Top 10 Google Classroom tips and tricks for students

Has your teacher recently sent you an invitation to join a class in Google Classroom? Chances are, you haven’t heard of Google Classroom before. Now that most people are trapped at home, teachers are using this offer from Google to create virtual classes and share homework. Meanwhile, students can submit their work there directly, view their grades on homework, check class comments, and even strike up a healthy discussion with other students or teachers using Google Classroom.

While most people still work from home, it is the ideal time to get acquainted with Google Classroom. The best part is that you can use it from the web and on mobile platforms. Tutors can check out our guide on Google Classroom tips and tricks for teachers.

In this post, we’ll cover the top ten Google Classroom tips and tricks for students. We recommend that you integrate them into your routine and finish assignments efficiently.

1. Personalize your Google Drive folder

When you work with 5-6 classes at a time in Google Classroom, it is always recommended to customize them in Google Drive so you do not end up mixing tasks. As you already know, your teacher would organize all the necessary documents and materials in a specific Google Drive folder.

You can go to Class> Classwork> Google Drive and open the folder in the new tab. Right click on it and change the name or change the color of the folder. That’s one of the smart ways to organize your folders and keep your school work separate from personal projects.

2. Add class comment in a task

Google Classroom allows you to comment on a task in class. You may not want to participate in the general discussion, but just want to discuss the assigned task.

So you can go to Class> Classwork> select any task> View assignment and add a comment. That comment will be visible to the entire class.

3. Use Google Apps to submit work

As mentioned above, Google Classroom integrates other Google applications and services as well. You can use YouTube Video, the Google Docs file, the Google Sheets file, or even the Google Drawing file to submit your assignments.

Open the class> Classroom> Open a task and touch add or create in Your work menu. A sliding menu will open with the option to add files from various sources: Google Drive, direct link, attach a file and you can even create new documents.

4. Do not send work

This is useful in certain situations. Suppose you accidentally submitted the wrong file for a task. That may happen as you may be dealing with dozens of files in class and personal work. Click the submitted job and the Do Not Submit button will appear to undo the submission. You know what to do next.

5. See your work

As a student, you may want to see your work and deadlines periodically. Sometimes it can be confusing to keep track of presentations. And you could end up missing the deadline for the project.

You can open a class> Classwork> View your work and here you can see all assigned work with title, due date, attachment and more. You can also use the side filter menu to simplify the list.

6. Use private comments

If you have specific questions or queries, you may not want to participate in the general discussion as it would be visible to everyone in the class. Google Classroom offers the private feedback feature to speak directly to teachers. That discussion remains private and is not visible to the rest of the class.

Open a class, go to Class Work> View Assignment, and you will see the Private Comments section on the right side. Use it to discuss things about the project with teachers in private. If you use class comments on a homework (check trick # 2 above), it will be visible to the entire class.

7. Customize class notifications

Dealing with multiple classes at once can confuse it with all incoming notifications. Fortunately, Google Classroom allows you to customize them.

From the Google Classroom app, tap on the burger menu and go to Settings. You will see notifications change for all the comments and classes you are enrolled in. Adjust them according to your needs.

To manage notifications by class, tap Class notification and here you can see all your enrolled classes. Turn off unnecessary ones.

8. Turn off email notifications

In addition to push notification, Google Classroom also sends email notifications about the latest class updates. For a busy classroom, practice can quickly fill inbox space in Gmail. Consider disabling the option from Settings.

Tap the burger menu, go to Settings, and turn off email notifications.

9. See grade, private comments sent by teachers

For now, we bet you know that your teachers can also use the private comment feature in Google Classroom. You can view them and check the grades of the submitted work by going to Class work> View your work. Use the filter menu and select the “Returned with grade” option and you will see the grades as well as the teacher’s private comments for the presentation.

10. Cancel the class registration

Did you finish the class? Is the semester or project over? A student can withdraw from a class in Google Classroom. From the home page, tap the three-dot menu and select Undo class.

Use Google Classroom as a boss

Google Classroom is a pleasure to use with the helpful tips and tricks we shared earlier. Use them, impress your classmates and teachers. Did your school start using Google Classroom? How is your experience so far? Share your experience with us and our readers in the comments below.