New Google for Education features for more personalized learning

Editor’s note: This week we’re joining thousands of educators and students at BETT in London, Europe’s biggest educational technology exhibition. Visit us at Booth SJ20, where you can check out new Chromebooks and features in Google Workspace for Education. Follow along on X and Facebook for the latest updates.

Many students require more personalized ways to learn effectively, like learning materials tailored to their skill level, or depending on whether they learn best through group work, independent work or hands-on. So we're introducing several new features across Google Workspace for Education and Chromebooks designed to help address the diverse needs of students around the world.

Engaging and interactive ways to learn

• Inspire the next wave of storytellers with Google Vids: We recently announced Google Vids, a video creation app available for Education Plus and Gemini Education customers, that helps educators and students easily create and collaborate with video. Vids is also directly integrated with Google Classroom, helping educators easily assign video projects or post video explainers right to their students. Check out our new training course to get started.
• Bring Google AI directly into your Learning Management System (LMS): Gemini Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) incorporates AI-driven products powered by Gemini — like the Gemini app, NotebookLM, Learn About and Illuminate — directly into third-party LMS software, starting with Canvas by Instructure and Powerschool Schoology Learning.
• Practice phonics skills and get insights on progress with Read Along in Classroom: Read Along will soon expand its content to include Heggerty’s entire decodables library, with books for kindergarten through third grade. To check progress at the class and student level, educators can now see an overview of phonics skills in the insights dashboard.
• Integrate and manage more tools across Google Classroom and Chromebooks: There are four new add-ons that can be accessed from right within Classroom: FigJam (for collaborative whiteboard activities), Education Perfect (curriculum-aligned activities), Discovery Education (real-world content and multi-modal instruction), and Autodesk Tinkercad (3D design, electronics, and coding). On Chromebooks, admins can assign new app licensing partners, like Canva.
• Use new fonts to teach handwriting: We added new handwriting fonts in Google Workspace for Education to help educators teach handwriting based on regional research. And now, thanks to educator feedback, we’re adding Playwrite Guides to help teach in the classroom; which provide a visual aid for primary school children to help them grasp the proportions of letterforms and assists them in drawing letters with confidence and accuracy.
• More easily create decks with new Google Slides templates: We recently introduced a refreshed library of professionally-built Google Slides templates, providing the perfect starting point for lesson plans, book reports, project reports and more. This allows educators and students to spend less time on design and more on crafting compelling content.

More accessible ways to learn and create content on new Chromebooks

Chromebooks are used by more than 50 million students and educators around the world, and we’re always adding new features to help everyone teach and learn in a way that works for them. We’re also building even more powerful devices to help handle all of these new features.

• Try new accessibility features built into Chromebooks: We recently shared that Face control is coming to Chromebooks. This accessibility feature, rolling out now, enables people to control their cursor by moving their head and perform various actions using facial gestures. Along with Face control, you can now read text aloud using Reading mode on Chrome browser, in many natural sounding voices. And with PDF OCR, you can now access previously inaccessible PDFs using a screen reader, on all operating systems.
• Enhance productivity and focus with new apps: When you sign into your Chromebook, you’ll be greeted with a new screen that shows a summary of your previously open windows, tabs and apps. The focus feature creates a “Do Not Disturb” distraction-free experience, where you can choose a task, duration of time to silence notifications, and even some music to help focus. And with built in apps like the Recorder app, you can create voice recordings and audio content with built-in transcripts - or use Screencast, now available in 50+ languages, including Swedish, Danish and Finnish.
• Check out more than 20 new Chromebook and Chromebook Plus devices for 2025: We’re rolling out more than 20 new devices, for students and educators alike. For students in younger grades, devices like the Acer Chromebook Spin 511 and Lenovo Chromebook Duet EDU G2 are stylus compatible and are purpose built for younger learners. For older grades, check out the ASUS Chromebook CR12 (CR1204C), and HP Fortis G1i 14 Chromebook. And for educators, Chromebook Plus is the powerful device with Gemini built in for you. Try out the new Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 (14”, 10), or the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus for a device built for the art of teaching. Check out all of these devices on our website.
• Convert your flat panels into ChromeOS: Have interactive flat panel displays in your classroom, but struggle to use them alongside your other classroom technology? Chromebox OPS is a simple plug-in device that extends the lifespan of your flat panels or smart boards, turning them into ChromeOS devices. Starting in January, leading display manufacturers will offer Chromebox OPS including LG, SMART, Promethean, AOpen, Satsuki and Viewsonic. Contact your preferred reseller to learn more.

To learn more about these updates, and all of the Google for Education announcements made at BETT, check out our product guide.