the Google Meet icon will appear at the top of the stream:
Figure 10.4 – Meet link icon in the Classroom mobile app

Android and iOS devices must also have the Google Meet app installed on the device to
use Google Meet.
Important
While the user interface is similar on desktop and mobile, there are slight
differences. For simplicity, the rest of the chapter will use screenshots from
a desktop computer or laptop.
Changing the Meet link

The Meet link within a Google classroom uses a meeting nickname, not its ID. If no
current Google Meet is associated with the nickname, Google Meet will create a new
meeting. While the Meet link and Meet ID are both 10-letter combinations, the Meet
ID changes with each new meeting. The following screenshot illustrates the difference
between the Meet link and the Meet ID:
Figure 10.5 – Meet link nickname versus Meet ID address

This feature is used to increase security so that sharing a Google Meet ID will only affect
a single Google Meet session. However, it is also possible to share the Meet link, which
can cause unexpected complications. During the first few months of emergency online
teaching, many students would invade Google Meets of friends in different schools,
causing a ruckus within the session (at that time, Google Meet could not ban users).
Once a Google Meet link is generated, the Class Settings, shown here, will have a Meet
section that includes a drop-down menu to Copy or Reset the Meet link and a switch to
hide the Meet link from the students:
Figure 10.6 – Meet settings in the class settings

Getting started with Google Meet 279
Getting started with Google Meet

There are many variables that affect the quality of online teaching. The next chapter,
Chapter 11, Strategies for a Successful Online Class, will go through some of the concepts
beyond Google Meet that contribute to online teaching. Regardless, each meeting
generally requires settings for audio, video, and conference controls.
Google Meet audio and video settings

When joining a meeting from devices with built-in cameras and microphones such
as laptops, Chromebooks, or mobile devices, Google Meet will detect and select the
integrated hardware. However, desktop computers may require microphone, speaker,
and webcam peripherals before being able to use Google Meet effectively.
In fact, many laptop and Chromebook setups use peripheral devices, often connected
through USB, to enhance the video conferencing experience. Because most of these
peripherals relate to a desktop or laptop environment, these instructions will focus on
those devices. To adjust audio and video settings, use the following instructions:
1. In Classroom, click on the Meet link in the banner.
Being first to the meeting

Administrators can disable Google Meet creation for student accounts within
Google Workspace for Education. Therefore, it is important to start the
meeting a few minutes before the start of class so that students can join on
time. If a student tries to create a meeting, they will be taken to a page that says
they cannot create a meeting.
If this is your first time launching Google Meet, a dialog box from the web browser
will ask for permission to access the computer's audio and video devices.
2. In the Google Meet lobby, click the Check your audio and video button below the
preview window:
Figure 10.7 – The Check your audio and video button

3. A dialog box will appear with drop-down menus for the microphone, speaker, and
camera. Once the desired devices are selected, click on the Next button:
Figure 10.8 – Audio and video devices dialog box
Tip
Whenever possible, select a microphone and speaker source from the same
device to reduce audible echoes and feedback. For example, select both the
microphone and speakers of a headset.
4. The dialog box will offer to record a short clip so that you can review the settings.
Click on the Start button to begin recording or click on the X in the top right
to exit:
Figure 10.9 – Testing audio and video device settings

5. Optionally, click on the Change Background button to adjust the webcam
background. The webcam preview will expand with options to blur the background
to give the webcam a more cinematic look or to replace the background with
an image:
Figure 10.10 – Video background settings

The Change Background feature is quite demanding for the computer. Therefore,
only computers with adequate hardware specifications will be able to change the
background.
Note
At the time of writing, it is not possible to upload a personal image as
a background; however, Google is in the process of adding this feature.
6. Once the audio and video settings are adjusted to your liking, click the Join now
button:
Figure 10.11 – The Join now button in the Meet lobby

Many of the settings shown here are remembered in Google Meet so that you do not need
to repeat device selection or change background settings with each meeting on the same
device.
Important
Some features, such as Change Background, are not available on a mobile
device.
Additional Google Meet lobby settings

While the steps in the previous section outline the most common method of joining
a meeting, there are additional settings in the Google Meet lobby for specific purposes:
Figure 10.12 – Meet lobby settings

1. Audio and Video mute: Before entering the meeting, users have the option to mute
their microphone or camera.
2. Join with a phone: Allows users who have unreliable internet connections to join
the meeting, audio-only, with a phone.
Important
Be cautious when using the Join with a phone feature as long-distance charges
can apply. Some school districts disable this feature altogether.
3. Cast this meeting: Allows the video and audio from the conference to be viewed
on a Google Chromecast-enabled device. This feature is great for allowing a small
group of people to see the meeting but still have the microphone close to the
speaker.
4. Present to Google Meet: Allows the presentation of content on the device (that
is, a program) without any other interactivity. This feature allows a higher-quality
video presentation to others in the meeting and allows viewers to hear the computer
audio. This feature is often used in conjunction with a second device also in the
meeting to interact with viewers of the meeting. The primary function of this
feature is to reduce the video lag of the presentation.
5. Kebab menu: While many of the options within this menu have moved to the
general interface, such as Change Background and Select audio and video devices,
it also contains options such as Enable an in-house live stream, Turn on captions,
Report problems or abuse, and Change the video resolution of incoming and
outgoing video streams.
In-house live streams

Google Meet only supports up to 250 users within a single meeting. However,
there are instances where a meeting may be broadcasted to a large group of
viewers. In-house live streams allow up to 100,000 viewers to view the meeting.
Viewers are not the same as participants because they cannot interact with
the chat or other features of the meeting. It generates a separate URL for
viewers to join.
Google Meet conference controls

Upon joining a meeting, there are a plethora of buttons visible. The following figure
will guide you briefly around the Google Meet interface. Some of these features will be
expanded upon later in this section:
Figure 10.13 – Google Meet toolbars

1. Meeting info dialog box: As the creator of the meeting, this dialog box will appear
with the Google Meet information and options to invite others to the meeting.
Subsequent participants entering the meeting will not see this dialog box.
2. Microphone controls: Mute or unmute the microphone.
3. Camera controls: Turn the camera on or off.
4. Enable Real-Time Captions: Google Meet will display real-time captions in
English, French, German, Portuguese, or Spanish.
5. Raise hand: Turn on a visual indicator to others in the meeting that you have
something to say.
6. Present now: Presents a tab from a web browser, a program window, or an entire
desktop screen to other participants and viewers of the meeting.
7. Kebab menu: Additional options including casting the meeting, opening a digital
whiteboard, starting/stopping recording the meeting, changing the layout, changing
the background, changing the audio and video devices, and so on.
8. End call: Leave the meeting. The host can also end the meeting for all participants.
9. Meeting Info: Contains the same information as the dialog box in (1).
10. Show everyone: View a list of all participants. The host of the meeting can pin
participant cameras, mute microphones, and eject participants from the meeting.
11. Chat with everyone: View and send chat messages to all participants.
12. Activities: Enhanced features such as breakout rooms, polls, and Q&As.
13. Meeting safety: A common host setting to manage who can enter the meeting and
who can share their screen or send chat messages.
Protecting the meeting with host controls

If you are the creator of a meeting, the Meeting safety shield icon will appear. When the
COVID-19 pandemic began, this shield icon, and the settings within, didn't exist. All over
social media, stories of students Zoom-bombing meeting, sharing inappropriate images,
and distracting everyone with irrelevant conversations in the chat abounded as common
online teaching nightmare stories spread around teacher communities.
As time progressed, host controls, through the Meeting safety icon (and Meet Settings),
gave teachers more control of the online classroom. Hosts are able to disable screen
sharing (explored later in the chapter) and the chat box for participants as well as
requiring all participants to ask the host to join before being admitted to the meeting.
A screenshot of all the switches under Meeting safety is shown in the following figure:
Figure 10.14 – Meeting safety settings

When Quick access is disabled, potential participants will see a button saying Ask to join
instead of Join now:
Figure 10.15 – The Ask to join button in the Meet lobby
Who is the host of a meeting?

