This year is my first time time using Google Docs/Google Classroom, and I have to say I’m very impressed!
What I love most about the program is the ability for collaboration. Google Docs gives students the ability to share documents with one another and co-edit! This can be something as easy as one student on his/her screen can make a change. When she finishes, it auto-updates the copies of the other shared members. It’s genius! Not to mention very useful for teachers.
For one of my Honors 10 assignments, I had my students upload a thesis statement to the Google Classroom page. I was able, then, to go into each post and leave comments and immediate feedback. Students were notified that I had left a private comment, and we could talk right then and there, even if we were both at home!
One of the coolest things is being able to see your students working live. I was looking over a student’s outline, when all of a sudden words started to disappear and a pink clicker with her name popped up. As I was doing a formative assessment on her thesis statement, she was at home, in the process of revising it! How cool!
Google Docs/Google Classroom have so many benefits for the everyday classroom. You can advise students of changes, of homework, and of materials needed for class. It also allows the teacher to grade online, write comments, or organize information for absent students. Such a great resource that I highly recommend!