Google Classroom

How to Lighten Your Google Classroom Banner Image

April 13, 2021

One of our most popular blog posts to date is, “How to Create a Custom Theme in Google Classroom,” and it’s no secret why, especially now with all of the virtual learning happening. Teachers work tirelessly to create engaging and unique content online for their students. And Google Classroom is the hub and jump-off point that students visit over and over, so this space should be engaging and unique. And what better way to do this than creating a custom theme? It’s so quick and easy, yet impactful. Please be sure to visit our original post to learn how to create a custom theme if you’re not sure how. And please note, when I say “theme,” I’m referring to the banner at the top of the Stream.

To follow up on our ever popular post comes the prevalent question: Why does Google dim my custom banner? It can be infuriating to spend so much time creating something just the way you want it, only to upload it to Google Classroom and have it darkened. I really wish this was a post to tell you how to permanently lighten your dimmed banner, but unfortunately, it’s not. At this moment, there is no way to get around the dreaded dimmed banner.

Since teachers are constantly coming to us asking about this, we thought it’d be helpful to discuss a few things:

Why Google dims custom themes (banners)
How to request Google to change this feature
BONUS – link to an updated custom theme/banner template (Google changed the size since our original post)

WHY THE DIM:

Let’s take a minute to understand why Google dims the banner for us. Google dims custom banners to increase readability. If you have a banner that’s super light, or even white, in certain areas, you may unknowingly hide information that’s super important for you and your students. Please see the images below for reference:

Google’s dimming of the custom image provides readability for the important class information located in the upper, left corner and the edit options in the lower, right corner of the banner.

When I manually remove Google’s readability features (this is just a temporary fix), then the important class information becomes completely hidden:

White is in. We love our clean designs these days – myself included. Maybe Google feels as if many of us would unintentionally hide these important links? I’m not exactly sure if that’s the reason, but it’s definitely an educated guess! This hypothesis leads me perfectly into part 2…

HOW TO REQUEST A CHANGE:

Shouldn’t we be trusted to make our own design decisions? I believe teachers can handle the responsibility of custom design in Google Classroom and that Google should give teachers the responsibility to remove the dimming feature, if they choose. This would require a change, but luckily, Google is always changing. And they make changes based on user feedback – it’s one of my favorite things about Google. They truly want your input, and they listen to it. It’s how they’ve become so awesome and just keep getting better.

Here’s how you can provide Google Classroom feedback (i.e. Beg that they make the dimmed banner optional!). These steps are copied from Google’s Support Page (visit to learn more about optional features such as submitting screenshots with feedback):

Go to classroom.google.com.
Click the class.
At the bottom left, click Help Report issue or request feature.
Enter your comment.
Click Done.
Click Send.

It’s worth taking the few minutes it takes to send this feedback – the more of us that ask for the change, the more likely we will see it!

But for now, at least we have the option to upload a custom theme into Google Classroom at all. I guess we have to be thankful for what we do have.

We have one more treat for you to make your custom theme journey just a bit easier.

UPDATED GOOGLE CLASSROOM CUSTOM TEMPLATE

As stated many times in this post already, Google loves change, and while this is a positive trait, it also keeps us users on our toes. Since we last posted about creating a custom theme in Classroom, they have changed the size of the Classroom banner. I have created an updated, Google Drawing template that has the correct dimensions as of February, 2021. Click here to access this template. Be sure to make a copy of this template versus requesting edit access. Making a copy allows you to make your very own Drawing while preserving the original template for others to copy as well.

So there you have it, folks. I know it’s not the answer you were looking for – I wish I had a better one. But if we all take action, I bet we will see a change soon. What do you do to help you deal with the dim? Please comment below!

Katie Christie is a Google Certified Educator, Innovator, Trainer, and past LearnZillion DreamTeam member. She currently works with the EdTechTeam as a Spotlight Speaker, Online Lead, Keynote, and Blogger. In 2015, she worked as a partner with Google to help rewrite the Google Certification Training Center content. Katie most recently worked as the Technology Integration Specialist at Runyon Elementary School in Littleton, Colorado. She has nine years of experience in the classroom. She spent her first 4 years of teaching in Shaker Heights City Schools in Ohio, a district known for its academic excellence and cultural diversity. Then she had the incredible experience of teaching and learning in a 1:1 Linux-based netbook 5th grade classroom in Littleton, Colorado for 4 years where Google Apps for Education was integrated seamlessly into the curriculum. Katie has been a Lead Learner for the Google Teacher Academy (now known as the Google Innovator Academy) numerous times and helped with the selection process for each Academy. Katie enjoys sharing her passion for effective technology integration in the classroom by networking with other educators, whether the connection happens online or face-to-face.

