Google Workspace For Dummies
Book image
Explore Book Buy On Amazon
When you, as a student, join a class in Google Classroom, you don’t see everything that your teacher sees, because your teacher is the administrator of the class and, therefore, can do more things. For example, you can’t invite other students to the class, nor can you make assignments. Figure 1 shows what you see when you join a class.

Figure 1: A Google class from the student’s perspective. Figure 1: A Google class from the student’s perspective
Source: Google.com

Here’s a quick look at what you can do:

  • Share a message with the class: On the Stream tab, click inside the Share with Your Class box to write something to your entire class. You can also attach files, YouTube videos, and external links to your message.

  • View assignments: The Assignments box on the left side of the Stream tab lists your assignments and their due dates. Click View All to see all of your assignments. You can click To-Do to see the assignments you have yet to complete, or Done to see your completed assignments.

  • Open an assignment: On the Stream tab, assignments appear in the left Assignments box and in the center column. In the center column, click Open to view an assignment.

  • Comment on assignments: Click in the Add Comment area at the bottom of the assignment box to add a comment about it. Note that you can’t attach files to the comment; you can post only a text message. Your comment is visible to all the other students, plus the teacher.

  • Email other students: On the Classmates tab, click the envelope icon to the right of a student’s name to send an email message to that student.

  • Access the Google Drive for the class: On the About tab, click the Google Drive folder to view the documents that are hosted on the Google Drive for the class. Your teacher may have stored additional materials there, so it’s a good habit to check it frequently.

How to customize class information

After you set up your Google classroom, you may want to customize it, especially if you’re going to have more than one classroom. This enables you to create a student experience that is more personalized to the class.

To add or change information about your class, log in to Google Classroom and access the class you want to modify. Then follow these steps:

  1. Click the About tab.

  2. In the area that shows the information about your class, click the three stacked dots at the top right corner and choose Edit. You see the Edit screen in Figure 2.

  3. In the Title field, type in the name of your course.

  4. In the Description field, type in a description of your course.

  5. In the Room field, type in where your class is held, such as the building and room number.

  6. Click Save.

You can’t change the Teacher email or Google Drive folder on this screen. If you click on the Google Drive folder, you’re taken to the Google Drive home for the class materials.

Figure 1: Your new classroom.

Figure 2: Your new classroom
Source: google.com

If you want to add materials to the class, click the Add Materials box. You can give the item a title and add one of these kinds of materials:

  • An attachment uploaded from your hard drive (the paperclip)

  • A document from your Google Drive (the Google Drive icon)

  • A YouTube video (the video play button)

  • An external link (the chain link icon)

Click Post, and your item appears in the list and is stored on the Google Drive for your class.

About This Article

This article can be found in the category: