Setting the Theme for the Class

Across the top of the Stream tab is the theme picture or pattern, with the class name, the section name, and your name and photo superimposed on the middle of the picture or pattern. You can change the theme by applying a preset picture or pattern or by uploading a photo of your own (or of your school’s).

To apply a preset picture or pattern, follow these steps:

1. 1.

   Click the Select theme button in the lower-right corner of the theme picture or pattern to display the Gallery dialog box (see Figure 8-9).

    

To customize the theme with a photo you upload, follow these steps:

Showing and Hiding Deleted Items

You can control whether deleted items appear in the class stream for you by setting the Show deleted items switch to On or Off.

Normally, you will likely find it best to hide deleted items to keep the class stream looking as clean and uncluttered as possible. However, sometimes you may find it helpful to display deleted items to get a view of what has been removed.

Viewing Upcoming Items

The Upcoming box shows the list of upcoming assignments and questions for which you have set due dates. A teacher or student can click one of the links in the Upcoming box to display the assignment or question.

If you have just created the class, or if there are no date-bound items set for the near future, you will see the message “No work due soon” in the Upcoming box.

You can click the View All button to display the full list of assignments for the class.

Viewing and Managing the Topics List

The Topics box shows the topics the class contains so far. If you have just created the class, the message “No topics” will appear in the Topics box instead.

You can add a topic by clicking the Add topic button, typing the name in the Add topic dialog box that opens (see Figure 8-10), and then clicking the Add button. The topic will then appear in the Topics box.

Once you have added a topic , you can rename the topic or delete it by moving the pointer over it, clicking the More Actions button (the three vertical dots) that appears, and then clicking the Rename item or the Delete item on the menu.

Organizing Your Class Stream

Google Classroom automatically arranges the posts in your class stream in descending date order, so the newest posts appear at the top. Descending date order works pretty well as a default, but you will often need to reorganize items to make sure students see the most important items rather than just the newest items.

Filtering the Stream by Topic

By adding topics to your posts, you enable students—and yourself—to filter the stream to make it easier to navigate . You can filter by topic in either of these ways:

• Topics box: In the Topics box on the left, click the topic you want to view.

• Topic button: Click the topic button on a post.

Whichever of these actions you take, Google Classroom will then display only the posts that are tagged with that topic (see Figure 8-11). You can then click another topic in the Topics box if necessary to switch to that topic.

Note

You can rename a topic by clicking the More Actions button (the three vertical dots) to its right in the Topics box and then clicking the Rename item on the pop-up menu. In the Rename topic dialog box that opens, type the new name and then click the Rename button. You can also delete a topic by clicking the More Actions button, clicking the Delete item on the pop-up menu, and then clicking the Delete button in the Delete topic? dialog box.

When you are ready to return to the Stream tab, click the Back button (the left-arrow button) in the upper-left corner of the screen.

Taking Actions from the Class Code Pop-Up Menu

The Class code pop-up menu appears in the upper-left corner of the Students tab. From this pop-up menu, you can take the following actions:

• Display: Click the Display item to display a pop-up showing the class code at a large size (see Figure 8-13). This is helpful for showing your students the class code so they can join it; you can also click the Full screen button to switch the pop-up to full screen for even easier viewing. Click the Close (X) button in the upper-right corner of the pop-up or the upper-left corner of the full-screen display to hide the class code again.

Adding Students to the Class Using the Class Code

For the teacher, the easiest way of adding students to the class is by using the class code. If the students are physically present (for example, in the same room as you), you can open the Class code pop-up menu and click the Display item to display the class code at a large enough size for all to see; click the Full screen button if necessary. If the students are nearby, you can copy the class code and share it with them via a message.

Inviting Students to the Class

The other way to add students to the class is by inviting them via email. The invitation mechanism is based on Google Contacts, so each student you invite must already be one of your Google contacts. If your school has set up accounts centrally, your students should already be lined up for you to contact. If not, you will need to add the students manually in Google Contacts.

Once the students are set up as records in Google Contacts, you can invite them to classes by following these steps from the Students tab:

1. 1.

   Click the Invite Students button to display the Invite students dialog box (shown in Figure 8-14 with one student added and a search underway).

    

1. 5.

   Click the Invite button. The Invite students dialog box closes. Classroom sends the invitations via email, and the names of the invited students appear in a list on the Students tab (see Figure 8-15).

    

At first, each student’s entry in the list appears in gray, showing the email address rather than the name, displaying a generic icon instead of the student’s picture, and with the status (invited) to its right, as you can see on the first two items on the figure. When the student accepts the invitation, the student’s picture replaces the generic icon, the student’s name appears in black, the status (invited) disappears, and the More Actions button appears, as you can see on the third item in the figure.

By default, Classroom sorts the students’ names by their last names. You can switch to sorting the students by their first names by clicking the pop-up menu above the list and then clicking the Sort by last name item.

To the left of each student’s entry is a check box that you can check when you need to take an action on the student, such as emailing the student or removing the student from the class. You can check the master check box above the list to check all the individual check boxes at once—for example, when you want to take an action on all the students in the class.

How the Student Joins the Class

For the student, joining the class via your invitation is straightforward. The invitation appears as an email message in Gmail. The student clicks the Join button in the message to display the Join class? dialog box (see Figure 8-16), which displays the Google account the student is currently using. The student can then click the Join button to join the class using this account or click the Switch Account button to switch to a different account and join the class under that account.

Taking Actions on the Students in a Class

Adding Information About the Class

The class name and section name appear at the top of the About tab, with an Edit button (a pencil icon) to their right. Click the Edit button to open the class information for editing (see Figure 8-18). You can then add or edit the following fields :

• Class name and section: The class name and section comprise the formal name under which the class appears in Classroom. Unless you entered the class name and section wrongly in the first place, you likely do not need to change them.

• Class description (optional): This is a field that you can use to make clear what the class covers.

• Where does the class meet? (optional): This field enables you to specify the meeting place for the class.

After making your changes to the class information, click the Save button to save them.

Adding Materials to a Class

To add materials to the class, follow these steps:

1. 1.

   Click the Add Class Materials button. The controls shown in Figure 8-19 will appear.

    

Editing and Deleting Materials for a Class

After adding materials for a class, you can edit them or delete them as needed.

To edit materials, follow these steps:

1. 1.

   Click the More Actions button for the box of materials you want to change and then click the Edit item on the pop-up menu. The box of materials will open in a dialog box (see Figure 8-26).

    

To delete a whole box of materials, click the More Actions button for the box and then click the Delete item on the pop-up menu. In the Delete? dialog box that opens (see Figure 8-27), click the Delete button.

Inviting Teachers to the Class

When you want one or more other teachers to work with you on a class, you can invite the teacher or teachers to join the class. Inviting a teacher works in a similar way to inviting a student: The teacher must be one of your Google contacts, and Classroom sends the invitation to the teacher via Gmail.

Classroom adds the teacher or teachers to the Teachers list on the About tab. At first, each teacher’s entry appears as a generic icon and the email address, with a More Actions button to the right of it. When the teacher accepts the invitation by clicking the Join button in the “Invitation to co-teach” message she receives, her picture and name will replace the generic icon and the email address in the Teachers list.

Starting a Post

To start creating a post , follow these steps:

1. 1.

   On the Classes page, click the card for the class. The Stream tab for the class appears.

    
2. 2.

   Click the Add (+) button in the lower-right corner to display the pop-up menu (see Figure 8-31).

    

1. 3.

   Click the appropriate item on the pop-up menu to display the corresponding dialog box. For example, click the Create assignment item to display the Assignment dialog box (see Figure 8-32).

    

Choosing the Classes and Students for the Post

By default, Google Classroom addresses the post to the class from whose page you started the post. Google Classroom also addresses the post to all students by default.

You cannot remove the current class, but you can add one or more of your other classes. To add another class, click the pop-up button to the right of the For readout. In the pop-up menu that opens (see Figure 8-33), check the check box for each class to which you want to send the post.

As long as you are posting to only one class, you can choose which students within the class receive the post. To do so, click the right pop-up button on the For line. In the pop-up menu that opens, check or uncheck the “All students” check box as needed. You can then check or uncheck the check box for each individual student. If you need to post to only a few students, unchecking the “All students” check box and then checking the check box for each of those few students is usually quickest. If you need to post to most students, check the “All students” check box and then uncheck the check box for each student you want to omit.

Entering the Title and Instructions for the Post

Each post has what is effectively its title , although the Google Classroom interface gives this field a different name depending on the type of item you are creating. For an assignment, the field is indeed called “Title”; for an announcement, the field is called “Share with your class”; and for a question, the field is called “Question.” The “Title” field or equivalent field appears in the list on the Stream tab and identifies the post.

Click the “Title” field or equivalent field for the post and type the title you want to appear. If the post includes an “Instructions” field, enter any instructions to help the students grasp what you want.

Entering the Due Date and Topic for the Post

Next, enter the due date for an assignment or a question, plus the topic for any post.

To enter the due date, click the pop-up button to the right of the Due readout. In the Due date & time pop-up panel that appears (see Figure 8-34), click the “Date” field and then click the due date on the calendar panel that appears; alternatively, you can click the Delete (X) button to delete the date that currently appears. To add a due time to the due date, click the “Time (optional)” field and then type the due time; here, too, you can click the Delete (X) button to delete the time that currently appears.

