Posted by Will Phan, Google Classroom Software Engineer

As you gear up for the new school year, try the newest features in Google Classroom for more ways to save time, engage your students and keep everyone organized. Most of these features are rolling out this week; stay tuned in the next few weeks for more back-to-school goodies in Google Classroom, Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, all designed to help you make this school year yours.

Keep students engaged with question-driven discussions 

Since Classroom launched last year, teachers have been using their class stream to host student debates, Q&A and discussions. Starting today, you’ll be able to do this in a more collaborative way. You can post questions to your class and allow students to have discussions by responding to each other’s answers (or not, depending on the setting you choose). For example, you could post a video and ask students to answer a question about it, or post an article and ask them to write a paragraph in response.

“Often, teachers want to do a quick check-in on what their students are learning. Now with this built in to Google Classroom, teachers can easily do this on the fly, any time,” said Michael Fricano II, who teaches at Iolani School in Honolulu. “Your class can have a really engaging, focused conversation.”

Reuse posts 

You know those lessons that worked so well last year that you want to use them again? Now you can reuse assignments, announcements or questions from any one of your classes — or any class you co-teach, whether it’s from last year or last week. Once you choose what you’d like to copy, you’ll also be able to make changes before you post or assign it.

“The reuse post feature gives teachers the gift of time. Making changes to something already created is way easier than starting from scratch,” said Heather Breedlove, Technology Integration Coordinator at Flagstaff Unified School District in Arizona. “It’s working smarter, not harder.”

Calendar Integration 

In the next month, Classroom will automatically create a calendar for each of your classes in Google Calendar. All assignments with a due date will be automatically added to your class calendar and kept up to date. You’ll be able to view your calendar from within Classroom or on Google Calendar, where you can manually add class events like field trips or guest speakers.

And a few more improvements you’ve asked for:

• Bump a post: When you want to make sure an older item is easy for students to find, you can now move any post to the top of the stream. 
• Due dates optional: For long-term projects or student-driven assignments, you’ll now have the option to create assignments that don’t have due dates. 
• Attach a Google Form to a post: Many teachers have been using Google Forms as an easy way to assign a test, quiz or survey to the class. Coming in the next few weeks, teachers and students will soon be able to attach Google Forms from Drive to posts and assignments, and get a link in Classroom to easily view the answers. 

In case you missed it 

We know YouTube is an important source of educational content for many schools. Because it also contains content that an organization or school might not consider acceptable, last month we launched advanced YouTube settings for all Google Apps domains as an Additional Service. These settings give Apps admins the ability to restrict the YouTube videos viewable for signed-in users, as well as signed-out users on networks managed by the admin. Learn more here.

All of us on the Classroom team have been deeply touched by the teachers in our lives, who inspire us in the work that we do. For me, that’s my brother Tuan, an English teacher at the Chinese International School in Hong Kong. We make these products for you. And we hope these new features will help you kick off another incredible year of teaching and learning.

Editor's note: We're celebrating this year's impressive 20 Google Science Fair finalist projects over 20 days in our Spotlight on a Young Scientist series. Learn more about each of these inspiring young people and hear what inspires them in their own words.

Name: Zhilin Wang

Home: Singapore

Age Category: 16-18

Project title: Zinc air batteries for affordable, renewable energy storage 


Zhilin has used his large capacity for wonder to question everything since he was a young boy. This strong curiosity for not just what goes on around him but what happens in other countries led him to understand how developing countries access renewable energy. To speed up the slow chemical reaction produced by oxidizing zinc with oxygen from the air, Zhilin built an aerogel consisting of carbon nanotubes and graphene. His gel sped up the oxidation process, allowing faster storage of renewable energy. He looks forward to testing his aerogel in villages that don’t have electricity – rather than the multiple sources we rely on today. This system, with a little more development, could have expansive use in areas ranging from wearable computing to location-based applications, where an instant and accurate indoor 3D positioning system is in high demand.

