As both an early adopter of Hapara and a Hapara Champion Trainer, teachers frequently ask me why they should use Hapara when they are already invested in Google Classroom. My advice is to select the features from both tools based on your needs to streamline digital learning.
Think about your classes and how you see them unfold ahead of time. What types of activities will your learners complete? What do your lessons look like? Will you need a place for learners to discuss topics and share resources? How will you provide opportunities for differentiation? Once you are familiar with both Google Classroom and Hapara, it will be easier to see how both tools can be used together to create the best learning environment for your learners.
Hapara just released a feature which makes it possible for teachers to sync their Google Classrooms with Hapara Dashboard and streamline digital learning. Now with just the click of a button, you can import your Google Classroom classes into Hapara Dashboard. This is exciting news for teachers who have already discovered ways to combine the best features from both applications. It is also exciting for teachers who have been reluctant to use Hapara because they were already using Google Classroom.
How I set up my digital classroom for digital learning with Hapara and Google Classroom
If you’re wondering what this looks like, let’s take a peek at how this worked in my classroom this year:
At the beginning of the school year, my learners enrolled in a Google Classroom that I set up for them. They then bookmarked this page, so it was always easy to access. One of the features that I really like in Google Classroom is the classroom stream. I used this to post discussion questions and announcements for my learners.
Another feature that I really like in Classroom is the About page, because you can post resources on this page without them getting lost. This year, I posted the link to our digital textbook, classroom website, and links to the various Workspaces we used throughout the year on the About page. Using Google Classroom as a hub made sense for my learners. It provided them with a single, consistent location from which they were able to access all of the resources they needed for the year.
Once I synced Google Classroom with Hapara, I was able to go directly to the Hapara Dashboard, where I had visibility into learner Drives. I could then use Highlights to view their screens and tabs, and to provide guidance when necessary. I also used Highlights to push out links to individuals for different projects they were working on. Occasionally, I used Highlights’ focused browsing in order to lock my learners into specific sites.
As a busy teacher, I appreciate that Hapara has made it easier to for me to use Google Classroom and Hapara together. To truly understand the significance of this most recent update I highly recommend syncing one of your Google Classroom classes with Hapara. I am confident that you will discover unique and innovative ways to use both of these tools in your classroom.
Streamline digital learning in your school
Learn how to use the Google Classroom Sync feature in the video below:
Give learners access to the highest quality digital learning materials and resources.
