Four years ago, I was thrilled to be part of Cadre 2 of the Digital Classroom wave that was sweeping over Grapevine-Colleyville. At the time, I was teaching middle school, and I eagerly taught my students new apps and ways to think. However, I have since moved to teaching high school and have come to realization that iPads and their apps are not really suited to the work I need from my high school students.
Along with my partner in crime, @nagyscience, who will soon be a digital teacher as well, we decided that we were going to commit to using Google Classroom in this down time during 'testing season'. We would practice our skills and explore the possibilities of it so we could hit the ground running with it next August.
Luckily, I discovered +Alice Keeler, who is a certified Google certified teacher, and an invaluable Twitter resource. I've clicked on nearly every one of her Tweets and as a result, I'm starting to see the possibilities with Google Classroom. I keep a Google document labeled '1516' to jot down ideas for things to implement in the coming year.
The best part of the experience so far is how quickly I can assess students' work and give them feedback. I'm also working on my 'descriptive feedback' skills, remembering my lessons from VALOR.
Most teachers consider May to be dead time, with seniors checked out, and everyone else looking forward to summer. Exploring Google Classroom has helped both me and my students keep focused during this last month of school.
I think May is a great time to try new things for next year! You'll figure out some bugs and your students will stay engaged with a new platform! I jumped on the Google Classroom bandwagon with my fifth graders earlier this year and have loved it!!
ReplyDeleteGood to hear from someone more experienced!
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