If you have never heard of Google Classroom, and you are a Google Apps for Education school, then check out this blog post for the skinny.  Google Classroom has made a few impactful updates over the last few months, and these seem to have been crowned with the release of the classroom app for iOS and Android.  The app works very well, utilizes the swipe-ability of touch screen devices and feels intuitive.  Although on my iPhone I could not get to the "about" tab, I'm sure the kinks will be worked out over the next few days (that's the problem with being an early adopter).  

The one great thing about the app, is the language it uses for students.  When a student clicks on an assignment, he can view "instructions" and "your work".  This is much more digestible than "assignment details" and "my assignment".  I'm hopeful that the desktop version of Classroom will soon look more like the mobile version.

Some changes to the full-version of Classroom also hit my screen last night, so I thought I would take a moment to list those changes.  I know it can be frustrating for staff when change occurs.  It doesn't have to be sweeping change, even the little things tend to throw some of us right out of our rockers (Ask Microsoft about getting rid of the windows button :).

A few Cool tools on the App:

1. Snap a photo and attach it directly to an assignment.  This would be great if your homework was to "find examples of Roman architecture in your community".
2. Sharing from other apps is also available to attach images, pdf, etc to assignments.
3. Offline cache means each time you open the app, it stores info on your device, just in case your 3g goes away.

Teacher Changes in Classroom:

1. On your home screen, you can no longer delete a class.  Google (and the internet) never deletes anything.  Classes can now be archived.  This is nice because at the end of a semester, or the year, you can archive all classes.  They become un-editable, but students and teachers can still go in and view them.  Find your archived classes under the menu button, all the way at the bottom.
2. Under the menu icon (upper left) You can now see assignments in each of your classes.  This includes assignments you might have to complete, if you are enrolled in a class

Student Changes in Classroom:

1. Menu button (upper left) also gives students a quick view of assignments for each class.

It's almost Middle Ages webquest time at BMS.  Like every year, I was reflecting on how to make changes to the automatous mastery learning unit (Click this link to see the many posts about this unit).  Travis and I began to discuss how it could change.  I wanted a different response to the computer side chat.  Mike and I had the students list three to five facts they learned, then tell us two questions they had.  I really like the questions students asked, but I wanted students to get more from the chats...So I remember people using google forms to make quizzes.  I tweeted out a question and Mike was quick to get us to Flubaroo.  I had heard of it, but never saw a need for it until now.  

So, Travis took on the task of learning how to use it and email students notes, grades and the questions they had.  His tutorial is below.  I must admit it takes a few times to get it down, but once you do it has amazing possibilities for classroom use and formative assessment.    These forms are basic information presented in the chat.  They are not a quiz...more of a listening task with hope students will learn more from some guiding questions as they listen. 

Below the tutorial is a test example (will not be used with kids as we have already added other sections-- copies for each school, last question asking for questions--its not graded, and putting them in order of that the chat presents them), If you take it you should get an email with in a few minutes with feedback--see images below.  Let us know your thoughts on Flubaroo or how you use it.

Cheers, Garth 

So how were we able to do this? Garth and I both have two projectors in our rooms one projector was being used to show the other teachers classroom and for this we used GoogleHangout, while on the other projector we had skype up and were utilizing the screen share feature so the projected version of Peardeck could be seen by both classes. Now I mentioned the outcome of the program was great but we did think the experience would work better if we were able to use a video conferencing system assuming it would make it easier for the two classes to hear one another by eliminating some of the background noise and provide us with a better image into one another's class.

Please email or Tweet Travis or myself is you have questions.  


The tools today, that we have access to really do "take down the WALLS of a classroom".  To think I was pushing a presentation 150 miles away to 50 students in Columbus, on cell phones, ipads, and laptops, while in the blink of an eye I could "SEE" if they understood what I had just explained.  The use of quick questions, short responses and other types of formative assessment built into PearDeck,  allowed both Travis and I to understand what OUR student's were learning and if were on the right track.  


I am blown aways with the possibilities of what we can do with the technology being produced for education.


Cheers, Garth