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The New Google Classroom

Google Classroom is getting an update with a new look and features!


While Google Classroom is only 4 years old, we have seen lots of changes and improvements over those 4 years! But this year, Google has made some big of the biggest changes ever to Google Classroom - all based upon user feedback. 

You will now see three main tabs: Stream, Classwork, and People.

Teacher View

Stream
The Stream tab is where educators create and post announcements. It also shows due dates for upcoming work and when new assignments are posted. It's a great place to host discussions and help students develop their online communication skills.

Classwork
Classwork is the real meat of Google Classroom. This is where educators will create and post student assignments and questions. One of the big changes is adding Topics to organize and identify assignments - you will definitely want to use Topics to organize Classwork. All assignments created and labeled with a Topic will be organized together. You could easily create topics for specific curriculum units, concepts, by quarter, and so on. Users can also access the class Google Drive folder and Google Calendar in Classwork.



People
The people tab will show all of the "people" associated with the class: teachers, students, and parents if you have enabled Guardian Emails. People is where you can invite other teachers and also show the class code to share with students. (this class doesn't have any students yet!)


A couple more changes:
About: The About tab is now a button on the right hand side of the classroom window. Right now, it only gives you the ability to view the Class Code to share with students. There are also some new themes to choose from.
 
Settings: Google Classroom now has a Settings button in the top right. In Settings you can edit the class name, manage how students post and comment, show deleted items, and turn on Guardian Emails.

You can also access the class code in Settings. Reminder: Creighton School District students join classes via the Class Code!

When students submit their work, there are also additional grading options. Teachers can easily switch between student assignments while grading and add feedback comments into a bank to use later.

Student View

Stream

Classwork

 People

Google has just completed testing of the new Google Classroom and will begin releasing it sometime in the next couple of weeks. However, you may see some of the changes appear sooner, such as the Stream and People tabs.

For more information about the new Google Classroom, check out the Google blog: 

Enjoy!
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