Google Classroom is a great learning management system that helps to facilitate the distribution of learning materials and allows teachers to provide feedback on student work. There are many features and best practices that students can utilize to make the most of Google Classroom. Here are some tips on how to make the most of Google Classroom

Vicki Davis at the Cool Cat Teacher offers sound advice for managing any learning management system including the importance of setting expectations, consistency, and chunking information. She also makes specific suggestions on how to leverage the tools available in Google Classroom:

Number 6 is I share my lesson plans every day.

Some teachers only post their assignment on Google Classroom. Vicki suggests also posting the lesson plan in the description of assignments. This helps to provide context for the lesson and is particularly helpful when students are absent from class or for parents who have parent summaries turned on. While the description area for Google Classroom does not have rich text editor options like creating hyperlinks, bold, or italics if you paste a hyperlink in the description it does become a link.

Number 8 is don’t grade too soon.

For some students, once they receive a grade they stop working on the assignment. Instead simply provide feedback in the document or private comments on the assignment that is actionable. This will give students specific items they need to complete before they will receive a grade for the assignment.