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Google for Education

How to Lighten Your Google Classroom Banner Image

April 13, 2021

How to lighten your google classroom banner image

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:

  1. Why Google dims custom themes (banners)
  2. How to request Google to change this feature
  3. 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):

  1. Go to classroom.google.com.
  2. Click the class.
  3. At the bottom left, click Help Report issue or request feature.
  4. Enter your comment.
  5. Click Done.
  6. 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.

Google Classroom, Google for Education, Google Workspace for Education, Teacher Tips, Tip Leave a Comment

How to Use the Google Assistant in your Classroom

August 10, 2020

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

“OK, Google”… Can you be my classroom assistant? 

Voice Assistant Devices can be useful tools in the classroom. Students can use the devices to check their spelling and mathematics, ask general knowledge questions, and manage their time with reminders. Teachers can use templates to develop custom games and quizzes without writing any code.

Devices such as Amazon Alexa and Apple’s Siri all work in similar ways, but this blog will focus on the Google Assistant with the Google Home Mini device.

Google Assistant can be found in a number of Google products, including Chromebooks. To obtain a Google Home Assistant, they are readily available in a number of stores and online.

NOTE: This blog has been written for a Global Audience – You should always check school, local and national rules before using a device or new service in this classroom. Google Search and Assistant may need to be enabled.

Everyday Uses ~ Inquiries

With a bit of prompting and practice, even young students can use Google Assistant independently. Here are ten prompts you might want to try with your class to get started:

  • “Okay Google, spell ________.”
  • “Hey Google, what’s ___ x ___?”
  • “Okay Google, what’s the capital of ________?”
  • “Hey Google, roll a dice.”
  • “Okay Google, what should I write my speech about?”
  • “Hey Google, how far away is the sun?”
  • “Okay Google, tell us a joke.”
  • “Hey Google, what are some local theatres?”
  • “Okay Google, how long will it take to drive to _____?”
  • “Hey Google, what’s the weather forecast?”

If you don’t have a Google Home, you can test this by opening the Google Home app and clicking the speaker icon in the bottom-middle of the screen. You can also use the same Google Assistant icon on a number of products, including Google Search on some devices.

Third-Party Actions

The abilities of Google Assistant can be extended by enabling third-party Actions, in the same way as you might use an app onto your device. You don’t need to download anything special, just ask Google Assistant to ‘talk’ or ‘speak’ to the Action you’d like you to use. You can view all available actions in the directory here.

Some tried and tested third-party Actions to get you started in the classroom are: 

Strangest Day Ever – an oral language ‘choose your own adventure’ story appropriate for students of all ages. It encourages students to listen to stories, infer and predict.

Word Problems for Kids – maths word problems in a range of contexts. Ideal for more confident students this Action includes some ‘tricky’ questions encouraging students to listen carefully and think about the problem they are solving.

Mad Libs – the classic game gives you the phrase and you add in the promoted words to make a silly story. Great as a grammar treat or for reluctant writers.

Classroom Organisation

Teachers and students find Google Assistant to be helpful with classroom organization. Here are a few things to try:

  • “Okay Google, add parent-teacher conferences to my calendar.”
  • “Hey Google, on Thursday remind me ‘homework is due tomorrow’.”
  • “Okay Google, set a timer for 20 minutes.”
  • “Hey Google create a list called ‘spelling list 4.’”
    → “Okay Google, add ‘holiday’ to  ‘Spelling List 4.”
  • “Okay Google, play the clean up song using Spotify.”*

*You’ll need to link your account during setup, or in the Google Home app under ‘Settings’.

Student Support

Google Home with Google Assistant are great tools for any classroom, but they do a particularly good job supporting students with additional learning needs.

Students can use the device as a reader/writer. They can dictate writing into Notes or Lists, and have it read back to them using commands like ‘Hey Google, create a new note.’ Unlike performing a Google search, students using Assistant on Google Home can check their spelling and access the internet without having to type anything.

For English Language learners, there are plenty of Actions that make practicing conversational English fun and allow them to make mistakes without feeling judged. Google Translate is also available using inquiries like ‘Hey Google, how do you say [phrase] in [language]?’ or ‘Okay Google translate [phrase] into [language].’

Additionally, for students with an audio learning style, or who like to listen to stories (‘Hey Google, tell us a story’), or just have a chat, the device can be a useful stand-in when an adult is not available.

If you would like to learn more about how to set up and customize your device, enroll in our  ‘Google Assistant in Education’ online course! 