How to use Google Classroom as an Instructional Coach

September 22, 2020

Google Classroom has become an increasingly popular platform for teachers and educators, especially in the midst of the transition to remote learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Though Google Classroom has – up to this point – been regarded as a tool for teachers to work with students, we are reinventing Google Classroom as a tool for instructional coaches. Google Classroom is an all-inclusive tool for coaches to communicate, connect and support their teachers as we continue on this remote learning journey.

What is Google Classroom?

Google Classroom can be thought of as a one-stop-shop for students and teachers. Google Classroom is an easy way to seamlessly integrate all of Google’s G Suite tools used for teaching and learning, especially in remote and asynchronous environments. Some teachers were initially interested in Google Classroom as an organizational system to rid their desks of paper clutter, but this program has proven to be significantly more robust than just being a virtual filing cabinet.

How do Teachers use Google Classroom?

Though teachers first began using Google Classroom as a means to go paperless, this learning tool has gained popularity because of its functionality and ease of use. Teachers most often use Google Classroom to streamline how they manage their classroom resources. From the syllabus to the final exam, teachers can store all their lesson content, assignments, and additional resources all in one place for students. Because Google Classroom integrates with other G Suite tools, there are several benefits to using this platform. For example, when assignments are posted in Google Classroom, the Calendar app recognizes the due date of that assignment and will automatically post the assignment to the calendar as a reminder for students to easily keep track of when their work is due.

Teachers also love the ability to digitally organize, distribute, and collect assignments or other course materials via Google Classroom. Teachers can easily post the same assignment to multiple classes at the same time, or assign something to individual students that require differentiation or additional support. Any assignment or material posted to Google Classroom can be reposted to future classes, which saves teachers from reinventing the wheel each year.

Google Classroom also allows teachers to communicate with students via announcements and discussion boards, which can help keep students organized and on track. Teachers can set various permissions that allow students to comment on announcements or simply view them depending on the needs of the class. Parents can also receive notifications from Google Classroom about what assignments have been posted and what assignments their student may be missing, which helps to support an open line of communication for all stakeholders.

How can Instructional Coaches use Google Classroom?

Tip #1: Organization

Though Google Classroom is typically considered a one-stop-shop for teachers and students, it can be a great resource for instructional coaches as well. When I first began coaching, I had resources all over the place and my solution to that was to print everything out and make a binder that I could share with the teachers I was coaching. While the binder was a great way to keep everything in one place, those resources were only accessible when the binder was in my possession. If I wanted to look up a resource at home or refer back to meeting notes, I was unable to do so without the binder. Another downside to the paper binder was that when things changed, as they always do in education, those resources became outdated and unusable.

As an instructional coach, Google Classroom can replace your paper-based organizational system, for a more complete resource hub. Google Classroom can house all the materials, announcements, videos, and resources you want to share with your teachers. You can make a different classroom for each teacher you are coaching, or one classroom for everyone which would allow teachers to collaborate with each other as well. Regardless of which method you choose, Google Classroom will help instructional coaches organize all of their coaching materials for teachers. Even better – these classrooms remain active and available for teachers long after the coaching cycle ends. Teachers do not need to fear that resources will go away once the cycle ends, and can refer back to their meeting notes, videos, or discussions at any point throughout the year.

Tip #2: Announcements & Communication

As an instructional coach, there are often times you find a cool new tool or think of new ways to implement instructional strategies, but you’ve already had your meetings with teachers for the week. Usually, I would send an email to the teacher with my findings, but if you’ve ever seen a teacher’s inbox, you know it is very likely that those emails go unread or get buried somewhere. Google Classroom would allow you as an instructional coach to post announcements for teachers that would draw attention to whatever resources you are sharing at that time. These announcements also help teachers keep coaching related materials together, instead of having a folder in their email in addition to a folder on their drive, and then some random papers printed out too.