To add the topic to any post, click the pop-up button to the right of the Topic readout, which typically is set to the No topic item by default. The pop-up menu lists each topic you have already added to the class, the default No topic item (which you can apply to remove the current topic), and the Create topic item, which you can click to enter a new topic.

Adding Materials to the Post

As you would expect, the controls for adding the items to a post work in much the same way as the controls for adding items to a class. For example, to add a YouTube video link to an assignment, you would click the YouTube button in the lower-left corner of the Assignment dialog box (see Figure 8-35) and then follow the usual procedure for selecting the file.

Posting the Post, Scheduling the Post, or Saving It as a Draft

When you have finished entering the details for a post , double-check that everything is correct and then post it by clicking the main command button in the dialog box—for example, click the Ask button for a question or the Assign button for an assignment.

Instead of posting the post , you can schedule it to be posted later or save the post as a draft so you can finish it at another time.

To schedule the post, click the pop-up button to the right of the main command button and then click the Schedule item on the pop-up menu. The Schedule dialog box for this type of post opens, such as the Schedule assignment dialog box shown in Figure 8-36. Select the date and time at which you want Google Classroom to post the post and then click the Schedule button.

To save the post as a draft, click the pop-up button to the right of the main command button and then click the Save draft item on the pop-up menu. Google Classroom saves the post as a draft and closes the dialog box.

When you are ready to resume work on a draft announcement, click the Saved posts button below the theme picture on the Stream tab. The Saved posts area expands, showing the Drafts box. Click the draft you want to reopen.

Adding a Class Comment to a Post

To add a class comment, click the Add class comment button, type the comment in the text field that appears, and then click the Post button.

Replying to Student Comments

If you let students post class comments, you will likely need to reply to some of them. To reply to a class comment, follow these steps:

1. 1.

   Move the pointer over the class comment to which you want to reply. The Reply button (a left-curling arrow icon) and the More Actions button (the three vertical dots) appear.

    
2. 2.

   Click the Reply button . The reply field appears (see Figure 8-37). Google Classroom automatically includes the commenter’s email address.

    

Dealing with Private Comments

As well as posting class comments (if you permit students to do so), a student can also send you a private comment after you assign an assignment or a question. The student sends a private comment by opening the assignment or question, clicking the Add private comment link, typing the comment in the text field that appears, and then clicking the Post button.

A private comment appears in the Private comments box on the Student Answers tab for a question and the Student Work tab for an assignment. You can respond to the private comment by clicking the Add private comment link below it, typing your response, and then clicking the Post button.

Deleting Students’ Posts and Comments

As the teacher, you can delete the posts and comments that students make. To delete a post or comment, move the pointer over it, click the More Actions button (the three vertical dots) that appears, and then click the Delete item on the menu. In the Delete comment? dialog box or the Delete post? dialog box that appears, click the Delete button.

Muting a Student

To mute a student , follow these steps:

1. 1.

   Move the pointer over a post or comment from the student. The More Actions button (the three vertical dots) appears on the right of the post or comment.

    
2. 2.

   Click the More Actions button to open the menu and then click the Mute item on the pop-up menu. The Mute item includes the student’s name—for example, Mute Bill Smith. The Mute? dialog box then opens, also showing the student’s name (see Figure 8-38).

    

When you are ready to unmute the student, follow these steps:

1. 1.

   Move the pointer over a post or comment from the student. The More Actions button (the three vertical dots) appears on the right of the post or comment.

    
2. 2.

   Click the More Actions button to open the menu and then click the Unmute item on the pop-up menu. The Unmute? dialog box then opens (see Figure 8-39), showing the student’s name in its title.

    

Editing a Post

To edit a post, click the More Actions button (the three vertical dots) on the post’s card on the Stream tab and then click the Edit item on the pop-up menu. The post opens for editing in the same dialog box you used to create it—for example, the Announcement dialog box for an announcement. Make the changes needed and then click the Save button to save them.

Reusing a Post

Google Classroom makes it easy to reuse one of your earlier posts. Often, reusing a post is the quickest way of creating a new post, as you can pick up most of the existing settings—such as the classes, the students, and the topic—rather than having to set them up again from scratch. You can also change any of these items when reusing a post.

To reuse a post, follow these steps:

1. 1.

   On the Stream tab, click the Add (+) button to display the pop-up menu.

    
2. 2.

   Click the Reuse post item. The Select class dialog box opens (see Figure 8-40).

    

1. 3.

