Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Google Announces Classroom Updates, New Tools for Chromebooks

Google has introduced a variety of features across its products for education, announced recently at the 2025 BETT ed tech event in London. Among the additions are enhancements to Google Classroom and new tools for Chromebooks, "designed to help address the diverse needs of students around the world," Google said in a blog post.

New features for Google Classroom include:

  • The ability to generate tailored vocabulary lists using Google's Gemini AI chatbot. Educators can use the tool to create custom word lists for defined grade levels and topics, complete with definitions, parts of speech, and examples.
  • Four new add-ons accessible within Classroom: FigJam (collaborative online whiteboards for discussions, brainstorming, or group work), Education Perfect (curriculum-aligned activities), Discovery Education (real-world content and multi-modal instruction), and Autodesk Tinkercad (3D design, electronics, and coding).
  • The ability to define student groups, allowing educators to differentiate assignments and assign grades based on each group's needs.
  • A shareable Classwork link to keep students' guardians informed on assignments.

And for Chromebooks:

  • New "Class tools" provide real-time control and student engagement features for managed Chromebooks. Educators can connect with students' individual Chromebooks in order to share content directly to students' screens, check their progress, turn on live captions or translations, and more.
  • A new "Face Control" feature enables users to control their cursor through head movements and perform various actions using facial gestures.
  • Forthcoming Chromebook and Chromebook Plus devices include the Acer Chromebook Spin 511 and Lenovo Chromebook Duet EDU G2, built for younger learners, the Asus CR1204CTA and HP Fortis G1i 14 Chromebook, designed for older grades, and the new Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1, for educators.

For a full overview of these and other updates, visit the Google blog.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • digital lock

    CoSN: Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Remain Top AI Concerns in Education

    A leading concern for education technology leaders across the United States is the potential for AI to enable new forms of cyber attacks, according to the latest State of Ed Tech report from CoSN.

  • lock symbol with quantum bits in dynamic motion

    Microsoft Accelerates Quantum-Safe Security Timeline

    Microsoft is speeding up its quantum-safe security timeline, noting that advances in quantum computing and new federal requirements have pushed post-quantum cryptography from a future planning issue into an immediate engineering priority.

  • large cloud icon on the right in an abstract world above a polygon with a dark blue background

    Cloud Security Alliance Expands Agentic AI Governance Work

    The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) has announced a series of CSAI Foundation milestones aimed at securing what it calls the agentic control plane, including a new catastrophic risk initiative, CVE Numbering Authority authorization, and the acquisition of two agentic AI specifications.

  • abstract smartphone translucent screen displaying AI interface

    Apple Unveils Redesigned Siri AI

    At its recent Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced Siri AI, a redesigned version of its voice assistant that Apple describes in its own announcement as "a profoundly more capable and personal assistant." The update is intended to make Siri more conversational, more context-aware, and more useful across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro.