#70 Days Thinking Through Technology 1: Google Classroom

Goal 1: Where possible modify and redefine our work using technology. 

This year I plan to use Google Classroom as the central hub for all assignments.  

In the "About" section, I'll have links to key documents that students will need almost daily.  The syllabus will be there as well as the tutoring schedule.  But more importantly there will be two Google Forms docked there.  One will be for warm-ups.  I love Alice Keeler's ideas ... and the one about creating a generic Google Form for warm-ups is super!  The form is generic ... the questions are not in the form itself.  Instead, I can post them on the doc cam or on the board.  Students will use the same form daily for warm-ups.  That way I'll have a running record of their work.  I plan to use the warm-up for interleaved recall practice.  The problems will vary from ACT practice, to current problems to past content.  There is a Script (beta) I can use to separate each student's work onto a separate sheet.  I can use the data from the warm-ups in conversations with students.
Also in the About section will be a unit reflection form.  I want to collect reflective data at the end of each unit.  There will be just a few questions about the activities, strategies used as well as student study habits and time spent on homework.

Since I teach six sections of the same course, I'm creating one assignment stream for all classes. This will simplify the posting of assignments.  I like being able to attach all the necessary pieces of an assignment in one place.  I see the assignment stream has having a link to the day's lesson, a link or doc for the assignment itself, and any other supporting materials for the concepts for that day.

Students will turn in many of our assignments in Google Classroom as well.  Submitting Google forms, docs, drawings is simple.  Submitting Desmos links to graphing work is simple.  Yes, students will do paper and pencil work ... some of which they will capture in photos and submit in Google Classroom.  This part is very new to me but we have the tools to make this happen.

Submitting online makes me rethink my assignments.  How can I create assignments in which students can show me they have mastered concepts without requiring a typical worksheet?  I'm collecting ways!

I'm excited about using Google Classroom as the hub for all classroom activity.  I'm continuing to dig into resources to learn how to use it more effectively.  If you have ideas ... I'm all ears!