3 Things to do for the New Year

 

1. Archive old classes in Google Classroom and GoGuardian

There was a sigh of relief when the 2020-2021 school year came to an end, and now that it is a distant memory, it’s time to archive those old Classes. If you are unsure how to do this, take a few minutes to watch the following videos.

 

2. Confirm your settings in Google Classroom. 

Chances are you changed some of the settings for Google Classroom last year. Your new classes will use Google’s default settings, so make sure you review the settings in your Classrooms and make any needed changes. Most settings are left up to each teacher, but if you are unsure ask your administrator if they want your classroom set up in a specific way. 

Here are some of the settings I use: 

Stream: Only teachers can post and comment. I like to start with this so students can’t randomly post things that don’t need to show up on the stream. If I want students to comment on something I would change it to students can only comment. There is nothing wrong with Students can post and comment, but you will need to regularly monitor your stream if you use this setting because it will allow students to post comments at anytime.

Classwork on the stream: Hide Notifications. I use this because I want my announcements to stand out and because the stream can become cluttered when all your classwork is posted there. Students can always get the classwork from the classwork tab which is more organized than the stream, and students also get email notifications unless they have turned that feature off. Classwork also shows up in the calendar and the to-do list if the assignment has a due date, so leaving classwork off the stream shouldn’t be problem for students. 

Show deleted items: Off. There was a reason you deleted posts from the stream, so why would you want someone to see them?

Guardian Summaries: On. Not only should this be on but if you have a verified guardian email, invite them to see what your students are doing. Guardians will be able to decide how often they want summaries, so this could keep you from getting the “how is my child doing” phone call or email. 

Grade Calculation: No overall Grade. For our district a student’s official grade can be found on PowerSchool. Students can still see the grade for each assignment without seeing an overall grade in Google Classroom. 

You should check with your administrator before you change this setting. 

Check out this video if you are still unsure about settings. 

3. Organize your Google Drive. 

This is something most people, including myself, struggle with. If your Google Drive has hundreds of documents and half of them are named “copy of” or “untitled,” then it’s time to organize. The video below has some good suggestions on how to organize your drive, but you don’t have to do it all at once. Start by creating folders for your current classes and make sure everything you make moving forward is given a descriptive name that you will be able to find whenever you need it. As time permits, go through older documents, and delete or move old files until your Drive is the embodiment of organization. Remember you should NEVER DELETE YOUR CLASSROOM FOLDER. This is where Google Classroom keeps all student files and assignment templates.