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Five Tips to Organize Google Classroom
posted by: Melissa | August 07, 2019, 02:46 PM   

More and more educators are using Google Classroom to create and give assignments, and it’s easy to see why. The online tool reduces teacher work and stress, increases communication, and greatly streamlines many classroom processes. However, when you speak with students, they often complain that Google Classroom leads to information overflow, with assignments and information posted in a disorganized manner.


Below, we have five tips you can use to keep your Google Classroom organized.


  1. Use Topics

    This is the most basic way to organize information in Google Classroom, and is the framework in which all other organization on the platform is built. Topics allow you to put assignments and resources into groups that students can quickly and easily access. As flexible as they are, there are a myriad of ways you can use them. On shakeuplearning.com, there’s a great blog post on different ways you can use topics in Google Classroom.

  2. Create a ‘Class Resources’ Topic and Keep it at the Top of the Page

    One topic you always want to have is a Class Resources topic. Make sure this topic is at the top of the page, and fill it with all the things that students need to access on a regular basis, like the class syllabus, class schedule, parent letters, list of upcoming assignments, permission slips, etc.

  3. Number Assignments

    A great tip for keeping your assignments organized is to give them numbers. Numbering the assignments will help to keep them in order and will make them easy to locate for both you and the students. It will also provide clarity when communicating with students about individual assignments. “You haven’t yet turned in assignment 3,” is much clearer than, “You haven’t yet turned in the American Revolution assignment.” One reminder for using this tip is to remember that computers will treat document names like text, meaning it will put 1 and 101 next to each other. We recommend solving this by always using three digit numbers (001, 002, 003, etc.).

  4. Create a Demo Student Account

    A less intuitive tip that is extremely helpful is to create a demo student. Having a demo student will allow you to see how your classroom looks from the perspective of a student, which is often helpful. You can also use the demo student when going through assignments, or demonstrating how to do something. This is especially important at the beginning of the year, when students are just being introduced to the platform.

  5. Use Emojis in your directions to give students visual clues.

    The great thing about digital tools like Google Classroom is that you can use emojis with them. Move beyond adding ‘smilies’ and consider how useful these visual clues can be. Adding a little picture immediately draws the students’ attention to a particular section of the page. You can also use them to clue students in to exactly what they’re being asked to do. You may want to use a pencil to indicate that students should be writing or a book to show that they should read something. There are many ways you can use these cute little figures. Be imaginative!


Are you using Google Classroom? We’d love to hear about your experience! Email us as  profdev@aaeteachers.org or share below!

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