Google Classroom is hardly recognizable compared to what it looked like five years ago, especially as increased usage during the pandemic (over 150 million users!) highlighted what people want from their digital classroom.
Which new features should you be sure to check out for your digital classroom? Keep scrolling to find out.
Jump Ahead:
"Pageless" View
What does it do? Google Docs' new pageless view allows you to transform a classwork assignment into an infinitely scrolling page. No more annoying page breaks for your students!
When should you use it? Every single time you assign online classwork for students to complete. It works great in a digital classroom or for online-only assignments.
What should you be aware of? A pageless document will not print well. It is not designed to print, therefore it will look wonky if you try. That being said, you can always switch it back to the regular format and adjust it for printing if necessary.
Video Guide to Pageless View
Check out this short video to see how Pageless view looks and how to use it:
Scrolling Tables in Pageless View
I often use tables to organize classwork assignments and make them easier for students to navigate. If you do too, this built-in feature is for you!
What does it do? This feature allows students to scroll horizontally to access columns of a table that is too big to fit comfortably on their screen.
When should you use it? Use this feature when you want to help students stay organized with a table, but can't comfortably fit everything into the page margins. This feature only exists in Pageless view, so only use it when assigning work that students will complete online.
What should you be aware of? This is a built-in feature that triggers automatically once you insert a table into Pageless view. As a new feature, the table sizing can be a little tricky to use, but I imagine it will only get easier as Google continues improving its apps.
Video Guide to Scrolling Tables
Check out this short video to see how scrolling tables look and work in Pageless view.
Interactive Checkboxes
What does it do? Provides students with interactive checkboxes that they can click to "check off" as they work.
When should you use it? Use this feature anytime you list tasks for students to complete OR want students to select something from a lengthy list. They are interactive in an online setting and print as regular blank checkboxes on a hard copy.
What should you be aware of? These checkboxes are not the same as using a bullet point in the shape of a box (a popular practice before this feature was released). You must use the interactive checkbox feature if you want students to have the ability to check the boxes as they work.
Video Guide to Interactive Checkboxes
Check out this short video to learn how to use interactive checkboxes in Google Docs.
Drop Down Menus in Student Classwork Docs
What does it do? Creates an interactive drop-down menu in a student assignment for them to select an option.
When should you use it? Use this anytime you want students to select from pre-established choices. It saves time by allowing students to quickly choose options and lets you easily see which option they selected (color-coded).
What should you be aware of? These drop-down menus are best for short options as they will only show a few words before cutting off. They will not work well for lengthy options better suited to the interactive checkboxes function (see prior section).
Video Guide to Drop Down Menus
The Heading Function (not new, but needs a mention)
This is not a new feature, but it has been improved and is so useful that it needs a mention in this post.
What does it do? Allows you to organize an assignment or document into sections that students can use to jump around the document. Once you set it up, you can auto-create a table of contents or an interactive outline to help students navigate the page.
When should you use it? Always, but especially when creating assignments students will complete online.
What should you be aware of? Using headings might feel weird at first, but you will very quickly see how this feature helps you save significant amounts of time and effort. In addition to page-navigation benefits, the headings tool will also standardize your font styles across your documents.
Video Guide to the Heading Function
Check out this short video to learn how headings work in Google Docs.
Wrapping Up
These five features will make your online assignments more interactive and save you time in the long run. Google is constantly releasing new features, so don't forget to subscribe to our blog for future updates!
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