Quick Links:

  • Google Assistant Directory
  • Google Assistant Notes & Lists

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

 

Laura is a teacher and tech coach from New Zealand, with over 7 years of experience in the classroom. In 2019, as her Master’s thesis, she completed the second-biggest study of voice assistant devices in the classroom. Laura has presented and participated in panels on AI in education and works with teachers 1-1 to get them started with Smart Tech in their classrooms. She is a Seesaw Ambassador, Apple Teacher and Google Innovator (#SYD19). You can find her on Twitter @ElleButlerEDU.

Classroom Management, Flexible Learning, Google, Google for Education, Teacher Tips Tagged: Acer 2 Comments

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:

  • Originality Reports
  • Create/Reuse Rubrics
  • Grade with Rubrics
  • Future updates to Originality Reports & Rubrics

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.

Google Classroom, Google for Education, Teacher Tips, Tip Tagged: Acer 1 Comment

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:

  1. Create your own rubric in Google Docs or Sheets
  2. Orange Slice – An add-on that will increase your grading productivity and it professionally presents a scored rubric and grade for your students.
  3. Goobric – This extension launches the Goobric web app, a rubric based assessment tool that works with the Doctopus Add-on for Google Sheets.
  4. 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:

  1. The grading tool. 
  2. The Student work page.
  3. 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:

  1. 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: 

  1. 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!
  2. 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!

https://www.edtechteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ezgif.com-gif-to-mp4.mp4

 

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.

  

Google Classroom, Google for Education, Teacher Tips 2 Comments

5 Fun Ways to Start Setting Goals with your Students Today

January 28, 2020

Here we are, January of 2020. Something about that date just makes me feel like we’re in the future. Entering the year 2020 mostly feels so fresh and cool, but every time I enter a new year, I have that little voice inside my head that asks, “What have I accomplished in the past year? What could I be doing better?” Something about January kicks me into a goal-setting, growth mindset.

With all of the hype around New Year’s Resolutions, I know that I am not alone. Goal-setting is a healthy part of life. It helps us push ourselves to be better. And while goal setting is something many of us do, it can be a difficult skill to teach our students, no matter their age.

In this post, I am going to talk about 5 goal-setting tips that you can use in your classroom right away. We will be looking at everything from books, to Google Docs and Sites, to FlipGrid to help us make goal-setting meaningful and engaging to our students. 

TIP 1: Build Interest and Knowledge around Goal-Setting

First things first, we have to help our students understand the meaning of goal-setting, and we need to spark their interest in its importance. One of my favorite ways to spark interest in the classroom is a good old fashioned story. I am a firm believer that read alouds are appropriate and engaging at any level. Even picture books can be used up through higher ed. Goal setting affects literally everyone, so no matter what level you teach, there’s sure to be a goal-setting book for your class. Here’s a list of 18 read alouds to get you started. 

Your story doesn’t have to be limited to a book, either. You may have a short video clip that highlights a character setting and achieving a goal, or you may have a video clip that explicitly teaches about goal setting, like these Khan Academy or BrainPOP videos. The key is to find a storyline that your students can relate to. This will spark the interest and engagement.

Once your students have experienced the story, the net part of this tip would be to discuss:

  1. What is a goal?
  2. Why are goals important?
  3. What is an example of a realistic goal? What about an unrealistic one?
  4. It would also be helpful to guide students to identify goals as short and long term goals.

How you discuss these ideas is completely up to you. You can have a verbal discussion with your class – some of the most valuable moments in my classroom came when we were simply discussing a story we read together.

It can also be helpful to have your discussion written down so students can refer back to it as they work on their own goal setting. One tool I love for gathering student input is Padlet. It’s free and so simple to use, for teachers and students. But sometimes it’s nice to just keep work in the Google family, so I’ll use Google Drawings (similar to Padlet). Check out this example to see what I mean, and feel free to make a copy for yourself!

TIP 2: Create Vision Boards

Once students understand what a goal is and why goals are important, then they can start thinking about appropriate self-goals. There are a few different ways you can help your students brainstorm goals.

One way is through a simple activity:

  1. Ask your students to come up with three “stars,” or things that they do well. The sky’s the limit for this activity—the thing they’re good at can be anything from a subject in school to a quality that makes him or her a good friend.
  2. Now that they have their three stars, tell them to come up with a “wish” to complement their stars; the wish should be something that the children need to work on or would like to get better at. They can pick any goal, as long as it is meaningful and important to them.

I love this activity because it starts with something students feel they’re doing well. The confidence hooks them into the brainstorming and makes them more open to thinking of a way they can improve. You can have the students complete the activity individually, or you can use a Google Doc, Form, Sheet, Slideshow, etc. to make it collaborative. Whatever you think will work best for your students.

