Last week's “cooking/baking” from home post was fun to write. I really appreciate my loyal reader’s suggestion to share that side of me with you all. This week I want to turn my attention back on education. As this iteration of the 2019-2020 school year gets closer to its historic conclusion, I've been thinking about these ideas...

1. What lessons am I going to take away from this experience?

2. Is there room for two digital platforms to co-exist in a physical or “remote” classroom?

3. Should I abandon Google Classroom for Canvas?

4. How I've integrated the use of on line whiteboard technology into my “teaching” from home. 

This week’s post will focus on whether or not there is room for two digital platforms to co-exist in either a physical or remote classroom setting and should I just abandon Google Classroom for Canvas? 

Before we were required to quarantine and teach remotely I was using Google Classroom with my students each day for both Literacy and Math instruction. I’ve detailed my use of Google Classroom in the past…just go back and look for it. This post has me thinking/reflecting on how to reinvent my practice moving forward…whether we are in the physical classroom or “teaching” and “learning” remotely or some sort of hybrid of the two. 

One of the things I like about Canvas is its simplicity. The interface is very easy to get used to as it is not as “noisy” as Google Classroom relatively speaking. I know I can say this because I’ve worked in both spaces now. The students I will work with in the Fall are using Google Classroom right now so they will come to me with a basic understanding of how that platform can work…depending on who worked with them and to what degree it was a part of their “remote” learning. It will be important for me to help them see the similarities between the two…as I acclimate them to Canvas from the very beginning…if I choose to transition to Canvas fully. I’ve written in the past that no matter what platform a person chooses to use, there will be a learning curve. You just have to be ok with that. It’s the “other side,” after you’ve taught your students how to use the platform, that makes it all worth while. Patience is key here. What the students are doing on the platform initially is NOT as important as being on the platform and figuring out how to navigate it.

Another thing that I like about Canvas…something we did not get to utilize during this quarantine…is the grading function. Canvas allows you the opportunity to, like Google Classroom, write comments on assignments submitted. You can grade student work within the platform, just like in Google Classroom. More importantly, Canvas allows you to push the grades, in our case…to Powerschool…the online grade book that we are required to use. When we do go back to “formally” grading student work this will be a game changer for me. Up until now…using Google Classroom, I would read and respond to a student’s work, grade it in Google Classroom, share that grade via a private comment to the student then have to write those grades down and manually input them into my on line grade book. That step, and all the time it takes, will be eliminated by using Canvas.

One thing I want to learn more about is how students actually see the comments I share with them in Canvas. I’ve only ever used the platform remotely with my students. So, in order for that to happen, I need to be in front of a student and her computer after having posted comments, so I can see what they see on their screen. I also want to figure out how they can reply back to my comments. Replying back to my comments in Canvas does not seem, based on anecdotal feedback, as intuitive as it is on Google Classroom. Again…this is due to the fact that I’ve not used the Canvas platform “in class” with students. Being able to share and receive comments from students is something I really like about Google Classroom and want to cultivate with Canvas…it really adds to the experience and goes a long way to foster relationships.

So…where…if at all…does this leave Google Classroom for me…moving forward? Right now, I’m using Google Classroom as a place to upload videos of my Zoom sessions. I am also using it as a place where students can get ahold of me via a “Help Desk” assignment I’ve created for Literacy and Math. Here they can post questions or concerns they have about a particular assignment. Canvas does have capacity to do something similar, whole group, via “Discussions.” I tried a “Test Discussion” about a Math assignment during Week #8 of “teaching” from home. In the discussion, the students had to…

1. Post a comment about one of the math problems.

2. Reply and/or “Like” someone else’s post.

This seems like it can be used for a wide range of things and after the success of my “Test Discussion” I plan on integrating it into the mix, with this group of students and the new class I’ll get in the Fall. I’m also figuring out that Canvas has capacity to do a few more things that I’m already doing in Google Classroom, namely “Announcements” and video uploads.

During our “teach” and “learn” from home sessions I have posted a daily message, via the “Share something with your class” function, on the Stream, in Google Classroom. Canvas has the capacity for this via “Announcements” and…you can “delay” the announcement so it posts when you want. I made the transition with announcements from Google Classroom to Canvas in week #8 in an effort to compress where and how my students interact on line for the rest of this school year. I’m also thinking forward, as I’ve mentioned throughout this post, to the students I’ll have in the Fall. It will be important for them to have as little friction as possible when it comes to using Canvas.

Another thing I’ve been using Google Classroom for is uploading videos of the Zoom sessions we have daily. In an effort make the transition from Google Classroom to Canvas, I figured out that media can be uploaded to assignments very easily. I tested it out with an old assignment to see how it would work prior to talking to my students about it. Then, I showed them how it worked with an assignment from earlier in the day…so they would have an image of what it looks like and how to engage with it. I told the students that for the next two days I would post the videos in both places but moving forward, starting with the first day of week #9, we’d be using Canvas as THE place to view the videos. Again…this minor leap serves both present me and my current class as well as future me and my future students. 

There’s one more thing that, if I could figure it out, would help with the transition…how best to privately address student questions regarding assignments. “Discussions” are a great way to get the students talking as a group but in Google Classroom, they can write a private comment, as can I, within the assignment. Viewing comments from a teacher in Canvas carries bit more friction. You have to have the “Grades” tab opened so students can view and reply to your comments. I’m trying to use the “Inbox” function, sending messages to students to see if they in turn can send messages to me. I had a parent and her son go into Canvas and send me a screen shot of the Home screen. I learned that the students do have access to the Inbox, can read and respond to my messages, and can send messages of their own. So, in theory…we can use that feature as the new “Help Desk.” The only drawback is that there appears to be no way of monitoring outgoing or incoming messages sent from student to student. That’s a drawback because, kids will be kids and test what they can and cannot get away with. I will need to look into this more. It would be great if they could only send messages to the teacher.

As I finished re-reading this section of the post I thought back to the things I wanted to accomplish with it, consider if there room for two digital platforms to co-exist in either a physical or remote classroom setting and should I just abandon Google Classroom for Canvas? It feels like I have made the decision. If I’m looking for simplicity, the least amount of friction, and a platform that is rooted in all that Google Classroom can do, Canvas, with its ability to push grades to our on line, district grade book, seems to be the way to go. I just cannot think of any reason to stay with Google Classroom if Canvas can give me all of the basic functionality along with the support with grading.