How to get Google Classroom reminders before things are due

Google Classroom does remind you before work is due. Once, 24 hours out, and only if notifications are on in Classroom and on your phone. For a worksheet that is plenty. For an essay it is about four days too late.

What Google Classroom notifies you about

Students get notified about new assignments, questions and announcements, comments and private comments from teachers, grades and returned work, and class invites. The only notice about deadlines is the one for unsubmitted work due within 24 hours.

That one comes by email and as a phone notification, mixed in with everything else Classroom sends. It is easy to swipe away without reading, which is how most “I didn’t know it was due” moments happen.

Step 1: Turn notifications on in both places

1. 1

   In the Classroom app

   Tap the menu, then Settings, then Notifications. Turn on email notifications and notifications on this device. Under Your classes, check that no class is switched off.

2. 2

   In your phone’s settings

   On iPhone, open Settings, then Notifications, then Classroom, and turn on Allow Notifications. On Android, open App info for Classroom and check Notifications. Classroom’s own switches do nothing if the phone blocks it.

3. 3

   On a computer

   At classroom.google.com, open the menu and click Settings. These switches are separate from the app’s, so check both.

Step 2: Get warned days ahead with Google Calendar

Every Classroom class comes with its own Google Calendar, and any assignment with a due date lands on it automatically. Work without a due date and announcements do not show up there.

1. 1

   Open Google Calendar with your school account

   Use the same account you use for Classroom. Each class shows up as its own calendar, next to the rest of your week.

2. 2

   Add an alert to the big ones

   Open a large assignment and add a notification two or three days before it is due. You can also add your own events, like a study session, that only you can see.

Step 3: Give big assignments a start date

A reminder tells you something is due. It does not tell you when to start, and starting is the part that goes wrong. A simple rule that holds up: anything that takes more than an hour gets its own start day.

• Worksheet or discussion post. The 24-hour Classroom reminder is enough.
• Lab report or short essay. Start three or four days before it is due.
• Research paper or project. Start the week it is assigned, then one session per section.

Or let it text you first

This is what we are building. Apollo, the AI from Write It, is coming to iMessage. Connect Google Classroom and it texts you before things are due, something like “Heads up: your bio lab report is due Friday. Want me to start it?” Say yes and it gets the work done, with realistic typing and our humanizer built in.