Forever in the Middle: Late Work and Folder Rules in Outlook

 

We can all agree that the amount of emails we receive and need to respond to on a daily basis has increased dramatically in the last year.  Many of the emails I was receiving regarded late work turned in on Google Classroom. This is a feature that can be turned off but I like having the notification so that I know the work was done and remember to go back to it when I get a chance. However, it got to a point where more urgent emails were getting lost in the midst of these notifications. In October, I set up a "late work" folder in Outlook, which automatically filed emails regarding late work turn in on Google Classroom from my inbox. This helped tremendously with my email overwhelm, but there were still weekends where I would find over 60 late work assignments turned in through Google Classroom in my late work folder. 

In January, I had come to my breaking point with late work being turned in despite limits being placed on due dates. Unfortunately in Google Classroom, there is no way to "lock" an assignment so even when the assignment is overdue, students can still access it. It is definitely frustrating to keep having these turned in past the grace period. I figured there had to be a better way to filter these out.

That's when I discovered a "hack" some teachers were using: they place an emoji lock icon at the beginning of assignment titles in Google Classroom once the late work "grace period" has ended. It doesn't actually lock the assignment, but it makes sorting through late assignment submissions so much easier. I went through and added that lock icon to all assignments past the due date grace period. Now when I go into my late work folder, I can see which assignments were turned in within the appropriate time and which assignments were turned in too late. This helps me prioritize what I grade and filter out what I will not.

Copy the lock emoji here --->   🔒 

Video: How to create a rule for Outlook folders

Keep the magic alive,

Kandyce Valverde
7/8 Language Arts
Wiltsey Middle School