Changes to Google Classroom

Google Classroom has made some updates! There are a few things to get used to, but overall these are functional improvements that make Classroom even easier. 

New CLASSWORK tab
Here's where most of the action happens. From the Classwork tab you can create an Assignment or a Question, make a new Topic or add Material, or reuse a Post from a different class. You can also now use a "move up" or "move down" feature for topics and assignments. 

NOTE: When you assign something to a topic, it will appear with that topic; uncategorized posts appear at the top. If you want to see the most recent posts, go to the STREAM tab.

The STREAM tab is just that -- a stream of announcements, student posts (if possible) and replies. There aren't any topics, just posts in chronological order. CLASSWORK is the place for organization, but STREAM can make sure you don't miss anything.


The PEOPLE tab is also more logical. Here's where to add teachers, invite parents, and manage individual students (contact, mute, etc.). The only thing that feels missing from here is the class code, which can be found under SETTINGS.



The SETTINGS feature makes better sense too. By clicking the gear icon in the upper right corner, you can see the class code, the details of the class, the permissions for the class stream and for viewing deleted items, and how parent/guardian summaries are structured. 



Sadly, the ABOUT page has gone away, but in its place we got the Material option on the Classword tab! So if you want to post your syllabus or other kind of resource, you can post it as Material either in the topic where it belongs or with a topic like "Class Resources". Another option is to post a link to a shared folder full of documents, or a document with links to those same resources. All different ways to get to the same end. 


One last BIG update is to the grading features. You are now much more easily able to:

• switch between students
• switch between multiple files submitted by one student
• re-use commonly-needed comments through the comment bank
• add a private comment to a student while you are grading

Everything can now be done in the window where you are doing the actual grading -- a much more streamlined process. 

 

Finally, Google has recognized all the work you've put into your Google Classrooms of the past and given us the ability to copy an entire Classroom! From the three-dots menu, COPY is now an option, which will duplicate everything you've done in a prior class, but in draft format, so you can modify and publish as needed.