Latest news with #GoogleClassroom
The Star
13-07-2025
- The Star
Learning with the right tools
I USED to see learning as chipping away at an iceberg – slow, frustrating and often draining. For a long time, I lacked the right tools – like using a plastic spoon when what I really needed was a chisel. Everything changed when the Covid-19 pandemic came along. It introduced resources that made learning easier and forced me to rethink my approach. That was just the beginning of my ongoing journey in this digital world. At the time, students the world over had to learn to use digital tools like Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams and Kahoot! for lessons. Now, they are a staple in many classrooms. Yet, I found these teacher-directed tools somewhat inflexible. I prefer resources that let me take control of my own learning. I have always believed in the power of learner-led platforms. Inspired by an app called Duolingo, I took up French and experienced its gamified approach to language learning. Its founder aimed to make learning as engaging as social media –and it delivers. The app encourages consistency with features like the daily streak system, personalised goals, and even a ranking system to spark friendly competition. And when I started slipping? Its cheeky reminders kept me surprisingly motivated. With apps that work for you, you get a lot more satisfaction and enjoyment from forging your own path. Despite the flashy appeal of online learning tools, traditional methods of learning – with teacher-student connections and well-worn workbooks – are still relevant. I especially appreciate how no other job in the world prioritises the growth of learners quite like teachers do. Their human touch and adaptability matter. Take my rough start with learning a musical instrument. I enjoy big band jazz music and had dreamt of playing the trumpet or saxophone. But when I joined my school's brass band, I was handed a trombone instead. From there, it was a bumpy road. I kept pushing the sliding mechanism out too far, risking breaking a music stand – or somebody's back. Not to mention, my first attempts sounded like an elephant letting out a shaky, warbling toot. Close to giving up, I turned to my band teacher for extra practice. She let me use her music room during lunch, offering guidance as I worked on beginner songs to build my skills. Warm-ups like scales and breathing drills kept me grounded – even during band performances later on. Her willingness to let me practise in her classroom every day showed her dedication to helping me improve. I am grateful for her support – it made all the difference. Of course, not every skill needs to be learnt this way. While tactile skills like playing an instrument or driving a car require real-world practice, many other skills can be learnt online, thanks to the Internet. Online learning expands your pool of teachers beyond the classroom. However, like many, I am often unsure whether to trust man or machine for learning. When it came to improving my Bahasa Malaysia (BM), I used to rely on Google Translate for help with grammar and sentence structure. Before ChatGPT and DeepSeek, Google Translate was one of the first widely accessible artificial intelligence (AI) tools for language learners. However, it often missed the nuances of BM, making my writing sound stiff. Context is key in language, yet AI tools – including Google Translate – still struggle with idioms and slang. It is because they can't grasp culture the way a human can. Digital-age learning now stands at a crossroads: tradition versus technology. But it is important to remember that students have diverse needs and require different tools to succeed. Because of that, teachers are already starting to use more adaptable digital tools. Apps like Anki let students revise online flashcards at their own pace, while AI-powered platforms like Khanmigo support both teachers and students in learning. Ultimately, though, no technology can replace the human desire to learn. Avinash, 15, a student in Kuala Lumpur, is a participant of the BRATs Young Journalist Programme run by The Star's Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) team. For updates on the BRATs programme, go to
Time Business News
11-07-2025
- Time Business News
Colegía: A Unified Educational Hub for Students, Teachers & Parents
In today's digital era, education demands platforms that unify essential academic tools. Colegia rises to meet this need bringing assignments, grades, messages, and virtual classrooms together under one roof. What Is Colegia? Colegía is an integrated digital school system that bridges the gap between students, educators, and parents through a single login portal. With one secure account, users can access Google Classroom, assignment tracking, messaging features, attendance records, and grades—streamlining daily academic interactions. Key Features Centralized Dashboard A well-designed interface grants students quick access to all classroom activities—submissions, feedback, due dates, and communications in one place. A well-designed interface grants students quick access to all classroom activities—submissions, feedback, due dates, and communications in one place. Cross-Platform Accessibility Whether through a web browser, mobile app, or third-party integrations like Clever or Microsoft 365, Colegia ensures seamless access from desktops, smartphones, or tablets. Whether through a web browser, mobile app, or third-party integrations like Clever or Microsoft 365, Colegia ensures seamless access from desktops, smartphones, or tablets. Multi-User Support Designed for diverse users, Colegia supports student/staff logins alongside parent portals, enabling guardians to view their child's academic progress, attendance, and school notifications effortlessly. Designed for diverse users, Colegia supports student/staff logins alongside parent portals, enabling guardians to view their child's academic progress, attendance, and school notifications effortlessly. Secure Privacy Standards The platform prioritizes data safety with encrypted logins and adheres to privacy regulations like FERPA and COPPA—ensuring confidentiality in educational records. How It Works Account Creation Users register with school-issued credentials (email/ColegíaID), then choose their role—student, teacher, or parent. Connecting to School Systems Colegia links with systems like Google Classroom, MaestroSIS, and Zoom. Parents often use a unique code to link their account to their child's profile. Using the Dashboard From a unified dashboard, students view upcoming homework and message teachers; educators post assignments and monitor student metrics; parents receive updates, see attendance, and stay connected. App Integration The mobile app allows users to manage daily tasks on the go—receive alerts, track grades, manage lunch balances, and read school-wide announcements. Benefits Efficiency & Convenience : Multiple tools combined in one platform reduce confusion and increase productivity. : Multiple tools combined in one platform reduce confusion and increase productivity. Enhanced Communication : A built-in messaging system ensures smooth interaction between educators and learners. : A built-in messaging system ensures smooth interaction between educators and learners. Parental Insight : Parents remain informed in real time about academic performance, fostering support at home. : Parents remain informed in real time about academic performance, fostering support at home. Flexibility: Third-party integrations and mobile access make it versatile for different learning environments. Future Enhancements Colegía consistently introduces updates—enhancing UI, adding multilingual options, boosting mobile reliability, and integrating intelligent features like AI-powered study assistants. Conclusion Colegía offers a holistic and user-friendly digital solution that unites key academic functionalities in a secure, accessible environment. By simplifying communication, facilitating learning, and involving parents, it fosters a more connected and effective educational ecosystem. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Economic Times
