Google Classroom Updates! (February, 25, 2015)

New Updates Released for Google Classroom on February 25, 2015!
The Google Classroom Team is at it again with 4 more updates for Google Classroom. Three of them are specifically for the mobile apps. Let's take a closer look!

Calendar Integration Comes to Google Classroom!

Google Calendar integration has finally arrived for Google Classroom! Back in August, +Google for Education posted about a bunch of new feature updates for Google Classroom, and calendar integration was one of them! Well, it's finally here! Read on to find out how to get started with your students & parents!

5 New Google Classroom Updates Added Oct. 14, 2014

The Google for Education team added 5 new features to Google Classroom on October 14, 2014! Here is the official blog post. These features have been frequently requested by educators ever since Classroom was released in August. In this blog post, I'll break down those features and provide you with video tutorials of how they work.

Google Classroom Updates! (Added Jan. 15, 2015)

More updates for Google Classroom!
The amazing Google Classroom team added two great new features on January 15th. And now there's even an app for Android and iOS! Read on for a break down of the new features and the iOS app.

3 Ways to Have Online Discussions with Google Classroom

We often just don't have enough class time for those deep and thought-provoking conversations with our students. Online tools like a Google+ Community and a Google Group Web Forum allow you to extend the conversation beyond the walls of the classroom. But how do you use these tools in conjunction with Google Classroom? Let me show you 3 ways you can have online discussions with Google Classroom!

YouTube LIVE AUG 22: Get Started with Your First Day of Google Classroom!

The Google Classroom Team is kicking off the 2017-2018 school year with the #FirstDayofClassroom Campaign! And I'm excited to be a part of it with a YouTube LIVE video on August 22! Continued reading for more details!

Google Classroom: How to Transfer Events from One Google Calendar to Another

So you've got your Google Classroom calendars all set up, right? But, if you're like me, you already had a Google Calendar going for class. So you might be asking, "How do I transfer events from my old calendar to my new one?" Continue reading to find out how! It's actually really easy!

New Updates for the Google Classroom Mobile App!

The Google Classroom mobile app for Android and iOS received 4 desperately needed updates today, all for the teachers! Continue reading for complete details and break downs of the new features and access to my FREE student and teacher guides for the iPad app (updated today!).

Information from the iOS Update.

Reflections, Part 2: Hawaii Google Summit 2014

In Part 1 of my reflection on the 2014 Hawaii Google Summit by +EdTechTeam, I shared my personal goal and the journey I took from last year's summit until today.

In Part 2 I'll share my experiences, take-aways, and session resources from the 2014 Hawaii Google Summit.

The biggest revelation for me at this Summit was the power of Google Maps and Google Earth. Like most of us, I'm sure, I've used Google Maps to look up directions, and yes, I've used Google Earth to check out my house! But after listening to +Evan Rapoport, Product Manager for Google Maps, talk at the opening Keynote, and participating in +John Bailey and +Emily Henderson's session (Getting Going with Google Geo Tools), I was inspired to find new and better ways to bring the world within reach for the students of Hawaii! Evan also touched on the idea of moonshot thinking and helping our students to prepare for a world in which they can find new ways to contribute and improve our lives and of those around us. After listening to Evan speak, I'm excited at the thought of self driving cars in the near future!

My Session Breakdowns

Youtube in the Classroom
For my first session, I attended +Jim Sill's Youtube in the Classroom. I learned how powerful Youtube can be for the flipped classroom, especially with the use of customized playlists with the ability to adjust start and end times for videos, insert information, and record straight from your webcam into a playlist. Creating a playlist of essential learning videos for students before, during, or after a lesson is a great way to incorporate Youtube in the classroom. Jim also highlighted a wonderful Chrome Extension called Youtube Options for Chrome which will take away all the surrounding ads, comments, and suggested videos for you and your students.

Organized Chaos: Incorporating Google Sites into Your School and Classroom
The next session I attended was Organized Chaos: Incorporating Google Sites into Your School and Classroom by Marc Marquez and +Erin Sakamoto. They highlighted how useful a fully integrated Google Site for faculty and staff can be in a school. I've heard this called a Teacher Portal. For Google Apps schools, a Teacher Portal is a great way to easily dispense information, documents, resources, and calendars. The portal can be locked down so that only staff members have access (through the use of contact groups), in turn preventing the general public and students from gaining access. Google Sites makes it very easy to incorporate Google Calendars (i.e. athletic schedules, faculty meetings, school activities, etc.). Essential school documents like leave forms, field trips forms, etc. can be uploaded to Google Drive and shared or linked through the Site. At my school, I've helped design a similar Teacher Portal with Google Sites this school year, and it has been very successful with my faculty and staff.

