Time-Saving Suggestions and Tools for Teachers
Tab Groups in Google Chrome
Chrome has a feature that allows you to group your tabs. They may even be color-coded! This can come in handy when working with multiple websites or documents simultaneously—Right-click on an account and select Add Tab to New Group to combine them into groups.
For example, most instructors keep several websites open all the time. We must take attendance, check email, exchange lessons, and post to Google Classroom using this menu. These buttons might be organized in one column and color-coded to make it easier for you to access them with a single click each morning.
Link to Google Classroom Assignments
One of the most popular videos on the Shake Up Learning channel shows how to connect Google Classroom tasks immediately. Tammi Brunner explains how she utilizes these direct connections in a Google Slides planner as a fellow teacher.
Students use a weekly planner of slides that include the day’s schedule and all the necessary links. This is wonderful for keeping kids on task each day.
To discover the connection, go to Google Classroom, where the homework has been posted in Classwork. The three dots in the right corner may be used to copy the link. These links can be emailed, linked in a document or slide, included in digital grade book comments.
Or any other location you’ve designated for students to find information.
Feedback Tool: mote.
The Mote Chrome plugin allows you to leave audio notes. It is considerably quicker to talk than to type. You may use the Mote extension to communicate with students about their assignments through a personalized message. The extension works in all Google’s locations, including Docs, Slides, and Sheets.
Make use of your phone as a scanner
Scanners are a fantastic way to connect with those who don’t have access to the internet. There are several methods to utilize cell phones for scanning. Taking a photo may be adequate, but scanning offers a more organized system for keeping track of where that photo is stored.
For example, Evernote Scannable and Notes on iPhone allow you to scan any document and convert it into digital format. This technique is ideal for providing information in a digital format quickly.
Assignments for Packages
If you’re new to packaging, listen to episode 68, where Kasey goes through it in detail. The basic concept is for students to have all of the necessary components and pieces ready. Teachers may spend more time engaging with kids instead of replying to simple inquiries repeatedly if they have everything they need upfront in one location.
Students or parents will be able on one website to find out when their projects are due, how long they’ll take, and what needs must be met.
Fellow educator and author, Stephanie Richardson, provided the following advice: “I usually package my homework using a daily Google Slide, hyperdocs, or Wakelet. Here are ten ideas for how to package your work.”
Creating Video Lessons for Your Students
Asynchronous learning entails offering video lessons to pupils. This is the chance for children to learn within a limited period, with materials available to visit over and over when they are required.
Taking complex ideas and breaking them down into bite-size pieces in video form is a method of duplicating oneself. Videos can also be an effective tool for providing feedback or reteaching when necessary.
More ways videos may assist include simple morning videos, social-emotional check-ins, or a method to give options to our students.
In Google Chrome, add a folder to the bookmarks bar.
Bookmarking websites can save you a lot of time. Keeping frequently visited websites may save you a lot of time in the same way tab stacking does. When working digitally in the Classroom, instructing students on this can help you save time.
To add even more links to the Bookmarks Bar, you may use folders to save space and organize them.
Auto-Grading Forms
Several digital evaluations include an auto-graded option. Quizizz, Quizlet, Kahoot!, Formative, GimKit, and other web-based options are just a few online options. Did you know Google Forms may be auto-graded?
Choose to make the Form a quiz in settings. This will let you pick a correct answer or grade handwritten responses manually.
Google Drive’s priority workspaces
Vicki Heupel is the leading expert on using collaboration in the Classroom. You may hear how she developed a collaborative system with her pupils in episode 26 and then listen to a follow-up coaching interview in episode 120.
Vicki chimed in on the time-saving topic to share her approach to using priority workspaces in Google Drive.
Workspaces are a tool that allows you to organize your documents in the cloud. To access them, go to Priority in the Google Drive menu. Creating workspaces at the beginning of each project is an excellent method to keep all of your files organized in one place, mainly if they’re located on Drive in a different department.
In Google Classroom, use the Comment Bank.
Teachers all love suggestions for speeding up their grading process. Using a comment bank to provide feedback is one method to improve the pace of chores in Google Classroom. It’s now possible to grade document after document in one location within Classroom with a single click.
The comment bank may be found in the right sidebar menu. We all know that there are many notorious errors, so instead of typing the same criticism each time, we can add it to the comment bank and save time. You can still add customized feedback or a video link as well.