The meeting creator is the host of the meeting. At the time of writing, there
is no way to transfer host controls to another participant or add co-hosts. In
Google Workspace for Education, certain user groups, such as teachers, can be
set at the administrator level so that anyone within that group can have host
controls in a meeting. In many school divisions, students are not able to create
their own meetings so that a student doesn't accidentally have host controls
over a meeting that a teacher is leading. Other terms for the host include the
meeting creator or organizer.
Other strategies Google Meet uses to protect the meeting include preventing a user
from continuously asking to join a meeting (try staying focused on teaching when
there is a notification every few seconds from the same unknown person asking to join).
After two unanswered requests, all further requests are muted.
Using meeting safety with attendance

Not all tiers of Google Workspace for Education will send a spreadsheet
containing Google Meet attendance data to the teacher. Furthermore, your
Student Information System (SIS) may require attendance to be taken at the
beginning of the class instead of at the end. In these situations, you can start
the meeting with Quick Access enabled, then disable it after the attendance so
that you don't miss it if someone enters the meeting late.
The final protection Google implements in Google Meet is removing current participants.
To better protect the meeting, any participants removed from a meeting cannot re-enter
unless the host manually invites the participant back into the meeting. This feature,
in conjunction with the Meet Link discussed earlier, means that a participant can be
removed from the Google Classroom-generated meeting for that meeting, but will be
automatically admitted to the next meeting.
In the next section, there are instructions for removing and inviting participants to the
meeting.
Managing participants in a meeting

As the host of the meeting, you are able to invite, mute the audio of, and remove students
(and other participants) from a meeting. All the settings are found in the People sidebar,
which appears by clicking the Show everyone button:
Figure 10.16 – The Show everyone button in the top toolbar

You get an alphabetical list of all participants in the call will be visible. Beside each
participant is a microphone indicator and a drop-down menu with options to pin the
participant to the screen or remove the participant from the meeting. An image of the
sidebar is shown here:
Figure 10.17 – People sidebar

The top of the People sidebar has buttons to mute everyone (except the host); add people
to the meeting, which is also how to re-add a participant that has been removed from the
meeting; and the host controls, which has the same settings as the Meeting safety icon.
Pin a participant
Pinning a participant fills the entire Google Meet window with the participant's
webcam. A user cannot pin a participant for someone else. There are many
applications for this feature, from ensuring that the speaker is visible in an
online/in-person hybrid class and scrutinizing a webcam during a summative
assessment, to displaying the correct webcam feed when a teacher is joining the
meeting multiple times to have separate webcams.
Webcam tile settings

When hovering the mouse over a participant's webcam tile, buttons for pinning (A),
muting (B), and removing the participant (C) will appear over the tile, shown here:
Figure 10.18 – Participant tile settings

When hovering the mouse over your own webcam tile, some buttons are different. There
is pinning the tile (A), removing the tile from the layout (B), and minimizing the tile (C):
Figure 10.19 – Current user's webcam tile settings

Removing your tile from the layout places a smaller preview tile. This tile can be dragged
to any corner in the meeting. An example of the layout is shown here:
Figure 10.20 – Preview tile of the current user's webcam and mic
When minimizing your tile, it will collapse into a toolbar, which can also be moved to any
corner.
Now that students (and other participants) are visible in the meeting, the next section
explores how to interact with meeting members through more than lecturing into your
webcam.
Engaging students within Google Meet

As students join, Google Meet will choose a layout that automatically shows up to nine
participants until you switch to a sidebar layout, where the currently speaking participant
is shown. However, you can customize the layout between Auto, Tiled, Spotlight, and
Sidebar. Google Meet will save your preferences for subsequent meetings.
Engaging students within Google Meet 293
To change the Meet layout, use the following steps:
1. Click on the kebab menu and select Change layout:
Figure 10.21 – Change layout option in the kebab menu

2. Click the radio button of the desired layout:
Figure 10.22 – Change layout dialog box

In the Change layout menu, you can adjust the number of participants to display on the
screen. Whenever there are more participants than the maximum tiles to display, only
the most recent tiles who spoke during the meeting will be visible. When managing my
online classes, I change this setting to the highest possible number so that I can see all
my students.
Important
Many students will choose to turn off their cameras when possible.
Considerations for online classroom expectations are discussed in the final
chapter, Chapter 11, Strategies for a Successful Online Class. When a student's
camera is off, their account's profile picture will replace the camera view in
the tile.
Now that I can see all my students, there are two ways they can communicate – verbally
through their computer microphone and through the chat. Similar to an in-person class,
there are few instances where students can call out during a lesson. Before a student asks
a question verbally, they can use the Raise hand feature, which will display an indicator in
the student's webcam, and a RAISED HANDS section will appear in the sidebar, shown
in the following screenshot:
Figure 10.23 – RAISED HANDS section in the People tab

Once the student is done talking, they can lower their hand or the host of the meeting can
do it in the RAISED HANDS section.
The chat is enabled by default and allows all users to communicate with each other.
At the time of writing, there is no way to chat with a specific participant; however, the
Q&A feature in the Activities section can allow students to ask questions to the meeting
host directly. To open the chat, click on the Chat with everyone icon in the meeting,
or, if the sidebar is already open, the icon at the top of the sidebar, indicated in the
Figure 10.24 – Chat tab in the sidebar

The preceding screenshot also shows the switch to disable the chat and the text field at the
bottom to send the chat.
Emojis in the chat 😮🎉🎉😎

Showing students how to insert emojis into the chat is a great way to convey
emotion within the chat. To bring up the emoji menu, click on the chat's text
field and then use the keyboard shortcut ⊞+ . for Windows or ⌘ + Alt + Space
for macOS; or you can right-click on the text field and select emojis in the
context menu for ChromeOS.
With the basics of seeing and communicating with participants set, there are many times
where seeing the teacher's face is not enough.
Presenting a screen to students

There are several different ways of presenting a screen for Google Meet participants.
Before going through the variations, be conscious of the quality of the content you are
presenting. For example, when presenting a screen with a document, the font size may be
adequate for you to read but may be too small for other participants.
Furthermore, certain methods of presenting in Google Meet may distort or desync the
audio and video (or omit the audio altogether). Consider sharing some of these resources
in Google Classroom ahead of time instead of solely relying on the present screen feature
to disseminate information to students and other participants.
Presenting the computer screen, program window or Chrome tab uses the Present button
within the meeting. A menu will appear to select whether the entire screen, a program
window, or a browser tab will be presented, shown here:
Figure 10.25 – Present menu

Each option has advantages and disadvantages when presenting content to Google Meet
participants.
Presenting a computer screen or program window

Presenting a computer screen and presenting a program window are functionally the
same. When your entire screen is selected, the following dialog box requires you to select
the screen:
Figure 10.26 – Share your entire screen dialog box
Note
Even if your computer only has one screen, you will still need to select the
screen before clicking on the Share button.
On the other hand, presenting a program window will have a popup to select the
individual window:
Figure 10.27 – Share an application window dialog box

When presenting, a window will appear in Google Meet displaying the content:
Figure 10.28 – Present window in the meeting layout

At the bottom of the screen, there will also be a small banner indicating that the screen or
window is being presented:
Figure 10.29 – Banner notification at the bottom of the operating system desktop
Presenting a computer screen is easier to manage because whatever the presenter sees on
the screen is the same as what the participants of the meeting also see. However, it is also
the least secure since computer notifications or window switching can display sensitive
information to participants. There are several stories I have heard of teachers forgetting
that they are presenting a screen and checking their emails or recording marks with the
entire class watching.
Presenting a window only solves this problem, but it is more cumbersome if the presenter
is using multiple different programs. Whenever the presenter wants to change program
windows, they will need to stop presenting the current window and then present the new
window. Whether to present the entire screen or a window depends on the presenter's
preference of managing windows and security. Neither presenting an entire screen nor
presenting a window shares the desktop audio.
Thus, if you present a video through a program like Windows Media Player, the
participants will not be able to hear the audio. To play audio or video for participants,
the presenter will need to present a browser tab.
Presenting a Google Chrome tab

As stated in the Present menu, presenting A tab is best for video and animation:
Figure 10.30 – Presenting a tab

Whether you're using YouTube or Spotify, this form of presentation will focus on reducing
lag. It is also easier to switch between tabs using this method. Each tab in the browser will
include a heading to stop presenting the tab or to switch from the presented tab to your
current one:
Figure 10.31 – Tab presentation settings toolbar

If the majority of your teaching tools are from Google Workspace for Education apps,
websites, and online apps, this method will work the best.
Google Chrome is more than a web browser. You can use Google Chrome to play video
and audio files. Chrome will natively play webm, mp4, and ogg video formats and wav,
mp3, and acc audio files. To play any of these files in Chrome, drag and drop the file onto
Google Chrome and a media player will open in a new tab:
Figure 10.32 – Opening a video or audio file in Google Chrome