Announcements would also be a good way for coaches to send reminders to teachers about when you are facilitating coaching meetings, campus training, and other professional development opportunities. Announcements, especially in collective classes, could be used to highlight and celebrate the awesome things teachers are doing in their classrooms as well.

Tip #3: Giving and Collecting Feedback

Similarly to the ways in which teachers provide and collect feedback from students, instructional coaches can use Google Classroom to provide and collect feedback from teachers. Maybe you want a teacher to try a new strategy in their classroom, Google Classroom would allow you to create an assignment for that teacher to remind them of the task that needs to be completed. You could ask teachers to reflect on a particular lesson or activity using discussion boards or even assign a coaching survey through Google Forms to collect data about the coaching cycle. Using assignments and discussions within Google Classroom allows the teacher to tangibly keep track of and complete tasks while also providing the coach with opportunities to provide feedback. Just Google Classroom allows teachers and students to communicate asynchronously, Google Classroom can provide the same opportunities to teachers and coaches.

Tip #4: Scheduling

Another benefit to using Google Classroom as a coaching tool is the integration of other G Suite products like Google Calendar. Coaches can create a collaborative calendar with the teachers they are supporting and schedule things like meeting reminders or tasks that need to be accomplished. Oftentimes coaches need teachers to answer some questions, reflect on their lesson or prepare a challenge to be discussed – all of which can be posted in the Classroom as ungraded assignments so they will show up on the teacher’s calendar as to-do items. This can help teachers keep track of their participation in coaching, as well as where they currently are in their coaching cycle.

Google Classroom has long proven itself to be an impactful tool for teachers to use in their classrooms, but now has an opportunity to serve instructional coaches as well. Google Classroom is an easily accessible, intuitive tool to facilitate continuous communication and support between instructional coaches and teachers despite challenges of time and physical space.

Megan Purcell is a Digital Learning Specialist and Certified Dynamic Learning Project coach in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD located in Carrollton, TX. She enjoys working with teachers to help them elevate their teaching through the use of impactful technology tools and strategies. Megan holds a masters degree in Educational Technology, which she earned overseas at the National University of Ireland in Galway, in addition to being a certified Microsoft Innovative Educator and Apple Teacher. She is a former high school English teacher who loves learning, technology, and helping make life easier for her teachers. She believes that every student should have access to current technology in order to develop 21st century skills necessary for participating in a global society.

How to Choose Your LMS: Canvas vs. Google Classroom

July 30, 2020

So here we are, in the midst of a pandemic, adapting as teachers do. In the last six months, everything around us has changed, and we must now redefine what it means to be a teacher. We’re overwhelmed. We’re stressed. A million questions are running through our heads. Where do you even start? Well, my gut says we should start by picking an LMS. You’re going to have to choose some kind of learning management system before you move forward, and most of your decisions from there are going to depend on the choice you make regarding your LMS, anyhow. So, why not start there?

In this article, I’ve done my best to layout for you the two main choices for secondary LMS, since I myself am a secondary teacher. We’ll talk about some of my favorite features of Canvas and Google Classroom, and the benefits that they bring to the table. Moreover, we’ll discuss the learning management system that I prefer, and the benefits of it that help me to be a more effective and unique teacher, even when teaching remotely.

Pros and Cons of Google Classroom

Google Classroom has been around since August of 2014 and has been well-loved by educators throughout its lifetime – as it should be. There are a lot of really great reasons to choose Google classroom, especially for teachers who are not experienced with technology. The LMS comes with an extremely simple set up, requiring only a course name and then you can easily select a premade theme that “customizes” your course to be different from other courses. There are also some things that make Google Classroom incredible, like the class-shared resources in Google Drive and a shared Google Calendar for all members of the course to mark due dates and important upcoming events. The LMS is also rather easy for students to navigate and understand, and when used across the board by all of their teachers it becomes even easier, as all google classrooms look the same and operate in the same way. The mandatory course home is a stream of activity where the teacher can reference work, post announcements, or even allow students to ask questions. When you switch to the classwork tab, you find that work can be very easily separated into modules and ordered exactly the way you want it to look. Google Classroom also sort-of interacts with popular LTIs (learning tool interoperability) like EdPuzzle, Kami, and Quizizz. Finally, there is also an app that both teachers and students can download on iOS or Google Play that allows the students to access the Google Classroom and turn in work, and allows the teacher to assign and grade work.

