Text "How to Use Google Classroom in Special Education" with Image of Google Classroom on Website

I have used Google Classroom since it first launched in 2014. I absolutely love it as a way to share things with my special education students. In this blog post, I want to share with you my tips for using Google Classroom in Special Education, specifically in a resource room.

I’ll also be sharing how to do basic tasks in Google Classroom, such as setting up your classroom and adding students.

How to Set up a Google Classroom

You and your students will need to have Gmail accounts in order to use Google Classroom. To set up your classroom, go to classroom.google.com and follow the directions in this video.

How to Add Students to Your Google Classroom

There are two ways to add students to Google Classroom. I’ll show you BOTH in this video, but I find the second way easier for my younger students.

How to Make a Screen Recording

For my special education students, I like to keep things as easy as possible, but I also want it to be meaningful. I have also needed to make screen recordings to show my students how to do various assignments for their general education teachers.
Knowing how to make a screen recording has been a game changer for me.
I use the digital files in my reading series to create daily screen recordings. In each video, I record myself tapping our sight words, pounding our decodable words, reading the daily reading passages, sharing answers to reading comprehension questions, and discussing reading skills.

How to Assign a YouTube Video

After I record my video, I upload it to YouTube and share it with my students. This is SOOO much easier than I had originally thought. Plus, my kids commented on me being a YouTuber!!! 😂

How to Share a Google Doc or Slide

Besides daily videos for reading, I also had my students work on spelling our weekly words. I did this using Google Slides. I also added audio to my files to share the words with them.

How to Add Audio to a Google Slide

Adding audio made a HUGE difference in my kids’ ability to complete both grade level tasks and resource room work. Plus, it is incredible simple and free to do!

How to Keep Student Names Confidential

In Special Education, confidentiality is always important. We don’t want to create extra work for ourselves, but we do need to keep confidentiality in mind when adding our students to online platforms. In this video, I’ll show you how you can share the same assignment with multiple “classes”. You classes can be individualize for each student on your caseload.

How to Differentiate in Google Classroom

Differentiation is important, even in our digital classrooms. In this video, I’ll show you an easy way to assign something to only a few students in your classroom.

How to Make Digital Worksheets

If you have PDFs that you’ve purchased from TpT, this video is helpful in knowing how to make them digital. It isn’t a perfect solution, but it can be helpful in a pinch!