What was the inspiration behind your project? 

Looking at the world around me, I can’t help but marvel at how far our search for novel materials has come to improve our everyday living. Nowadays, such materials are literally everywhere: in our smartphones, our clothes and even, for some of us, our bodies. Once in a while, when I find out about a novel material, I get really excited and dream about how it might shape our future.

Graphene aerogel is one such material. Think about this: you have a solution of graphene and a solvent, say water. If you can remove the solvent to leave behind only the graphene framework (or more illustratively, a graphene skeleton), you have yourself a graphene aerogel with some curious characteristics. It is super conductive, ultralight – reaching below the density of atmospheric air in some samples – and has a contact surface area matched by few. This means that it can potentially make astounding improvements in many of the things we use on a daily basis. I was eager to see if it can be applied to something that it had never been tested on before. So when a need for improving the efficiency of batteries came my way, I thought, “why not use graphene aerogel?”

With a stroke of luck, the graphene aerogel turned out to be suitable for the battery. Yet, I didn’t want to end my project there; I wanted to see if the improved battery could directly impact the lives of people. Having reflected upon some of the things I was grateful for, I realized that one of the most wonderful gifts I have received is a quality education. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to read my favorite books, learn so much about the world or even participate in this competition. Yet, many in underdeveloped regions do not receive basic education. Despite the promotion of global education, a great deal of children are forced out of school to support their families by working on farms or in factories. The only time they could spare for education is in the evenings but even then, the scarcity of reliable lighting means they’re unable to learn in the dark, as much as they want to. Can my battery be used to light up their nights? I didn’t know for sure, so I tried to find out.

When and why did you become interested in science? 

My love for science started around the time I was in primary school, when I found myself so curious about everything around me. You can say that every opportunity for me to discover something new was as irresistible as a candy laid before me. Of the many things I wanted to know, scientific demonstrations particularly piqued my interest. They seemed almost magical – water instantly freezing on a hard knock, violent fountains formed from Coca Cola and mints. But I wasn’t satisfied with merely marveling at them. I wanted to appreciate their inner beauty and understand how they actually worked. For me, science is about having a passion for the beauty of the world around us and understanding how and why things happen in it. Isn’t that much more interesting than simply accepting things as they are?

What words of advice would you share with other young scientists? 

Never be afraid to ask questions concerning things you are curious about, for what lies ahead is either a path of discovery or at least the joy of learning something new.

Posted by Hai Hong, K-12 Education Program Manager

Editor's note: Ensuring the appropriateness, value, and impact of our efforts in the computer science education space first requires an understanding of the issues which broadly impact the discipline, its practitioners and its students. This article is part of our ongoing effort to explore those issues and share our learnings along the way, which you can find at g.co/csedu.

If you're a student in a U.S. middle or high school, it’s likely that you do not have access to a computer science (CS) class where you learn how to program. If you’re Hispanic, Black, or from a lower-income household, your chances of having access to computers or CS learning opportunities are even slimmer. Today, in collaboration with Gallup, we're releasing Searching for Computer Science: Access and Barriers in U.S. K-12 Education, our landscape study of CS access and barriers in K-12 education.

We've known anecdotally that CS educational opportunities are lacking in our schools, but no recent study has provided a comprehensive look at what's happening on the ground with input from critical stakeholders including students, parents, and educators. More data and rigorous research on CS in schools was -- and still is -- needed to properly address these educational disparities.

Building on ideas from our 2014 study Women Who Choose Computer Science, we partnered with Gallup to conduct this comprehensive study of the state of CS education in the U.S. to both inform our K-12 education outreach efforts and enable equitable access to CS opportunities. Gallup surveyed nearly 16,000 respondents nationally, including 1,673 students, 1,685 parents, 1,013 teachers, 9,693 principals, and 1,865 superintendents. We asked these stakeholders about opportunities, limitations, awareness, and perceptions of CS education.