Converting video and audio files

There are many programs and online tools to convert video and audio files
from one format to another. Windows Media Player and Apple iTunes
can convert audio CDs to mp3 formats and the program, Handbrake, can
transcode a video to mp4.
By presenting content within the meeting, participants can easily follow presentations,
documents, and other content. However, the mental tedium of deciding which form of
presenting for which type of content can be draining on the presenter. Another possible
alternative can simplify the presentation process.
Only present to the meeting

Google Meet has the option to only present to a meeting. Within the lobby there is an
option to present:
Figure 10.33 – Present button in the Meet lobby

Clicking on this option brings up a menu to present a tab, the entire screen, or a program
application window. In this mode, selecting Chrome Tab or Your Entire Screen will share
the desktop audio:
Figure 10.34 – Share audio checkbox when presenting

Because this mode only presents, it does not interact with the meeting participants.
Presenting content to the meeting in this fashion only sends the presented content to the
meeting. It doesn't receive anything. Therefore, the sent content often has higher video
and audio quality.
For the presenter to interact with the participants, they will need to join the meeting with
a separate device. This setup requires two devices, but it can be easier to manage because
one device is only for presenting content and the other is only for interacting with the
participants. In my classroom, my setup includes a Windows desktop computer, which
presents content, and then a Chromebook, which is how I interact with my students.
The Windows computer always has a screen presented so that I don't have to worry about
whether audio is being properly sent, and then I have the Chromebook, with a built-in
microphone and webcam, for the face-to-face interaction (my setup also has a third
computer, but that one will be explained in the next section). When using a lot of media
content, having two separate devices is invaluable to ensure a smooth online teaching and
learning experience.
Writing on a Jamboard
The instructions for presenting your screen from the previous section work well for
Google Slides and other presentation software; however, there are many instances where
you may want to draw on your screen. Google's Jamboard is an online whiteboard where
you can draw, add sticky notes, and add images. Others can also collaborate on the
Jamboard to add their own content too. To create a Jamboard, click on the kebab menu
and select Whiteboard:
Figure 10.35 – Whiteboard option in the kebab menu

A dialog box will appear asking whether to create a blank Jamboard or use one that's
already saved in your Google Drive. After opening the Jamboard, all features are found
in the left panel, shown here:
Figure 10.36 – Jamboard features

1. Pen
2. Eraser
3. Select and move
4. Sticky note
5. Image
6. Shape
7. Text
8. Laser pointer
9. Add page
For students to see the Jamboard, it needs to be presented in the meeting, or students can
click on a link sent to their inbox. Once created, the Jamboard file is available in Google
Drive. By presenting your screen and using Jamboards, you can now share a wide range
of content to your students. These features are available for any Google account.
The next section will explore additional features available to Google Workspace for
Education accounts.
Enhanced engagement features

Only the higher editions of Google Workspace for Education and Google Workspace
for Business include the following features. Personal Gmail accounts do not have these
features. These enhanced features are Breakout rooms, Polls, and Q&A, and are found
in the Activities button in the bottom bar:
Figure 10.37 – Activities button in the Meet sidebar

Before diving into each of these features, not all are available on mobile apps. Therefore,
before using these features heavily, ensure that all your students are using a Windows,
macOS, or ChromeOS computer rather than the iOS and Android apps.
Splitting up participants into smaller groups with breakout rooms

Breakout rooms allow students and other participants to separate into separate meetings.
This feature is great for group work and collaboration. These individual meetings are
overseen by the teacher, who can move students from one meeting to another, join
individual meetings, and end all the breakout rooms.
To set up breakout rooms, use the following steps:
1. Click on Breakout rooms in the Activities menu:
Figure 10.38 – Breakout rooms option in the Activities menu

2. Click on the Set up breakout rooms button:
Figure 10.39 – Set up breakout rooms button

3. Google Meet will automatically create multiple rooms and randomly send all
participants into those rooms. Click on the Open rooms button at the bottom
of the sidebar:
Figure 10.40 – Breakout rooms settings

4. Participants will receive a popup asking them to join their respective rooms:
Figure 10.41 – Breakout room notification for participants

Before opening rooms, you can change the number of rooms and rearrange students
by dragging and dropping them into a breakout room. Another method of moving
students is to type their name in the breakout room you want to move them into.
The buttons at the top of the sidebar also allow you to set a timer that will appear in
each breakout room, reshuffle all participants in the breakout rooms, or clear all the
breakout rooms.
5. Once the breakout rooms are in session, you will be able to edit the breakout rooms,
close the rooms, and join any room:
Figure 10.42 – Host controls for breakout rooms

Breakout rooms for individual support

Not every student needs to be in a breakout room. Often, after a lesson, I will
invite students into breakout rooms who request one-on-one support. The rest
of the class would then remain in the main meeting.
At the top of each breakout room, there is a banner with links to Ask for help from the
teacher or organizer and Return to the main call:
Figure 10.43 – Breakout room banner
Important:
If a participant in a breakout room leaves the room, they will be able to return
to the main meeting using the Meet link in Classroom.
When closing breakout rooms, the banner in all breakout rooms will begin a countdown:
Figure 10.44 – Breakout room banner with a warning countdown

A dialog box will appear to redirect participants back to the main meeting. The teacher
can press the Close rooms button a second time to immediately close the breakout rooms
without waiting for the 30-second countdown to complete.
Use polls for voting and immediate feedback

Polls allow you to ask multiple-choice questions quickly during the meeting. Often, I use
this feature to perform formative assessments. Creating a poll involves the following steps:
1. In the Activities menu, click on the Polls feature:
Figure 10.45 – Polls option in the Activities menu

2. Click the Start a poll button:
Figure 10.46 – Start a poll button

3. Fill out the question stem and options. Then click the Launch button. To create the
poll in advance, click on the Save button. The poll will stay in the menu and will not
be visible to meeting participants until the Launch button is pressed:
Figure 10.47 – Poll question stem, options, and Save button

Participants will see an indicator on the Activities tab that there is a new poll:
Figure 10.48 – New activity indicator

They will be able to click on a selection and submit using the Vote button:
Figure 10.49 – Answering a poll

As the meeting organizer, you will be able to see the results and can choose to show the
results to the participants. An example of when I show my students the results of a poll
is when I let them choose when to have a unit exam. While you will be able to see who
voted for what, displaying the poll results does not display which students voted for which
selection. It only displays the final tally.
Keeping questions in one place with Q&A

While the chat feature is available in all meetings, an overly active chat can drown out
questions. The Q&A feature keeps all the questions in one place. Q&A must be turned on
before participants can as questions. To turn on this feature, click the Q&A section of the
Activities tab:
Figure 10.50 – Q&A option in the Activities tab

There will be a Turn on Q&A button to enable this feature. Then, all meeting participants
can ask questions by clicking on the + Ask a question button and filling out the question
field in this menu:
Figure 10.51 – The + Ask a question button in the Q&A menu

When questions are asked, other participants can upvote the question by clicking on the
thumbs-up icon. Figure 10.51 shows a post with two upvotes. Each participant can choose
to view all questions or only their questions or order the questions by oldest, newest, or
most upvoted questions. Instead of viewing their own questions, the hosts can sort by All
questions, Unanswered, Answered, or Hidden, as shown here:
Figure 10.52 – Sorting and filtering questions options

As the organizer, teachers will also be able to mark questions as hidden, so all other
participants will no longer see the question; mark questions as answered; and delete
questions:
Figure 10.53 – Host controls settings for questions

Considerations when recording meetings 317
Organizers are also able to sort questions by Unanswered, Answered, and Hidden. Often,
when I am done answering a question, I will mark it answered and mark it hidden. Then
the student in question will be able to see that I have addressed the question, but other
students will no longer see the question in the question list. I particularly enjoy using
this feature to track participation and see whether a student is asking to use the restroom
frequently.
With all these methods of engaging with students, when someone isn't there, they can
miss out on a great online learning environment. For students who are absent, one
possible solution for them to authentically experience the lesson is to record the meeting.
But before clicking the record button, the next section explores some necessary
information and decision-making factors to consider to avoid potential problems.
Considerations when recording meetings

While in a meeting, the kebab menu has a Record Meeting button:
Figure 10.54 – Record meeting option in the kebab menu

In Google Workspace with Education, only non-students can start a recording. (However,
in business versions of Google Workspace, anyone can start a recording.) When a meeting
is recorded, an mp4 video file will be added to the meeting creator's Google Drive and
shared with whoever started the recording. Google Chat text is also recorded as a separate
file when recording is enabled. Only the portion of the meeting for which recording was
turned on will be saved. Participants outside the organization will receive a notification
that the meeting is being recorded.
When recording a meeting, the active speaker and anything being presented is recorded.
The recording will also include the active speaker's first and last names. Because there
is a large amount of sensitive information being saved, consider some of the following
questions. Some of you may need to consult with various departments within your
school district.
How does this recording reflect on me?

