With its education users having increased by four times during the pandemic, Google has announced upcoming changes to its education apps that will debut over the course of 2021 to better meet the needs of both students and educators.

Among the many engaging online resources to help increase student engagement are three tools that are easy to use, good for any grade level and work well alongside and within Google Classroom. FlipGrid, Pear Deck and EdPuzzle can help teachers bring a jolt of excitement to their virtual classrooms.

The Bitmoji classroom is a virtual space to use as a landing page for remote classrooms that includes a cartoon version of the teacher, or a Bitmoji. Using this technology has become a pandemic trend. 

Google Classroom is easy for novices to use. But it’s also a highly versatile platform. Three New York City teachers share their tips and favorite tools for teaching remotely with this powerful program. 

Teachers using Google Classroom have found that the platform has the potential to foster collaboration with colleagues and communication with families. It also poses a challenge: striking the right balance between consistency and flexibility.

After New York City school buildings shut in mid-March, teachers quickly discovered that recreating their former classroom schedule and activities was not always practical. Remote learning has required us to reconceptualize our teaching practices to find new solutions to reach our students.