Online Learning with Concord Christian School
Google Classroom is used by teachers for assignments and is also a place where students can turn in their completed work. There are a few exceptions with some enrichment and fine arts classes. In order to stay connected, teachers use some recorded videos and some live streaming videos using Google Meet. Google Classroom is where students find links to Meet Live Class Streaming. We will continue to use the Clever Portal for single sign-on using students' CCS Google accounts to access resources and websites.
Below you will find helpful tutorials and resources should your student need to participate in classes online.
Google Education Fundamentals
We are utilizing Education Fundamentals, which is a Google product. It works best using the Google Chrome browser. If you do not have this browser, you can download and install it on your computer at this link: https://www.google.com/chrome/ On iOS devices like iPads and iPhones, you can install Chrome from the App Store.
Once you have Chrome installed, your child should log into the Chrome browser each time they are completing school work. You can log in by clicking the small circle in the top right of the window. They should use their CCS Google account to log in. You can look up their username in RenWeb as it is listed as the student’s email address and ends in @concordchristianschool.org. For elementary students, you can request their password from their homeroom teacher. The 6th-12th grade should know their passwords, but if not, contact support at studentsupport@concordcs.org.
The ones that will be used most often will be Classroom (learning platform) and Gmail (only students in 8th-12th grade have access to Gmail - internal email is turned on for 6th and 7th grade students only when participating in online learning).
Google Classroom
Google Classroom is used as the main learning platform by teachers. It is a place for teachers to post assignments and instructions, as well as a place for students to turn in their assignments. Google Classroom is also where students can find the links to the Meet Live Classroom Streaming. Once logged into the Chrome browser, all Google apps including Classroom and Gmail can be accessed from the “Google Waffle” in the top right corner of the browser window. The ones that will be used most often will be Classroom (learning platform) and Gmail (only students 8th-12th have access to Gmail - internal email is turned on for 6th & 7th grade students only when in quarantine). Students may also be asked to use Docs (word processor), Slides (presentations), and Sheets (spreadsheet). If you want to add a student’s CCS email account to a tablet or cell phone, it is a Gmail account so select Google as the provider.
This first link is a step by step manual instructing how to use Google Classroom.
Google Classroom Step by Step Instructions - Link
**Important** - Only one account can be logged in at a time to access Classroom. If you have issues saying the student doesn’t have permissions, log out of all accounts in the browser, close the browser, then reopen and try logging in again with one CCS account.
Kasey Bell of Shake Up Learning created great Google Classroom Cheat Sheets (link) just for students. These cheat sheets are very thorough.
TOO MANY EMAILS - If your student is getting too many Classroom notification emails in their CCS email inbox, there is a way to stop the notification emails. Here are the steps you should follow if you want to turn some notifications off:
- Open Google Classroom while logged in with the CCS Google Account.
- On the first main page where all the classes show, click the hamburger menu in the top left corner of the screen.
- Scroll to the bottom of the menu and click on Settings.
- Find the section for notifications and turn off “Receive email notifications”.
Video Tutorial: https://youtu.be/HFL56ziTDYI
WHEN ARE ASSIGNMENTS DUE - There are actually three good places to see what assignments are due on any given day. The first place is the main Classroom page where each class is listed. Each class tile has a place that shows any assignments that have not been turned in and their due date.
A second place to see assignments at a glance is just after you open one of the Classroom tiles. On the left, there is a small box that says “Upcoming”. If there are any outstanding assignments that have not been turned in, they will be listed here with the due date.
The best place to find details about assignments is on the Classwork tab. But there is an additional resource on the Classwork tab. After you click the middle tab labeled Classwork, look for a link that says “Google Calendar” near the middle at the top of the screen. This will open up the student’s CCS Google Calendar. On that calendar, you will find every assignment that has a due date for every class as long as the class calendars are checked as on at the far left side of the calendar.
Video Tutorial: https://youtu.be/OzhnSMMTiXc
Turning in Assignments in Google Classroom
TURNING IN ASSIGNMENTS - There are several ways to turn in assignments in Google Classroom. Sometimes the teacher will want a Google Doc or Google Slide presentation or something similar. Other times, students may complete a single worksheet and the teacher would like a picture of the completed work. Finally, especially for older students, there may be multiple sheets to turn in and the teacher would like them turned in as a single PDF file with multiple pages. Below are video tutorials showing all three scenarios.
Google Meet
Google Meet is Google's version of video conferencing software. Teachers will be using Google Meet to deliver live classroom sessions of lessons. Students will access the Meet links for each class through Google Classroom. Students should open the class that is about to begin and look for a link in the banner at the top of the screen. Do not panic if you do not see one right away. The Meet link does not show up until the teacher turns it on and begins the Meet. Be patient with teachers if the link doesn't show right on schedule. They could be dealing with issues in the classroom.
Meet Etiquette 101
Live Video Conferencing should be treated the same as normal in person classrooms. Be respectful, use good manners, listen (a lot), and follow teachers' instructions.
Clever Portal for Single Sign On
Clever Portal is used for single sign on for our students. It allows our students to use their CCS Google Credentials to sign in to most any software used by the school. There are a couple of ways to access our Clever Portal. You can use the direct link at clever.com/in/concordchristian. You can also go to clever.com and choose "Log in as a student" in the top right corner. You will then search for Concord Christian School on the first page.
You have two options for logging in. If your student is in elementary and your student's teacher sent home a Clever badge with a QR code on it, you can click Clever Badge log in if your computer has a webcam. When you click Clever Badge log in, you may have to allow access to the camera. Then the camera will activate and your student will hold the QR code up to the camera and will be logged in. The other option is to click "Log in with Google". Your student would then type in the CCS Google account username and password to log in to Clever. Once in Clever, you will see many of the websites and applications that are used by teachers in our school.