01-07-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Google rolls out AI tools for Classroom, including NotebookLM for students
Google has introduced over 30 artificial intelligence (AI) tools for its Google Classroom, including free Gemini AI tools for educators and NotebookLM for users under 18 years of is the first time NotebookLM will be available to minors. NotebookLM is an AI-powered research and writing tool that helps you summarise and extract information across dense and complex sources, according to the company's said in a blog post that "Gemini has stricter content policies that help prevent potentially inappropriate or harmful responses for users under 18," and the same will apply to NotebookLM when it's released for younger company is expanding capabilities for educators with a paid Google Workspace with the Gemini add-on. Teachers can now create eight-second videos with sound effects using Veo 3 in Google addition, Gemini in Google Forms can help teachers make assessments and surveys more quickly. It can even generate a form based on a Doc or PDF and use Gemini to summarise form those using the Education Plus Edition, Gemini audio lessons will also be available as an this, teachers can choose class materials and instantly make an interactive study guide and podcast-style Audio Overviews for students. These are based only on the materials teachers can create Gems, which are customised versions of Gemini, for students to talk to. After choosing resources from Classroom, they can make AI 'experts' to support students who need extra help or want to explore topics more addition to this, a new analytics tab will help teachers track student progress, see how they're doing on assignments, and view their improvement over Class Tools feature, announced earlier this year, is now live. It lets teachers manage their students' Chromebooks during lessons through actions including sharing content to their screens and minimising distractions. Teachers can also push a workbook, quiz, video, or presentation straight to students' screens by connecting to their accounts.
The Hindu
01-07-2025
- The Hindu
Google rolls out AI tools including NotebookLM for students
Google is enabling access to over 30 AI tools, including NotebookLM, to users under 18 years of age as a part of Google Classroom. Teachers with a Google Workspace account will have a Gemini tab with tools so they can discuss lesson plans, create math problems and write emails. A separate Analytics tab will help teachers track student performance and assignments while showing improvement between them. Subscribers with Education Plus Edition accounts will also be able to access add-ons like Gemini audio lessons. The NotebookLM tool will be made available within the 'coming months,' Google has said so students can generate podcasts on their study material and use interactive study guides. Teachers can build their own custom Gems, mini custom Gemini agents to help students with certain topics. Other tools include Google Vids for generative AI video creation, Google's Class Tools and a new Gemini 'help me create a form' feature will be coming soon to the Google Classroom suite. 'With just a few clicks, educators can create instructional videos that make difficult concepts more digestible. Students can also get creative with Vids and produce their own video book reports and assignments. Vids is integrated with the tools you use every day — like Drive and Classroom — so it's readily accessible,' a blog posted by Google said. The Class Tools feature allows teachers to manage student Chromebooks by sharing videos or other content with them directly.
The Verge
30-06-2025
- The Verge
Google is opening its NotebookLM AI tools to students under 18
Google is announcing a variety of new features for its Classroom software suite, including free Gemini AI tools for educators and NotebookLM for users under 18 — the first time the tool has been available to minors. Teachers with a Google Workspace account will have a new dedicated Gemini tab in their Google Classroom, offering tools that can help brainstorm lesson plans, make math problems, or draft emails, among others. For those with Education Plus Edition accounts, Gemini audio lessons will also be offered as add-ons. Another new tab for Analytics will allow teachers to track student performance, highlighting any who have been showing recent improvement or who are missing assignments and may need more support. Google will also be opening up its NotebookLM research and note-taking tool to users under 18 'in the coming months.' Students will be able to use NotebookLM to access things like interactive study guides and podcast-style audio overviews based on source materials their teachers upload. And educators can create their own custom Gems, mini custom Gemini agents, based on their curriculum to share with students. Students will be able to interact with a Gem to get extra help or learn more about a topic it's based on. This feature goes one step higher as well, as administrators will also be able to share Gems with the teachers they oversee in their district, to help with lesson planning or whatever else administrators might like to micro-manage. A few other new tools coming to educators include Google Vids for generative AI video creation, a new 'Help me create a form' feature in Gemini, and the launch of Google's Class Tools. Class Tools were previously announced this year, and now that they're live they'll allow teachers to manage their students' Chromebooks — like sharing content to their screens and minimizing distractions — during a lesson. By connecting directly to their students' accounts of sharing a session code, teachers can push a workbook, video, presentation, or even a quiz directly to their screens. Speaking of Chromebooks, Google is also highlighting that it's got more than 12 new Chromebook, Chromebook Plus, and Chromebook OPS (Intel's Open Pluggable Specification) devices for front-of-classroom displays coming — at some point. There's no specific timeframe given, though the list includes the recently announced Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 that I got a preview of, which is launching today. With all these new Gemini tools for teachers and students, Google is also announcing that Gemini for Education is now the standard tier for base-level Google's education accounts. It offers Gemini 2.5 Pro AI models, which educators can access with higher limits than base level consumer accounts. Existing Gemini Education and Gemini Education Premium add-ons will be unified as Google AI Pro for Education.