Another way you can help students brainstorm goals is through vision boards. Visualization is an extremely powerful tool, and people are catching on. Vision boards have become much more mainstream, and for good reason. Having a place to regularly see your goals can help you reach them. A lot of times, vision boards are actual boards where you post magazine and newspaper clippings, etc. that represent your goals. This can be difficult to create with a room full of students. So why not create the boards digitally? Google Slides and Drawings are fabulous online tools for creating vision boards! See this EdTechteam post for more information on the idea of creating digital vision boards. Your students are sure to be motivated by their goals!

TIP 3: Draft Goals 

Once students have brainstormed, it’s important for them to choose one or two goals to focus on and SMART format to draft them. According to Positive Psychology, “Goal-setting as a psychological tool for increasing productivity involves five rules or criterion, known as the S-M-A-R-T rule. George T. Doran coined this rule in 1981 in a management research paper of the Washington Power Company and it is by far one of the most popular propositions of the psychology of goals.” In other words, this format increases success. It works. So what does SMART stand for?

  • S (Specific) – The goal has a specific focus.
  • M (Measurable) -The goal is measurable. This helps with tracking the results.
  • A (Attainable/Achievable) – With hard work, is it possible to reach this goal?
  • R (Realistic) – This is where the students think about attaining this goal in real life. They picture their lives the way they are, then with a plan to reach this goal in place.
  • T (Time-bound) – A date to reach the goal by.

Again, this step can be an individual process for students, or you can make this collaborative by using a Doc, Slideshow, Site, etc. No matter the tool you use, I think it’d be very beneficial if you’ve set up a template for the students. Goal setting is hard work, and it would help them if you’ve already set up the format of a Doc (or another collaborative tool) with the SMART requirements already outlined for them.

Let’s say that you’re reading over the SMART goal requirements, and you’re thinking to yourself, “I just don’t have that kind of time right now.” Well, I have an answer for you. And it comes from Google itself. It’s called One Simple Thing. It’s a template that Google created for its employees, and it’s caught on like wildfire across other organizations. Even though this is not geared toward students, I am including it because I love the simplicity of this goal-setting process. It could easily be adapted to be used in the classroom, and it focuses on collaboration – sharing your goals is a definite theme in One Simple Thing. And that perfectly leads me to my next tip, Collaboration.

TIP 4: Encourage Student Collaboration

When we share goals with those we respect, we hold ourselves accountable. Students are motivated by their peers, and if their peers know what they’re working towards, and even better, become a cheering squad, then more goals will be met. Throughout all previous tips, there were times for possible collaboration. If you’ve chosen to have students work completely independently up until this point, then now is the time to incorporate some collaboration.

When I think about this tip, along with all previous tips, I picture my students posting their SMART Goal Docs on their Google Site ePortfolios, alongside an embedded Google Form where their peers can provide feedback. I can feel the accountability now, and envision the motivation that comes from it.

TIP 5: Track and Reflect on Goals 

We’ve asked our students to choose goals that are trackable, so we have to be thoughtful and helpful for how they actually track their progress. This tip is completely individual to the goal, but here are a few mainstream ideas that come to mind:

  1. Is the data numerical? If so, it could be recorded over time in a Google Sheet. And then students could insert a chart to help them visualize the change over time.
  2. Could students create a Google Form to help them collect the data? Then the data could be pushed to a Google Sheet and charted.
  3. Do students need to record a video of their progress as they try to learn something? Check out this resource on how to use Screencast-o-matic’s webcam recording tool. Or could FlipGrid help students organize their recordings AND open the way for collaboration?
  4. Would a simple daily reflection journal work? This could be set up in Docs, Sheets, Slides, or Forms. Just think about how you’d organize each entry.

As the students track and reflect, be sure they refer to their vision boards for motivation and as a chance to help them refocus. And if possible, allow students the opportunity to discuss their progress with you or other peers in the classroom. It’s so important for them to feel supported along the way.

At the end of the day, in life, we all work to be better. Whether we call them resolutions or goals doesn’t matter. What matters is that we work to better ourselves over time, and we help each other get better too. That’s a team/classroom community I’d like to be a part of, and I bet your students would too.

What tip will you try in your classroom? What ideas do you have to add to the conversation? Please comment below! We’d love to hear your thoughts!

 

References
1 “Goal Setting for Students, Kids, & Teens – PositivePsychology ….” 20 Nov. 2019, https://positivepsychology.com/goal-setting-students-kids/. Accessed 11 Jan. 2020.
 2“Goal Setting for Students, Kids, & Teens – PositivePsychology ….” 20 Nov. 2019, https://positivepsychology.com/goal-setting-students-kids/. Accessed 11 Jan. 2020.

 

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.

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