When sharing video files, there is little protection to prevent the video from being further
published in a public space, such as social media. Therefore, remember that content,
whether curricular or tangential, may reflect negatively on your pedagogy and can be
used as evidence against your teaching practices. This fear is often enough to deter many
teachers from recording meetings.
What are your school division's policies?

Be sure that you ensure that recording meetings with students is permissible. Google Meet
recordings have lots of identifying footage of students, their names, and where they are
joining your class from. During the COVID-19 pandemic, online teaching surged. One
of the unintended outcomes was how much teachers became aware of their students'
home situations.
The internet was filled with stories of teachers recording student screens where the scene
behind the student included inappropriately dressed parents, family members using illicit
materials, or students sitting in the street to use someone else's Wi-Fi. Needless to say,
recording student webcams can cause unintended complications for the teacher when
something unexpected happens on a student's camera.
Because of these possible outcomes, when online teaching during the COVID-19
pandemic began, my school division communicated a strict no recording of students
policy for all teachers.
Summary 319
Does the recording have to be live?

While this entire chapter frames using Google Meet with students and other participants
within the meeting, a recording can be made with only the organizer. The organizer can
still share their screen to present slides and other supplementary content. The added
benefit of recording meetings with only the teacher is that the same video can be used for
multiple classes.
One disadvantage is that this recording must be made prior to the class time, which means
more work. However, the benefit of having videos of the lessons for absent students may
outweigh the additional work to first create the videos. Students who are present may even
watch the pre-recorded videos again to clarify their understanding of parts of the lesson.
From a personal perspective, I have been recording course lessons since 2014 and have
found them invaluable to my pedagogy.
Summary
Google Meet elevates Google Classroom beyond the brick-and-mortar classroom.
With its integration with Classroom, ability to present content, and engagement tools,
teachers can offer an active and engaging online learning experience for students of
all ages. While Google continues to add features and refine Google Meet, this chapter
explored all the features available at the time of writing. If there was a feature that you
did not see, double-check whether your account has access to that feature.
Furthermore, user interface changes are still common with this app because the
COVID-19 pandemic substantially sped up its development timeline. In fact, the entire
chapter had to be revised because of recent interface changes. Also, the following figure
suggests that the Whiteboarding and Recording features may move to the Activities tab:
Figure 10.55 – New Activities menu with Recording and Whiteboarding

Therefore, if the app looks different to you, explore the buttons and menus to see what
is new.
Now you can enable and start a Google Meet from Google Classroom, test your
microphone and camera, present contents on your screen, use a digital whiteboard,
manage students and engage them with breakout rooms, polls, and questions. By the
time you read this book, there may be even more features to help teachers manage their
online classrooms (come on, assigning hosts to meetings!). Some confirmed upcoming
features may already be available, such as pinning multiple users, video feed adjustments,
and replacing the background with videos. Despite knowing how Google Meet works,
there are still several ideas, concepts, and things to consider that affect the effectiveness
of online teaching.
The next chapter explores some of those strategies so that you can find success teaching
online.
11
Strategies
for a Successful
Online Class
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I taught courses where I had students in-person and
online. When there was a spike in cases, all the students had to learn from home for
a month. One of my students was apprehensive because of their poor online learning
experience earlier in the pandemic.
However, when I reached out to this student a week into our online teaching, they
cheerfully responded that my class felt no different, online or in-person. During a new
term with students both online and in-person, several of my in-person students chose
to attend online for the same reasons. These interactions with my students constantly
reinforce my beliefs that online learning can be as effective as in-person learning, when
the right tools are used.
322 Strategies for a Successful Online Class
The previous chapter outlined the various features within Google Meet. As with any tool,
its effectiveness is reliant on the knowledge and experience of the wielder. Google Meet
provides the means to teach online with Google Classroom; however, teaching virtually
is a completely different paradigm than teaching in person. While some of the principles
are similar, there are several considerations that are unique to teaching in an online
environment. Since you (or your school) have already committed dollars to purchasing
this book, I hesitate recommending even more things to purchase.
However, there are many qualities of effective in-person teaching that do not transfer
easily to online teaching, without some additional equipment being required. Once the
quality of the online content is the best it can be, additional suggestions will be provided
for the class' structure. In this chapter, you will explore strategies that can improve the
following:
• The audio quality of your presentations

• The video quality of your presentations
• Pedagogical strategies for online classes
• Content organization within Google Classroom
• Online assessment practices
Plug into the internet

If your school demographic is like mine, the majority of teachers and students have
laptops at home. Fewer and fewer households have desktop computers at home.
(Don't worry, I'm not about to recommend that you purchase a brand-new computer.)
With more laptops than desktops at home, another common trend is to use Wi-Fi to
connect computers to the internet. However, because Wi-Fi does not use a physical
connection, it is susceptible to interference.
This interference can lead to slower connections and even lost signals. Furthermore,
the more devices that are connected to the internet through Wi-Fi, the more each device
has to share the data rate of the Wi-Fi signal. Therefore, to ensure that you have a more
stable connection to the internet, you should connect your computer to the internet
through a physical connection. Most internet service providers loan out internet routers,
which have Ethernet ports in the back to physically connect devices:
Looking your best in Google Meet 323
Figure 11.1 – Ethernet port and cable

Use an Ethernet cable to connect your computer directly to the router. If your computer
does not have an Ethernet port, you can purchase a USB-to-Ethernet adapter at your
local electronics store. Connecting your computer to the internet with a cable can
improve internet speeds up to 10 times compared to using Wi-Fi. With a stable and fast
connection, students will be able to see and hear you better. In the next section, we'll
explore additional audio and video techniques and hardware that can help make you look
and sound your best.
Looking your best in Google Meet

In the internet era, your students will know quality video from amateur video.
Furthermore, human brains can figure out when something isn't quite natural, such
as when a movie scene contains uncanny CGI graphics. Even if your students cannot
identify what is wrong, having poor quality audio and video will disrupt the flow of your
teaching and learning.
Even worse, constant disruption to the lesson, whether in-person or online, will lead to
many students becoming disinterested and distracted. During in-person classes, being
presentable is only a matter of dressing appropriately. Yet being on camera requires that
you use cameras, lighting, and microphones to achieve the same effect.
Some of you may already be thinking, students know that we are not professionals in
videography, which is true. However, we meticulously shape our in-person classrooms
to reduce distraction, promote creativity, and focus our students' attention. Doesn't
improving our online delivery of content fall under all those categories too?
If your answer to this question is yes, then continue reading! In the following subsections,
we explore strategies that can help improve how you look and sound. But before we look
at lights and cameras, let's start with a good microphone.
How you sound is more important than how you look

George Lucas is famously quoted for saying that sound and music are 50% of the
entertainment in a movie. Oftentimes, it is easier to watch a low-quality video with
crisp audio rather than a high-quality video with crackly audio. Therefore, using a good
quality microphone is more important (and thankfully cheaper) than using a good quality
camera. If you are using a laptop or webcam, built-in microphones can work, but they do
not provide quality sound.
What is quality sound?

