As the school year comes to an end we begin clean and organize. Our Google Classrooms are no exception. Here are 10 easy ways to clean up your Google Classroom.
As we wind down the school year we want to make sure that things are organized as things are ready to go for the fall. Our Google classrooms have served their purpose and our students will no longer be in our classes. So what do we do with all of that digital work? And what do we do with the Google classes themselves?
In a past Google Teacher Podcast episode we discussed end of the year Google Classroom cleanup and what you can do the end of the school year to make sure the Google Classroom is set and ready to go for next year. You can listen to that episode here and scroll down for 10 tips for cleaning up your Google Classroom.
10 easy ways to clean up your Google Classroom
1. Return all work, grade it if you need to
Whenever students turn work into you it's transferred over to you as the teacher and so if we want to make sure the students have access to all their work it's generally a good idea to go back through and grade and return all that work back to the student.
2. Archive old classes
Once the year is over you can archive any classes you won't be teaching again.
How to archive a class in Google Classroom:
- Go to classroom.google.com.
- On the class card, click More then click Archive.
- Click Archive to confirm.
3. Consider removing or unenrolling students who are no longer in your class
If you would like to prevent students from viewing the class or sharing the class with others you might consider removing them completely before archiving.
4. Do NOT Delete the Classroom Folder
.Do not delete it I repeat do not delete the Google Classroom folder. It's really hard to get back that main folder!
5. Clean up your Google Drive
Consider creating some folders outside of the classroom folder to move some files over that you want to keep and find easily. However, don't get "delete happy" and be sure to follow #4 before you begin moving and reorganizing your Google Drive.
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6. Create a folder for exemplary work
Consider creating a folder of work that you can use the next year as an example of exemplary work for rubrics or anchor papers.
7. Keep files in "Shared with Me"
Shared with me is a filter not a folder of your own documents in Google Drive. Those files are ones that have been shared with you but are not those that you own. They will show up in search results if you need to find them. However you should not move things around within shared with me because it will affect others who have access to that file or folder. "Shared with me" is usually a hot mess, we just have to learn to live with it.
8. Delete old class calendars
To eliminate clutter in your Google Calendar you can delete calendars from old classes so that they no longer show up in your account. You can also just unclick the check next to the calendar which allows it to be hidden from view without deleting permanently.
How to delete a class calendar:
- On your computer, open Google Calendar.
- In the left column, find the calendar you want to delete.
- Click on the three dots next to that calendar.
- Click on settings and sharing.
- Scroll down and click delete.
9. Make a Google Classroom template
If you have classes that you will be teaching again consider making that class a template for next year. You can do this by copying the class and renaming it "template for (insert class name)".
10. Reflect on your Google Classroom practices, collaborate with others for ideas
At the end of the school year it's always a good idea to reflect on the past year and think about what worked and what didn't. You can take the opportunity to ask your colleagues or your PLN for advice or feedback on how to improve your practice.
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Excellent..
Is there a way in Google Classroom to close out grades after a 6-9week period without achieving the class? I need the class for the rest of the year but I already have 85 entries in the grade section of the Cassroom.
I have the same question. I came up with a solution, but I’m not that happy with it and would love to know how to create separate grading periods in the class gradebook. Without this, the gradebook’s ability to calculate a student’s current grade is nonexistent past the end of the first grading period. So, my temporary and not entirely satisfactory solution: at the end of the term, I copy all grades to google sheets (of which I then make an extra copy, which I move to a different folder – just in case) AND I download all grades as CSV. Once I have these 3 copies of the gradebook (one in a google classroom folder, one in a separate folder in google drive, and one saved to my computer), I delete all assignments from the gradebook.
The downsides to this: I no longer have access to the work that students submitted for those assignments; I no longer have a record of what they turned in and when they turned it in; students lose access to the assignment posts.
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Do you know if there is a way to “bulk” return all assignments to students?