4 Important Tips for the Question Feature in Google Classroom

Google Classroom provides teachers with a variety of ways to help students learn how to function in an online environment. Have you ever used the Question feature to post something in Classroom? Here are four things you should know about the Question Feature. 

1. How to Post a Question

When you are in the Stream section of your Google Classroom, choose the plus sign and choose Create Question. This feature is a powerful tool to help gain insight into what students know or address misconceptions that they may have. 

2. Ask a Short Answer Question

You can ask students a Short Answer question by default with the Create Question feature. Google Classroom has added some helpful features to prevent student misuse. For example, you can turn on/off the feature for students to respond to one another or be able to edit their response. This is helpful if you want to keep students on task. 

3. Poll Your Students

When you create a question in Google Classroom, you click on the "Short Answer" icon (bottom left-corner of your screen) to create a poll. A poll consists of a multiple choice question without needing to create a Google Form. You can turn on/off the class summary feature, where students can see the summary of responses. 

4. Restrict Students from Posting in the Stream!

When Google Classroom first came out, it was difficult to prevent students from posting to the Stream. I remember working with a 4th grade class that thought it would be fun to post random stuff. You can now restrict students from posting to the Stream. How does it work? 

1. Visit the Students Tab at the top of your screen, which lists all of the students in your class. 

2. On the left-side of your screen, you will see your Class Code. Underneath the code, select "Students Can Post and Comment." This is the default setting on Google Classroom.

3. Choose "Students Can Only Comment" if you want students to have the ability to reply to posts.  Choose "Only Teachers Can Post and Comment" if you do not want students to be able to reply to posts. 

Conclusion: 

A recent study by The Distance Education Enrollment Report 2017 found that almost 6 million college students have enrolled in at least 1 online course. As advancements in technology continue, this number will rise dramatically. How do we prepare our students to survive in an ever-changing online world? Tools like Google Classroom provide students with the opportunity to communicate and function in a safe online environment.

Perhaps you are skeptical of using Google Classroom because you are fearful of students posting something inappropriate. The Question feature in Google Classroom may be a great place to start to help students navigate the complicated online world that we live in.