If you teach a semester course, you may want to consider these handy tips for cleaning up Google Classroom.
Google Classroom built a Classroom folder located in your Google Drive when you created your first Google Classroom. Navigate to this folder (My Drive>Classroom). Before you do any archiving or deleting of student work, take a few minutes to find some student exemplars to show students the next time you teach this course. Research shows that students' understanding of expectations improves when you have student examples - both good and less stellar ones!
Within the Classroom folder, Google creates a folder with the name of each course. Find the course folder. Now you have two options:
Tip #1: To-Do list in Google Classroom:
Look at your To-Do list in Google Classroom, and make sure you have returned all work to students. Click on the three horizontal lines on the top left. Your To-Do list is located there.
Why should you return work to students? Google Classroom manages the permissions of documents that you assign using Make a copy for each student. When students turn in the assignment, they only have View Permission to the document. When you return the document, the document permissions change to student ownership. This way, you allow students access to all their work when you archive the class.
If you want to clean up your To-Do list, simply click the three dots and click Mark as Reviewed any assignments you do not need to return.
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| Courtesy Shake-Up Learning |
Tip #2: Clean Up the Google Drive Classroom Folder
Do not delete the Classroom Folder!
Within the Classroom folder, Google creates a folder with the name of each course. Find the course folder. Now you have two options:
- Delete the student work located in the folder (this is permanent)! Note you are not deleting the student work for them as long as you returned the work and they own the documents.
- Create a folder within the Classroom folder and name it 2019-2020 School Year or something helpful. Move archived Classroom folders into the folder, which allows you access to the assignments but reduces visual clutter.
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| Courtesy Teacher Tech with Alice Keeler |
Don't move the newly created folder out of the Classroom folder in your Drive - you will likely lose access to reuse assignments.
Tip #3: Clean Up Calendars
Google Classroom creates a calendar for each Classroom. The calendar is great while you are teaching a class, but remains on the long list of calendars. You have two options:
Option 1: Hide
If you like to look back to last semester's class schedule, hover over the calendar name. Click the three dots and select Hide.
You no longer see the calendar in your list. If you want to see pacing for the class in the future, you still have access to this calendar.
Option 2: Delete
- While in Google Calendar, click the cog located in the top right and select Settings.
- Scroll down and click on the desired calendar on the left.
- Navigate to the bottom and click the Delete option. Your calendar is now deleted!
Tip # 4: Archive Your Class
When you have returned all student work, click the three dots on the classroom tile and Archive your class.
You still have access to reuse previous assignments from this Classroom.
If you have been using Google Classroom for a few years, you may have Classrooms you no longer need. Perhaps you have taught the same class for several years, and the one from 2016 doesn't contain any documents or assignments that aren't available in more recent classes. This class adds visual clutter to the list of Classroom choices when you are reusing assignments. It is possible to Delete your class - proceed with care! Once deleted, you do lose everything associated with that Classroom. Follow these directions if you have some Classrooms you would like to delete.
That's my tech tip for today!
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