Quality sound means that the microphone is only receiving your voice and is
making it sound natural. If the microphone picks up keyboard typing, room
echo, heavily processes your voice, or has a background hiss, it will be hard for
your students to listen for long periods.
One way of improving audio is to have whatever microphone you use closer to your
mouth. Ideally, it should be 3 to 6 inches from your mouth and at a 45-degree angle. This
position ensures that the microphone is close enough to you that it picks up your voice
louder than other things, such as your keyboard, while also preventing you from blowing
air into the mic when you're saying P and T words:
Figure 11.2 – Microphone placement

If you are using a laptop, where the microphone is often directly above the screen,
a simple way of improving its sound is to raise the laptop using a laptop stand or a stack
of books. Another cost-free method you can try is using pre-existing smartphone headsets
or earbuds. You can plug them into your computer's headphone jack or wirelessly connect
them using Bluetooth.
Purchasing a microphone
If you want to purchase a microphone, the Logitech Blue Yeti or Audio Technica
ATR2100X-USB are common, high-quality USB microphones that cost around $100 USD.
Another cheaper alternative is the Samson Go Mic, which is around $50 USD, but it needs
to be clipped to the top of a laptop or monitor or onto a stand.
At the other end, the Shure MV7, which is priced at around $250 USD, offers great sound
quality. All these microphones can be plugged in through your computer's USB port and
will be automatically detected by your computer.
Important
Whenever you're using an external microphone, make sure that it has been
selected in Google Meet.
Another quality-of-life purchase is a boom arm for the microphone. Boom arms attach to
the side of the desk and raise the microphone so that it's closer to your mouth. It also frees
up desk space as it can be attached to the side of the desk. A budget alternative is to place
the microphone on a stack of books.
Don't be afraid to experiment with your students when it comes to which microphones
sound better than others. While they may not be able to tell you why they prefer one
microphone over another, they will be able to tell a difference and identify which one they
like best. Now that we've covered audio, let's look at video.
Lights! Camera! Action!

As with audio quality, there are many factors that affect how well you appear to your
students. In videography, the main factor that affects quality is proper lighting. Before
we discuss webcams and alternative devices, we should talk about lighting. Having
proper light placement can improve your video quality in the same way as having proper
microphone placement can improve your audio. (And it can be free!) When you're
choosing a place to sit, find a location where there is a large window to the left or right of
where you are sitting:
Figure 11.3 – Sitting beside a large sunlit window

In the previous chapter, you can see the blinds of my window directly to my right in many
of the images provided.
Some of the common mistakes that people make when it comes to finding good lighting
include placing the window directly behind or directly in front of them. In these cases, the
light can either make your face too bright or make the background too bright. Both will
result in reduced visibility, as shown in the following image:
Figure 11.4 – Too many background and foreground light effects

If your teaching space does not have a large window or if you are teaching an evening
course, you will need to use another light source. Despite point-and-shoot cameras and
smartphones having the camera flash pointing directly at the object being photographed,
as we mentioned in the previous paragraph, having a light source directly in front of
your face will create an unnatural look. To mimic the lighting that comes through a large
window, the light source must create diffuse light at or slightly above eye level.
What is diffuse light?

Diffuse light, often called soft light, is light that has spread out from its source.
A table lamp with a shade will create diffuse light because the shade spreads the
light coming from the bulb. Without the shade, the lamp would create brighter,
harsher light.
Before going out to purchase lights, if you have table lamps, you can try positioning
them at a 45-degree angle and at eye level. Floor lamps pointed at the ceiling and set to
maximum brightness can also provide great lighting:
Figure 11.5 – Table lamp placed 45 degrees from the teacher

In general, avoid using ceiling lights. Since they often point directly downward, sitting
directly beneath them will cast shadows around your eyes. At best, you will look tired; at
worst, you will look like a raccoon. If ceiling lights are the only light source you have, sit as
far away from the ceiling light as possible while still being visible onscreen.
Purchasing lights
When purchasing lights, there is a deep rabbit hole you can fall into. Studio lights can
cost thousands of dollars for just a single light. Those expensive lights are most likely not
needed, and amateur or prosumer lights will be more than adequate. Online retailers such
as Amazon have lighting kits containing two lights, soft box diffusers, and stands for $150
USD. If space is limited, the Elgato Key light is a great all-in-one solution that attaches to
your desk.
However, it is $200 USD for a single light. A budget alternative is going to your local
furniture store and purchasing a 100 W warm bulb and China ball paper lantern.
Depending on your local market, this solution can cost as little as $25 USD.
Warm and cold lights

The temperature of a light describes the amount of yellow or blue tinting in the
light. Different light sources produce different temperature lights. For example,
tungsten bulbs tend to have more yellow or warmer lighting, while fluorescent
tubes tend to have bluer or cooler lighting. Warmer lighting tends to feel cozier,
while cooler lighting tends to feel more clinical.
There are lots of things you must take into consideration when placing lights in a room.
Check out YouTube and other internet sites for tutorials and tips on various types of
lighting setups.
Purchasing cameras
Like their microphones, many built-in laptop or desktop webcams are low quality. An
external camera will almost always be far superior to any built-in webcam you have.
Important
At the time of writing, which is during the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand
and price of webcams have skyrocketed. While this book will use current prices
for many of these devices, hopefully, by the time you are reading this chapter,
the prices will have gone down.
Before diving into the recommendations, the following screenshot shows a comparison
of pictures that have been taken with different cameras. No post processing other than
cropping was done to the pictures:
Figure 11.6 – Quality comparison between cameras

The Logitech C920 is the gold standard for USB webcams. It is $80 USD, though it is often
out of stock because of its popularity. The Logitech C920S and Logitech C922X are newer
models of the C920 but offer the same video quality as the C920. The two newer models
cost $100 USD and $130, respectively. For the best video quality in a USB webcam,
Avermedia's Live Streamer CAM 513 will set you back $250 USD.
If you're on a budget but have an old smartphone, you can use the cameras on your
smartphone as a webcam. Third-party apps such as EpocCam and DroidCam can send
iPhone and Android camera signals through Wi-Fi or USB. Both include free versions so
that you can test your old phone. One area to test is whether the computer microphone
de-syncs with the smartphone webcam, since these apps can introduce a delay in the
video. Both have paid versions (less than $10 USD) that remove ads and add additional
features.
Be cautious if you are purchasing cheaper webcams (less than $40 USD). Our school made
the mistake of purchasing many of these cheap webcams and they would often freeze
or cut out after a few minutes. Ensure that there is a return policy and test the device
thoroughly so that you can return it if there are any problems.
On the other side of the cost spectrum, many action cameras, point-and-shoots, DSLR,
and mirrorless cameras can use their USB connection to act as a webcam. These cameras
can range from the GoPro Hero 8 action camera, priced at $320 USD, to the Canon
EOS R5, priced at $5,000 USD. Many of the DSLR and mirrorless cameras also have
interchangeable lenses, which adds an additional cost.
Another consideration is the camera's battery life. Many of these cameras can also draw
power from the USB connection or may use a battery coupler, often called a dummy
battery, to plug the camera into an outlet. If you choose to purchase a camera as a
webcam, consider its uses when you're not teaching. Since I have a 3-year-old, purchasing
a GoPro and, later, a mirrorless camera means that I can take better photos of my child as
she grows up.
I use the Canon EOS M200 ($550 USD) with the Canon EF-M 22mm lens ($250 USD)
when teaching my online students. Another great camera choice is the Canon EOS M50
Mark II ($700 USD), which has better video-making features than the M200. While
camera selection is a personal choice, Canon cameras have fast autofocus and color
accuracy, which is why I recommend them.
As with microphones, consider testing one or two solutions before finalizing which
camera solution you use in your online classes.
Consider the background

With the camera set, all that's left is the background. Your background is similar to your
desk in an in-person class; it provides context about yourself to your students. As with the
rest of the topics in this section, creating an engaging background can be as simple or as
over-the-top as you see fit.
A simple and cost-free solution is to use the built-in background changer in Google
Meet. Having a monotone background such as an empty wall will help the background
changer distinguish between you and your background. One disadvantage when using
the background changer is that it will sometimes remove something that you are trying
to show your students. An example of this problem is shown in the following image:
Figure 11.7 – The item in my hand has been removed from the video
If you do have a monotone background, instead of using the background changer, you can
fill it with items that are used in your online teaching. Examples include hanging pictures
or puppets that are used for lessons. Alternatively, you can decorate the background near
holidays such as Christmas or Easter. If there is sufficient space between you and the wall,
another method of adding to your background is to place a shelf and fill it with objects or
books.
Some teachers even hang Christmas lights on their walls! These small touches can make
a student feel more welcome and ready to learn when they see you online.
Another tool you can use to change your background is a green screen. This
monochromatic background makes replacing it, called keying, more uniform.
Furthermore, other software such as OBS Studio can overlay images or other inputs to
create picture-in-picture effects, as shown in the following screenshot:
Figure 11.8 – Webcam and screen picture-in-picture effect

Now that your students can easily see and hear you, let's look at ways we can keep them
engaged in online learning.
Pedagogy in an online class

