HOW TO DIGITIZE YOUR PDF WORKSHEETS FOR GOOGLE CLASSROOM OR CANVAS

Did you feel like your district threw you into distance learning with little to no guidance? I know the teachers in our district did! Teachers know how to teach but doing it virtually really threw a wrench into everyone's plans.

After a few months of doing distance learning, most teachers are beginning to figure out a method that works best for them. As a learning strategist, one of the most common comments I continue to hear is "I have a great worksheet that could go along with this, but how do I get it the students?"

Let me back up for a second. We all know best practice is not to teach exclusively with worksheets. There is a fine line between a worksheet being a tool for instruction or a worksheet simply becoming busy work. With that said, sometimes a worksheet can provide a great visual for students and can be a good tool to get their thoughts down on paper. So let's walk that line carefully and let me show you a really awesome tool to digitize your PDF worksheets.

What if I told you that you could not only digitize a worksheet for use in Google Classroom or Canvas, but that the worksheet would also be fillable AND self-grading? It's possible and super simple! Don't let all of those PDF's that you created or bought sit idle on your Drive and start using them today. If this is something you are interested in learning about, go ahead and follow my step by step guide below.

HOW TO DIGITIZE YOUR PDF WORKSHEETS

To begin, you'll want to go to www.teachermade.com and create a free account. Once you are in, click on "Get Started" to upload your first worksheet.

Enter in the basic information for your worksheet. This will help you identify which worksheet it is later. Keep in mind that the PDF you upload cannot be longer than 12 pages. After your PDF loads you are able to

choose which pages you want to digitize.

Once it uploads you'll have a toolbar at the top where you can choose the different types of questions to include in your worksheet. For my example, I will be setting it up with basic "short answers". I recommend you play with the different question types so you can see what is

possible.

After placing all the text boxes in the spots where you wanted them, select one of the boxes and click on "Edit Short Answer". This is where the self-grading magic happens! You will type in what the correct answer is in each box. This will give the program an answer key which will help grade the worksheet for you!

Teacher Made also lets you preview what the worksheet will look like to your students. Double check that everything looks correct and click on "My Worksheets" when you're done. This will take you back to the main menu.

SHARING THE WORKSHEET WITH STUDENTS

So now you're probably thinking, "ok, this is all well and dandy. But how do I use it? How do I get it to my students?" It's actually a really simple process!

Click on the "options" button (the 3 little horizontal dots) and then click on "Assign Worksheet".

On the next screen choose how you want students to log in and your preference on the scoring options. Our district is a G-Suite subscriber so I have students sign in using their Gmail accounts. After you've chosen your preferences, click on "create assignment".

The last step is to share the worksheet with your students! If you use Google Classroom, choose this option to automatically post it to a class. If you don't use Google Classroom, you can simply share the link out to

your students any way you prefer. They will be able to access the

worksheet and begin working on it right away!

After students finish the worksheet, they'll be able to check their answers. This will automatically submit it to you where you can check their scores and even their specific mistakes!

How cool is that? If you give it a try, let me know what you think in the comments below. Will you be digitizing worksheets anytime soon or do you prefer purchasing digital products instead?