Like all things, Google Classroom has its downsides and limitations, primarily in the customization of the classroom itself. All Google Classrooms look exactly the same, and teachers aren’t able to do much other than add a picture and change the color settings to make it their own. The inability to customize is like the inability to decorate your room and express yourself as a teacher, and I find that to be a huge drawback, especially as this new school year starts and I will not have the ability to meet some of my students in person first. One complaint you may frequently see about Google Classroom too is that the assignments NEVER CLOSE. I had experience first hand with this over this summer as I was teaching online summer school, where a student didn’t realize that I was using a different LMS (because he didn’t check his email) and he completed two weeks worth of massively late work in his previous teacher’s classroom rather than completing the appropriate assignments for summer school. This can be frustrating because no one wants to get work 3 weeks late, let alone in the middle of summer. Also, many school districts have policies about late work and not letting students turn things in after a certain amount of time. My final downside was never really a problem before the pandemic, but now that we are where we are, it’s important to note that Google Classroom doesn’t log student activity or interactions within the course, something that is about to be incredibly important for attendance purposes.

Honestly, in short, I would say that Google Classroom could work for any subject, grade level, or student group. Most importantly: Google Classroom is extremely user friendly, making it ideal for young kids, basic clubs/groups/courses, or the not-so-technologically-advanced students and teachers as it doesn’t require much maintenance, upkeep, or training to get started. Personally – I use Google Classroom for clubs that I host or academic groups on campus because the stream is incredible for student officers to communicate with their peers, and I can assign permission slips, different things I’d like to give to the whole group before the next meeting, etc via the classwork tab. Google Classroom is also perfect for a blended learning environment, as a supplement to an in person classroom, where you have all the students in a single room and can teach them and communicate with them directly in person, and have students submit work online.

Pros and Cons for Canvas

I would wager to say that Canvas is like the older brother of Google Classroom. First launched in 2011, Canvas has grown and become one of the most widely used Learning Management Systems in the US. Since Canvas was used by my campus when I was working on my master’s program, I have had experience with both sides of the Canvas Classroom (Student and Teacher) and I still adore the program.

In perks, Canvas can do JUST ABOUT anything that Google can. You can create assignments, organize modules, have a class calendar, even create “Google Cloud assignments” which is just like creating an assignment on Google Classroom. Canvas, however, takes everything a step further. One of the things that I love about Canvas is the PAGES. You (and your students, if you let them) have the ability to create pages with content or information and can add these pages into individual modules. So if I wanted to tell a bunch of students about myself, I could create an “About the Instructor” page, referencing my biography and some interesting facts about me with my picture, contact information, and office hours for students. Essentially, a content page is whatever you want it to be, and I love that. Canvas also allows teachers to have their courses be completely unique. Other than some of the links being the same, teachers can edit the entire structure of the course, choosing if students can see only modules and announcements, or allowing the students to see and interact with other parts of the online system. A teacher can combine these two wonderful features to create their own homepage for their ‘website’, and tag it as the first thing students see when they enter the course. Canvas also has the ability to cross-list sections into one giant ‘shell’, so that you have all of your “Algebra 2” students in one course, and can have a separate course ‘shell’ for your “Algebra 2 Honors” students. Canvas also gives interaction and access reports to teachers, allowing you to see when students were last online and what they accessed while they were there – essential data as we are to move forward with online learning. If that wasn’t exciting enough, Canvas allows users to directly embed LTIs like EdPuzzle, FlipGrid, and countless other learning tools. Also, via either iOS or Google Play, there are different apps performing three different functions for canvas – Student, Parent, and Teacher allowing anyone to submit assignments, message, or view course content with their mobile device. The different apps allow the experience to be unique to the obviously completely different roles in the course, which is nice. I could go on and on and on about all of the amazon features of canvas, and WILL in future posts – I promise!

