Today Google is announcing a long list of cool new updates and improvements to your favorite Google tools. We have new features for Google Classroom, Chromebooks, Drive, and, of course, lots of AI enhancements and new features.
These updates are coming out of the 2025 BETT conference in London, an event Google has traditionally used to announce their “spring” updates.
Settle in…there are a lot of Google updates to discuss!

Class tools for Chromebooks
In my opinion, the biggest Google update is something called “class tools” that acts like a remote control for student Chromebooks. I’m still gathering details, but this appears to be a classroom management feature similar to what GoGuardian, Securly, and Blocksi provide.
Class tools will be a premium feature for EDU Plus districts and will only work with managed Chromebooks. Based on early screenshots, teachers can view and manage student Chromebooks during their class time.
Class Tools includes the ability to:
- Push out content to student devices (websites, announcements, etc)
- View student screens via teacher dashboard
- Student “hand raise” feature
- Share exemplary content with the entire class
- Enable live teacher captions
- Enable live translation
Class tools will be available in Google Workspace for Education Plus in the coming months. If you are interested in testing out this feature, complete this form.
It makes a ton of sense for Google to develop classroom management tools for Chromebooks. By connecting ChromeOS, Google Classroom, and the Google Admin Console, Google can build a much deeper integration than anyone else. If the class control feature works well, it will potentially push districts to upgrade to Google EDU plus, resulting in significant SAVINGS by eliminating other costly subscriptions.

AI for the Classroom
As you would expect, Google is sharing a handful of new AI tools and improvements across many of their products.
Gemini LTI brings the power of Gemini to Canvas, Schoology, and any other LMS that supports the LTI protocol.
NotebookLM is one of Google’s most impressive AI tools. This great resource is now a secondary Google Service that can be managed from the Google Admin Console. Unfortunately, at this time, NotebookLM can only be used by users 18+, so it is still primarily a teacher tool. Hopefully that will change soon.
For those fortunate enough to have the EDU Plus or a Gemini for Workspace license, you can check out Google Vids and improved Gemini integrations for Drive and Gmail.
Google has cautiously been testing new AI features for Google Classroom. These features are currently only available for districts who have signed up for the AI pilot program.
Here are some of the AI features for Google Classroom currently in development:
- Learn About – create a guided AI experience for students on select topics
- Study Spaces – generates content and practice questions based on your class resources.
- AI grading support – automatically reviews student discussion submissions based on custom criteria created by the teacher.
- Practice sets – automatic hints and suggested material to support student learning
- Read Along – elementary students can practice reading fluency
- Video questions – add AI generated questions to YouTube videos posted to Classroom.
- Vocabulary Creation – generate a custom vocabulary list with definitions and examples
All of these features require an EDU Plus and/or Gemini education license.
Related Podcast episode: Google Workspace upgrades…worth the price?

Prevent late night Chromebook scrolling
On the IT admin side of things, Google is adding a new policy that allows districts to disable managed Chromebooks on a set schedule. For example, this policy could be used to disable all district Chromebooks from 11pm – 6am to encourage students to get a good nights rest.
Several parents have asked me about something like this. I’m glad there is now an option to support balanced technology use.
Face Control for Chromebook
Last week I received a notification on my Chromebook about a new accessibility feature called “face control.” This feature uses your webcam to track your face so that you can control your mouse simply by tilting your head. I tried it out earlier this week and was blown away by how simple and effective it is!
This blog post from Google’s accessibility team details the development of this fascinating new feature.
Don’t let these changes stress you out!
These constant Google updates can be stressful and overwhelming! Let me be your guide to summarize and clarify what these changes mean for you and your students. Each month I send out the Google EDU update, a monthly email newsletter on that latest buzz around Google Workspace and Chromebooks.
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