Maintaining a classroom full of kids is pretty hard on its own, and to add to that virtual classrooms are much harder to control. There are so many distractions easily available to all students, it’s only natural they slack off and don’t work properly during class times. In Google classroom, there are certain Google Classroom norms that you can set up to better control the class.
Let’s talk about how to establish Google Classroom group norms to keep students on task. With the proper tools, you can set up an environment that you can monitor over much easier and keep your kids focused while they work on their computers, whether it be online or in class.
What Are Common Google Classroom Norms?
Online classrooms have their own set of etiquette and rules to follow. Students should have their mics muted when not speaking, keep their cameras on, dress appropriately, be fully present in class, not text while class is going on in another tab, avoid posting obscene comments, submitting things on time, etc.
While each classroom is different and you can set up your own rules, the school body might also give some general rules that all students and teachers must follow as well. Some teachers do not allow students to post in the Google Classroom stream, so as not to distract other students. Encourage them to post comments under relevant posts.
Turn off submissions, so students cannot submit late assignments. This gives them an incentive to turn in their work earlier. Students should also have their formal, full names on display in the classroom with their profile and set up a relevant picture so that you can better recognize them. You can also ask them to set their Student ID numbers with their name in the classroom.
Another important norm to set up is for students and teachers both to regularly check the classroom notifications and not have them muted. This way any new updates or changes are easily communicated and there’s less chance of someone missing a test because they didn’t get the notification. Make it a habit to check the classroom regularly.
How to Set Up Classroom Rules in Virtual Classroom?
Now that we’ve gone over some of the Google Classroom rules you can introduce, let’s talk about how you can establish them in class. It’s important to communicate that this is still a classroom and students need to behave. You can have a dedicated class at the beginning of each term to explain and establish these rules to your students.
Here are some steps you can take to establish these norms and make sure they are maintained in Google Classroom.
Keep a Pinned Post of All Rules
You should make a poster or a post of all the rules that you want your students to follow in the online classroom. Then pin that post to the top of the stream, so students can see it every time they check the class.
Setting up ground rules at the beginning of each term is a great way to communicate what you are expecting from your students. Especially for younger kids, this is very helpful if you clearly explain all the rules.
Use Safe Doc to Implement Regulations
Even if you state out rules and explain them, there are always kids who do not follow the rules. So to enforce certain measures to keep your students from being distracted in the classroom, you can use SafeDoc.
SafeDoc allows you to control a lot of what your students are doing in classrooms or on their browsers. You can use it to stop kids from searching up explicit content, cuss words, or even wasting time on YouTube videos or games. They have a lot of features and it’s very easy to use, made especially for schools.
Hold a Parent Teacher Meeting
Since virtual classrooms are still a new thing for a lot of people, it’s a good idea to keep the parents updated on school policies and rules as well. Explain to them how things work and what kind of rules are being followed.
Often small children are more likely to listen to their parents than their teachers. Especially for shy kids or kids who might have trouble understanding the rules in class. The parents can help explain it to them and also encourage them to follow these rules.
Conclusion
So these are some of the ways how to establish Google Classroom group norms to keep students on task. Properly communicating what kind of etiquette you expect from your students can help them behave and there are also precautions and measures you can take to take care of unruly kids as well.