Unfortunately, I must reference the Peter Parker Principle (yep, Spiderman), and state that with great power comes great responsibility. Canvas takes a lot of effort to set up to be exactly what you want, and a high level of understanding of technology to be able to operate it at its fullest potential. You have to be patient with yourself as you move forward, and understand that you’re probably going to be tweaking things frequently as you move forward and updates for new features come out. Students also sometimes need an overview and explanation of the course structure, as it can vary so much from course to course. I usually do this with a quick screencast & EdPuzzles combo (more to come on that SOON!) to show students how to navigate the course, submit assignments, and check their grades. Canvas also lacks attention in the physical drive and storage capabilities. I really enjoy the fact that Google Classroom has a classroom Google Drive, where all students’ assignments are submitted and updated live, providing options for the use of other tools like Slip-N-Slide, which require other solutions if operated solely with Canvas.

Canvas is hard to set up, and it can be difficult to learn the ins-and-outs, but with the right support, Canvas is an appropriate tool for any grade level and any subject. I would say however, that I would not choose to use a Canvas course for a small group of students like a club or organization because of the high levels of maintenance and setup that the LMS requires. When used across the board by all teachers and students with the appropriate comprehensive training, Canvas can change the way that we all perceive remote learning.

My Recommendation

I’ve gotten to choose, and I’ve had the decision made for me by my district. Both times – the decision for my classroom was Canvas. I understand technology enough to be able to develop and maintain a pretty extravagant Canvas course, and I like the extra tools and settings that it provides me. For instance – I can message students directly to talk about their missing assignments or anything else I might need to chat with them about, without the need for a secondary app or email. Students and Parent observers can also message me directly about assignments, and I get the notification on my phone through the Canvas App so I can reply quickly and easily, almost like a text message! I also love to embed different activities and provide a wide variety of assignment options, and Canvas, with all its LTIs, allows me to do that. Going forward, my district has mandated that all courses will use Canvas as their structural LMS and as a supplement to in-person courses because of the settings and features that it provides.

All-in-all, your choice for LMS will likely depend on your district, what you need as a teacher, and what you want your course to look like. Both options are incredible, and either way, you are doing the very best you can to put forth an engaging and interesting learning experience for your students. You’ve gone above and beyond just by reading this article, and I respect you for that.

Keep your eyes open and blog notifications on as I can hardly wait for the next post in our Survival Toolkit Series, breaking down how to set up your courses to be effective, efficient, and to help you express yourself regardless of your LMS! In the meantime – Take that first step! What LMS are you going to use in the upcoming school year?

What’s New in Google Classroom? [2020 Updates]

February 25, 2020

This blog post is sponsored by Acer Education, a partner of EdTechTeam.

Previously only available in beta, Originality Reports and Rubrics are Google Classroom features that are now available to all users.

Originality Reports

Google Classroom’s Originality Reports function as a tool to correct un-cited content and potential plagiarism. This feature is no longer in beta mode – it’s now available to everyone using Classroom in English (Spanish, French and Portuguese are in beta).

Teachers simply have to tick the box to make this feature applicable to an assignment.

Currently, teachers can turn on originality reports for 3 assignments for free (if the school is using G Suite Enterprise then there are no limitations). Both teachers and students can run the reports at any time in the duration of the assignment. The reports have expiration dates (since web content is constantly changing). Before students return their assignments, they can use the tool up to 3 times. Teachers can view reports for each file submitted.

Once the originality report is finished, the ‘view originality report’ link will open the report, where any issues are highlighted.

The report shows the context of the flagged content and the commonalities are emphasized in bold. Clicking on the passage will take you directly to the website of the questionable content. Eventually, there will also be school-owned databases for content within each domain to cross-check students’ work internally. There is a toggle option between seeing the overall percentage of the assignment that has been flagged and the number of flagged passages.

The tool is less about “catching” a student in wrongdoing and more so about giving them the opportunity to identify potential misconceptions and correct them before their work is finalized.

Citations using Explore

Students can cite sources using the Explore tool, which allows students to insert footnotes in various citation formats. They simply click the button and Explore finds connections between the documents topics and online content.

Clicking the quotation mark symbol next to the appropriate resource cites the passage in the chosen format (e.g. APA, MLA, Chicago).

Once the resource is cited, it appears in a footnote, like so:

When we run reports, we hope to see there is no flagged content but this does not guarantee a plagiarism-free paper. Even when passages are cited, the reference(s) will show when an originality report is generated. Teachers should always use their best judgment to determine if plagiarism has occurred.

See Originality Reports in action here.

Rubrics

Rubrics allow students to see the grading criteria before submitting an assignment and can help teachers grade more efficiently.

