New Updates to Google Classroom Make it That Much More Compelling

For those of you that have been using Google products for a while, it comes as no surprise that they still live by the entrepreneurial mantra of "Iterate Fast and Release Often." There have been numerous times that I have been training on a Google Apps Product and found that one or more tools have changed within the last week. In fact last week I told teachers that they couldn't have a different first-page header on their research paper in Google Docs only to find this week that they have added that option! So it also goes with Google Classroom They have released new changes to Google Classroom nearly every month since its first launch in August. All of these changes are driven by user feedback, so if you have suggestions, feel free to click the feedback button in the lower right hand of your Google Classroom screen and suggest away. Here are a few of the most recent and the most impactful changes they have made:

Personalized Theme

Don't like the selections of themes available on Google Classroom? Want to use pictures of your students to make it feel that much more inviting to them to participate? Well now you can. This animated gif shows how:

iOS & Android Apps

They have recently come out with apps for both Apple and Android and have subsequently made some changes to make it easier to use.  Now you can upload photos, videos, and other files for announcements right on your phone or tablet.  However, you still can't create an assignment from there - hopefully, that feature will be coming soon.  Until then, the new apps make it easier for students to use Google Classroom on the go.

Invite Students using Google Groups

If you already have a Google Group set up for your class, you can now use that group to invite students to Classroom. And if your school uses tools like School Directory Sync, your Google Apps administrator can sync your school’s class rosters from your student information system (SIS) into Google Groups, helping you use these groups to set up a class in seconds.

Mark Assignments as "Done"

If you are assigning offline work for students to do, it is very frustrating to have students assignments hanging out there incomplete or requiring them to submit something in order to remove it from their list of assignments that need attention.  They have added the feature of marking an assignment "Done" to facilitate that.

Control the Flow

Now teachers have the ability to give students permission to either post or comment in the stream and can block students who are violating your class rules.  Furthermore, you have the ability to see previously deleted messages giving you true omnipotence in your online classroom, as well as the physical one.  

Grade Export

Recognizing that many teachers use other electronic gradebooks, Google has given teachers the option to export all of their grades for all assignments, not just one at a time.  This is a big time saver for those that do use other programs like Engrade, Learnboost or others.

Sorting It All Out

It may seem like a small issue, but being able to only sort by last name or by first name is frustrating.  Now you can sort your students by either. 

While there are other features we would like to see, Google has been making headway in addressing users concerns.  If you have not tried Google Classroom yet, you are missing the single best Learning Management System for working with Google Docs.