Take the idea of a Teacher Portal a step further and find a way to use the same concept in the classroom in the form of a Student or Class Portal. +Erin Sakamoto demonstrated this with the Google Sites she has created for each of her classes. Each site contains homework and classwork information, important reminders and dates, and access to worksheets and documents. Now the student and the family can't complain that the information was never shared!

Getting Going with Geo Tools
+John Bailey, a Newgler (New Googler), gave some great insight into the powerful ways that Google's Geo Tools can be used by teachers and students. He introduced us to 8 tools:

• The New Google Maps
• Google Earth
• StreetView and Treks
• Google Cultural Institute
• Maps Gallery
• Google Maps Engine
• Tour Builder (beta)
• Earth Engine & Timelapse

The tool that impressed me the most from this list is the Tour Builder (currently in beta). The Google Tour Builder allows users to create their own narrated tours around the Earth, with the help of Google Earth. You pick the locations, adjust the 3D Earth view, and can insert text, pictures, and videos to support your tour. There are many more options like customized pins, editable text, and the ability to include dates and times. Think about the possibilities this brings to a class, especially a flipped classroom! Teachers can create Tours to support student learning, and students can create Tours to demonstrate their learning! And because this is still in beta, I hope to see many more options added!

Closing Keynote (Day 1)

Our #sillfie (http://www.sillfie.me/)

I found +Jim Sill's Keynote to be very inspirational and I hope that it was eye opening for many educators. He talked about the power of Youtube and Social Media. As a nation, we are far too quick to lock something down that we have no idea about. We fear what we can not control. But to ignore what social media might be able to do for education is a great disservice to our children. Rather than fear it, embrace it. Find ways to use it effectively and to teach our children how to be safe. Social Media  in education is both an opportunity and an obligation for teachers. Our students are already using it in many ways. Do we just ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist?

I'm also very excited to learn more about +Brendan Brennan and +Hye Jung Kim's Project Open Glassroom. When Google Glass was first announced, I instantly knew that this would change the world and that we had a unique opportunity to connect classrooms with the world around us. Brendan summed it up quite nicely by saying, "we have an opportunity to see learning through the eyes of a child." How amazing is that?!



Curate & Organize Like a Ninja w/ Chrome
+Linda Lindsay led a great session on the Chrome Browser and gave some great tips and tricks on how to use Chrome effectively. Here is her session presentation. One of the best tips she shared was how to customize the search options in the Omnibox! I had no idea this was possible! There are so many things you can do with Chrome that I didn't even realize. I also appreciated Linda's session because we had time in the end to share with each other. Several participants shared some of their favorite Chrome extensions and apps. One new extension that I learned about and have started using quite frequently now is Extensions Manager, which allows the user to easily toggle extensions and apps on and off right from the extensions bar. Very useful!

Off-Road with Google Streetview

I attended another session by +Evan Rapoport, +John Bailey, and +Emily Henderson that focused on even more Google Geo tools! In this session, the discussion was more about how the public can contribute to Google Earth and Maps with services and apps like Project PhotoSphere, the Theta Ricoh device that takes a 360 degree image with the click of a button, and Panoramio, a place for Google users to submit images to Google Maps and Google Earth.

Closing Keynote (Day 2)
We had another great keynote presentation,  this time by +Molly Schroeder! She introduced the audience to the idea of moonshot thinking and living in beta. The concept of living in beta was new to me and I enjoyed Molly's explanation that living in beta is when "we allow students to participate in a process of learning, where failure is an expectation." I've always felt that failure is an integral part of life and it's an important part of the learning process. It reminds me of a famous quote by Thomas Edison on failure, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." I love that quote, because it reflects a strong belief that in order to learn and be successful, we must fail first and fail often.

Shameless Plug...
I mentioned back in Part 1 of my Google Summit blog post that my goal was to present at this year's Summit, and I did! I presented two sessions! One of them I present on my own, Creating & Maintaining an Automated Online Help Desk w/ GAFE, and the other I presented with my coworker, +Elisabeth Yuen. Liz and I created a series of workshop modules to teach educators how to effectively use Google Apps in the classroom. We presented our GAFE Dojo - Drive Workshop. I have passion for presenting and I thoroughly enjoyed it!




Continue Learning and Connecting Beyond the Summit
There are several opportunities for Educators to continue the learning and to connect with others and build upon their PLN (Professional Learning Network).

+Michelle Carlson Colte recently invited Hawaii Google Summit participants to collaborate on a presentation project and share their experiences and moonshots. Visit her blog, http://edmoonshot.blogspot.com/ and contribute your "take-aways" to the GAFE14 Take-Aways Presentation!