There can be multiple criteria and point values for rubrics. As of now, each level must be assigned a numeric value. Clicking the arrows on the right side (next to the point totals) will show or hide the details for each criterion.

Assignment rubrics can be created by starting from scratch or uploading a Google Sheets file with the criteria. When creating a rubric, remember the time-saving tricks of duplicating criterion (click the 3-dot ‘more’ menu, as pictured here) and copying and pasting, of course!

Scoring is optional; if teachers choose to score the students’ work, the grades will automatically be uploaded to the gradebook in the ‘Grades’ or ‘Marks’ tab.

Teachers can also reuse a rubric from a previous assignment or even another class. Watch this video to learn how.

When using a rubric to grade work, open the assignment to be marked and click on the grading button below the files button. Here you can change the overall score, if necessary, and input scores for the various criteria.

As with other assignments, you can also provide private feedback for each student.

Rubrics can offer personalized, descriptive feedback for students’ work in a timely manner!

If you would like access to Howdou interactive tutorials and specific examples related to these concepts, sign up for our free hour-long ‘Intermediate Google Classroom’ course, or if you’re just starting out – check out our ‘Introduction to Google Classroom’ online course!

Explore and apply the novel tools that educators are using to integrate technology in the classroom with more free online courses, sponsored by ACER.

Quick Links:

Want to learn more about Google Classroom? – Join our FREE online courses in partnership with ACER and Howdou. Sign up at https://www.edtechteam.online/acer

Jessica Tyerman-Marsh is a Google Certified Innovator with more than 14 years’ experience educating students of all ages. She obtained a Master’s in Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology while working on a federal grant with her University of Southern California professors. Now she is an instructor for her alma mater, helping teaching candidates acquire their credentials and infuse technology in their classrooms. She has lived and worked in several schools worldwide as a teacher, coordinator and librarian. She’s conducted ICT, GATE and IB PYP professional development in the US, Italy, Germany and the UK. Meanwhile, Jessica has designed curriculum, presented at conferences and contributed to educational articles and textbooks published internationally. She believes teaching students literacy skills (of all types) is essential to promote lifelong learning.

How to Save Time Grading Assignments: 3 Actionable Steps

February 4, 2020

I can still picture myself sitting at a small, elementary school table over a decade ago. It’s dark outside, and I am only half way through grading a stack of science papers. This was a common sight for me. Grading was the bane of my existence during my first few years in the classroom. It can be so time consuming, and a lot rides on those grades, no matter what level you teach. So, if you’re like me, you overthink each and every grade to be sure they’re fair, only to add hours to an already time-consuming process.

It was also at this same, small table that I came to realize that grading doesn’t have to be this way. I was young at the time, and I had heard about radical movements such as throwing out grades altogether. While this was intriguing to me, it’s never been realistic in my classroom, and I find that it’s not realistic for many educators. So I decided, one time-saving tip at a time, I would make it so that I didn’t dread spending too many hours on grading.

Over the years, I have found a few favorite tips that save me major time when grading assignments but also allow me to still provide the thought and care the students deserve. In this post, I am going to tell you about three of my favorite, simple ways you can save time grading assignments in the classroom.

Tip 1: Know What You’re Grading (Create a Rubric)

A realization hit me as I was sitting at that small table, grading a science research paper with a lot of grammatical errors. As I marked up the paper, I kept thinking about how spot-on the science content was. This student totally understood changes in ecosystems over time, and yet, in the end, her grade did not reflect her solid, scientific understanding. This did not feel fair. This was a science grade, so why did her language arts errors affect it?

This brings me to my first tip: know what you’re grading. Before you grade an assignment, or even better, before you assign an assignment, know what you expect the students to show. For any assignment, I start with the standard. The particular 4th grade Ohio Science standard is stated below:

Changes in an organism’s environment are sometimes beneficial to its survival and sometimes harmful. Ecosystems can change gradually or dramatically. When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce and others die or move to new locations. An animal’s patterns of behavior are related to the environment. This includes the kinds and numbers of other organisms present, the availability of food and resources, and the physical attributes of the environment.

