Google Classroom

Google Docs vs. Microsoft Office 

Having your students use Google Docs instead of Microsoft Office products can save you a bunch of headaches.  Before Google Docs, I would get tons of excuses when papers were due....  "My printer is broken," "I don't have Office at home," students would email me files that weren't compatible with the school computer, bring in empty flash drives where "I saved my document here, I swear," or bring in a file that was an earlier draft.  It was a nightmare!  

Google Docs are amazing, because they work on ANY device with internet connection, even phones.  Work is automatically saved, and it is really easy for students to share their files.  All of the above excuses have gone away.

Even though Google Docs made things much easier, when I first started using them, there were still some hiccups in the process.  When I'd have my students create documents and share them with me, students would still make mistakes.  They wouldn't name the document in the way I wanted, they wouldn't share it correctly, and I would end up with hundreds of "This Document has been shared with you" emails and a mess of files appearing in my Drive.  Things were better with Google Docs, but, I had to find some solutions to help with the work flow.

Over the last few years there have been a few work arounds to deal with these problems:  shared folders, Doctopus, and gClassFolders to name a few.  My new favorite option is Google Classroom.  It allows you create a seamless workflow, that solves all of the headaches you may have had.

Organized Way of Assigning and Collecting Google Docs

Google Classroom is a free tool that looks a little like a Facebook stream (so it's really easy for student and teachers to use).  Teachers can set up classes and assign and collect work, send announcements, and start class discussions. When you create an assignment, you can choose to share a copy of a document with students (like a lab report template) or students can create the document on their own, and submit it.  Either way, when a student submits their work, the sharing rights are set, the document is named properly, and it is placed in a class/assignment folder for you in your drive.  You won't get a million emails and you wont have to sort the files and organize them.  You can then access the document from your drive, or, directly (and easily) from Google Classroom.  

And best of all, since Google released a Google Classroom API this summer, our district was able to automatically create classes for you in Google Classroom (this weekend), and your students are already enrolled in your Google Classroom classes!  Just go to classroom.google.com and "accept" each of your courses.

**This was a one time set up of Classroom.  It will not autosync if you have students move into or out of your courses.  If new students join your class throughout the year, you will need to manually add them to your class.  If you happen to have two courses the same period, and if you want to merge them, you will need to add "members" to one of the classes, and archive the unused class, to get them all in one place.  If you have already set up classes this year and had students join them, you can "Decline" the new courses and they will disappear.

You may be thinking... "Wait, why would I use this if we are using School Loop?"  The answer - it will solve your Google Doc issues.  And, it has some extra features, like a real threaded discussion, which School Loop lacks.  So I would use School Loop to post the assignment with directions and a link in the School Loop assignment to go to Classroom.  In Classroom, students would access the Google Doc for that assignment, and submit their assignment.  I'd then use School Loop to post the grade.  Classroom is the best way to manage the workflow when using Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, Drawings, etc.

Google Classroom Resources

If you want to use Google Classroom, here are some resources that will help you get started.

• Google Classroom Help Center
• Alice Keeler's Google Classroom Tutorial Blog Posts
• Lisa Nowakoski's Google Classroom Tutorial Blog Posts
• 50 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom by Alice Keeler and Libbi Miller

Protect your Google Account with Two-Step Verification

If someone hacks your Google account and figures out your password, you can prevent them from accessing your Google account using Google's 2-step verification.

If you set up 2-step verification, you have to log in to your account using your email and password, and then a generated code that is sent to your cell phone.  Most likely, if someone hacks your account, they won't have access to your cell phone, so your account will be safe.

Here are instructions on how to set up 2-step verification:

**I would only recommend doing this if you always have your cell phone with you.  You can also print out some codes that you can keep in your wallet in case you don't have access to your phone.  If you are using your own personal computer, you can make it so it doesn't ask you for the code each time you log in.

If someone does hack your account, and is able to gain access, the first thing you want to do is change your password.  To change your @seq.org password (for Google, SL, IC, etc.), go to this website.

Grading Online Work - View Two Tabs

When grading online work, I like to have two tabs open, splitting my browser screen.  I want the student work on the left, and my gradebook on the right.

Two of my favorite Google Extensions are Tab Scissors and Tab Glue.  These two extensions allow you to split apart your tabs into two equally sized screens, or glue them back together into one.  This works with any tabs you want to display side by side.

Alice Keeler, one of my favorite ed tech educators (check out her blog!), has just started creating her own Google Extensions and Add-Ons.  Her newest, Gradebook Split, allows you to click on her extension, and a new tab with your gradebook will automatically open, splitting your screen. This extension will make it so much easier to grade your student work.  You will need to enter in your gradebook URL in the settings for the Gradebook Split extension.  Check out Alice's blog for more information about how to use Gradebook Split and a video demonstration.

Notes about using Gradebook Split with School Loop:  If you have multiple gradebooks in School Loop, you can only choose one of your gradebook URLs to enter into the extension.  Also, you must be logged in to School Loop when you click on the extension, or, it will prompt you to log in first.  

Beginning of the Semester School Loop FAQs

Since we have begun a new semester, and all teachers are required to post assignments in School Loop and use the School Loop gradebook, we have been receiving a lot of questions.  In this post, many of the frequently asked questions will be addressed.  