The full report Searching for Computer Science: Access and Barriers in U.S. K-12 Education contains key findings that we hope will inform the ongoing work in the field and inspire others to take action. Here are a few highlights:

Technology & Learning: Many students lack access to CS education, and racial disparities in exposure to the subject matter exist.

• 3 in 4 principals say their schools offer no CS programming/coding classes 
• Of the schools that do offer CS classes, the curriculum is often lacking and only 21% offer Advanced Placement level CS 
• Hispanic students are less likely than other groups to have access to computers with Internet at home and are less likely to use computers everyday at school; Black and low-income students are less likely than other groups to have access to CS at school; Girls are less likely than boys to have learned CS

Value of CS Education: Most students, parents, and educators highly value CS education.

• Nine-in-ten parents see CS education as a good use of school resources, and two-thirds of parents think computer science should be required learning in schools, with parents in lower-income households even more likely to hold this view 
• Over 80% of students think they will learn CS in the future

School Limitations: Parents want CS offered in schools, but administrators don’t perceive a high demand.

• CS is not a high priority in most schools and districts, and a number of barriers make it difficult for schools to offer CS
• 91% of parents want their child to learn CS, but less than 8% of administrators believe parent demand is high 
• Less than 30% of educators say CS is a top priority in their school or district Administrators tell us that the need to devote time to courses related to testing and a lack of trained teachers are the top barriers to offering CS in their schools

There’s a critical need to address the lack of awareness about student and parent demand for computer science, lack of support for CS teachers, and competing priorities that prevent computer science education from being offered. Also, despite the value of and interest in CS among all populations surveyed, we still see a need to broaden access to CS and computer technology for all students, especially for Black, Hispanic, and low-income students -- for example by exploring a variety of paths to learn CS, providing teachers with resources to learn about and teach CS, and asking school administrators and school boards to prioritize and support CS in schools. You can find a longer list of Google’s recommendations on how to expand opportunities to learn CS here keep track of Google's CS research at g.co/cseduresearch.

Today’s report is the first of a series of studies with Gallup. Our next installment will explore perceptions about CS, including stereotypes and unconscious biases that might limit some students from pursuing CS. Given the critical nature of computer science education in training the next generation of technologists, this research also provides a call to action for parents, teachers and school districts as they think through integrating this into their curriculum.

Editor's note: We're celebrating this year's impressive 20 Google Science Fair finalist projects over 20 days in our Spotlight on a Young Scientist series. Learn more about each of these inspiring young people and hear what inspires them in their own words.

Name: Wei-Tung, Chen (韋同 陳)

Home: Taipei City, Taiwan

Age Category: 16-18

Project title: Calculating the 3D position of an object from a single source




Weitung’s regular attendance at summer science camps has helped foster his love for inventing. He also recently found an interest in physics and calculating the position of objects using new methods. His project aims to accurately calculate the 3D position of an object using only one source – rather than the multiple sources we rely on today. This system, with a little more development, could have expansive use in areas ranging from wearable computing to location-based applications, where an instant and accurate indoor 3D positioning system is in high demand.

What was the inspiration behind your project? 

At first, I was interested in quad copters, and I did brief research on them. At that time, I saw a TED lecture about quad copters astonishing athletes. The lecturer said that the quad copters require a precise indoor positioning system to provide the positioning of the quads and navigate them. This inspired me to explore an indoor positioning system. I studied this topic in depth and began building up a magnetic positioning system. I met with my teacher numerous times and finally found a solution to achieve a precise indoor positioning system using only a source for referencing.

When and why did you become interested in science? 

When I was in grade 7, I entered the advanced math and science class, but that's not the reason why I became interested in science. After joining this class, I had a lot of opportunities to attend lectures and activities about science. The most inspirational lecture was the "Creativity, Innovation, and Design" class. This class was held every Sunday during the whole semester. I not only learned how to be innovative and creative and help solve problems in everyday life, but also to acknowledge the importance of teamwork, from coming up with ideas through brainstorming together to executing on the idea and building something together. I learned so much about design and invention during this time and became more enthusiastic about science and creating things using scientific knowledge. 

