Using Google Classroom to create class folders

I've posted about this before, but I wanted to share some work I did with two teachers yesterday that integrates Moodle and Google Classroom.  These are both teachers who use Moodle regularly to post announcements and resources but were looking for an easier way to manage the organization of student work.  Their question was essentially, "what's the easiest way to set up folders for each of my classes so that I don't have to keep checking email to find student work?"

The answer that worked for them (and that I would recommend to others) is Google Classroom.  Using Classroom does not necessarily mean that you're abandoning Moodle or any other system you use for posting resources and facilitating online discussion (although it does both of those things, as well).  You can use Classroom simply as a means for creating folders for students to submit work to.

The advantage of using Classroom (rather than setting up folders on your own) is that it does all the work for you.  Files that students "submit" are automatically shared correctly.  They are organized both by assignment ("show me all of the Hamlet essays") and by student ("show me all of Ella's work").

There's much more you can do with Classroom, but this may be all you're looking for right now.

I'm happy to get you started with this for second semester.

Below is a short doc I made yesterday that covers the very basics listed above.
And here is more comprehensive help from Google.

---

Using Classroom for creating a set up class folders

Making the course(s):

• Go to http://classroom.google.com
• Click the + sign, then Create
• Name your class (other info is optional)
• Repeat for multiple sections

Inviting students:

• To share the class code, click on the settings gear, then on the pull-down arrow next to the code.  
• Students go to Google Classroom, then + sign, then Join, then type in code.

To "make a folder":

• Click Classwork
• Click Create
• Name the assignment, set due date and topic (if desired)
• Click Assign to create it right away (students will get an email) or Schedule to post it later
• Classroom will create a folder with the appropriate sharing rights

The student side:

• Students will see the "assignment" in Classroom and will also get an email
• They can click Add to upload a file or Google doc, or Create to create one from scratch.

To see the work:

• Click Classwork
• Click on View Assignment
• Click on the folder

Note that if students click "Turn in" they lose editing rights, but they can "Unsubmit"

Layout improvements in Google Classroom

Good news!  Google Classroom now gives you the ability to arrange assignments by topics and to decide the order in which students see them.  This is what many of us are used to from Moodle and other LMS's.  Click Create to make a new topic or a new assignment.

Here's an example from my class:

They've also separated the "Stream" (i.e., discussion forum) onto its own page, so it's clear what's a discussion and what are the assignments for class.  In the next update, there will also be the ability to post resources within topics (for now, you can create resources as "assignments" with no due date).