This is pretty dense text for a 4th grader. So a helpful practice is to pull out the specific parts of the standard you’d like to assess in your specific assignment, and to put the standards into student-friendly text. My district preferred to use the “I can” format for student-friendly standards. Here’s an example:

I can explain that some changes in an environment take a really long time to happen and some changes can be dramatic. I can compare an ecosystem in Ohio from the past to the present. I can explain that some changes in an environment can be beneficial and some changes can be detrimental to different organisms in an ecosystem. I can design and create a picture book to explain the ideas of environmental change to 2nd graders. (Connection to 1st quarter writing portfolio piece.)

Once I have the student-friendly standards, I create a rubric. I’m opening a whole can of worms here. There are SO many rubric options out there. You just have to find what works for you. The research paper I previously referred to was a paper assignment. It was over a decade ago before I knew Google tools even existed, and therefore my grading was on paper. Back then, I used paper rubrics. A rubric can be on paper; that totally works. I do think that technology, however, can be a huge time-saver, especially in the world of rubrics. Here are a few options to help you create rubrics online:

Create your own rubric in Google Docs or Sheets
Orange Slice – An add-on that will increase your grading productivity and it professionally presents a scored rubric and grade for your students.
Goobric – This extension launches the Goobric web app, a rubric based assessment tool that works with the Doctopus Add-on for Google Sheets.
Google Classroom Rubrics – And something I’m incredibly excited about is the new rubric feature that’s rolling out in Google Classroom. I think this feature is going to save loads of time! It’s embedded right into the assignment:

And the rubric is super easy to find when in the grading tool:

Check out this video to learn more. In my opinion, this new feature makes Google Classroom one step closer to becoming the full package, helping teachers from start to finish throughout a lesson.

You might be worried about the time it takes to build a rubric. This is understandable, considering we’re here to learn about saving time when grading. But let me assure you that throughout the grading process, you will save more than the time it takes to build that rubric. And once you find your flow for creating rubrics, you’ll find that process to be quicker and quicker, saving yourself more and more time.

At the end of the day, decide what exactly you’re going to grade before you begin a lesson. And a great way to organize your expectations is through a student-friendly, standards-based rubric.

Tip 2: Let Students Know What You’re Grading Before They Begin

This is a huge deal, yet pretty simple (and quick) to explain. Take away the guessing game. Give students the rubric before they begin the assignment. This helps them know exactly what you’re looking for as they work through the assignments. It helps set them up for success, which in the end, sets you up for success.

Tip 3: Let Google Classroom Help You

I’ll say it again and again, Google Classroom just keeps getting better and better. There are SO many newer features to Google Classroom that can save you loads of time when grading. My guess is that once you have your Google Classroom grading “flow,” you’re going to find that you save so much time and feel so organized that you’ll want to grade everything there, even the assignments that don’t involve technology.

The good news is, you can get creative so that all of your grades can benefit from Classroom’s awesomeness. For example, if your students create something physical, like a science experiment, they can take a picture or video and turn that in in Classroom, giving you a place to grade that assignment in Classroom. Of course you’d look at and honor the actual, physical science experiment. The turned-in picture or video just provides the place holder for a non-technology assignment in a technology-based grading system. There’s value in having all of your grades in one place.

Back to our awesome Google Classroom grading flow.

In Classroom, you can give a numeric grade, leave comment-only feedback, or do both. You can also return assignments without grades.

You can enter grades and return assignments from:

The grading tool.
The Student work page.
The Grades page.

There are numerous time-saving tips in each area. I feel like teachers find their own grading flow in Classroom, and this flow may vary, depending on the assignment. Here are a few of my favorite, time-saving tips per area:

The Grading Tool:

Before I dive in, it’s important to know what the grading tool is. Learn more about this helpful area of Google Classroom here. Here are some of my favorite time-savers in the grading tool:

Comment Bank: Do you have comments that you frequently use when grading? If so, the Comment Bank is for you! You find the Comment Bank right in Classroom’s grading tool:

Check out Google’s Support page for tips on utilizing the Comment Bank, such as ways to add and save comments to use later. The support page also shows how to find and use comments in the Comment Bank. Be sure to check out the link for time-saving tips, such as using a hash to quickly access comments in the Comment Bank.

2. Switch Between Students: When in the grading tool, you can quickly switch between students by clicking the “sharktooth” triangle to the right of the student name. Then you can sort the students based on last name, first name, or assignment status. This helps you switch between students in an organized and timely manner.

