⭐ New Google Classroom tips for 2024

Plus: A new teacher assistant tool to try

New tech updates from the big conferences

Right now, there are two big edtech conferences going on — the BETT Show in London and FETC in Orlando (where I am).

When there are big conferences, often edtech companies release new updates and features. This week, one is Google Classroom.

Below, you’ll find some Google Classroom tips — and a summary of what’s new with Google Classroom.

Also, in the tech tip, I’ll share a new Chrome extension that teachers here at FETC have told me they really, really like.

PS: You can check out my FETC presentation resources (including slides and resource documents) here. I’ll be sharing some of this in upcoming email newsletters and blogs, too.

Inside:

  • 😱 SALE: AI for Educators on audiobook for $3.99

  • 👀 DTT Digest: 4 resources worth checking out

  • ⭐ New Google Classroom tips for 2024

  • 💻 Tech Tip: Brisk Teaching

  • 😄 Smile of the day

  • 👋 How we can help

😱 SALE: AI for Educators on audiobook for $3.99

Breaking news: My book, AI for Educators, is available on audiobook!

We might be out of my minds, but …

We decided to offer a STEEP discount in this first week it’s available.

Regular price: $12.99

Price this week: $3.99

PS: Look for the “Buy with 1-Click” option under the $0.00 membership free trial.

DTT Digest

4 teaching resources worth checking out today

💡 THE BIG IDEA 💡

⭐ New Google Classroom tips for 2024

I was teaching in the classroom when Google Classroom was released more than 10 years ago.

The early version was pretty limited. But Google has kept the updates coming, and it has come a long, long way.

This week at the BETT Show in London, Google announced a bunch of exciting updates to Google Classroom.

I got to meet with someone on the Google Classroom team at Google recently, and she shared some new tips from these updates.

Plus, she shared some “why didn’t anyone ever tell me that?!?” tips as well!

You can see all of those tips — plus dozens of other Google Classroom tips we’ve shared — at our post, “20+ tips to use Google Classroom effectively and efficiently.”

Here are a few of my faves:

1. Disable submissions after due date — You can lock students out of submitting late work if you need to. (This wasn’t possible in the past!) There’s a check box under the due date.

2. Mark assignments as excused When you don’t want to give a student a grade on a specific assignment for some reason, you don’t have to. Click the three dots for that student’s grade and choose “excused.”

3. Assign different content to different students — When making an assignment, click the “All students” button. You can check and uncheck students to assign. After you create one assignment, just use the “reuse assignment” option to create a new assignment — but adjust the wording and choose different students.

4. Use the random student selector in the mobile app — Open the Google Classroom mobile app. Tap the People tab. Choose the icon in the top right corner to get the random student selector. It selects random students for you — and lets you choose “absent” or “call later.”

If your school has Education Plus licenses or the teaching and learning upgrade, there are some really cool new features, like interactive YouTube questions, practice sets, and student data dashboards. Check out all the details in the post!

💻 Tech Tip: Brisk Teaching

During my 20 AI tools session at the FETC Conference recently, two teachers told me they used this … so I’m checking it out!

It’s called Brisk Teaching. It’s a Chrome extension that helps you …

  • create, personalize, and differentiate curricular materials, lesson plans, quizzes, and more

  • leave feedback on student work in four ways: Glows & Grows, Targeted, Rubric Criteria, and Next Steps.

  • watch a step-by-step playback of your students revision history, including where they copy and pasted from and more.

  • modify content to make it more suitable for your students - simplifying complex ideas, shortening lengthy sentences, adjusting the word choice, and more.

And yes, it’s free for educators! Check it out here.

😄 Smile of the day

It was only a matter of time before this image became a meme!

h/t Michael Paul via Teacher Memes Facebook group

👋 How we can help

There are even more ways I can support you in the important work you do in education:

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