Are you familiar with virtual learning environments? If not, a virtual learning environment is a platform that enables both students and educators to share materials relevant to a course. Modern VLEs such as Blackboard and Moodle support a wide variety of learning technologies, including online quizzes and video broadcasts of lectures. Did you know that you can use Google Classroom to create a virtual learning environment for free? Yes, its true, and in today’s tip, we are going to tell you how.

1. Author Field Trips – Provide students an opportunity to learn how authors develop a book from start to finish. Within Classroom, have students go on an author “field trip” through a virtual meeting with the author.
2. Faculty Meetings – Conduct virtual faculty meetings where all teachers can access faculty meeting content and ask questions.
3. Travelogues – Have students record their virtual visits to countries wherein a novel they are reading is set, a language they are studying originates, or a historical event has occurred. Travelogues can be created in various formats including a travel journal in Docs, a Slides presentation, or a video and uploaded to Classroom.
4. Virtual Art Gallery – Use Google Slides to create a virtual art gallery. Expand this idea to include music, visual arts, digital arts, or performance arts.
5. Virtual Copy Machine – Google allows users to make a copy of any type of file as many times as needed.
6. Virtual Suggestion Box – Create a virtual suggestion box through Google Forms.
7. Virtual Tours – Create virtual tours for students using Google Maps and Google Earth.

What did we miss?

Click here to view all of Google Classroom Tips.