It's back to school time, at least here in the US. The big yellow busses have begun rolling, and kids are standing curbside, hopefully under the watchful eye of an adult. There are many things to consider this time of year -- what computer to buy, a phone they can use to call in an emergency. In fact, my colleague Brian Fagioli did an overview of his choices in technology for the student.
But software also plays a major role in this equation, with things like Windows, Office and Google Docs all being possible players in your child's life. One you may not have known about is Google Classroom, but it does exist and it's getting a back-to-school update.
"Most of these features are rolling out this week; stay tuned in the next few weeks for more back-to-school goodies in Google Classroom, Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, all designed to help you make this school year yours", says Will Phan, a Google software engineer.
Included are enhancements to the Q&A, making it even more interactive and collaborative. Google explains "You can post questions to your class and allow students to have discussions by responding to each other’s answers (or not, depending on the setting you choose). For example, you could post a video and ask students to answer a question about it, or post an article and ask them to write a paragraph in response".
Google has also added the ability to reuse assignments, questions and announcements. Coming soon will be a calendar that will automatically update with your schedule and classes. Other updates are coming as well, such as the ability to make due dates optional or bump a post to the top to make an older item easier for students to find.
It's hard to believe it's already that time of year, but the kids are heading back, or have already done so. Technology will be their friend for the next nine months or so.
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