How do I create a class in Google Classroom?

To get started with Google Classroom, go to classroom.google.com. Click on the plus sign  and select create class. You’ll be prompted to enter some information about your class, but the only thing you really need is a name for your class. You can click on “select theme” to choose the visual look for your class.

How do I add students to Google Classroom?

Here’s a good video that outlines both options.

Option 1: Directly add students to your Google Classroom. In your Google Classroom, click the “people” tab at the top of the page. Click the + symbol next to students and type in students’ district email addresses randomly. Even though most OUSD students do not have access to email accounts, they all have email addresses in the format s_firstname.lastname@ousd.org. If you start typing a student’s name, the email address will often pop up automatically. Once you’ve added all your students, they will be able to access your Google Classroom via classroom.google.com.

Option 2: Students add themselves using the class code. The class code is a short string of letters and numbers. You can find it at the top of the “stream” tab in your Google Classroom, right under the name of your class.

Note: You cannot add anyone without an OUSD email address to your Google Classroom. That means you cannot add parents to your Google Classroom, unless they have an OUSD email address.

Can I email students using Google Classroom?

High school and middle school students have access to their OUSD email addresses now. For safety reasons, OUSD currently has a policy that elementary students cannot access email. Elementary teachers can call, text, or email parents to let families know how to access Google Classroom.

I am a prep teacher. How can I assign work to my students?

Option 1: Create your own class on Google Classroom and ask for classroom teachers’ help with adding students. Prep teachers can add classroom teachers as “teachers” under the “people” tab, then classroom teachers can direct add their students. You can make one class for the whole school and add content in grade level “topics,” or you can make separate google classrooms by grade level.

Option 2: Ask classroom teachers to add you as a “teacher” to their Google Classroom accounts, and post assignments and resources there for students.

Can two team teachers use the same Google Classroom?

Yes! Click on the “people” tab at the top, then click + next to “teachers” to add anyone with an OUSD email account.

Creating topics (folders)

Navigate to the “classwork” tab (top of the page). Click “create” → “topic.” You can create topics to organize material by content area, grade level, etc. Your students will also need to navigate to “classwork” to see materials organized this way.

Can students log in through Clever?

Yes - if students are logged in to Clever, they can click the link to Google Classroom from there. They can also just navigate to classroom.google.com and “Log in with Google” using their district credentials.

How can I copy or share Google Classroom topics and assignments?

You can copy your existing Google Classroom, which will duplicate topics and assignments. An easy way to do this is by clicking on the three dots that appear in the right corner of the class on your Google Classroom homepage. If you would like to share topics and assignments with another educator, you can do so by using the "Share Classwork" button on your "Classwork" section of Google Classroom. This will allow you to share a Google Classroom template. More information can be found here. 

How can students who can’t read or type access Google Classroom?

Students can use a Chrome plug-in called Google Read & Write. This tool can read content aloud and use voice-to-text for students to type. Here is a tutorial.

How does "Invite Guardian" work? Would guardians be able to log into our Google Classroom and see assignments?

Guardians cannot log into the Google Classroom, but they can receive either daily or weekly summaries of the Google Classroom class. These summaries include information about the class posts and any assignment that that student is missing. More information about this can be found here. 

What are Practice Sets?

Practice Sets allow you to create interactive assignments in Google Classroom. You can create, share, and edit practice sets with other educators.  More information can be found here.

How do I set up a gradebook in Google Classroom?

Grading is initially setup in the settings section (gear icon on top right). 

The “Total points” option  adds points together for all of the classwork. The grade will be calculated by dividing the total points a student earns by the total points possible in the class.  

The "weighted by category" grading assigns weights to grade categories, and an overall grade is calculated for you.  If you use the weighted by category option, you must create categories and then specify the grading category for each assignment.

See Grading in Google Classroom.