   Click the class that contains the post you want to reuse. The Select post dialog box opens, showing the posts in that class (see Figure 8-41).

    

Deleting a Post

When you no longer need a particular post , you can delete it. On the Stream tab, click the More Actions button on the card for the post and then click the Delete item on the pop-up menu. In the Delete? dialog box that opens, such as the Delete assignment? dialog box shown in Figure 8-42, read the information to make sure you are aware of any associated items that will be deleted; for example, deleting an assignment also deletes any grades or comments added to the assignment. Then, click the Delete button if you want to proceed with the deletion.

Creating an Assignment

Follow these steps to create an assignment:

1. 1.

   On the Stream tab for the class, click the Add (+) button in the lower-right corner to display the pop-up menu.

    
2. 2.

   Click the Create assignment item. The Assignment dialog box opens (see Figure 8-44).

    

Tracking Students’ Progress on an Assignment

After you post the assignment , it appears on the Stream tab (see Figure 8-45). If you assigned a topic, that appears as a button at the top, above the due date (if you assigned one). The Done readout and Not Done readout in the upper-right corner of the assignment’s box show the number of students who have and have not submitted the assignment.

To see more detail, click the assignment’s name or click either the Done readout or the Not Done readout. The Student Work tab for the assignment appears (see Figure 8-46), showing the Done readout and the Not Done readout, plus the following controls:

• Select all: Click this check box to select the check boxes for all the students.

• Email selected students: Click this button to start an email message in Gmail to the selected students. Gmail places the assignment’s name in the Subject field of the message.

• Sort by: To control how Google Classroom sorts the students, click this pop-up menu and then click the Sort by last name item, the Sort by first name item, or the Sort by status item, as needed.

• Point value: To change the number of points for the grading, type the new number in the text field, press the Enter key , and then click the Update button in the Update point value dialog box that opens (see Figure 8-47). To change the assignment to being an ungraded one, click the pop-up button, click the Ungraded item on the pop-up menu, and then click the Update button in the Update point value dialog box.

• Instructions: Click this tab to display the Instructions page for the assignment (see Figure 8-48). Here, you can edit the assignment by clicking the More Actions button (the three vertical dots) and then clicking the Edit item on the pop-up menu. You can also add a class comment by clicking the “Add class comment” field, typing the comment, and then clicking the Post button.

Grading and Returning an Assignment

Once a student has submitted an assignment , you can grade it and return it. Follow these steps:

1. 1.

   Click the student’s name in the left pane on the Student Work tab. The student’s work appears (see Figure 8-49).

    

1. 4.

   Click the Add grade box to the right of the student’s name and type the grade. You can use two decimal places if necessary; if you use more decimal places, Google Classroom will round the number to two decimal places.

    
2. 5.

   When you are ready to return the assignment, make sure the student’s check box in the left column is checked and then click the Return button. In the Return work? dialog box that opens (see Figure 8-50), look through the marks to make sure all looks well, type a private comment if necessary, and then click the Return button.

    

Creating a Question

Follow these steps to create a question:

1. 1.

   On the Stream tab for the class, click the Add (+) button in the lower-right corner to display the pop-up menu.

    
2. 2.

   Click the Create question item. The Question dialog box opens (see Figure 8-51).

    

1. 3.

   By default, the For pop-up menu is set to the current class. Add other classes if necessary.

    
2. 4.

   By default, the second pop-up menu is set to All students. Change the recipients if necessary.

    
3. 5.

   In the Question box, type the text of the question.

    
4. 6.

   In the Instructions (optional) box, type any instructions to help the students understand the context for the question and the types of responses you are looking for.

    
5. 7.

   To give a due date for the question, click the Due pop-up menu and then specify the date—and, if necessary, the time—in the Due date & time pop-up panel.

    
6. 8.

   Click the Topic pop-up menu and choose the topic. You can create a new topic if necessary.

    
7. 9.

   Click the pop-up menu below the Due pop-up menu and then click the Short answer item or the Multiple choice item as needed.

    
8. 10.

   For a short-answer question, set the two switches that appear:

   • Students can reply to each other: Set this switch to On if you want students to be able to discuss the question.

   • Students can edit answer: Set this switch to On if you want to allow students to edit their answers.

    
9. 11.

   For a multiple-choice question, click the Add option line and type each answer needed (see Figure 8-52), then set the “Students can see class summary” switch to On or Off as needed.

    

Viewing and Grading Responses to a Question

You can view the responses to a question—and, if necessary, grade the responses and return them to the students—by using the same techniques as for an assignment:

• View the responses: Click the question on the Stream tab to display the Student Answers tab for the question. The Student Answers tab (see Figure 8-53) works in a similar way to the Student Work tab for an assignment.