With my transition away from Guitar and towards Google, my first stop was an online chat with our resident TIEgrad Google Classroom guru Keith Rispin.
Keith was kind enough to peel himself away from his adoring masses (aka his family) to bestow knowledge upon me in our Q & A session on Monday night.
My questions were many. His answers were thoughtful, helpful and greatly appreciated.
Here is a quick recap of how the conversation played out. (Not directly quoted.)
Keith was kind enough to peel himself away from his adoring masses (aka his family) to bestow knowledge upon me in our Q & A session on Monday night.
My questions were many. His answers were thoughtful, helpful and greatly appreciated.
Here is a quick recap of how the conversation played out. (Not directly quoted.)
[Keith assumed his online moniker of “Krispie”, while I played the role of “Chewy”.]
Chewy: How long have you been using Google Classroom?
Krispie: Officially, I have been using it since January, once our district got approval in regards to FOIPA, but I’ve been playing around with it since it was launched in November.
Chewy: How have you found it as a classroom management tool?
Krispie: It is fairly simple still, and Edmodo is probably better developed at this point, but given the fact it will be able to integrate with all the Google Applications and Apps for Education, it will eventually be a better platform.
Chewy: I have looked at it a bit, but have yet to play with it extensively. I looks very similar to a class website.
Krispie: It can definitely replace a classroom website, but right now it doesn’t have a lot of the “library” type features that allows it to host and store a number of videos or assignments. Some of my co-workers use it alongside their class websites. They use the Google Classroom as the student – teacher – information sharing interface and the website as a linkable resource.
Chewy: Couldn’t someone just use a class website and Google Drive in the same way?
Krispie: You could, but it can replace a class website and Classroom is built over top of the Drive, so it’s better. Regardless of the class the student is taking, all of their assignments are automatically saved to their drive, and they can access of their classes directly through Google Classroom, so it is more efficient and or organized.
Chewy: How was the uptake on learning how to use the platform?
Krispie: Provided you’re not a Luddite, it’s pretty simple to use if you are familiar with Google Drive.
Chewy: From what I’ve seen, it looks pretty slick. I’m just worried that if I try to introduce it now, it would complicate things in my class, so maybe it’s best that I hold off using it in my class until next year.
Krispie: From a students’ perspective, they will catch on easily, so it would be better to introduce it sooner than later. Maybe you can introduce it next term with a few fun assignments so that both you and the students get a chance to use it and become more familiar with how it works.
So with Keith’s advice still fresh in my mind, the next obvious step is to start playing with the program and learn its functionality. From there, I will need to consider how I could integrate Google Classroom into my classroom between now and the end of the school year.
Personal Note: It was fantastic to be able to pick Keith’s brain about how he’s been able to use it to help keep his class better organized and to hear about what potential hurdles I may face in introducing Google Classroom to my students. There are a few other teachers that I work with who have also recently begun to use Google Classroom for assignments, so I will touch base with them as well over the next couple of weeks to see how they feel about the platform.
Chewy: How long have you been using Google Classroom?
Krispie: Officially, I have been using it since January, once our district got approval in regards to FOIPA, but I’ve been playing around with it since it was launched in November.
Chewy: How have you found it as a classroom management tool?
Krispie: It is fairly simple still, and Edmodo is probably better developed at this point, but given the fact it will be able to integrate with all the Google Applications and Apps for Education, it will eventually be a better platform.
Chewy: I have looked at it a bit, but have yet to play with it extensively. I looks very similar to a class website.
Krispie: It can definitely replace a classroom website, but right now it doesn’t have a lot of the “library” type features that allows it to host and store a number of videos or assignments. Some of my co-workers use it alongside their class websites. They use the Google Classroom as the student – teacher – information sharing interface and the website as a linkable resource.
Chewy: Couldn’t someone just use a class website and Google Drive in the same way?
Krispie: You could, but it can replace a class website and Classroom is built over top of the Drive, so it’s better. Regardless of the class the student is taking, all of their assignments are automatically saved to their drive, and they can access of their classes directly through Google Classroom, so it is more efficient and or organized.
Chewy: How was the uptake on learning how to use the platform?
Krispie: Provided you’re not a Luddite, it’s pretty simple to use if you are familiar with Google Drive.
Chewy: From what I’ve seen, it looks pretty slick. I’m just worried that if I try to introduce it now, it would complicate things in my class, so maybe it’s best that I hold off using it in my class until next year.
Krispie: From a students’ perspective, they will catch on easily, so it would be better to introduce it sooner than later. Maybe you can introduce it next term with a few fun assignments so that both you and the students get a chance to use it and become more familiar with how it works.
So with Keith’s advice still fresh in my mind, the next obvious step is to start playing with the program and learn its functionality. From there, I will need to consider how I could integrate Google Classroom into my classroom between now and the end of the school year.
Personal Note: It was fantastic to be able to pick Keith’s brain about how he’s been able to use it to help keep his class better organized and to hear about what potential hurdles I may face in introducing Google Classroom to my students. There are a few other teachers that I work with who have also recently begun to use Google Classroom for assignments, so I will touch base with them as well over the next couple of weeks to see how they feel about the platform.