Google Classroom

Here are some of my favourite features in Google Classroom (and one that isn't a favourite, but it's important to know):

"Schedule" and "Save Draft"
Often, when I create an assignment, I don't want to post it right away (because I've created the assignment a day or two before I want students to work on it, or because I want to talk to students about the assignment before it shows up in their Classroom stream). In this case, I can use the "Schedule" feature (see screenshot below). It allows me to choose the date and time when the new assignment (or announcement) will show up in the Classroom stream. If I'm not sure when I want the assignment to appear in the stream, I can use the "Save draft" feature (below "Schedule").

"Make a copy for each student"
When I'm assigning a task where I want each student (or group of students) to hand in their own copy, I use the "Make a copy for each student" feature (see screenshot below). This feature provides each student with their own copy of the attachment, so they can open it and start working in it. When they're done, they submit their work. This feature also allows me, as the teacher, to check on students' progress BEFORE they submit their work. When I click on the assignment, I have access to all of the students' individual copies, so I can see what how much they've done.

"See history"
For any assignment with a due date, I can view the history to see exactly what time the student submitted the assignment. If the student unsubmitted and resubmitted the assignment, that information is displayed, as well. To see the history, I click on the name of an assignment, and then click on the student's name in the panel on the left side of the screen. On the left side of the screen, I see this window:

When I click "See history", this window appears:

"Reuse Post"
This feature is great if you're teaching multiple sections of the same subject. If I've created a post in one Classroom, and I want to use the same announcement or assignment in another Classroom, I just click "Reuse Post" and then select the post I want to reuse.

"Return"
This is the feature that isn't one of my favourites, but it's important to understand how it works. If you have inserted comments into students' work, they will not be able to see the comments until you return their assignments to them (by selecting individual students' names or "All students" and then clicking the "Return" button). Students are also not able to make any corrections to their work until you return it (unless they unsubmit the assignment).