Digital Learning Journal Your STUDENTS Can Do (& a bonus!)

We went back face-to-face 5 days a week in September. It has gone far better than any of us truly thought it would. It has been an adjustment, but we've done the best we can. As to be expected, we have had students who need to do school from home, for various lengths of time. Since my buildings are elementary, not everything is best done on a computer. Sometimes paper work is the best way for students to do work. (Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of great tech uses for remote learning; but sometimes, paper is better.)

I was asked this question, "How does a student return this work, in a timely manner?" I did some thinking ... adding an image directly into Google Classroom, while possible, isn't super easy - especially for younger students. BUT ... inserting images in Google Slides IS pretty easy! (Even for those who've not done it before.)

As a result, I designed the "Digital Learning Journal" to fill this need. There is no way I could predict how many slides everyone would need, so I designed templates on the Slides Masters. It's now as simple as adding in a new slide! And you can worry less about students deleting things you don't want them to.

To walk you through this journal, I made a video hoping it explains it better and more concisely than I could write it. (The journal is below the video.)

Like what you see in the video? Here is the Digital Learning Journal:

Would you like to make a copy for yourself? Here is a template link for the "Digital Learning Journal."

Now, here is my recommendation - make your own copy, then create an assignment in Classroom and use the make a copy in Google Classroom for each student. Don't add a topic to the assignment so it will be "pinned" at the top. This makes it SUPER easy for students to find and add work in. I suggest explaining it to all of your students ... and explain this is for when/if they do school at home. (You certainly don't have to do it this way - you could opt to ONLY assign it if/when a student needs to do work at home. Either way works - just please explain this to your students.)

Finally, I promised a "bonus", too, in the title. I added a template to my co-created site, www.TemplatesForTeachers.com. It goes back to my intentional focus on Google Classroom. This time it's for parents. I called it "Google Classroom for Parents." It's a "1 pager" meant to help guide parents to the key pieces in Google Classroom. I hope it helps. Supporting our parents who are working with our kiddos at home is important, too. Keep it simple - they don't need to know everything - the basics are perfect!

And as always, feel free to check out my Google Classroom Wakelet collection. Lots of good tips, tricks, and resources to help you make Classroom work for you.

Or connect & follow me on social media - all of my links are in the top right corner of my blog under my picture.

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