What:
Google for Education recently announced numerous updates to their GSuite products including Classroom and Forms. Google for Education announced the addition of rubrics to Google Classroom through a beta program. Following the launch of a gradebook within Classroom, Google for Education has also announced a beta program for Classroom syncing with student information systems. Google for Education also announced an update to Google Forms with locked mode and importing questions from previously created Forms.
Why:
Google classroom is a streamlined learning management system that prides itself on simplicity. Adding rubrics is a gamechanger for how teachers can utilize Classroom. With the addition of rubrics, teachers can both create rubrics and grade using rubrics through assignments in Classroom. Using rubrics allows students to understand the objectives for the assignment and allows teachers to give efficient and consistent feedback. With the capabilities of syncing with student information systems, the gradebook in Classroom will sync grades automatically to a student information system so you will not have to enter grades in multiple places.
Google Forms is a powerhouse product in the education world with capabilities of simple polls to full on final exams with individual responses being saved in a Google Sheet or shown as visual charts immediately upon submission. The update announced is that Forms will now include a locked mode on managed Chromebooks. This means that if you have Chromebooks and also use Forms you can lock students in a Form (usually used for tests, quizzes, final exams, etc.) so they are unable to navigate away from the Form. Another update is that teachers will be able to import questions from a previous Form into a new Form. No more making a copy of a Form and deleting unwanted questions!
How / Next Steps:
Sign up for the rubric beta program. Prerequisites for the beta program include using GSuite for Education (including Classroom) at your school.
Sign up for the gradebook syncing beta program. Prerequisites for the beta program include using GSuite for Education (including Classroom) at your school. If your student management system is not on the list complete the beta form and suggest they add it. This will help Google know which student information systems are used most.
View this step-by-step guide to using locked mode in Google Forms (Chromebooks only). Import questions by clicking the add questions button and choosing Import Questions.
TIP: If you are currently using GSuite for Education but do not have access to Classroom, speak to your IT director. Classroom is free to use and can be made available to teachers through the Google Admin Console at the request of whoever controls GSuite for your organization.
TLDR (too long didn’t read):
Google Classroom now has rubrics and launched a beta program so teachers can create rubrics and attach them to any assignment within Google Classroom. Google Forms now has a locked mode that will lock students inside the form (only on Chromebooks). Finally, Google Classroom announced a beta program for syncing information between Google Classroom and a few student information systems.
References:
All sourced information is hyperlinked as applicable above.
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