Classroom is a tool in Google Apps for Education that helps teachers create and organize assignments quickly, provide feedback efficiently, and easily communicate with their classes.

Pupil Path is a student information system for parents and students. Pupil Path allows parents and students to view important student and school information such as student attendance records.

This page takes you to three important and related areas for parents: Information, Activities, and Technical Tools and Support.

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What is Google Classroom?
Google Classroom is a class-organization platform that incorporates Google’s core G Suite (Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, and other Google products) so students can access everything they need for a class, including homework assignments, group projects, files, and even Google Hangouts to chat with the teacher or the entire class. Classroom also includes optional “Additional Services,” including YouTube and Maps, which a school administrator can choose to enable as part of your kid’s Classroom tools. Google Classroom isn’t a learning tool, like IXL, Khan Academy, and other providers of educational content: It’s designed for organization and collaboration. 
Do teachers use Google Classroom to teach live, like with Zoom?
Not usually. However, Google is offering the premium features of Hangout Meet for free to teachers and students who are at home during the coronavirus pandemic, so it’ll be easier to use Classroom for live, remote teaching. 

How do you set up Google Classroom?
Your kid will get an email invite from their teacher with a link or a code they use to join a class. They’ll be directed to classroom.google.com, where they log in (using either their school-created account or their personal Gmail account) to access the class (or classes) their teacher has added them to. Each class is private to the people the teacher has personally invited, including the students enrolled in that class and other teachers. Once your kid has joined a class, they can use all the features the teacher has enabled for that class, including class schedules, assignments, announcements, and even teacher “office hours.”

Can you use Google Classroom at home?
Kids can access Google Classroom from anywhere, including from their phones, when they download the Google Classroom app. 

Can I communicate with my child’s teacher through Google Classroom?
It’s possible, though teachers may use another tool, such as Aeries or School Loop, for parent communication. If your kid’s teacher wants to use Google Classroom for communication, they will send you an invitation, and after accepting, you will receive updates directly from them, which may include information on upcoming or missing work and announcements.

Can Google Classroom be used for cheating or chatting?
There’s nothing to prevent students from opening up other tabs, such as Wikipedia or Google Search, while they’re using Google Classroom. Kids can potentially see other students’ work within the platform, too. If they’re taking a quiz in Google Forms, however, teachers can disable access to other resources using a feature called Quiz Lock.
As for chatting, yes. Kids can interact with other students and even teachers by text and video using Google Hangouts. Chatting can be a distraction, but there have also been some reports of kids cyberbullying other students in Google Docs shared for group projects — partly because it’s a place no one would think to look for that kind of behavior. If the chatting is getting out of control, your kid can shut off Hangouts and remove people from a shared document. (To do this, click the Share button and then click Advanced at the bottom of the window. Click the X next to the name of the person you want to remove. If the document was created by someone else and you don’t control it, have your kid make a copy and not share it.)

What other apps and websites can be used with Google Classroom?
Google Classroom connects with hundreds of apps and websites — called add-ons — including popular tools like Pear Deck, Actively Learn, Newsela, and many more. Also, the Classroom Share button makes it easy for users to share content from an app or a website directly into Google Classroom, so kids can see a variety of content through their portal.

Can I check my child’s grades on Google Classroom?
No. Though teachers can assign grades using the Classroom service Gradebook, the teacher has to generate a report and email it to you in order for you to see your kid’s grades. Your school may use a different tool for grades and other administrative services. 

What are the safest settings to enable on my kid’s Google Account?
If your kid uses a personal Gmail account for Classroom, you can adjust their privacy settings on their Google Account page. (If they have a school account, consult the administrator for help on what settings you can control.) Keep in mind that in order to use Google Classroom, your kid must share certain information, such as their name and photo. Take a look at these settings:
From the Personal Info page, you can view the information that others can see about you. You can set this information to be viewable to yourself only. 
From the Data & Personalization page, you can take the Privacy Checkup to find out what information you’re sharing and limit it. You can also go through your Activity controls and see what data Google is tracking. If you “pause” activity, Google won’t track it. 

From the People & Sharing page, you can see contact information and what information you’re sharing on Google Services. 

How does my kid find out about new stuff posted in Google Classroom?
Your kid will receive an email when the teacher posts an announcement. These emails come through your kid’s email account, not in Classroom. Classroom doesn’t alert you when an assignment is due; to keep track of deadlines, kids need to check the class calendar. 

Is my kid supposed to be chatting with his classmates during class time via Google Classroom?
Maybe. Teachers may assign collaborative projects, such as a group research paper in Google Docs or a group dialogue, where students comment on each other’s work. But if the class isn’t using the tools responsibly, a teacher or administrator can turn them all off. 

Who has control over the options in Google Classroom: the teacher, students, the principal, the tech coordinator?
An administrator, often the school’s information technology manager, sets up Classroom for the entire school. That person is in charge of all the features included in the service, including Gmail, Google Maps, and Drive — and can turn them on or off. Teachers decide whether or not they want to use these services, and how to configure them for their classes. If Gmail is enabled, for example, teachers can email their students, turn off email notifications, and mute people. If your kid has YouTube enabled in their Classroom account, you’ll need to speak to the admin, not the teacher, if you don’t want your kid watching YouTube (the admin can also enable “restricted mode” for YouTube, which limits some mature content).
If my kid is using Google Classroom, how can I make sure they’re not goofing around?
Other than monitoring your kid with your own eyes and ears, you have very limited tech options. If your kid uses their own device and not a school-issued device, you may be able to use a parental control app such as Google’s Family Link to limit total screen time and allow only certain apps to be used at certain times — although you’ll still need to allow Classroom. Parental controls typically don’t work with school devices, since adding programs interferes with the admin’s configuration. You can try a few tricks, such as setting a timer, allowing a game break, and giving a reward when your kid is able to focus and resist distractions for a period of time or when they finish something. 

How tech savvy do I need to be to help my kid with Google Classroom?
If your kids are younger, it’s probably a good idea to have some familiarity with Google’s G Suite so you can help your kid upload documents, check the calendar, and do other tasks. It also helps to know how the programs work so you can at least describe the problem to a teacher if anything goes wrong. Older kids may not need any help. Google Classroom is designed to be easy to use, and there’s lots of online help.

Where can I go to get more information about how to use Google Classroom? 
Your administrator or your kid’s teacher should provide you with information on what services your kid will be using and how they’ll be updating you on progress (such as in weekly or monthly emails). Also, check out these resources:
Everything Parents Need to Know About Using Google Classroom with Your Kids
Common Sense Education Google Classroom review for teachers
Google support for guardians on email summaries

This form has been created so that a “Practice Makes Perfect” tutor can contact you based on your child’s academic needs or to assist you with tech support related questions.

This form is for software issues ONLY ( example Google applications, Classroom, Pupilpath, etc )If you have a hardware issue ( missing keys, screen not displaying, mouse not working and computer not turning on) Please reach out to the DOE Help Desk 718-935-5100 to request an iPad.

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