Next week is June and I thought it would be a great time to inject a little bit of fun into Google classroom as I assume that a lot of us are over it by now. That is why I am officially naming next week Emoji Week!

Originally, I was very opposed to using emojis particularly in a classroom setting but recently I have learned the importance of using them to convey the thoughts and feelings behind our written words. Communicating solely with pupils through typed comments and blog posts, misunderstandings can happen and the tone of messages can be lost or even altered.

For example, when you respond with “Ok…” it appears that you are frustrated or feeling impatient. When you utilize emojis and instead respond with “Ok… 😊” it causes less worry and more displays a true understanding from the sender.

Further research illustrated the importance and far-reaching effect of these modern-day pictographs, as Oxford Dictionaries named the “face with tears of joy” pictograph its Word of the Year 2015. Educational scholars have indicated that emojis can help pupils link ideas and can lead to greater understanding, engagement and learning. So who am I to disagree?

All that’s left to be said is

🌞🏡😎🍹🍔👋