Session 31: Learning Online
At a glance: pupils get ready for senior high school by joining a Google Classroom class, handing in work and reading feedback, judging tutorials with the 4 checks, taking organised digital notes and building study habits (focus timers, no distractions, offline learning). · Time: 90 minutes (adjust the timings if your period is shorter) · Workbook pages: 6
Learning outcomes
By the end of the session, pupils can:
- Join a Google Classroom class with a code, find an assignment and its due date, attach work, hand it in, use class and private comments, and read the teacher's feedback.
- Find a tutorial (Khan Academy, YouTube or a teacher's link) and judge it with the 4 checks: who made it, when, does it match my syllabus, and a second source; and describe responsible use of AI for learning.
- Take organised digital notes (heading, date, key points in my own words, summary, links) and use tech to study well: focus timers, breaks, fewer distractions and offline resources.
Before the session
- Create a practice class in Google Classroom with a teacher account (a Hub mentor account): BIH Tech Club Online Class. Note its class code. Check the Hub's pupil learning accounts are allowed to join it (in Google Workspace for Education, classes may be limited to the same domain).
- Post one announcement and one assignment: "Session 31: My Best Tutorial", with instructions ("Make a Google Doc with a heading, the date, 3 key points, a one-sentence summary and the tutorial link"), a due date 15 minutes into the lab, and points out of 10.
- Choose 3–4 good tutorials (Khan Academy and a trusted YouTube teacher) that match the JHS syllabus and one poor one, to show on the projector.
- Prepare the club's offline kit on USB: a few downloaded lesson videos and practice files, and the 3D lab offline pack.
- Test the Online Classroom 3D lab on the projector PC and a pupil PC.
Running order
| Time | Activity | Workbook | What the mentor does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–10 min | Typing warm-up | – | Pupils open the typing trainer and do today's warm-up. |
| 10–18 min | The classroom in your pocket | Page 1 | Ask who has older siblings in SHS who get homework online. Read the analogy and Figure 31.0. |
| 18–30 min | Using Google Classroom | Page 2 | Show the practice class on the projector: Stream, Classwork, To-do, Your work, Hand in, Unsubmit, private comment. Pupils do the comment question. |
| 30–40 min | Tutorials and the 4 checks | Page 3 | Play 30 seconds of a good and a poor tutorial. Class votes, then applies the 4 checks. Read the AI box; point to Session 40. |
| 40–50 min | Notes and study habits | Page 4 | Show a messy note and a good note side by side. Start a Focus session in the Clock app on the projector. |
| 50–55 min | Online Classroom warm-up | Page 5 | Demonstrate joining and handing in in the 3D lab; pairs do the missions. |
| 55–78 min | Lab Mission: join, learn, note, hand in | Page 5 | Write the class code on the board. Set the due date for 15 minutes. As work comes in, return it with a mark and a short comment so pupils can read feedback before the end. |
| 78–84 min | Beat the deadline | Page 5 | Count on-time hand-ins with all five note parts into team points. Show what "Done late" looks like. |
| 84–88 min | Review | Page 6 | True or false by show of hands; the two written questions. |
| 88–90 min | Self-assessment and sign-off | Page 6 | Sign off using the evidence below. Everyone signs out. |
Key ideas and how to explain them
- The classroom in your pocket: Stream = noticeboard; Classwork = tasks on the board with due dates; Hand in = the pile on the teacher's table; returned work = red-pen comments and a mark; private comment = a quiet word at the teacher's desk.
- Attaching is not handing in: the work only reaches the teacher when you press Hand in (Turn in on American-English settings). Unsubmit lets you fix and re-submit, ideally before the due date. Late or missing work is shown as Missing or Done late.
- Class comment vs private comment: class comments are seen by everyone; private comments only by you and the teacher.
- Your job isn't finished until you read the feedback: feedback is how you improve the next piece of work.
- The 4 checks: the 4-Way Shield from Session 12 with "Why?" swapped for "Match?". Who made it? When? Does it match my syllabus and level? Can I confirm one fact with a second source? Views and likes are not proof.
- AI for learning (brief, Session 40 goes deeper): use AI to understand, not to do the work; check it; be honest about using it; only with a mentor or parent.
- Good notes: heading, date, short key points in your own words, a one-sentence summary, links. Use Heading styles (Session 17).
- Study habits: 25 minutes work, 5 minutes break (Windows 11 Clock app: Focus sessions); Do Not Disturb; one tab at a time; rest your eyes.
- Offline learning: download on the Hub Wi-Fi, keep notes on the device, borrow the club's offline kit.
- Team points: beat the deadline, complete notes, and helper points.