The EdTech Mixed Plate LIVE Google+ Hangout is dedicating 2 episodes to the Hawaii Google Summit to share as much as we can from the summit! Episode 15 aired on March 23rd and Episode 16 will air on March 30th.

+Linda Lindsay also hosts a LIVE Google+ Hangout called Google Rocks! Hawaii and she recently had an episode dedicated to the Hawaii Google Summit.

Hawaii also has its own GEG (Google Educators Group) that is now 744 members strong! Join the GEG Hawaii ACE21 Google+ Community and share in the GAFE discussions!

Also join the Google in Edu Summits by EdTechTeam Google+ Community!

WAIT! Don't delete that Classroom! Archive it! UPDATED: May 2019

UPDATED: May 2019! New screenshots and updated information!

The end of the school is almost here! But before you leave your classroom to enjoy the summer fun, there are few things you need to do. One of them is to clean up your Google Classroom dashboard. But, WAIT! Don't do it! Don't you even think about deleting those Classrooms! There's a better way! Follow these 3 steps to clean up your Classrooms and your dashboard before summer begins!

2 New Google Classroom Features! (Added 8/12/14)

Google added 2 new features to Classroom today!

Google promised added features and updates and they delivered today with 2 new features added to Google Classroom! They are the "About" page and the ability for the teacher to access student files before they turn them in.

4 GINORMOUS Google Classroom Updates! (April 21, 2015)

You asked for it! You got it! The Google Classroom Team delivers again! Co-teacher support? Check! Create Assignment and Announcement drafts? Check! Enter grades in advance? Check! Oh, and you now get email notifications for private comments, too! Check all the new features just released! Keep reading!

What Does Google Spaces Mean for Education

As of it's release on May 16, 2016, Google Spaces is not yet available for Google Apps for Education accounts. But since gaining access to it with my personal Google account, I can't help but think how this might impact the classroom. Continue reading for an explanation of Spaces and some ideas for how it might be used with teachers and students in the future.

Get your FREE Google Classroom iPad App User Guides! **UPDATED 9/15/2016**

Guides were updated on Sept 15, 2016!
**now with the Annotation Tool**

Get your FREE user guide for the new Google Classroom iPad App!
Google released an Android & iOS app for Google Classroom. It's not full featured (yet) so it's important that teachers and students understand exactly what you can and can't do with the app.

Google Classroom: New Feature! | Mark as Missing!

Google Classroom just rolled out a new feature for teachers that I'm so thankful for! We can now manually mark a student's assignment as missing! Continue reading to find out how this new feature works!

As an avid Google Classroom teacher user, one of the most frustrating things I've had to deal with is when students turn in an assignment incomplete and before the due date. I've come to realize that one of the main reasons students do this is because they are trying to fool the system and their family at home. Students have learned that if they turn in their assignment before the due date, even if it is incomplete, the Guardian Summary Email that their family receives will consider it finished. However, this only prolongs the inevitable.

The Google Classroom Team has finally given teachers more control over missing and completed work! We can manually mark assignments as either missing or complete! Watch my latest EdTechnocation Video Tutorial to find out how this new feature works!

You can also learn more about this new feature on the Google Workspace blog.

What do you think of this newest Google Classroom feature? Let me know in the comments below!

Google Classroom - New Feature Added Dec. 10!

Another great new update to Google Classroom was added on December 10th!
Teachers now have the right to EDIT during the entire Assignment process in Google Classroom! Another long awaited feature! Thanks, Google!

Google Classroom: The Case for Keeping Email Notifications!

I've seen and received many complaints regarding Google Classroom email notifications and how they can quickly clog the inbox. Because of this, many simply choose to turn this feature off. But I'm here to plead the case for leaving email notifications turned on! They don't have to clutter the inbox. You can control and organize them! Find out how in my latest blog post and video tutorial.

Google Docs Add-on Review: Keywords

Have you checked the Google Docs Add-ons lately? New ones get added quite often, but there's no easy way of knowing, other than checking frequently on your own. Well, unless you read my blog! I came across this interesting Add-on just the other day, and it has some great uses for the classroom. Continue reading to learn more about the Keywords Add-on for Google Docs.

Google Photos Now Available in Your GAFE Account

Starting May 5, 2015, Google Apps for Education accounts should start to receive the recently announced Google Photos in their Google Drive for iOS, Android, the web. Now teachers and students can easily back up their photos and videos to Drive! Read on for an explanation of this new feature and some practical classroom uses.

Google Classroom in Paradise: Call for Presenters

I'm very excited to share that Alice Keeler and I will be teaming up to bring you Google Classroom in Paradise, an event focused on Google Classroom and gSuite for Education held at my school, 'Iolani School, in Honolulu Hawaii! And we're looking for presenters! Inquire within!