Setting Up a Classroom

Google Classroom is an excellent and easy to use Learning Management System available to all our students and staff. It can be used to set up classrooms not just for teaching but also for clubs and any other type of student engagement. Google Classroom is included as one of the Google Workspace for Education Apps.

Opening Classroom

To access Google Classroom you can:

Go to classroom.google.com
Click the nine menu dots in the upper right when logged into any Google App.
Access the application on your mobile device or iPad.

Classroom is a web based application and does not reside on your computer. For the purposes of this walk through we will be looking at the PC interface and not a mobile or iPad interface.

Creating a Class

To create a class click the plus (+) sign in the upper right corner. You will be asked to Join class or Create class. Choose Create.

Create a Class

You will need to give the class a name. The other lines aren't required but you can add them in there if you would like. Your class name should be something that is easy for students to find. When they open Classroom they will see multiple classes so giving it a code may not work for them. Keep it simple like English I Pd 3.

Stream

Your classroom has been created.

A few things of note on the main page. Under the title of your class is the class code. You will need to share this code with students to have them join the class. If you are planning on syncing the class with Plus Portals you won't need this code.

The header at the top is completely customizable. You can change the them or upload a photo by choosing those links in the header.

Along the top are a series of menu items. We will go over each one below.

Beneath the header is the live stream. Here is where assignments and communications with the class will appear. Everything you add will line up under here starting with the most recent assignment.

Classwork

Here is where you create assignments for students. You can also launch a Google Meet session, see the assignments in the shared Google Calendar that all the students in the class have access to, and access your Classroom Google Drive folder.

To create an assignment choose Create.

Creating Assignments

There are multiple different types of assignments you can create in Google Classroom. You can also create quizzes, questions to the class, and post material for them to access. Sections in your classwork can be broken down by topics, which would work like the different sections you might be teaching during a school year.

Editing the Assignment 1

Once you choose to create an assignment a new window will open. Here you will need to give the assignment a title, add any instructions you need, then place any necessary attachments to the assignment. You can Add any thing from your google drive or computer to the assignment. Web links and youtube videos can be embedded as well.

Using the Create button allows you to create an Google app document from Docs, Slides, Sheets, Drawings or Forms and add them to the assignment. A new window for the app you chose will open up to allow editing.

Editing the Assignment 2

On the right side of the Assignment creation page is where you will set the parameters for the assignment. You can chose to assign it to just this Classroom or all your Google Classrooms and for which students. You can assign a point value for grading. A specific due date can be set which will appear in the student's calendar. You can place the assignment under a topic you created. Include a rubric.

Editing the Assignment 3

When finished you can click the Assign button at the top or chose the downward facing arrow for more options.

From there you can assign the assignment, schedule it for a later date, save the draft to work on later, or discard the draft completely.

Finishing the Assignment

Once you assign the assignment it will appear in the Classwork menu and at the top of the stream. If you set a due date it will appear in your Google Calendar under the classrooms you assigned it to and in the Google Calendar of your students.

You can edit the assignment by clicking on it and then clicking the three dots on the right.

People

The people heading is where you will see all the students in your class and all the teachers assigned to your class.

You can add teachers by clicking the plus person in the Teachers heading. A window will pop up allowing you add the emails of other Benet teachers.

There are multiple ways to add students.

You can add them manually through this page by pressing the Plus Person.
Students can be added through the link that comes up when you click the Plus Person.
Students can input the code from the class into their own Google Classroom
Classes can be synced through Plus Portals. You can learn more about that here.

Grades

Grades is where you can grade student work that has been handed in through the assignments you created. If your Classroom is synced with Plus Portals than grades and assignments can be handled in Classroom and will be automatically updated in Portals.

There is no way, currently, to do attendance in Google Classroom.

Google requires you to set up a grading system before you can grade any assignments. Please read here to learn more.

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