The Schoenblog

As a tech coach at the start of the year, Google Classroom and the summer’s updates to Google Apps have been a frequent conversation topic. At our Tech Tuesday drop in professional learning, we’ve explored Topics, the Parent/Guardian features, Google Cast, and more.

I’ve written a lot about how I use Google Classroom in my classes (find my articles Classroom here) but I don’t think I’ve written explicitly about this piece of advice:

Make everything an assignment and post it all on Google Classroom.

Classroom offers options for questions, announcements, and more, but assignments are almost always the best choice in my practice. And here’s why: accountability, consistency, and the calendar.

Accountability

Watching the numbers of done/not done change as students turn in work is one of the greatest management features that Classroom provides. The organization and sorting of papers and files just became instant and easy. But I want my students to be responsible for communicating when that work is done.

This means that I always ask students to turn in or mark as done when work is complete. Otherwise, it’s the technological equivalent of leaving the paper in their backpacks. They need to be responsible for turning it in so I know it’s ready for feedback.

Consistency

As more and more technology becomes a part of our classroom, it can be overwhelming for everyone--both students and teachers. I want to offer consistency for my students to find their work and turn in assignments. This means that I put EVERYTHING on Classroom, and always make it an assignment, no matter what.

Read 10 pages? Annotate the text? Finish the lab? Write the paper? The task and it’s outcome doesn’t matter but marking the work as done or turning it in on Classroom makes it easy to monitor progress and make it easier for students to succeed.

Google Calendar

When you create classes in Classroom, Google Calendars are automatically created for you. You can then share or embed these calendars, too. Check out Making the Most of Google Classroom’s New Calendar Integration and Google Classroom Calendar Integration is Live! And Here’s How to Use It! for more information.

I know a lot of teachers who maintain and update their own calendars to share assignments with students and parents. Classroom will do this work for you, provided that you add it as an assignment. Announcements (or work without a due date) does not get added to the calendar, providing easy transparency to help everyone stay on task.

Always Assignments?

The assignment feature is the best practice I’ve found so far with Classroom. That said, I don’t like absolutes and there’s not one right way to make technology work for you. Please share your thoughts and how you use (or don’t) Classroom and the assignment feature. I’d love to hear your views and for you to share your best practices in the comments or on Twitter @MrSchoenbart.

It’s been a week or so since Google Classroom’s new calendar integration rolled out, and I’ve played with the features extensively. Last week, I wrote a guide to setting up classroom calendars, and now I want to explore its potential a little more.

Sure have a build in calendar within Classroom is a good idea. Yes, creating new Google Calendars is cool, too.

If you use a Google Calendar or iCal on your iPhones, you're already used to the notifications that remind you about an event. Why not extend that logic to our classes, students, and assignments. With Classroom Calendar integration, you can now:

• Create a public, sharable, and embeddable Google Calendar that automatically includes your class assignments from Google Classroom
• Have other users add your calendar to their own
• Teach other users (aka students!) to set e-mail or SMS (text message) notifications for events. 

What I’ve Learned About Classroom Calendars

If you already used a Google Calendar, rename it the exact same name as your class in Classroom. Then, add a new assignment. The old calendar should connect to Classroom without a problem.

If you already created a new calendar through Classroom but have an old one, too, you can manually export the events and import them through a .ics file into the new calendar.

Only assignments with due dates are added to the calendars. Announcements do not.

Sharing Classroom Calendars

Go to Google Calendar and check out the list under My Calendars. You likely have one with your username and might have more. If you are a Google Classroom user and have added an assignment this week, you likely have a class one, too. Change the colors to differentiate calendars--it makes things much easier to navigate.




Share this Calendar is where we begin. Here, you have the option to set the calendar as private, public to your domain, or public to everyone. You can also invite individual users and change specific settings.

Pro Tip: Add your personal e-mail with permission to make changes and manage sharing so you always have access.

Make this calendar public is my go to, as I want to share outside my domain and make this available to parents.

Calendar Notifications

See the Edit notifications option on the top menu of the screenshot above? Check that out. Here you can set notifications for everything: new events, changes, cancellations, etc. Pick the method and time that works for you.

Pro Tip: If you use Calendar Appointment Slots or a meeting calendar, set up a text message notification before each meeting so you never forget. These strategies work will all Google Calendars, not just those from Classroom.

SMS Notifications

Click the link at the bottom of the screenshot above to set up mobile notifications. Google will text you a verification code, and then you can set up your reminders.

Embedding Calendars

Now that the calendar is set to public sharing, it can be embedded anywhere. If you use a Google Site, you can navigate to Insert → Google Calendar within the page editing. You can select one or all of your calendars, too, making things easy.

If you use another platform, there’s an embed code for each calendar, available on the Calendar Settings page.

I’ve already embedded calendars on my class website to share with parents.

Sharing With Students

Embedding on a web site is great, but even better is adding your calendar to theirs. In Calendar Settings, click the HTML button for Calendar Address (see below).



The calendar now opens in a public, viewable link. But see the +Google Calendar button in the bottom right corner that looks like this?


Click it. Here’s what happens:


Share a link on Classroom to the calendar address, and have students add your class calendar to their own. Once they click Yes, they will see your calendar under Other calendars, like this:




Then, teach them to set up their own notifications. With this new integration, sharing, and set up, there’s a level of transparency and communication like never before.

Final Thoughts

I’m all about student accountability, and I certainly don’t want to spoon feed them everything, but I know how much I count on my phone for the calendar and notifications. Why can’t we use technology to make things easier and more efficient and let students do the same?

Classroom’s calendars are powerful tools and I have so many ideas on how to use them.

I would love to hear your ideas, questions, and feedback on Classroom, Calendar, and these posts. Reach out in the comments or on Twitter @MrSchoenbart. Thanks for reading!

You’ll probably get a notification about this update.

2. Click About to learn to navigate the new features. 

Notice that Calendar is now listed on the bottom.



If you click the View in Classroom option, you see Classroom Calendar view of this particular class:



The view above is just for this one class. If I click Calendar in the Classroom menu, you can select each active class individually or all calendars at once:

3. Create a new calendar for each class by creating a new assignment. 

The new assignment will automatically create the calendar, adding all of your assignments to it.

I named an assignment “Ignore Me--testing something cool!” just to see if it worked. When you return to About for the class, you will now see Open in Google Calendar.

4. View from Google Calendar. 

Your new calendar has been created with a name that matches your Classroom class and section name. The assignments towards the top were listed without a specific time due so they are added as all day, whereas the assignment on Wednesday 9/23 has a 2:30 pm due date, as indicated on the calendar and in Classroom.

5. Share as Desired. 

Click the dropdown next to your calendars to adjust the sharing settings and notifications. Now you can make the calendar public, embed on a Google site, or share with anyone.

Have students add your class calendar to their accounts, phones, or devices.

In Calendar Sharing Settings, find the Calendar Address and click HTML. Then follow the link that opens to the public calendar.




Notice the +Google Calendar button at the bottom right corner?


Whenever anyone clicks it, it will add the calendar under Other Calendars on their account, too. They can set up notifications to be alerted through text or e-mail for new updates and changes.

Conclusions

Google has given us another great tool to stay connected and help promote transparency and communication in our classrooms. I like that Google Classroom is a closed ecosystem between students and teachers, but the calendar integration is a huge step forward in opening our virtual doors and giving all stakeholders another tool to promote accountability and student success.