Cleaning up your Virtual Classroom

This year has been like no other.  I think that is something we can all agree on.  With the end of the year coming to a close, we are missing many things that are part of our end of year routine.  This includes picnics, award ceremonies, and celebrations.  We are still doing what we can via the internet and social distancing, but we can all agree, it's difficult.

Things have changed significantly during Remote Learning, but one thing hasn't.  We still need to clean up classrooms for the end of the year.  Wait, what?  Didn't we already do that?  Well, most of us have gone in and cleaned up the physical space in our buildings, yes, but we also need to clean up our VIRTUAL space.  There are some steps to take with you GOOGLE Classroom to finalize it for the end of the year.  

1.  Reflect

We usually have time when we are cleaning up our rooms to informally reflect on the past year.  It's important to take that time and reflect on this year, although it might be in a different form.  There are many ways to reflect, so do what works for you.  I like to write my thoughts out in an informal manner.  I have a journal, this blog, and my husband who listens to me blab on and on (yes, he is a lucky man, I know).  One other thing I've used is from The Cult of Pedagogy called The Gut-Level Teacher Reflection.  I've used this in my Innovative Teaching Institute and with other educator cohorts and have found much success.  In the blog post, Jennifer Gonzalas explains the purpose.  "Here are five questions that can help you listen to your body’s emotional responses and uncover problem areas in your teaching. Use when the year is done, before the start of a new semester, or any time it feels like things aren’t going well, but you just can’t figure out why."  She offers a free PDF on her Teachers Pay Teacher's store to download and print.  Or, if you want a digital copy, you can use the Google Doc I created here.

2.  Check Your "To-Do" list & Return all Work

When you make a copy of your classroom, Google creates a new class with copied topics and classwork items. Rosters and announcements won't be copied.

Google Classroom has a handy-dandy to-do list for students.  When they have assignments due, they all appear in the to-do for kids to access them.  It's a great feature to keep kids organized.  But, did you know it works for teachers too?  You can go into the to-do and see what you still need to review, grade, and return.  To access the list, click on the three horizontal lines in the top left corner.  From there, you'll see the "Teaching" subheading with "To-Do" underneath.  Click there.

You can go through and open the different assignments you have posted.  You'll see how many have been turned in, assigned, etc.  

Side Note:  You want to make sure you return any work that has been turned in.  That way, students will have access to their work and you won't be getting emails from the kids requesting access.  You do all of that from the assignment page, itself.  Once you have done everything you need to, you can mark that assignment as reviewed.

To do that, you will click the three dots to the right of the assignment on the to-do list.  You'll see the "Mark as reviewed" option.  Click that.  In the bottom left corner, a small banner appears that says "Marked as reviewed" that confirms you completed this task.  This may take a while, as it lists every assignment.  Do you have to do this?  No.  But it is a good habit to get into for the future.  Kids need access to their stuff and if you forget, the to-do is an easy reminder.

3.  Remove Class Calendars from Google Calendar

Any Google Classroom you are a teacher in automatically adds due dates as events on your calendar. 

If you use Google Calendar, you know that under the left column toolbar, you can turn on/of the notifications and events for calendars.  This is really a personal preference, but I like to keep my Google Calendar tidy because I use it often to keep my time organized. 

Side note: I've heard that some people like to print their calendar so they have access to the due dates and assignments they've posted (or, just save it as a PDF).  This gives the option to go back and look at what your timeline was for the previous year.  To do that, make sure you have the calendar checked and follow the directions from Google, here.

To find the calendars you're subscribed to, go to calendar.google.com and look for "My calendars" on the left side.  If there is nothing there, you may have to click on the carrot next to it to open the menu.  The first gif shows you what I mean.

From this menu, you can click the box next to a calendar to check it (subscribe to that calendar and add all due dates, events, etc to your calendar) or uncheck it (you keep the calendar there as an option, but you won't see the events on your calendar.  If you are closing out the school year, you won't be using that Google Classroom again.  You want to "Unsubscribe" from this calendar.  To do this, hover your mouse over the calendar you want to remove.  You'll see a small "X" appear.  Click it.  A box will appear asking if you're sure you want to remove the calendar.  Click the "Remove calendar."  Now, you're all set!

Side note:  You only remove the calendar from YOUR Google Calendars.  It will still exist for other co-teachers and students within that class.  Students can remove the calendar by going into the "Other Calendars" option on their left toolbar and following the same steps as above.

4.  Set Up a Class Template

Did you know you can make a copy of Classrooms?  If you have your Classroom set up the way you like it, you can make a copy of your current classroom exactly like it is and use it as a template for next year.

To make a copy, click on the three little dots in the top right of your Classroom tile (from the main Classroom page).  Choose "Copy."  You will be able to rename it and change the info for the new class.  Then, hit "Copy."  Next, you'll have to be patient.  If you have a lot of information in the class, it may take several minutes to make a copy of the class.  It also might not copy everything, but it rarely happens so if it does, Google will let you know.  When the class has been created, you will receive an email.  It will also let you know if anything didn't copy over (see the email screenshot below).

When you go into your NEW Classroom, all of your posts will be there but in draft form.  That way the students won't see them until you actually post them.  You can edit them and post them when you see fit.  Cool right?

5.  Archive Your Classrooms

When the school year is over, you will want to get out with the old and in with the new! If you have created

a template of your classroom from this year, then it's time to archive your classes.  When you Archive a class, it removes it from the students' Google Classroom main page and yours as well.  Archiving is NOT deleting it.  You can still access the class by going into your three horizontal lines in the top left corner and scrolling all the way down to the bottom. 

Side Note:  When a class is archived, you can still use the "reuse post" feature under the Classwork tab!

If you want to take it a step farther, you can delete the classroom completely.  Go into your archived classes by clicking the three horizontal lines in the top left corner and scrolling all the way down to the bottom to "Archived Classes."  From there, choose the class you want to delete and click the three dots in the top right corner.  Click "Delete."  This will get rid of the class forever!

There you go!  You have officially cleaned up your virtual space!  Now, go enjoy your summer.  Get away from the screens and enjoy the outdoors.  I know I will be!