Google has listened to teachers’ feedback yet again. Since Classroom’s Beta rollout last summer, Google has continued to ask teachers what WE want, what would make their product better. We spoke, and they responded…again.

Today Google announced a few improvements based on OUR feedback.

1. Groups Integration

If you use Google Groups, you can now pre-populate classes with this newest iteration.

2. View Deleted Items

It’s a simple on/off toggle switch.

3. Control Class Commenting Feature

When in ‘Students’, you choose whether students can post, comment, or if the teacher is the only one with those rights. This feature will hold true for ALL students in the class. If you would like to control the ability for individuals to post/comment see below (number 4).

 4. Mute Individual Students

Every now and then a student tests the waters, and drowns. You now have the option to Mute those individuals. Muted students will not be able to post or comment in the Classroom.

5. Sort Students

Some teachers prefer to sort by last name, while others prefer first name. Google has given teachers the freedom to sort as we please.

6. Downloading Grades

The ability to download ALL assignment grades at once (to CSV file) makes it easier to upload those grades into whatever grading program you or your district are using.

7. Students Can Mark Assignments as ‘Done’

Recently I had my students working on a Presentation in groups. I posted the assignment, but only the owner of the Presentation needed (or had the rights) to ‘Turn In’ the assignment. This left 40 ‘Not Done’ assignments – which looked messy and inaccurate. Now those students can go into their Classroom, and mark the assignments as ‘Done’.

This feature is handy when assigning reading, viewing a video, or other tasks where nothing needs to be handed in.

Student View in their ‘Stream‘. It has marked the assignment as ‘Late’.

The student needs to ‘Open’ the assignment and ‘Mark As Done’.

A pop-out window will appear asking if the student is sure this is the desired action. Notice the student can add a private message to the teacher.

In their ‘My Assignments’ View the student has the option to ‘Unsubmit’. The completion of the assignment is noted in the right corner. It will also be reflected in their ‘Stream’ View.

Not sure how to get started? This is a quick tutorial that will get you on your way.

Grading Assignments:

In your stream, you can easily view returned assignments. Either choose the title of the assignment or ‘Turned In’. The left sidebar will show all upcoming assignments as well.

Student Submission Page:

This allows you to view the status of all students’ assignments, private conversations with students, set point value, grade, and return assignments.

Private Conversation:

If the student has a comment or question, they can easily talk with you about it privately.

Scoring and Returning:

In Google Drive:

When you create a class, or students are enrolled in a class, Google automatically creates a Classroom Folder in your, and the student’s, Drive.

Student’s Drive:

In the Classroom Folder, the student is enrolled in 1 class, Class Demo 1. Whenever an assignment is created, it is automatically placed in this folder.

Teacher’s Drive:

In addition to the Classroom Folder and the Class Folder, teachers will also find that each assignment has a folder (within the assigned class) and a Templates Folder. The Templates Folder is a collection of all Google Created assignments for that class.

Okay, so now that you have your Classes set, you want to start creating Announcements and Assignments.

Create Announcement

Once you are in the Class in which you would like to create an Announcement, make sure that you are viewing the Class Stream. The default is set to create Announcements, but you’ll want to make sure by looking for the downward notch is above ‘Assignment’. You can post your announcement solo or attach a file, something from Google Drive, a YouTube video, and/or a link. Select the blue ‘Post’ button, and you’re done.

Note: Students will have ‘View Only’ rights to any attachment found in your Google Drive.

Edit/Delete Announcement

Once you have created your Announcement, you can either edit or delete it by choosing the three (3) dots at the upper right corner of the Announcement.

Creating an Assignment

The process for creating an Assignment is very similar to that of creating an Announcement. You have the additional options to set a Due Date and Time.

Note: You determine how items from your Google Drive are shared – view only, all students can edit the document, or make a copy for each student.

Same Assignment and/or Announcement: Several Classes

One nice feature is that you can share the same Announcement or Assignment in several Classes without having to post in each class. By choosing the drop down arrow at the lower right corner, you can select which Classes you would like it to appear.

Turned In Assignments

After you have posted your Assignment, you can easily see how many students have turned in the Assignment.

Edit/Delete Assignment

As with Announcements, you can Edit or Delete the Assignment by selecting the three (3) dots in the upper right corner of the Assignment.