Turning in Assignments
For me, the major hurdle in converting to paperless was the issue of turning in assignments. I have chosen to use a shared folder for each student in Google Drive as a portfolio to keep all of their work in, and for me to view and grade their assignments. The easiest, most hassle-free way to do this is to have each student set up their own gmail account (i.e. [email protected]) and create a folder with their name on it and share it with you-- perhaps as a first night's homework assignment?
See below for instructions for creating a new shared folder:
See below for instructions for creating a new shared folder:
Giving Feedback
To assess students and give feedback you will open up your shared folder with the student and open up
the document. Make sure the student has given you permission to edit each document. I suggest making your comments in a different color text. What is great about grading like this is at the end of the year you have a complete portfolio of graded student work.
To assess students and give feedback you will open up your shared folder with the student and open up
the document. Make sure the student has given you permission to edit each document. I suggest making your comments in a different color text. What is great about grading like this is at the end of the year you have a complete portfolio of graded student work.
For those new to Google Drive http://vimeo.com/55552406 is a great video from EdTech for a first-timer's tutorial for using Google Drive on the iPad.
Note Taking
Taking notes is an integral part of almost any class. In a paperless classroom there are many options. If you are using laptops, you might chose to take notes in google docs and simply create a new document for
each topic. This process is slightly more cumbersome on an iPad, so I have chosen to use Google Keep for my students' note taking. See tutorial below:
each topic. This process is slightly more cumbersome on an iPad, so I have chosen to use Google Keep for my students' note taking. See tutorial below:
Building a Class Website
My school provides a basic classroom website for teachers to post assignments on, keep a calendar, etc. However, I have found that using a class wiki for a website is exponentially better! The wiki allows the students to collaborate with each other and with me, and keep up to date with the class in real time. I can post all notes and assignments on the wiki for students to access at any time. See below for a basic wikispace overview:
Uploading documents on the wiki:
Grading
If you are looking for an easy-to-use online grade book, I recommend setting up an Engrade account at Engrade.com.