Google Classroom

[mjdeister]

​Has anyone used Google Classroom with Canvas?  I am looking for some How tos.

[pwalsh]

I'm curious to know in what way you would use them together? Canvas does all the things Google Classroom does, doesn't it? In fact, until we started working with Canvas this summer, I found it easier to run scripts (Doctopus and Goobric, mostly) that did what Google Classroom did than to use Google Classroom itself.

[mjdeister]

I did not think I did not want to use it but, if a student submits a Google Doc, they forget to share it with me.  If it is a Classroom assignment then the students don't have to "remember" to share it with me. 

[26339]

This is true, but Canvas is the system that many, many universities use.  And, sharing a doc it is a valuable skill to learn before they get to college.  It can be frustrating, but it is something that they need to learn. 

[mjdeister]

I agree with you but with 3 different classes in my 2 periods and 37 in each class, I don't feel I have time to train and regrade them.  I understand that the students "forget" to share the document so they can get extra time on the assignment.  I am trying to simplify my life.

[garrett_william]

Have the students share a folder with you at beginning of semester. Have them organize all work in that folder. Closes thing to autoshaping you will get.

[clong]

I have not used Google Classroom with Canvas with the same class, but can offer some advice because I have used both.

Think of Google Classroom as really Google Drive Management for your Classroom. It is a superb tool for teachers who want to send out a template of a Google doc/slideshow/sheet to their classes to allow students to make a copy of it to begin their work from. Another big plus of Google Classroom is that when students turn in a Google doc/slideshow/sheet, the document is automatically shared with you (as an editor) and the students' edit rights are automatically revoked until you return the assignment back to them. So we have two really nice thing here in Classroom that aren't built into Canvas.

1) Make a template Google document/slide/sheet for students, so when they click on it they have their own copy.

2) Automatically share doc and automatically revoke their edit rights on the Google document/slide/sheet when they submit it and then you can return it when you are ready.

If all you want to do is #1 then you don't need to use Google Classroom. Simply make your Google file (view only, anyone with link can view) and change the end of the URL removing edit and everything after it and replacing it with copy.

For example:

Change: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tO8F3H7wp65DYpKP3k1N6bCfAfY5shygLX0M8KVkFgk/edit#gid=0

To: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tO8F3H7wp65DYpKP3k1N6bCfAfY5shygLX0M8KVkFgk/copy

Now use the new URL with copy at the end to give that link to your students in Canvas. When they click on it they will be prompted to create a new doc from yours, that is theirs to edit with no worries of them changing your master document. This works on all Google doc types (docs, spreadsheets, slides and drawings).

If you want to do #2 using Google Classroom is the best way to accomplish this (for now). However, you could still use Canvas as your home base for this. You would setup the assignment in Google Classroom then go over to Canvas make it an assignment in Canvas (with no submission options) instruct your students to turn in the assignment in Google Classroom and provide a link to the Google Classroom Assignment like: https://classroom.google.com/c/Mjg0MDc1/a/MTE4NTMzMDU2/submissions/1

If Google opens up the API they are using for Classroom Canvas and other companies could leverage it to provide the same functionality inside of their systems. So for now, you can use both or just Canvas. When having my students turn in Google Docs in Canvas I made the assignment a URL submission only and trained my students to share their docs so (anyone with link can comment) then submit the share URL in Canvas. This allowed me to use all the Google commenting features right in SpeedGrader, but it does not revoke their editing rights. I suspect Google does this so a student can not make changes after the due date. If that is ever an issue you could instruct students to share the Google doc with you as an editor before they submit it and then look at the Docs revision history to see if they have edited it after the due date.

Hope this helps and I hope to see Google follow Canvas' model of open APIs

[pwalsh]

I am going to test out the copy feature you mentioned--it sounds very handy, particularly if I can get it to work with Speedgrader as you mentioned.

This year we used Schoology as our LMS for science at my school. For lab reports we distributed individualized files with the Doctopus script (search on Doctopus, you'll find it if you want to use it). The assignment in Schoology would tell the student what filename to search for in Google Drive. Students then submitted a link to the file when they were finished, which we automatically had access to since we created it. If we wanted to lock it down we could with Doctopus easily. We then used Goobric to grade similarly to how Speedgrader works.

If I can't get the copy/Speedgrader thing to work in Canvas I'll probably go back to how I was doing it before but with the assignments in Canvas and the documents still shared out through Doctopus. The individualization is critical for me, since I create different lab report templates for students with reading, writing, language, or physical challenges above what the typical student experiences. Even if I can just use Speedgrader instead of Goobric, that should save some time.

Middle schoolers are particularly bad with file sharing permissions. We created shared folders in Google Drive at the beginning of the year to which they were supposed to upload their data tables and photos, but most of them uploaded things to their main in Drive without sharing and submitted links we couldn't see. 

[clong]

Sounds great  @pwalsh ​! I was going to mention Doctopus, but it adds another layer of complexity to the equation. That doesn't bother me so much but I think it intimated many teachers.

The /copy trick will definitely work. You just need to train your students (from week 1) how to share their docs with you and you'll love being able to do everything inside of SpeedGrader without the need to use all the add-ons or another system.

[andrea_earl · Accepted solution]

I also used Schoology and Google Classroom last year, but we are transitioning to Canvas. At first, I thought that I would no longer use Google Classroom (which replaced Doctopus for distribution and management of assignment templates.) However, in playing with Canvas, I have found that I cannot access a student's document until it is submitted and that submission is only a "snapshot". I can only view the live assignment if a student shares it with me. I have also had trouble with students sharing assignments properly, titling the assignments properly and then managing all of these assignments in my Google Drive. I want the ability to "pop into" an assignment in progress, see how a student is doing and offer live feedback. Therefore, I will continue to use Google Classroom for distribution, management of assignments, and real-time feedback, but Canvas for the final submission and grading. So far, this seems like the best of both worlds for me, but I will try @ @clong  copy idea for assignments I don't care about interacting with before submission.

[scottdennis]

Haven't read it yet but what looks like a related post: Using Google Classroom with an LMS | Teacher Tech

[clong]

Just read it, I pretty much agree with my friend Alice, all the time . She literally wrote the book.. 50 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom: Alice Keeler, Libbi Miller: 9780986155420: Amazon.com: B...

[clong]

Based on the feedback in this discussion I took the liberty of submitting " modifiedtitle="true" title="Google Classroom Integration​ Please add your thoughts and keep an eye on it for future voting rounds.

[james_sanzin]

There are also many free apps that students can log into with their Google Classroom account, that do not integrate actively within Canvas. Quizizz, a gamified quiz platform, allows students to log in with their Google Classroom account. It tracks data with that account. Students can play Quizizz without Google classroom, but it is a stronger tool for the instructor with classroom integration. 

[mjdeister]

There is also Actively Learn.

Myra Deister

On Tue, Sep 26, 2017 at 8:56 AM, james.sanzin@lbsdk12.com <