Google Classroom Settings (and why they are important to your life)

Many school districts are using a Single Sign-On (SSO) platform to house all of their virtual learning. This is helpful because the kids (and parents) know to go to the same place every day to find their assignments. My district has chosen Google for Education for several years now, and I have used it in music classes as well. 

When creating your class in Google Classroom (GC), there are several settings you should pay attention to. Different settings can be found in two different places within GC.  Settings for one individual GC are found by clicking on the gear symbol in the top right corner. This covers settings unique to the class you are working in. 

• Class details
• Class code and invitation to join
• Stream settings (who can post and comment)
• Guardian summaries (to send or not to send)
• Meet link (a permanent Google Meet link assigned to your class)
• Grading settings 

In addition to these settings, there are more that apply to ALL of your classes in GC. To find those, click on the three lines (menu) symbol in the top left corner. Scroll alllll the way down to find Settings. Here you will find

• Your Profile and Password information
• Notifications --this is where to go if you are getting too many email notifications, or not enough. 

Before inviting students to join your class, take a minute to design your settings to fit your teaching style. The most important ones for me are Stream settings (I don't allow students to post or comment), the Meet link (keep it hidden until you are opening up a class meet), and Notifications (some people hate getting 47,000 emails a day). 

After helping several people find these settings, I decided to make a video showing how and where to access all of these.  To see a demonstration in my (dummy) class, along with more details about how and why I use mine, click on the video below: 

I hope you are finding success as you navigate the Google platform for your teaching this fall. I promise, it WILL get easier! 

Keep Singing,

Flippin' Awesome Resources for Google!

Hello friends!

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go to the Elementary Technology Conference in Galveston. It's the first non-music PD I've done in a while, but I love technology so I thought it would be worth it. AND.....I was right!  I learned so many cool things! I hope to be able to write a few posts about these applications and ways to use them in music class. Our district is super big on tech right now, and as of last year we are 1:1 on every campus. We are a Google district, and students have Chromebooks, so that is what I am here to share with you.

Have you heard of Flippity.net? Y'all. This is a fantastic FREE resource if you can make a spreadsheet. Seriously.

Flippity will take your Google Spreadsheet and turn it into SO. MANY. THINGS. Flashcards? Check. Random name picker? Got it. Jeopardy style game board? Yep. Memory game, Mad Libs, Bingo, Crossword, Word Search, Tournament Bracket, Yes, yes, and yes! 

So here's how it works. Each application has a demo,  instructions, and a template. To create your own, click on "Instructions". 

The instructions vary a little for each one, but it is based in a spreadsheet. 

Open the template, save a copy so you can edit, and create away. As you can see, the directions are pretty straightforward, step by step.  Some of them even give you a QR code to share the activity with your students! 

I'm thinking this could be great for review, sub plans, at home practice, and class use. So many possibilities! And did I mention that it's FREE? The teacher's favorite word! How will you use this amazing tool to make your life better or easier? Share it in the comments below!