Please read over the FAQs below to see if it answers your questions before you send an email to get School Loop help.   Any questions you have about School Loop can be sent to icsupport@seq.org. 

Submitting Grades During the Marking Period - Where Can Grades Be Viewed?
When you submit grades in the red box on the right side of your screen during the marking period, these grades do not ever show in School Loop.  These grades and comments are put in an file which is then imported in to Infinite Campus after the grading period ends.  So if you manually enter grades or modify any grades from your gradebook (NAs, FAs, Incomplete's, etc.), this will not be reflected or viewed anywhere in School Loop.  School Loop shows you grades in progress if you use the School Loop gradebook.  When you submit grades during the grading window, whatever you submit will only be viewed in Infinite Campus, after the grading window has closed and the import takes place.  The import will be complete by the Friday after the grading window closes.  

Show/Hide Dropped Students
If you have had some students drop your class, they will have a line through their name. You may not want to see them in your gradebook.  To hide them, at the top of your gradebook, choose "Hide Dropped".  If you need to see them and their grades/assignments, click "Show Dropped".

These dropped students will still be in the middle of your roster, and will be included in the total number of students in your class.  You may want to move them to the end of your roster, so when their hidden, the number of students in your class is accurate.  

To move them, go to the settings gear > select a gradebook for the class under "Gradebook Settings" > Under "Student Order" select "Go" > then drag the dropped students to the bottom of your roster.

Finding & Printing Previous Gradebooks
Now that it is second semester, and when clicking on "Gradebooks", you see the second semester gradebook.  You can still go back and see, print, and even edit (if needed) previous gradebooks. 

Website

In student's and parent's portals, they can click on your name to go to your School Loop website.  (If you have a School Loop site set up and published, your name will be blue and your site will be hyperlinked to your name.)  

If you would like to use your own personal website (Google, Wix, Weebly, etc.) instead of a School Loop website, please fill out this form to have your personal site linked to your School Loop account.  (You still need to publish assignments to the School Loop calendar for all due dates, and add in resources, handouts, instructions for big projects, papers, etc.)

More School Loop Questions?

You will be able to find many answers to your questions on our SUHSD School Loop website. There are many presentations with step by step instructions with screen shots.  Please check out the site and be sure to bookmark it for future reference.  If you have any School Loop or IC questions, please email icsupport@seq.org. 

Translate your Gmail (and Loop Mail)

Now that we are using School Loop, more lines of communication have opened up between parents and teachers.  Parents can even use School Loop in Spanish and Chinese.  

That means that some parents are now communicating and sending emails in their native language to teachers, but many times a teacher does not speak or read this language.

Gmail actually has Google translate built into Gmail, which can easily translate messages in other languages into English.  So if you have your Loop Mail being forwarded to your Gmail, you can instantly translate it into English.  

Forward LoopMail to your Gmail

The first step is to make sure you are autoforwarding your Loop Mail from School Loop to your Gmail account.  Here's how to do that:

Translate Mail into English
Next, you can translate the email into English.

Google Translate isn't a Perfect Solution
Google Translate is not perfect, so you must be aware that the wording may be off.  Here's a fun example of how "not perfect" Google Translate is.  

If you are not a fan of the Fresh Prince, and are looking for a more recent song, check out this Frozen Google Translate video.

Check with your School for Procedures and Translation Services

Also, while you can translate this email into English, you can't translate your response in Gmail.  Many schools in our districts have a translator who will translate responses or contact parents for you.  While translating the emails in Gmail is helpful and you get an idea of what the parent is saying, I would not recommend using Google Translate as your communication method.  Please speak with your department chair or IVP to find out your school's procedures for translation services.

Filtering your Gmail

One of the questions that I keep getting asked is how to stop the daily emails from School Loop.

In School Loop, you can choose to turn off the daily emails, however you will still receive changes in grade emails.  This email is important because it can help you determine if you accidentally made a mistake and overwrote a grade.  The trending emails are nice too, if you see a student's grade trending up or down, you can talk to them to tell them that they are doing a great job, or ask them what is going on.  It's a good idea to read these emails, but I don't necessarily need to look at them each day.

You can create a filter in Gmail that sends all of the incoming daily School Loop emails into a Gmail Label (think folder).  So you can still check those emails when you want, but they will skip your inbox.

Here are instructions on how to create a filter in Gmail.

You might set up filters for weekly sports schedule emails, attendance report emails, emails from list serves, etc.  

What are some other filters that you have set up?

Welcome Back!

There are a lot of big changes in Sequoia Union High School District this school year.  Our district is fully adopting Google Apps for Education, which means our email and calendar clients have changed.  And we (and our students) now have access to some pretty amazing Google tools. We are also adopting a new grade book and communication management system, School Loop.  And don't forget, we will be continuing our work on integrating the Common Core State Standards into our curriculum, and begin to integrate the technology pieces of those standards.

Our world is changing rapidly.  Our students are growing up in an age where there are constant new advancements in technology.  We need to prepare them for this world by integrating technology into our classrooms and curriculum.

In order to feel comfortable guiding our students as they use technology to enhance their learning, we will need some training and support.  Each week I will post a tech tip, tool, or an example of a classroom use of technology.  I will also try to highlight some of the amazing things our innovative and dedicated educators in this district are doing with their students.  If you have a tech tip or lesson to share, please let me know.  I would love for you to contribute to this blog.

- Melissa