It you have not done so already (in last weeks TT) please fill out this form. Below are some likes and dislikes as well as tips based on the results collected last week from students and teachers:

What students like and do not like about how teachers are using classroom part 1 (more to come including face to face forums w/ students):

• Students LIKE:
  • When teachers ask them for input in how the space is being used
  • When teachers understand the implications of their choices (e.g. choosing to present information that is many many clicks away)
  • Being able to access assignments within two clicks or less
  • Having items that will be held to the Late Work Policy to be assigned within the stream with corresponding due dates down to the exact time (not just date)
  • When teachers present organized information consistently. They like getting used to being able to find their way around
• Students DO NOT LIKE:
  • Having to click through multiple layers to find what is due when. They really really dislike when the only place they can find homework is within a SMART Notebook file that needs to be downloaded, opened and sifted through
  • When items are assigned to them after the class period has ended, but are due before the next class period
  • When items that are assigned are deleted even after they are due.
  • When items do not have a clear due date and time, or when this information is changed multiple times
  • Being assigned items in the stream that are reoccurring class routines (e.g. bring your tablet to class, bring your book etc.).  If you need to communicate this information outside of class, they would like it to be in the announcements. This information could also be created as long events in the class calendar directly within Google calendar: warning events created directly in Google calendar do not appear in Classroom

Tip: turn off email notifications

By default, you receive an email notification when either event occurs:

• Someone adds a comment to your post
• A private comment is posted on a student’s assignment or question submission

You can change whether you receive email notifications.

• Go to classroom.google.com.
• In the top-left corner, click Menu .

Scroll down and click Settings.

Tip: Understand the assignment workflow 

Classroom weaves together Google Docs, Drive, and Gmail so teachers can create and collect assignments paperlessly. Within Classroom, teachers can create an assignment, use it in multiple classes, and choose how students complete the assignment (for example, whether each student receives an individual copy or all students work in the same copy of the assignment). The teacher can track who has completed the assignment and who hasn’t, and provide feedback to individual students.

Here’s an example of the assignment flow between a teacher and a student:

Teacher		Student
Teacher creates an assignment with an attached Google Doc.
		Student edits the copy of the homework and turns it in.
Teacher grades the assignment.
		Student reviews and edits the copy of the homework.
	Teacher selects the option to create a copy of the Google Doc for each student and sends the assignment to the class. After turning in an assignment, the student loses edit access to the Doc but remains a viewer. The teacher edits the Doc to grade the assignment, returns it to the student, and editing access is again transferred to the student.

Both the teacher and students can see a list of pending and completed class assignments. The teacher can see all of the grades for an assignment, and students can see their own grades for completed assignments.