The 3D lab
Online Classroom ("Join a class, hand in an assignment, read the feedback and pick a good tutorial from a shelf of videos.") rehearses the real Google Classroom steps without accounts, so every pupil gets a turn even if the internet is slow. On the projector, show joining with the code on the 3D whiteboard and attaching the notes; pause before Hand in and ask "Has the teacher got it yet?" (the status still says Assigned and the teacher's pile is empty). Pairs then do the three missions:
- Join the class with the code on the board, then open the assignment. A wrong code gives the "read it back letter by letter" advice; the assignment shows its due date.
- Attach your notes, press Hand in, send a private comment, then read the feedback. Attaching alone leaves the work Assigned; only Hand in moves the book to the teacher's pile. Unsubmit brings it back. A class comment is pinned on the Stream noticeboard for everyone to see; the private comment is not. The mentor marks the work (9/10) and returns it, and the mission ticks once the pupil has read the feedback and sent a private comment.
- Use the 4 checks to choose the best tutorial for Kwame. Four videos about the area of a triangle; each poor one fails a different check (A: Who, Match and Second source; B: Match, it is university calculus; D: When, old syllabus). The mission ticks only when a pupil runs all four checks on video C and chooses it.
Pupils then do the same steps for real on Page 5.
Common mistakes and quick fixes
| Pupils often… | Try this |
|---|---|
| Attach the file but never press Hand in | Look at the status: "Assigned" means not handed in. Press Hand in, then check it says "Handed in". |
| Type a wrong class code | Codes are short and easy to mistype; read it back letter by letter. Make sure they are signed in to the Hub account, not another one. |
| Write a private message as a class comment | Delete it if possible, then use "Add private comment" under Your work. |
| Copy whole paragraphs from the tutorial into notes | "Close the video. Now write three things you remember, in your own words." |
| Trust the video with the most views | Back to the 4 checks: who made it and does it match the textbook? |
| Open YouTube for one video and watch ten | One tab at a time; set a focus timer before starting. |
When things go wrong
- No internet: run the Online Classroom lab from the offline pack. Do the notes task in Word or LibreOffice from a video in the club's offline kit, and "hand in" by saving to a shared USB folder with the BIH file name. Pupils join the real class next session.
- Not enough PCs: pairs share one account for joining and handing in; each pupil writes their own notes, and the pair hands in both files.
- A PC freezes or the power goes: Google Docs saves automatically; sign in on another PC and carry on from Classwork. With no power, pupils write their notes on paper using the five-part layout and judge printed descriptions of tutorials with the 4 checks.
Answer key
Your turn (Page 2): a private comment, because it is about her own situation and only the teacher needs to see it. For example: "Good morning, Sir/Madam. I was sick this week. Please may I have two more days for this assignment? Thank you."
Which video is better? (Page 3): Video B, because it was made by a maths teacher (who), shows worked examples, matches the formula in the textbook (match and second source), and isn't full of adverts and wrong answers. Video A fails who, match and second source.
Your turn (Page 4): any realistic habit, e.g. "This week I will put my phone on Do Not Disturb for 25 minutes while I revise maths."
Lab table (Page 5): the status after handing in should say Handed in (or "Done late" if after the due date). The feedback line records the mentor's mark and comment.
True or False (Page 6)
- Everyone in the class can read a private comment: False (only you and the teacher).
- Attaching your file is enough; you don't need to press Hand in: False.
- A video with many views is always correct: False.
- Good notes use headings, short points in your own words and a summary: True.
- Downloading lessons on Wi-Fi lets you study later without using data: True.
Written Review Questions
- Open the class, go to Classwork (or To-do) and open the assignment; read the instructions and due date; under Your work click + Add or create and attach or create the file; click Hand in (Turn in) and confirm; check it says Handed in.
- Don't just trust the first video. Check who made it, when it was made, whether it matches your syllabus, and check at least one fact with your textbook or teacher. Popular is not the same as correct.
Support and stretch
- Needs more support: pair with a confident pupil for joining and handing in; give a ready-made note template (heading, date, three bullet lines, summary, link) to fill in; choose the tutorial for them from your list.
- Finished early: make a revision checklist in Google Keep for one subject; reply to the mentor's feedback with a private comment saying what they will improve; organise their notes into a Drive folder called
TechClub_Notes_YourName; compare a Khan Academy lesson with a YouTube one on the same topic using the 4 checks.
Evidence for sign-off
The pupil has joined the practice class, handed in a Google Doc of notes with all five parts (heading, date, three key points in their own words, summary, tutorial link) with a private comment, read the returned feedback and written it in the record table. They can name the 4 checks and get at least 4 of the 5 true-or-false statements right.
Safety and wellbeing
Pupils use only the Hub learning accounts and join only the class the mentor sets up. Comments are part of a pupil's digital footprint: keep them polite and on topic, and remind pupils that teachers can see everything posted in Classroom. When searching YouTube, supervise and use Restricted Mode on Hub PCs where possible; pupils should close any video that makes them uncomfortable and tell a mentor. AI tools are only used with a mentor or parent (Session 40). Some pupils may feel anxious about SHS: keep the tone encouraging; this session is about starting SHS confident and ready.