What’s New in Google Classroom? [2020 Updates]

This blog post is sponsored by Acer Education, a partner of EdTechTeam.

Previously only available in beta, Originality Reports and Rubrics are Google Classroom features that are now available to all users. 

Originality Reports

Google Classroom’s Originality Reports function as a tool to correct un-cited content and potential plagiarism. This feature is no longer in beta mode – it’s now available to everyone using Classroom in English (Spanish, French and Portuguese are in beta). 

Teachers simply have to tick the box to make this feature applicable to an assignment.

Currently, teachers can turn on originality reports for 3 assignments for free (if the school is using G Suite Enterprise then there are no limitations). Both teachers and students can run the reports at any time in the duration of the assignment. The reports have expiration dates (since web content is constantly changing). Before students return their assignments, they can use the tool up to 3 times. Teachers can view reports for each file submitted.

Once the originality report is finished, the ‘view originality report’ link will open the report, where any issues are highlighted. 

The report shows the context of the flagged content and the commonalities are emphasized in bold. Clicking on the passage will take you directly to the website of the questionable content. Eventually, there will also be school-owned databases for content within each domain to cross-check students’ work internally. There is a toggle option between seeing the overall percentage of the assignment that has been flagged and the number of flagged passages.

The tool is less about “catching” a student in wrongdoing and more so about giving them the opportunity to identify potential misconceptions and correct them before their work is finalized. 

Citations using Explore

Students can cite sources using the Explore tool, which allows students to insert footnotes in various citation formats. They simply click the button and Explore finds connections between the documents topics and online content. 

Clicking the quotation mark symbol next to the appropriate resource cites the passage in the chosen format (e.g. APA, MLA, Chicago). 

Once the resource is cited, it appears in a footnote, like so: 

When we run reports, we hope to see there is no flagged content but this does not guarantee a plagiarism-free paper. Even when passages are cited, the reference(s) will show when an originality report is generated. Teachers should always use their best judgment to determine if plagiarism has occurred. 

See Originality Reports in action here. 

Rubrics

Rubrics allow students to see the grading criteria before submitting an assignment and can help teachers grade more efficiently.

There can be multiple criteria and point values for rubrics. As of now, each level must be assigned a numeric value. Clicking the arrows on the right side (next to the point totals) will show or hide the details for each criterion.

Assignment rubrics can be created by starting from scratch or uploading a Google Sheets file with the criteria. When creating a rubric, remember the time-saving tricks of duplicating criterion (click the 3-dot ‘more’ menu, as pictured here) and copying and pasting, of course! 

Scoring is optional; if teachers choose to score the students’ work, the grades will automatically be uploaded to the gradebook in the ‘Grades’ or ‘Marks’ tab.

Teachers can also reuse a rubric from a previous assignment or even another class. Watch this video to learn how. 

When using a rubric to grade work, open the assignment to be marked and click on the grading button below the files button. Here you can change the overall score, if necessary, and input scores for the various criteria. 

As with other assignments, you can also provide private feedback for each student. 

Rubrics can offer personalized, descriptive feedback for students’ work in a timely manner! 

If you would like access to Howdou interactive tutorials and specific examples related to these concepts, sign up for our free hour-long ‘Intermediate Google Classroom’ course, or if you’re just starting out – check out our ‘Introduction to Google Classroom’ online course!

Explore and apply the novel tools that educators are using to integrate technology in the classroom with more free online courses, sponsored by ACER.

Quick Links:

• Originality Reports
• Create/Reuse Rubrics
• Grade with Rubrics
• Future updates to Originality Reports & Rubrics

Want to learn more about Google Classroom? – Join our FREE online courses in partnership with ACER and Howdou. Sign up at https://www.edtechteam.online/acer 

Jessica Tyerman-Marsh is a Google Certified Innovator with more than 14 years’ experience educating students of all ages. She obtained a Master’s in Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology while working on a federal grant with her University of Southern California professors. Now she is an instructor for her alma mater, helping teaching candidates acquire their credentials and infuse technology in their classrooms. She has lived and worked in several schools worldwide as a teacher, coordinator and librarian. She’s conducted ICT, GATE and IB PYP professional development in the US, Italy, Germany and the UK. Meanwhile, Jessica has designed curriculum, presented at conferences and contributed to educational articles and textbooks published internationally. She believes teaching students literacy skills (of all types) is essential to promote lifelong learning.