Brainstorm 2016: What Inspires Us!

It's overwhelming when we think about what we need to do in our classrooms: constant formative assessment, communicating with students and parents, assigning, scoring, and returning work that pushes our students to the next level. Google Classroom can be the hub connecting students, parents, and teachers in a daily workshop of learning. Attendees of all proficiency levels will learn how to use Google for Education Products to assign work, give formative assessments, monitor learning through quick checks, communicate in a variety of ways, and foster more student independence and leadership. The presenter, Donna L. Shrum, teaches eighth grade language arts in an almost paperless assignments classroom. The students work in a progress-based environment in which interim and quarter grades are cooperatively determined between the instructor and student during one-on-one conferences, and learners are responsible for assignment completion during workshop time within the online environment. No matter your current comfort level in the Google environment or your level of expertise, you will find something to spark your imagination and try in your own classroom. Advanced users are also encouraged to attend and share their own practices.