While you were out enjoying your summer vacation, Google has been hard at work rolling out lots of Google classroom updates for the 2026-27 school year. Most of these updates are good, however there are a few controversial ones! 

All of the updates outlined below are FREE and available for ALL Google Workspace Customers. 😱

Let’s take a look at what’s NEW with Google Classroom for the 2026-27 school year. 

📊 A [controversial] home page update

The first Google Classroom update is a new home page now featuring three dynamic modules: 

• Recently Due – a quick look at who turned in your last three assignments. This section is pretty helpful, IMO. 
• Class Insights – AI-powered insights into student performance. You’ll get notices about students who haven’t signed in to classroom recently or who have missing assignments. This section may or may not be helpful, it all depends on how you run your class and what data Google flags as important. 
• Feature  Spotlight – Google’s promotional section that highlights new features for classroom. You’ll probably wan’t to hide this one. 
• Classes – the classic class “card” view you are probably used to seeing.

YIKES: I asked teachers to give me feedback on the new home page layout and the results were very clear…most teachers are NOT a fan of the new design. 👎 If you just want the classic view, just hide the modules you don’t like. 

🎯 Standards-Based Grading with Learning Goals

Google Classroom now supports standards-based grading! Visit the settings page for your class to select the state or national standards that you use. Tag the appropriate standard for each assignment. When students complete work, their scores feed into a standards mastery dashboard rather than just traditional points.

Why this matters:

• Helps parents see what skills their child is actually mastering.
• Makes differentiated instruction and targeted review much easier to plan.
• Keeps state standards front and center without needing external spreadsheets.

🎬 Want to see it in action? Check out my recent YouTube video tutorial on Learning Goals for a full step-by-step walkthrough!

⏱️ Create Rubrics in Seconds

Creating rubrics from scratch used to take forever—until now. Gemini AI is now directly integrated into the Classroom rubric feature. 

When creating an assignment, click + Rubric, type a brief prompt (e.g., “Create a 4-point rubric for a 5th-grade persuasive essay on environmental conservation”), and watch Gemini generate criteria, levels, and descriptions instantly.

You can tweak, reword, or adjust the points as needed before saving. What used to take 20 minutes now takes 20 seconds.

Classroom Idea: Project a Gemini-generated rubric on the board before starting a project and have students edit the descriptors together to co-create assignment expectations!

💬 Chat with Classroom

Here’s a cool Google Classroom update…you can now talk directly to Google Classroom through Gemini! By typing @classroom into Gemini, you can prompt the AI to draw context directly from your courses. Here are a few things you can ask:

• “@classroom Create a 3-sentence summary of the main points covered in Unit 2 for absent students.”
• “@classroom Which students haven’t turned in the Science Lab report yet?”
• “@classroom Draft a parent email template for students who missed the history project deadline.”

It acts as your personal administrative assistant, saving you from navigating through multiple tabs.

🔗 Share Gemini-Created Resources Directly to Students

When you use Gemini to build interactive study materials—like review quizzes, learning games, or guided practice exercises—you no longer need to copy and paste everything into a Google Doc first.

You can now generate a direct Share Link for interactive Gemini resources and post it right to your Classroom Stream or Classwork page. Students click the link and jump straight into the resource!

Classroom Idea: this is a great update for anyone who has started “vibe coding” activities for the classroom. There’s no need to embed your activity in Google sites, just grab the link and add it to your assignment. 

🎓 Gemini for Students

Google is rolling out a brand new set of Gemini resources for students, directly inside Google Classroom. It provides age-appropriate study tools, such as:

• Homework help and step-by-step problem explanations.
• Interactive flashcards and self-quizzing.
• Brainstorming assistance for essays and projects.

Classroom Idea: Use the Gemini Tab for an end-of-unit study station! Have students ask Gemini to generate 3 flashcard prompts on tough concepts, then quiz a partner.”

Note: This feature can be easily enabled or disabled by your IT administrator. Ask your IT admin to view this page for instructions on how to enable/disable Gemini for students in Google Classroom.

🎥 Google Vids Integration

Google Vids—Google’s workspace app for AI-powered video creation—is now fully integrated with Google Classroom!

You can assign Google Vids templates and video projects to students just like you would assign a Google Doc or Slides presentation. Whether it’s a digital book report, a science experiment summary, or a history re-enactment, students can edit, record, and submit video projects directly inside Classroom.

Classroom Idea: Replace traditional book reports this semester with a 1-minute Google Vids movie trailer created by students!

📚 Read Along for All Districts!

If you teach elementary or support English language learners, this update is huge news. Read Along in Classroom—Google’s speech-based reading tutor—is now available 100% free for all school districts.

Read Along uses Google’s speech recognition technology to help young readers build fluency and vocabulary. As students read aloud, a friendly digital assistant provides real-time feedback and encouragement.

Teachers get detailed insights on reading accuracy, speed, and comprehension without having to conduct every running record manually.

Classroom Idea: Set up Read Along as an independent literacy center station, letting students record reading practice daily while you lead small-group guided reading!

Deep Dive: watch my full review of Read Along for Google Classroom!

📩 Stay in the Loop with Google Edu Updates!

Keeping up with Google Classroom updates can feel like a full-time job on top of your actual full-time job.

If you want the best Google Workspace tips, Chromebook hacks, and free lesson templates delivered straight to your inbox once a month, subscribe to the Google EDU Update! It’s short, practical, and designed specifically for busy K-12 educators.