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What’s new in Google Classroom for 2026?
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✨ Earn your Gemini Certification...Join me for Wednesday webinars! ✨ Hi Reader! After a busy back-to-school travel season, I'm taking a vacation with my family to explore Disney World in Orlando! I was able to type up this month's EDU Update right before we left. As you return to your schools and start the new school year, you might have noticed a few changes in Google Classroom. I decided to share a summary of some of the big updates and features that you can use this year. Everything listed below is 100% free for all Google Workspace for Education users. 🥳 Let’s dive into the August updates! A (Controversial) Home Page Update — The updated Google Classroom home page features dynamic modules: Recently Due, Class Insights, and Feature Spotlight. Early teacher feedback is not great. 😵💫 If you prefer the classic class-card layout, simply click the arrow in the right corner of a module to hide it! Standards-Based Grading with Learning Goals — You can now select state or national standards in your class settings, tag them on assignments, and track student mastery on a dedicated dashboard instead of relying strictly on traditional points. Check out my video walkthrough to see it in action! Google Vids Integration — You can easily assign a Google Vids project through Google Classroom. Vids supports the "make a copy" feature which lets you share a video template. Try replacing a traditional written book report this semester with a 1-minute student-created movie trailer! Read Along is Free for ALL Districts — Google’s speech-based reading tutor is now 100% free for all school districts. It provides real-time reading feedback for elementary students and ELLs while generating fluency and accuracy insights for teachers without manual running records. Check out my in-depth video on how to use Read Along with your students. Your IT admin may need to enable Read Along before you can see it in Google Classroom. Create Rubrics in Seconds with Gemini AI — Stop writing rubrics from scratch! Click Chat Directly with Classroom via @classroom — Type Share Gemini Resources Directly to Students — Created an interactive study game or practice activity in Gemini? You can now generate a direct Share Link and post it straight to your Stream or Classwork page. No need to embed your vibe-coded activity in a Google Site. 🙌 Gemini Study Tools for Students — Students now have age-appropriate study tools directly inside Classroom, including step-by-step homework help, flashcards, and essay brainstorming. (Note: IT admins can easily toggle access on or off for your domain). Those are the big updates for August 2026! I'm off to enjoy the Magic Kingdom 🏰, but I'll be back in September with more updates for your classroom! John R. Sowash 📨 Did someone forward this email to you? Click here to add your name to my monthly email list!
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The Google EDU Update
Tired of missing out on the coolest Google updates and new features? Join thousands of other teachers who rely on my monthly newsletter to stay ahead of the curve. Get the top 10 updates, teaching inspiration, and time-saving links delivered straight to your inbox.
✨ FREE LIVE Session: Earn a Gemini Badge with me TONIGHT at 7pm EST! ✨ Hi Reader! I've been speaking at several fall conferences the past few weeks. Its great to get out of the office and meet people "IRL"! I enjoyed attending MASS CUE in New England and the Great Lakes Unity conference in Grand Rapids, MI. During these events I had an opportunity to introduce teachers and administrators to the Google Educator Series, a really neat program from Google that allows you to earn official Gemini...
Hello Reader, I feel bad that I’ve spent a lot of time talking about negative and scary uses for AI, but not much time discussing the cool, positive ways that teachers can use tools like Gemini and Gemini Notebook in the classroom. I want to take a short break from heavy, technical topics to introduce you to a cool (and free) professional learning resource for teachers called the Google AI Educator Series. Introducing the Google AI Educator Series The Google AI Educator Series (GES) is a...
Hello Reader, Today I want to share five practical settings you can update to improve the classroom experience. These aren’t complicated, but they make a HUGE difference for teachers and students. These are just some of the things that I'll be covering during the Chromebook Academy for IT admins next month. If you're interested in manage Chromebooks more effectively, you're invited to join us! Oh, and if you happen to be at the MASS CUE conference this week, say hello! I'm doing a session on...