With use of Google Classroom on the rise, it is becoming a go-to platform for many teachers and schools. However, simply jumping on the bandwagon without the skills necessary to build a student-centered Classroom with effective lessons may lead to frustration and loss of valuable instructional time. Here are 6 Must-Have Google Classroom Skills for Teachers who are embarking on the Classroom journey with students.

Communication

Communication skills should be a top priority for all teachers. While it may seem easier to some to communicate with others through writing, teachers must acclimate themselves with the nuances of communicating in an online environment. When interacting with students via Classroom, teachers should provide clear instructions for students and avoid long-winded verbiage. Short, sweet, and to the point is the goal.

Organization

Organization is a must with Google Classroom. Teachers should stay organized in order to help students stay organized. They should arrange Classroom assignments in a logical order for students, keeping in mind that the order of assignments can be changed by clicking the triple dot menu to move the assignment up or down. Teachers should also avoid posting unnecessary information to the Stream which causes clutter. Students will have a difficult time finding important information if the Stream is filled with irrelevant posts.

Distribute Assignments to Multiple Classes

Learning how to distribute assignments to multiple classes at once is a huge time saver for teachers who teach multiple periods of the same subject. When creating a new assignment, simply click the drop down arrow in the “for” category and select the checkboxes of the classes receiving the assignment.

Schedule Assignments for Future Dates

Planning ahead is critical for teachers, and Classroom makes scheduling future assignments a breeze in a few simple steps. First, create an assignment and complete the necessary fields. Next, click the dropdown menu next to the “assign” button which will expand for more options. Finally, choose the preferred date and time, and click “schedule” to finish creating the assignment.

Make Copies for Each Student

Learning how to make copies of a document for each student is a necessary skill unless teachers want all students sharing and working from the same document. Classroom provides three options when a document is upload to an assignment: students can view the same file, students can view and edit the same file, or each individual student gets their own copy. Copies are stored in each student’s class folder in Google Drive so they can be easily accessed by students. To access the sharing settings after uploading a document, click the dropdown menu next to the document title.

Provide Effective and Timely Feedback

Providing effective and timely feedback to students is important no matter the medium used for assignments. If students are expected to improve and be successful, teachers must deliver feedback that allows students to understand how to improve their work. Feedback must allow students to work towards a goal and must guide them on the path to achieving the goal. Providing feedback through Google Classroom streamlines the process by allowing the teacher to seamlessly deliver feedback for each student via the comment bank in the Classroom grading tool.