Back in 2011, one of my university professors warned the class that the teaching
profession will change throughout our careers and that one day, we may all be teaching in
front of computer screens. Though I already had a passion for educational technologies,
his message encouraged me to be thoughtful of what online teaching would look like years
before the COVID-19 pandemic forced everyone to teach online.
Through exploring online platforms such as Moodle, to being able to teach various online
courses in different formats, this section will talk about some strategies I learned while
teaching online. These suggestions are based on my experiences and conversations with
teachers in my professional learning communities. Not all these strategies will necessarily
be adaptable to your pedagogy, but one or two may help make your online teaching
experience easier.
Before diving into these strategies, there are some terms we must define. There are many
different formats when it comes to teaching online, and your school may use different
terms to describe similar formats. The following are the terms I will be referencing within
this section:
• Synchronous teaching and learning is when the teacher is delivering content to

students in real time. This format of online teaching is similar to in-person teaching,
where the teacher and students interact continually. Oftentimes, interactions are
done through Google Meets, where the teacher and students connect at a specific
time.
The main advantage of this form of online teaching is that it is similar to in-person
teaching and learning; some disadvantages include a higher chance of technical
problems occurring that impede teaching and that students must be available at the
given class time.
• Asynchronous teaching and learning is when the teacher is not delivering content
in real time. Often, the teacher releases a video that the students watch. This method
often includes self-assessment questions. A teacher can use Google Meet to record
a lesson, create Google Forms for student self-assessment, and release both
resources on Google Classroom.
The main advantage of this form of online teaching is that students learn at their
own pace; however, the disadvantage is that this method relies on the student's
motivation and that it is more difficult for a struggling student to access support
if the given resources are inadequate.
• Concurrent teaching and learning is when the teacher is delivering content to
in-person and online students at the same time. You can use Google Meet to
connect online students to the in-person classroom. Depending on the class
structure, the teacher can either be at a station and project the content so that
it appears on the screen for the in-person students and is shared for the online
students, or the teacher can have a laptop or Chromebook that they carry while
moving around the classroom.
Another strategy that has been deployed at the primary school level is pairing an
online student with an in-person student, and then having a student move and
manage a Chromebook so that their online partner can see what their in-person
partner sees.
Your online teaching format will affect your pedagogy. Many teachers may employ
a combination of synchronous and asynchronous strategies for their students. For
example, an online teacher at my school plays a pre-recorded lesson during class time
in a Google Meet. When the video is complete, this teacher asks the students questions
about the lesson and they have an opportunity to ask for clarification.
To reduce the amount of preparation time they have to do, they record the next day's
lesson while the students are watching the current video. Combining synchronous and
asynchronous strategies can mitigate some of the disadvantages that each teaching format
has. Another aspect of online teaching that can affect pedagogy is your class size. It is
not unheard of to have online classes with more students enrolled than their in-person
counterparts.
Being able to give meaningful feedback to 45 students in an English class is more
time-consuming than giving it to 30 students. Therefore, when you're determining
how to structure your online class, be thoughtful about how you may have to adjust
your pedagogy so that it fits the format and composition of your online class.
Consistency
A large part of classroom management is setting out predictable routines for students.
For an in-person environment, this process often means seating plans, morning routines,
weekly lesson schedules, and consistent teaching formatting. In an online class, many of
these characteristics require adjustment, while some no longer apply.
While seating plans are irrelevant for online classes, having clear expectations for your
students' online interaction is important. Be clear with students about whether webcams
need to be on during lessons and how students ask questions or use the chat. Oftentimes,
teachers will spend the first day going through online class procedures, such as muting
microphones, raising hands, going into and out of a breakout room, answering poll
questions, and so on.
When students know how to use the features, they will be more likely to use them.
When a student deviates from that online structure, it is important to guide them back.
For example, students occasionally email me questions outside of class time. Since my
Class has a section for students to ask questions, during the next lesson, I will answer the
question but remind the class to use the question section in Classroom or risk not having
their question answered.
Set clear boundaries

Just because you can connect with your students at home doesn't mean that
they should be able to interact with you at all hours. Communicate clear
expectations so that you do not feel obligated to answer student emails. My
classroom expectations are that students can email me questions (in-person)
or ask a question in Classroom (online) and I will answer it at the beginning of
the next class if it is not an emergency.
Another area where consistency can encourage students in an online class is to release
information at the same time every day. When I taught an online asynchronous class,
my students knew that every day at 3:00 P.M., the lesson would be released on Google
Classroom. They became so familiar with that time that my students would flood my
email inbox at 3:15 P.M., asking if there was no new video. Furthermore, each day had an
Assignment post or a discussion question (via the Announcement post containing the
video's class comments section) for the students to respond to the video.
Important
When teaching a class with synchronous and asynchronous components, give
clear expectations about when students need to be online.
For my synchronous and asynchronous online classes, exams were always on the same day
of the week. Because my asynchronous class was later than a typical class (running from
3:00 P.M. to 4:30 P.M. daily), it was important to keep the day of the week consistent so
that my students could work around other afternoon commitments.
Finally, as with in-person classes, stay consistent with the lesson format for the first few
lessons. As students become familiar with how your online class functions, you can
start adding new lesson formats. While it is important to diversify your teaching style to
reach as many students as possible, it is also important to ensure that your students feel
comfortable in the teaching and learning environment by being able to predict what will
happen in class.
Structuring resources in the online class

Just like online classroom expectations can guide student learning, how the Class is set up
in Google Classroom can impact how easily a student will find information and resources.
Ultimately, Google Classroom is a website. Because your Class is the primary means of
communicating information to your online students, many concepts of website design
apply to organizing content so that students can find it.
For example, it should be easy to find information that students will use regularly. If
students have to scroll endlessly through your Stream to find that one post containing
a critical document, many students will give up before finding it. Furthermore, the content
should be easy to navigate, which means that students should be able to find what they're
looking for with relative ease.
The following screenshot shows two ways we can organize the Classwork tab. While
the subject specific method makes it easier to see all the assignments of one subject,
if a student misses a day of class, that student now has to find information in several
locations of Classwork:
Figure 11.9 – Subject organization versus date organization of Classwork posts

Since the Classwork page is easier to organize than Stream, use Classwork as much as
possible for online classes. The average web surfer will spend 15 seconds trying to find
information on a page. Since Google Classroom creates topics at the top of Classwork,
it is important to rearrange important topics, such as data booklets and other resources,
near the top since they will progressively move lower when new topics are added. Then,
students can find the information quickly with a minimal number of clicks.
Important
Starting each post in Stream and Classwork with the date can also help
students find items on the page.
While it may seem easier to organize information by subject or unit, many post-secondary
institutions that have offered online courses for years use a week-by-week organization
structure rather than a topic-based one. (If you are sharing many items per day, you may
even choose a day-by-day system.) I find that this method works best for primarily online
and/or asynchronous teaching because students can track their progress easier.
The final strategy you can use to help organize content in Classroom is to use emojis
in topics and posts. Oftentimes, when I want to highlight a specific post, I will use the
star emoji. For topics, I will use a notebook emoji for topics still in progress and green
checkmarks for those that are complete, as shown in the following screenshot:
Figure 11.10 – Emojis in topic headings

Using emojis can be a fun way to categorize content. Don't forget to remove emojis from
posts when they are no longer needed. A strategy you can try is to star every post for the
week and then, first thing on Monday, remove all the stars so that the new week has a
fresh start.
There is a myriad of different ways you can organize your Classwork tab. Now that you
know the importance of ensuring that relevant information is easy to find, adjusting your
Classwork post's organization can make a significant difference when it comes to students
accessing class resources.
Where can students find support?