3. Rubrics Right in Classroom: As mentioned earlier in this post, the rubric tool in Classroom is currently in beta, so if you don’t see it in your account yet, you will soon! Keep an eye out for this feature so you can save some major time when grading assignments in Classroom.

4. Return Multiple Assignments at Once: When in the grading tool, you can return student work one at a time, or you can return multiple students’ assignments in just a couple of clicks. In order to return multiple assignments at once, find the sharktooth triangle next to the “Return” button, and then click “Return Multiple Submissions,” and viola!

Student Work Page:

This tip is similar to #4 above because it lets you return multiple assignments at once, but in a way that allows you to include a comment to each student. I often use this route for the work that needs the general, positive feedback for meeting all expectations. In other words, a comment that can be repeated for a group of students. Here’s how it works:

Once I’ve gone through all student work in the grading tool, returning all assignments that required unique comments, I then head back to the Assignment student work page – the page where you can see all of the students’ work for a particular assignment in one place – with the list of who has turned in, who’s still missing, and which have been graded. This is where the time-saving magic happens!
With one-click, I select all of the turned-in assignments (that all have drafted grades from my work in the assignment tool), and then hit “Return.” At the bottom of this pop-up box is an option for a private comment. I type the positive feedback, then click return, and Google repeats this private comment for each student AND returns all assignments…I’ll say it again, in one click!

The Grades Page:

Teachers have been requesting a “gradebook” view in Classroom for some time now. It’s part of the way we think; we’re used to seeing our class at-a-glance. Well, the Google Classroom team continues to be awesome at answering these requests by introducing the Grades page.

The Grades page has a variety of features: view and update your gradebook, view student submissions, enter grades, and return work. Students will receive the grades when you return work, but only teachers can see the actual Grades page. You might be thinking, “But we could do all of these things in Classroom already, without the Grades page.” And you would be right, but you couldn’t do all of those things (and more) in one place. With less clicks. In an organized way where you see every student and every assignment on one page (that will eventually be organized by grading periods). Every click is time, and time is precious, so let’s save it.

And what’s even better, Google’s going to save us even more time by working with our student information systems. According to a Google Classroom support page, if your school participates in the grades sync beta program, you can push grades directly from Classroom to your student information system (SIS). For details, go to the beta interest sign-up form. Thank you, Google, for working to make our grading lives complete.

To-Do Page:

Another major time-saver in Google Classroom is the To-do page. I honestly do not know what I would do without it. You find the To-do page by clicking the three bars in the top-right corner, and then “To-do.”

The To-do page provides an overview of all of your assignments and questions in all of your classes, breaking down how many assignments are currently assigned, turned in, or graded. And you can filter the page by class, only viewing one class at a time. I keep the To-do page for all of my current Google Classroom classes pinned (in my Google Chrome Tabs) so I can quickly see what needs my attention at any given time. It helps me filter out some of the extra “noise” in the other areas of Google Classroom. Again, saving me time.

So, as you can see, I’m constantly improving how I save time when grading assignments. I feel like every teacher is. And while each grading system is like a snowflake, no two are exactly alike, I do feel like there are common tips that will help the majority of us. These are the tips I shared with you today. I bet you have a few tips that could help the majority as well. We’d all appreciate it if you could share your grading gifts by commenting below! Thank you!

Katie Christie is a Google Certified Educator, Innovator, Trainer, and past LearnZillion DreamTeam member. She currently works with the EdTechTeam as a Spotlight Speaker, Online Lead, Keynote, and Blogger. In 2015, she worked as a partner with Google to help rewrite the Google Certification Training Center content. Katie most recently worked as the Technology Integration Specialist at Runyon Elementary School in Littleton, Colorado. She has nine years of experience in the classroom. She spent her first 4 years of teaching in Shaker Heights City Schools in Ohio, a district known for its academic excellence and cultural diversity. Then she had the incredible experience of teaching and learning in a 1:1 Linux-based netbook 5th grade classroom in Littleton, Colorado for 4 years where Google Apps for Education was integrated seamlessly into the curriculum. Katie has been a Lead Learner for the Google Teacher Academy (now known as the Google Innovator Academy) numerous times and helped with the selection process for each Academy. Katie enjoys sharing her passion for effective technology integration in the classroom by networking with other educators, whether the connection happens online or face-to-face.