How to use Google Classroom for teachers.
To begin using Google Classroom,
go to www.classroom.google.com to create a class.
Once on your Google Classroom dashboard, you will see "+" at the top right corner.
When you click this you will have the option to "Join Class" or "Create Class".
Select "Create Class".
You can now create the details of your class.
Once you have all those details entered, click "Create".
Once your class is created, you will be brought to the main class page,
also known as the "Stream" tab.
You can personalize the page by changing the header image at the top.
To change the header image, in the bottom right corner of the header you will see "Select Theme"
This brings up a library of header images that Google Classrooms has.
You can view them by different subjects,
and once you see the one you would like to use, just select it and click "Select Class Theme"
If you have your own image you would like to use, you can click "Upload Photo",
and then select it from your computer.
This main "Steam" tab displays any new activity, such as new announcements, assignments,
and posts from students.
You can easily share post announcements or share attachments from this page
by clicking in the "Share Something With Your Class" field.
You can select who received this message by clicking the dropdown beside "All Students".
Once you have your message written, you can also add attachments to your message
by clicking the "Add" button in the bottom left corner.
You can choose to share files from a Google Drive, a link to another webpage,
attach a file from your own computer, or share a Youtube video.
Once your message is ready, click "Post" in the bottom right corner of the screen.
If you aren't ready to post just yet, you can click the drop down menu beside "Post".
Here you can choose to save the post as a draft or schedule it for a later date.
You can then select the date you'd like to schedule the post for, and hit "Schedule".
To invite students to join your classroom,
you can share the class code that is featured on the left side of your header image.
Just copy the code, and email it to your students.
They can then go to Google Classroom, click the "Join A Class" button, and enter the code
that you provided.
An alternative method is to go to the "People" tab.
Here you can select the user icon beside "Students" and enter a name or email address,
then click "invite".
The student will then receive an email notification to join the classroom.
You can also add other teachers by clicking the user icon beside "Teachers".
If you would like to email, mute, or remove a student,
just select the checkbox beside the student's name, and click the "Actions" dropdown.
Then select the action you would like to apply.
The next tab is the "Classwork" tab.
This is the main location for all assignments, lessons, worksheets, etc.
By clicking the "Create" button, you can create a new assignment, quiz assignment,
question, and so on.
If you select "Assignment",
You can then create a new assignment by entering a title, and instructions.
You can attach any reference materials by clicking the "Add" button,
or create a new reference material by clicking "Create".
On the right hand side, you can select who the assignment is for,
you can assign how many points the assignment is worth,
and you can also choose to make it an ungraded assignment.
You can then assign a due date by clicking the "Due Date" drop down,
and then selecting a date for the assignment.
If there is a grading rubric you would like to use for the assignment,
you can click the "Rubric" button and then create a new rubric,
reuse a rubric from a previous assignment, or import a rubric from Google Sheets.
Once you have all your details ready you can click "Assign" in the top right corner.
Beside "Assign" you can also click the drop down to schedule the assignment for a later date,
save the draft, or discard the draft.
If you go back to the "Classwork" tab, and select "Create Quiz Assignment",
you will be provided with the same options as creating an assignment,
but you will also be provided with a blank Google Form to create a new quiz.
By creating a question, you can create a discussion question that students can then respond to.
Creating a material will allow you to share reference sheets and class notes,
making it easy for students to find and use throughout the year.
And finally "Reuse Post" allows you to reuse a post that you have made in any of your other
Google Classrooms.
If you want to organize all of your classwork by unit or subject,
you can select "Topic" and create a category for each assignment to live in.
You can then drag and drop which assignments you would like to fall under that topic.
In the top right corner of your "Classwork" tab,
you can select "Google Calendar" to see all of your set due dates,
or you can select "Class Drive Folder" which houses all of the attachments from your classwork
such as the attached reference sheets or Google Forms created.
Any assignments, quizzes, and materials created in this classwork section
will also be posted to the "Stream" tab so students are aware of the activity.
Finally, if we go to the "Grades" tab at the top,
this is where you can see all of your students' grades from all of the assignments and quizzes
in one spot.
You can edit the grades by selecting the grade and typing in your edit.
You can also see the work that a student has submitted for each assignment.
To do so, go to the assignment for that student, and click the three dots in the right side of the cell.
Then select "View Submission".
The last area to highlight for Google Classroom is your classroom settings.
If you click the "Settings" icon in the top right corner,
you can control the settings of your classroom.
You can change any of the class details that you set when you created the classroom,
and you can also control the settings of your "Stream" tab.
You can select is students can post or comment on the "Stream" tab,
or if that is only reserved for teachers.
You can also change how notifications for updated classwork is displayed on the "Stream" tab.
In the "Grading" section, you can change how grades are calculated for each assignment.
By selecting the drop down beside "Overall Grade Calculation",
you can choose if grades are calculated by total points or are weighted by category.
And that is how to use Google Classroom for teachers!