Despite a regular lesson schedule and a well-structured Class, students will still need
individual support. Teaching is a profession that can quickly encroach into personal time
without boundaries. I have heard many stories from online teachers where students will
email during all hours of the day, expecting an immediate response. What can exacerbate
this situation is that, without clear expectations, parents can also expect an on-call
availability from the teacher. Therefore, it is important to communicate and have a student
support system early in the school year to avoid these problems.
There are a few strategies that provide students with an online resource to ask questions.
When I taught my asynchronous online class, my students received two or three posts
in classwork a day: a video lesson with a discussion question, a daily assignment that
occasionally replaced the discussion question, and a question post for students to ask
questions about the lecture. Then, when I recorded the next day's lesson, I would go
through the questions that students asked and answer them at the beginning of the
video lesson.
For Classes with many daily posts, adding another daily post for questions can clutter
the Classwork page. Another alternative is to use a Google Form and place it near the
top of the Classwork page. Since Google Forms can automatically record the date
and time of the submission and the email address of the student, it is easy to see new
questions. Depending on the frequency of questions, the Forms Notifications plugin
can automatically email you whenever Google Form receives a new submission.
When teaching an online synchronous class, you can tell students to put questions from
their homework in the Q&A section and students can vote on questions. Then, you can
answer the most upvoted questions. This strategy works best for courses that have practice
questions, such as math and science. Another advantage is that you still have a record
of the questions that were unanswered. You can then address those questions later in
the lesson.
Whether you use one of the suggestions in this section or create your own, students
and parents will know where and when to get support. While I answer questions at the
beginning of class (so that other students who may have similar questions also hear
the answer), I have also responded to student emails in the evening if the questions are
urgent. I also know teachers who have evening hours, where they will respond to student
emails too. Whatever method you decide, if students and parents know how to connect
for additional support, there will be fewer issues with miscommunication and wrong
assumptions being made throughout the course.
Assessment
With online teaching strategies, assessment is a component of pedagogy that comes under
significant debate within the online classroom environment. Before progressing through
this section, I want to reinforce that the perspectives and opinions in this chapter are from
my own teaching, collaboration with teacher colleagues, and conversations with educators
within Canada, the United States, and beyond.
However, these perspectives and opinions are perspectives and opinions only. With
the explosion of online teaching and learning, relevant peer-reviewed journal articles
exploring the efficacy of online assessments are few and far between. Internet searches
during the pandemic will bring up headlines of school divisions pausing standardized
exams, privacy concerns where online invigilation protocols are invasive and stress-
inducing, and some institutions forcing hundreds of students to rewrite major online
assessments because of some students' liberal use of online resources during an exam.
At my school, hours and hours of teacher leadership time has been spent discussing
authentic online assessment. Only one conclusion has come from all those hours:
There is no authentic online assessment.
No matter what protocols are put in place during a high-stakes exam, there will always
be ways of defeating online securities. Regardless, there are still several nuggets of wisdom
I can pass along from my experience and the experience of my colleagues regarding
privacy considerations, types of online assessment, and the advantages and disadvantages
of online assessment tools.
This year, many of my math and science colleagues have created new assessments for the
online environment. The primary reason for these new exams is because the in-person
exams they used to use took years to develop. With countless hours being spent creating
questions, blueprinting exams to the curriculum, and then fine tuning and publishing
those exams online was not possible. There are many ways to screenshot, screen record,
or simply write down questions while completing a high-stakes exam. Then, those well-
crafted in-person exams would no longer be secure. Students can then distribute the
questions through various social media channels.
A possible alternative to high-stakes exams is to adjust exam weightings and create several
medium-to-low stakes assessments. Some online teachers have moved to 20- or 30-minute
weekly quizzes that comprise the bulk of the exam rather than one or two high-stakes
exams. Students are less likely to distribute the questions because they have access to the
questions for less time and it is easier to create different versions of smaller quizzes. With
this solution, I have seen course weightings invert from 20% Quizzes, 50% Unit Exams,
30% Other to 50% Quizzes, 20% Unit Exams, 30% Other. This format adapts well to
online courses that organize with a weekly calendar too.
Another alternative is to introduce more high-stakes projects instead of exams.
Project-based learning involves students in the synthesis process of learning. Oftentimes,
the project produces a product that is difficult to plagiarize. Some project examples
include video shorts and video essays. Video shorts are 1-to-3-minute videos where
students explain a topic or concept. In subjects such as math or science, each student can
be assigned a different calculation problem to complete.
Once all the students have submitted their videos, the class will contain a library of
video tutorials. Video essays are longer videos that can replace a written essay; however,
they require more technical skills from the students. Video shorts can be easily created
by recording a Google Meet, using a phone camera, or using free online tools such as
Screencastify. For video editing features, they can use WeVideo, a free online video editor.
Both Screencastify and WeVideo have a 5-minute video limit for their free tiers. Having a
time limit is not necessarily a disadvantage because you still have to watch all the videos.
If video creation sounds like a daunting task for your class, live presentations with Google
Slides through Google Meet is another solution.
If you are set on using high-stakes exams in an online environment, then there are still
some strategies you can utilize to mitigate cheating. For the exam structure, consider open
book exams with a narrow time limit. Then, the time limit – not the lack of resources
– contributes to the authenticity of the assessment. This is the structure I have adapted
for my online students with success. Additionally, another strategy for improving the
authenticity of assessments is having students sign into Google Meet with a secondary
device, such as a phone.
The student places the device beside them so that their field of view includes their
monitor, keyboard, face, and hands. On that device, the students also unmute their
microphones. This setup allows you to have a better view of what the student is doing
while taking the exam, and it also allows the students to see and hear you without having
to put on a headset. If your students are writing an in-class paper using Google Docs, you
can view their Google Doc and their camera at the same time if you are suspicious of their
activities during an exam.
One final strategy for high-stakes exams is to regularly ask students to perform tasks
throughout. Some examples include touching the top of their head, clapping, standing
up and sitting down, taking a 10-second stretch break, and so on. Asking the students to
move around at random times ensures that they are not using a video recording as the
webcam's source. Free software is available for users to use a video to mimic a webcam.
Therefore, a student could pre-record themselves writing an exam and then play it while
taking an actual exam, freeing the student to do whatever they want during the exam.
The unfortunate truth about online high-stakes exam precautions is that they can be
defeated with relative ease. The simplest method any student can use is simply asking to
use the washroom during an exam. Not even expensive invigilation software or proctoring
services can guarantee authenticity in online assessment. Therefore, adapting assessment
practices for an online environment has a greater likelihood of accurately quantifying
student understanding than holding them tightly to traditional assessment practices.
Summary
This chapter has gone beyond the basic features of Google Classroom and Google Meet
we covered previously by exploring external factors that can improve teaching online.
These strategies include setting better audio and video so that students can easily follow
your lessons; setting a consistent lesson structure so that students can predict how the
lesson will flow; structuring the content in Classroom so that it is easier to find; and
considerations for online assessment. Many of these suggestions are only a starting point.
As you take ownership of your online classes, your pedagogy will continue to evolve.
When in-person, there are many aspects of teaching and learning that we take for granted.
If a student cannot hear the teacher, the teacher speaks louder; if a student is distracted
with their phone, we can ask them to put it away or confiscate it; during exams, the
classroom is a secure location. Transitioning to an online environment brings forth many
challenges to the learning environment that were non-issues in an in-person classroom.
Therefore, be gracious to yourself. Even if you only apply a few suggestions from this
chapter, I hope that it demonstrates the several additional facets that teaching online
brings to pedagogy. In general, students also know that learning online is different than
in-person learning. Whatever effort you put in, even if they never admit it, is appreciated
by your students.
In the ever-changing landscape of technology in education, I hope this book has helped
you navigate Google Classroom and how it can be integrated into your pedagogy. By
implementing even a small portion of this learning management system's tools, you can
reduce time in the day-to-day administrivia of teaching and spend more time with your
students, your family, or yourself. All the best in teaching with Google Classroom!
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Index
A
file, attaching from Google Drive 71
add-ons
video files, in post 74
deleting 270, 271
website link 75
in Google Sheets 264, 265
YouTube video 73, 74
in Google Slides 264, 265
answer feedback
announcement
providing 208, 209
changes, making in Stream 75, 76
answer key
commenting on 82, 83
creating, in Google Form 206, 207
comments, deleting 84, 85
Apple macOS
comments, disabling in Stream 88
Google Chrome, installing on 36-39
comments, editing 84, 85
Assignment post
comments, managing 84
creating 114-117
creating 64-66
assignments
email notifications, customizing 81
additional files, adding 136, 137
email notifications, disabling 79, 80
file ownership 142, 143
email notifications, disabling
files, sharing 118-120
for classes 81
mobile devices, using 137-140
email notifications, managing 78
resubmitting 141
muted students, viewing 87
turning in 134, 135
publishing, by scheduling time 67
turning, in late 142
replying, to comments 84
unsubmitting 141
reusing 76-78
audio quality, in Google Meet
students, muting 85-87
microphone, purchasing 324, 325
announcement, advanced features
significance 324
about 68, 69
file, attaching from computer 69, 70
346 Index
B computers
Chrome, setting up on 33
breakout rooms files, adding to Google
participants, splitting up into Classroom from 22, 23
smaller groups 307-311 resources, adding to Google
Classroom from 23, 24
C
Chromebooks 34
D
Citations tool diffuse light 326
creating, with EasyBib 259-264 Dock
Citations feature Google Chrome shortcut, adding to 40
using 256-259
citing references
in Google Docs 255
E
Class EasyBib
students, inviting manually to 54, 56 citations, creating 259-264
students, managing 54 URL 264
Class code emails
changes, making to 53, 54 sending, to guardians manually 234
displaying 50, 51 equations
used, for allowing students creating, in Google Docs 268, 269
to join classes 48 extensions
used, for joining classroom 48-50 deleting 270
classroom
joining, with Class code 48-50
Classroom
F
students, emailing in 59 feedback
Classroom app providing, with private messages
installing, on phone 44-48 and comments 152
installing, on tablets 44-48 file ownership
Comment bank for assignments 142, 143
comment, creating 156, 157 files
comment, selecting 158 sharing, in assignments 118-120
private comments, saving 156
Index 347
G Google Docs
citing references 255
Google Calendar letters, adding with accents 265-267
sharing, with URL 235-239 math and science equations,
website, creating for 239-245 inserting 268, 269
Google Chrome private comments, managing 161, 163
installing, on Apple macOS 36-39 Google Drive
installing, on Microsoft Windows 34-36 files, adding to Google Classroom 18-21
installing, without Administration student files, downloading 133, 134
Permissions 39 student files, viewing 129-132
setting up 40-43 Google Form
setting up, on computers 33 answer key, creating 206, 207
shortcut, adding to Dock 40 assigning, in Google Classroom 210-212
tab, presenting 300, 301 assignments, tips and tricks 220-227
Google Classroom converting, into quiz 203-205
additional teachers, inviting 26-28 creating 195, 196
banner image, uploading 13-15 questions, adding 197-200
creating 4-8 quizzes, grading 212-215
files, adding from computer 22, 23 theme, modifying 201-203
files, adding from Google Drive 18-21 Google Meet
files, adding from internet 24 audio, settings 279-284
files, adding to 17, 18 conference controls 286, 287
files, storing 25, 26 lobby, settings 285, 286
materials, reordering 24, 25 online class strategies 323
navigating around 8-10 Record Meeting button,
personalizing 10 considerations 317-319
reference link 4 starting with 279
resources, adding from internet 23, 24 students, engaging within 292-297
resources, adding to 17, 18 video, settings 279-284
resources, managing in 16 Google Meet, conference controls
setting up, on student’s device 32, 33 participants, managing in
student files, viewing 120-123 meeting 290, 291
theme, modifying 10-12 protecting, with host controls 287-289
weighted categories, setting up 252 webcam tile, settings 291, 292
Google Classroom mobile app Google Meet, in Google Classroom
student files, viewing 124-128 enabling 276, 278
Google Classroom home page link, modifying 278
classes, accessing from 28-30 managing 276, 278
348 Index
Google Meet participants

