The education that we receive during our childhood leaves a lasting impression on our persons. Not only does it go on to determine our professional careers and social circle, but it also molds our thoughts and perspectives toward the education system as a whole.
The past few years with COVID saw a completely disturbed education system where students and teachers were left to fend for themselves in a foreign and unstable environment. And this is when acquaintance with video learning software such as Google Classrooms became common. But the question remained; how do you make learning through a screen effective, engaging, and intellectually challenging?
Enter project based learning, a teaching style that focuses on exposing students to concrete, real-world situations, challenges, and realities, believing that doing so enables deeper learning. Of course, project based learning through a screen may be difficult or not commonly heard of, but not impossible.
Here’s how you can incorporate project based learning with Google Classrooms:
1. Design A Header For Your Google Classroom
First things first, it’s important to make your online space as welcoming and engaging as possible for your students. Since the students will already be missing out on the in-person classroom experience and all the activities and visuals that come along with it, they need to feel elements of personalization and familiarity in your Google Classroom space.
And a great way to do this is by customizing your Google Classroom header. Not only will this establish some association with your classroom space, helping students once again feel that sense of belonging and ownership to their classroom, but it will also help avoid any technical confusion of not finding the right tab and the right button.
As for the actual header, you can easily design one using PosterMyWall’s Google Classroom header templates. Since the platform is completely free of cost and easy to use, the process won’t be complicated. Simply select a design, edit it to match your classroom’s aura and vibe, and voila – you’re done!
2. Get Practical With Jamboard
To truly make project based learning a success with Google Classroom, it’s important to utilize external applications and products that work with the software. And one of the most useful is Google Jamboard. A digital interactive whiteboard, Jamboard was designed to be used in collaboration with Google Workspace and Google Classroom as it allows the user to teach as they would on a normal whiteboard, with whatever they write being transferred to the students’ screens.
Whether you’re teaching from home or in an empty classroom, you can set up your Jamboard in one area and use it to explain concepts, interact with student presentations, or even solve calculations and diagrams.
3. Explain It With A Poster
Posters are great, there are no two ways about that. Not only does the mix of visuals and text make for efficient and engaging learning, but they also make information much easier to digest and understand.
You can facilitate project based learning by asking your students to design posters for their presentations, a concept that was discussed in class, or even as part of an interactive activity. And on the other hand, you can also make use of posters when explaining topics.
But whether it’s you that’s designing the poster or your students, one thing will remain the same: using PosterMyWall’s online class poster templates to handle the design process. Not only is the platform perfect to use for beginners and experienced designers alike, but the fact that it’s free and you can fully customize designs adds to the benefit.
4. Google Documents Is A Lifesaver
One of the biggest hurdles of online teaching is not being able to give feedback in real time. An effective way to handle this is by using Google Documents to assign tasks, hand-in assignments, and collaborate on projects. You can set up shared documents to explain class concepts and hold discussions, and ask students to turn in their assignments on a Google document as well.
Not only will this allow you to add in comments by highlighting specific parts – making it easier for your students to understand – but you can also see the creative process that your students follow by viewing edits.
So if you’re looking to incorporate project based learning in your Google Classroom lessons, then this guide is your go-to piece. Just be sure to keep it engaging, and soon you’ll have a screen full of happy, smiling faces.
