Using a Virtual Classroom

ED3508: Communications Technology Irelynd & Carmen

Description and Rationale

Description: Living in the 21st century, and especially after the pandemic, technology has
come to be one of the most integral parts of our life. Having access to technology
in educational settings has meant that learning can continue despite lockdowns,
quarantines, and even travel. However, this has also been an incredibly daunting
shift for teachers, students, and parents to navigate.
Virtual classrooms can be a terrific homebase for teachers to communicate with
students and parents. Google Classroom is one example of a platform to host a
virtual classroom, it is streamlined, customizable, and accessible.
Rationale: Comfort levels and experiences vary in the world of technology. Technology is
becoming more dominant in all areas of life. Teachers should not be scared to use
technology to their advantage and to tailor it to their students’ needs. As teachers,
having a familiarity with a variety of online platforms is a great way to develop
professionally.

Learner Outcomes
General A virtual classroom is a versatile and effective tool for providing instruction and
Learner
resources within an online environment.
Outcomes

Specific There are 4 main things you can do with virtual classroom platforms like Google
Learner
Classroom
Outcomes
● Create, assign, and grade assessments
● Post announcements
● Communicate between students and the teacher
● Post and organize class materials

Students will…

Be able to navigate Google Classroom

Understand the possible uses of this tech tool within a physical classroom setting

Understand the possible uses of this tech tool within a digital classroom setting

Rutley & Entz (2023)

Learning Objectives and Assessment Evidence
Learning Students will understand the function of virtual classroom platforms like Google
Objectives Classroom.

Learning Objective Driving Question(s) Intended

Response(s)

Students will understand What does Google Classroom Google Classroom is a

the function of virtual offer teachers who want to homebase for customizable
classroom platforms like design a virtual classroom? announcements, assignments,
Google Classroom. and assessments.

Pre-Lesson Preparations
Curriculum Resources Materials and Equipment
classroom.google.com
canva.com
polleverywhere.com

Teacher Tasks
- Example Google Classroom created
- Assignments added
- Quizzes added
- Announcements added
- ‘Students’ added
- Canva presentation created and embedded to Google Classroom
- PollEverywhere link created

Rutley & Entz (2023)

Body
Introduction Time
Allotment
Attention ● Ask students: 1 min
Grabber “Have you ever had experience learning within a digital classroom?”
“Have you used Google Classroom as a student but always wondered
how things look from the teacher's side of things?”

● Allow for time to collect student answers

○ Take 1-2 answers from students
○ Students may answer by unmuting themselves or
answering in the chat
This attention grabber will allow us to get an idea of where the student's
understanding is with this topic. It will also seamlessly blend into our
pre-assessment WordCloud activity.
·
Activities Time
Allotment
Learning WordCloud 3-4 min
Activity #1 ● Begin by providing QR code from our presentation for the
· students to scan with their phones or other mobile devices that
will take them to our Word Cloud on PollEverywhere.com.
● We will provide time for them to do so (1 minute)
● Once students have joined the word cloud, we will then explain
that they are to add words that they associate with a virtual
classroom (things like strengths, connections, characteristics,
etc.) We will provide them with one minute to do so. (1 minute)
● We will let the students know when this time is up, as well as ask
if anyone needs any extra time to complete this task
● After they have completed the WordCloud we will take time to
discuss their answers (2 minutes)
● We will start by prompting the group to share they words they
have chosen and their reasoning behind these words

This activity will have the students critically think about their previous
knowledge of virtual classrooms

Rutley & Entz (2023)

 Specific/Driving/Guiding Intended Response(s)
Question(s)
· I have experience with virtual
What is your previous classrooms from…
knowledge of virtual ·
learning environments?
·
·
What comes to mind when
you think of virtual
classrooms?

I like/don’t like virtual learning

Why do you feel the way environments because…
that you do about online
learning environments?

This will match the needs of all learners as there are many ways in
which students can accomplish the same levels of complex thinking
(students can talk about their ideas with others rather than just writing a
response in the Word Cloud)

We will also be providing time cues to let students know how long they
have to accomplish a task, as well as providing the opportunity for extra
time if needed

This activity really allows us to monitor student learning as we are able

to have direct conversations as well as observe the conversations had
with others.
Transition Teacher Cues: > 1 min
Once the 2 min of discussion is up we will check in with students and
ask if they have any last points to add before we move on

To segue into our next activity: “Now that we have all of these defining
words in our heads, we are now going to have them experience an
online learning environment that we have created”.
Learning Google Classroom Tour 4 min
Activity #2
·
● We will begin by explaining how to get onto Google Classroom.
We will explain that once students type “Google Classroom” into
their search engine, they will need to log in with a Gmail account.
Students will be
● Once they log in, we will provide them with our class access code
able to
on their screens via our presentation, and explain that they must
navigate
choose to “Join a Class” and then enter in this code
Google
● Once they have logged in and successfully joined the class, we
Classroom.
will call them back to Zoom where we will give a brief explanation
of what virtual classrooms are

Rutley & Entz (2023)

 ● Students will then go back to our Google Classroom and explore
the different tools by clicking on the different headings as we
prompt them
● We will show them the “home” tab and how it takes you back to
the main class, the “classwork” tab and how it allows students to
access their assignments, the “people” tab and how it connects
students with their teachers and peers, and the “grades” tab and
how it allows students to view their grades in that course
● We will then ask them to scroll through the main feed of this
classroom and explore what has been posted
● After about 1 minute of individual exploring, we will then lead a
quick group discussion:
○ “What tools students did you find helpful?”
○ “What tools did you not find useful?”
○ “Can you see yourself using this tool in your own
classroom?”

This activity will allow the students to have hands-on experience with this
particular tool and understand its uses. It also allows them to be able to
build a deeper opinion about whether they would or would not utilize this
tool in the future

Specific/Driving/Guiding Intended Response(s)

Question(s)

How does a tool like Google
Classroom enhance learning in an
online environment?
Students will note that Google
Classroom has many helpful tools
such as areas to post reminders
to their classes, and take into
account how this may be useful.

How is Google Classroom useful Students will observe things such

for both students and teachers?
as the ways in which online
students can easily hand in
assignments, and teachers can
quickly return feedback on said
assignments directly to students

How could Google Classroom be I would use Google Classroom…

used within your teaching I don't think Google Classroom
practice? would work for me because…

This activity is great for all sorts of students as it allows for self exploration
as well as opportunities to ask questions and hear from others
Transition We will conclude our main presentation and then proceed to explain that > 1 min
students will use the skills they learned during our walk through of Google
Classroom to access a quiz that we have posted as a link in the
classroom feed

Rutley & Entz (2023)

Learning Feedback Quiz 2 min
Activity #3
● We will begin this activity by explaining that we have posted a
Students will
quiz under the assignments tab on the Google Classroom
understand
● We will explain that the purpose of this quiz is to serve as a
the possible
formative assessment of not only their understanding but as
uses of this
feedback for us about our lesson as well
tech tool
● We will provide students with 2 mins to open and complete this
within a
quiz
physical
classroom
This activity allows for students to think critically about what they have
setting.
gained from this lesson, and it also provides us with useful feedback
about our lesson
Students will
understand
the possible
uses of this Specific/Driving/Guiding Intended Response(s)
tech tool Question(s)
within a digital
classroom Students could reflect on:
setting. What knowledge did I gain over personalization, centrality,
the course of this lesson? continuity of Google Classroom

What was missing from the lesson Students provide feedback such
that was given? as “There should have been more
examples of the uses of … in a
classroom”

Would I, as a teacher, ever Students will think critically and

consider using this tool? respond with honestly
“Yes, I would use this tool” or “No,
I would not use this tool”

This activity allows for students to express their voices and provide
feedback on things they did or did not like about the lesson.
Transition We will ask the students if there is anyone who needs anymore time to > 1 min
complete the quiz as well as allow for any last questions, comments, or
concerns to be brought up
Closure Time
Allotment
Final Closure · > 1 min
“Thank you for your attentive listening and your participation, please feel
free to ask any other questions you may have. We hope you will continue
to find ways to create effective virtual learning environments for both you
and your students.”
·

Rutley & Entz (2023)

Teacher Reflection
What We felt very well prepared for our lesson. Between our lesson plan, our visual
worked
resource, and our Google Classroom walk-through, we were ready to present to our
well?
Why? group. We had a strong amount of resources for our lesson, and made sure to draw
attention to other virtual platforms beside Google Classroom to provide a variety of
knowledge for students. We were also successful in demonstrating that virtual
classrooms can be an aid, and don’t need to be a source of stress.
We were able to help students who struggled to access resources by re-explaining
instructions, as well as facilitating a space for fellow classmates to offer help as well.
We were also intentional to build time into our lesson plan for students to engage with
our activities, as well as to give time for discussion based on those engagements.
We were also quite happy with how excited students were to engage with our
simulated Google Classroom, the feedback we received from students seemed to be
that they’d never had the chance to interact with a virtual platform like this.
·
What In terms of flow of the lesson, we could’ve done better in grabbing students’ attention
didn’t?
from the start with more of a “hook”. We struggled to find our footing in the first minute
Why not?
or two of the presentation because of this. ·
Additionally, we would have liked to have more of our commentary scripted for the
rationale behind our lesson. It would’ve made the lesson feel more applicable to
students.
What Since this was in an online setting, we could be more intentional next time about
would we
establishing etiquette for the lesson over Zoom. For instance, if students have a
do
differently question, we could prompt them to raise their hand or put their question in the chat
next time instead of unmuting themselves and dealing with auditory commotion.
to further Additionally, knowing that Zoom can alter the order in which tabs/windows appear on
promote
screen, checking in with students more often to make sure they’re seeing the proper
optimum
learning resource would go a long way in terms of preparedness. We may also consider going
for all back and forth with screen-sharing in order to avoid having to navigate too many tabs
students? for one presenter.
·

Rutley & Entz (2023)