computer screen, presenting 298, 300
J
Google Chrome tab, presenting 300, 301 Jamboard
Jamboard, writing 304, 305 writing 304, 305
only present, to meeting 302, 304
program window, presenting 298, 300
screen, presenting 297
K
Google Sheets keying 330
add-ons 264, 265
spreadsheet, linking
to Google Form 217-219
L
Google Site letters
sharing 245-249 adding, with accents 265-267
Google Slides
add-ons 264, 265
Google Workspace, for
M
Education accounts Microsoft Windows
features 306 used, for installing Google
participants, splitting up into smaller Chrome 34-36
groups with breakout rooms 307-311 multiple-choice questions
polls, used for voting 312-314 creating 103-105
polls, using for immediate
feedback 312-314
questions, keeping with Q&A 314-317
O
grade online class, approach
assigning, with Grading Tool 148-152 about 331, 333
releasing, manually to students 216, 217 assessment 337-339
Grading Tool consistency 333, 334
about 148 resources, structuring 334-336
used, for assigning grade 148-152 support, for students 336
guardian emails online class, formats
receiving, to invite parents 230-233 asynchronous teaching and learning 332
concurrent teaching and learning 332
I synchronous teaching and learning 332
online class, strategies
invite link plugging, into internet 322
modifying 53, 54
used, for inviting students to Class 52
Index 349
P R
parents revision history 165
inviting, to receive guardian rubric
emails 230-233 creating, in Grading Tool 170-176
private comments creating, with Google Sheets 181-185
adding, to modify student files 164 reusing, from Assignment post 180, 181
adding, to student files 153, 154 used, for grading
managing, in Google Docs 161, 163 assignment 170, 177-179
plagiarism, avoiding with
Originality reports 167-170
replying to 159, 160
S
resolving 159, 160 short-answer questions
saving, in Comment bank 156 creating 95-97
student progress, monitoring with student view 97-100
Version history 165, 166 Stream
used, for providing feedback 152 announcement changes, making 75, 76
users, mentioning 155 comments, disabling in 88
private messages student files
about 152 downloading, from Google
used, for providing feedback 152 Drive 133, 134
viewing 120
Q viewing, in Google Classroom 120-123
viewing, in Google Drive 129-132
quality sound 324 viewing, on Google Classroom
question mobile app 124-128
adding, to Google Form 197-200 student grades
creating 92 viewing 190, 191
grading 106, 108, 110 Student Information
leaving, ungraded 110 System (SIS) 110, 191, 252
post, features adding in 93, 94 student
returned grade, viewing 110, 111 emailing, in Classroom 59
quiz inviting, manually to Class 54, 56
Google Form, converting into 203-205 managing, in Class 54
removing, from Classroom 58, 59
responses, replying to 101, 102
350 Index
T
tablet
using, to provide written
feedback 185-190
theme
modifying, of Google Form 201-203
V
video quality, in Google Meet
background consideration 329, 330
cameras, purchasing 328, 329
lights, purchasing 327
significance 325-327
W
website
creating, for Google Calendar 239-245
weighted categories
setting up, in Google
Classroom 252-255
written feedback
providing, with tablet 186-190

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Teaching with

Save time and stay organized while delivering online

Making changes to an Commenting on announcements82

Managing announcement email Summary 89

Sharing Google Calendar Summary 249

Getting started with Google Considerations when recording

Other Books You May Enjoy

Who this book is for

What this book covers

To get the most out of this book

Download the color images

Tips or important notes

• Chapter 1, Getting to Know Google Classroom

• Creating your first Google Class

Creating your first Google Class

Choosing the right internet browser

Figure 1.1 – Selecting your role

Using a personal @gmail.com account or a Google Workspace for Business account

This is illustrated in the following screenshot:

Figure 1.2 – Classroom app in App Launcher

Figure 1.3 – Creating your first Class

Figure 1.4 – Information for the Class in Google Classroom

Figure 1.5 – Class information

Navigating around Google Classroom

Figure 1.6 – Parts of a Google Classroom Class

Personalizing your virtual Classroom

• Changing the Classroom's theme

Changing the Classroom's theme

Figure 1.7 – Select theme link

Figure 1.8 – Theme Gallery

Here is your Class with the new theme:

Figure 1.9 – Heading colors change to match the theme

Figure 1.10 – Categories in the Theme Gallery

Try different themes

Uploading a banner image

1. Click on Upload photo at the bottom-right corner of the banner image, as

Figure 1.11 – Upload photo link

Figure 1.12 – Upload photo dialog box

Figure 1.13 – Selecting an image in File Explorer

Figure 1.14 – Cropping an image

Figure 1.15 – Screenshot of a custom image theme

Choosing the right image

Managing resources in your Class

Figure 1.16 – Classwork tab

Figure 1.17 – Links to Google apps linked to the Class

Adding files and resources to your Classroom

Creating a topic in Classwork

Figure 1.18 – The Topic option in the Create menu

Figure 1.19 – Creating a topic

Figure 1.20 – Screenshot of a topic in Classwork

Adding a file from Google Drive

Figure 1.21 – The Material field in the Create menu

Figure 1.22 – Required information in a Material field

Figure 1.23 – Selecting a file in Google Drive

Figure 1.25 – Selecting a topic and posting the material

Adding multiple files

Figure 1.26 – Screenshot of material in Classwork

Adding a file from your computer

1. Create a Material post in the Classwork section.

Figure 1.28 – UPLOAD dialog box

Figure 1.29 – Selecting the a in Windows File Explorer

Figure 1.30 – Screenshot of how a file appears in the Material section

Adding resources from the internet

Making changes to an Commenting on announcements82

Managing announcement email Summary 89

Sharing Google Calendar Summary 249