Through the past six weeks of tinkering and experimenting with the educational assistive program that is Google Classroom I have been pleasantly surprised and encouraged by what I have seen.
One perk that I have just realized was in the create assignment section gives you the ability to create rubrics within the assignment, you are able to attach rubrics as well, but this gives the educator the ability to easily create a rubric that is then stored and can be used in later assignments. Students need to have clear cut standards for what is expected in assignments and this is a necessary step to ensuring understanding of expectations for assignments. Having this feature within Google Classroom helps with transparency of expectations.
This past week I have created two separate assignments for my students within Google classroom. I have found that it has created a great avenue for independence in learning and especially valuable for inquiry based assignments and projects.
Students are able to log on, find the assignment within their class, follow the instructions and begin working without step by step prompts from their teacher. This has enhanced student confidence and cuts down on the anxiety of having to ask questions in front of the class. They can come to me and ask while others are already working away within the program.
So far, I have really enjoyed Google Classroom. It has been a great place to collect student work within each assignment. I have enjoyed being able to attach websites, documents and educational videos to supplement learning and outcomes that are being covered. This week, however, I have really enjoyed being able to create rubrics within assignments and not having to search through files on my computer to find the one I need. At this point I have really started to buy into Google Classroom as a valuable technology for both students and educators.
Adam Scott Williams 
Adam,
So glad to hear that you are enjoying your app exploration with Google Classroom! I’ve used it in the past and something I really enjoyed was being able to post assignments. This came in handy when students left homework at school needed to access their work. Also, it was a great way for parents to see what we were studying at the time. My co-teachers and I ended up switching to SeeSaw just because we had some issues with getting parents connected to Google Classroom, although I don’t think it was a Google issue… We couldn’t figure it out! Have you tried getting parents connected on Google Classroom, if so, have you had any issues? Most of our school used SeeSaw, so we ended up using that just for consistency and to be able to communicate with parents easier.
I had no idea that you could create rubrics on Google Classroom! That’s so helpful! I agree– I think Google Classroom reduces a lot of anxiety in kids in terms of asking questions or simply knowing their assignment is easily accessible. I also like that you are using it as a way to post supplementary items for your students! I think you are doing a great job of experimenting with the app and implementing it in your classroom!
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Thanks so much! It’s been a fun and has helped alleviate stress on my end as well. I have not ventured to the parent/guardian involvement, but that is simply because my students apparently used GC last year as well and it had their parents linked to their accounts! So apparently it is doable, might not be so user friendly however.
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I don’t get to use Google Classroom much (just a few times through these classes). Thanks for sharing your experiences with this tool – especially the rubric creator which is a nice feature. Glad you and your students are befitting from GC.
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Hey Adam, I also haven’t had much of a chance to use Google Classrooom (my division doesn’t allow Google products for students, go figure), so it is nice to read about your positive experiences. Way back in the day I look at it and ultimately didn’t use it because students wouldn’t be able to access it at school. Thanks for the nice easy read!
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