Establishing and maintaining Google Classroom etiquette is essential to effective learning. Read more on the steps you can take to create classroom etiquette.
An ever-increasing and unprecedented number of institutions are adopting digital solutions for providing education. The problems that arise as a result are also becoming more apparent. Learning management systems such as Google Classroom usually come equipped with a number of practical features. These functionalities usually help administrators gain and retain control of their classes. This is imperative for seamless and efficient learning.
But hard as it is to maintain classroom etiquette in face-to-face classes, it is harder still in virtual ones. That is because it is much more difficult to monitor students when you are not present in the same room as them.
What can you do to establish online classroom etiquette?
As is true for all hierarchies, the true tone is set at the top. Since you are the one leading your online classes, you need to exemplify preferred online behavior. The example you set for your students trickles down virtually as much as it does in person.
For starters, being punctual can help instill the virtue in your students as well. Just because you are a teacher does not mean that you can wait a couple of minutes after the class has started to join the meeting. It is especially easy to be on time for online classes since you are not running around the school trying to get to the right room. Therefore, being there when the first student joins sets the right atmosphere for the rest of the meeting.
Another important point to keep in mind is treating online classes much like their in-person versions. Using formal language, wearing appropriate attire, and being prepared for your classes helps you teach just as much as it helps your students learn. Keep the tone consistent with how you would normally teach your students had the class been at your school.
Finally, you can educate your students about proper online classroom etiquette before (or during) the course. You can develop a class decorum document and distribute it among your students before the start of the course. This ensures that your vision of your class is maintained.
How can teachers ensure Google Classroom etiquette?
We will now cover some tips that can help you establish and maintain online classroom etiquette while using Google Classroom.
Manage access to video classes
The moment you create a link for your video class, you become the meeting host. As the primary teacher, you are in control of who can and cannot access your video class meetings. All the students you have in the ‘class’ you created in your Google Classroom dashboard can join your meeting unrestrictedly. To prevent unwanted or irrelevant persons from joining your meeting, Google allows you to restrict access. Any unauthorized would-be participants must first ask to join the meeting, and you can decide whether or not to let them in.
Mute disturbances
Sometimes, students forget to mute themselves while you are teaching digitally. This can disrupt the entire class and might even make you lose focus. Occasionally, it happens unintentionally and background noises such as ambient construction or familial conversations can make their way through. Every so often, mischievous students can also leave their microphones turned on intentionally. Whatever might be the case, your role as the primary teacher enables you to mute any and all participants. This ensures that your classes run seamlessly and that your students have the most optimum learning experience.
Get the help of a co-teacher
As the number of students in an online class grows, so does the difficulty of managing them. In such cases, getting extra help might be the way to go. Google Classroom gives you the ability to invite fellow teachers to join your class. This can help you coordinate class activities and maintain online classroom etiquette. Co-teachers can perform all the tasks as the primary teacher except a few regarding the structure of the class.
Control content sharing by students
Either intentionally or otherwise, students can sometimes start to share their screens during an online class. They can also conveniently send chat messages to the entire class. Both these actions can disrupt the flow of a class. If you wish to prevent your students from sharing their screen, you can simply turn the “Share their screen” control off. You can also prevent your students from sending chat messages during your meeting by turning a similar “Send chat messages” control off.
Safe Doc provides you with additional features for controlling the content shared by your students. These include disabling students from using spaces and removing inappropriate emojis in Google Chat.
Remove students from your class
If a student refuses to behave themselves, you might need to take drastic measures. Repeatedly turning their microphone back on or disturbing other students are a few ways in which such students might disrupt your class. In this case, you can remove such a student from your class. You can talk to them separately if you can and re-invite them to the video meeting should you choose to.
About Safe Doc
To enhance your classroom management capabilities, Safe Doc provides you with a long list of additional controls. It brings Google Classroom management solutions that help teachers maintain online classroom etiquette.