What words of advice would you share with other young scientists? 

Use your scientific abilities to help make the world better. No matter how small that the problem is, try to find a way to solve it. Be creative. You may find treasures throughout the process of finding solutions.

Editor's note: We're celebrating this year's impressive 20 Google Science Fair finalist projects over 20 days in our Spotlight on a Young Scientist series. Learn more about each of these inspiring young people and hear what inspires them in their own words.

Names: Monique (Yo) Hsu and
             Gina (Jing-Tong) Wang

Home: Taipei City, Taiwan

Age category: 13-15

Project: Knock on fuel: detecting impurities in gasoline with sound pattern analysis

At school, Monique and Gina learned that an underground gasoline market exists throughout the world. Offenders, most commonly in Asia, blend cheap solvents into gasoline and sell it to the public, cheating people of high quality fuel. Monique and Jing-Tong decided that the public needed to know the difference between pure gasoline and a mixed solvent. By analyzing sound patterns, they found that it was possible to use sound (knocking) to identify different types of liquids and distinguish pure gasoline from a mixed solvent – saving the public the headaches and cost of purchasing fake gasoline.

What was the inspiration behind your project?

Monique: There have been a lot of incidents caused by adulterated gasoline and liquor. And we wanted to change that, so we started thinking of a way that’s easy, cheap and useful for uncovering gasoline impurities. Then we came up with a crazy but usable idea: use the knocking sounds to analyze the different liquids.

Gina: More and more food safety problems are troubling Taiwanese people and people all over the world. There has also been a lot of corruption with gasoline impurity in the world recently. That inspired us to find methods to uncover adulterated goods. That's the reason why we did our project.

When and why did you become interested in science?

Monique: Because my dad is a science teacher, I’ve had a lot of exposure to science from a young age. I have the fortune of access to a lot more science books than other classmates have, and I can ask my dad science questions whenever I want. This has fed my natural love for science, and the more books I read and research I do online, the more I want to probe to use science to probe and discover. So now, I'm really good at science, and I love it, too. Thanks, Dad!

Gina: When I was a child, somewhere around kindergarten, I was curious about the composition of things and really wanted to know things like how a caterpillar transformed into a butterfly. I love meditation. When I was in third grade we did an Independent Study called "ming-shui time." I loved being able to do many little experiments on my own. The experiments, whether independently or at school, are the seeds of scientific discovery.

What words of advice would you share with other young scientists?

Monique: Be curious. Use your smart brain to improve the world, and enjoy doing so of course.

Gina: If you get an idea, just try to test it out. If you have an interest in science, apply it to figure things out.

Editor's note: We're celebrating this year's impressive 20 Google Science Fair finalist projects over 20 days in our Spotlight on a Young Scientist series. Learn more about each of these inspiring young people and hear what inspires them in their own words.

Name: Isabella O'Brien

Age Category: 13-15

Home: Ontario, Canada

Project: Recycling shell waste to reduce ocean acidification



Isabella became fascinated with finding out how to preserve natural resources when she encountered a sea of dead coral during a diving trip in Mexico. She researched ocean acidification and seashell waste and discovered that she could create an alkaline buffer by recycling the shell waste and adding it back to the ocean. Her project proves that we can drastically reduce ocean acidification and keep organisms happy and alive in their habitats by recycling shells.

What was the inspiration behind your project?

The inspiration behind my project came after a diving holiday in Mexico, where I observed a lot of dead coral. After doing some research, I discovered that humans production of carbon dioxide (CO2) is modifying ocean chemistry through a process known as ocean acidification, a contributing factor to coral loss. Oceans are becoming more acidic, lowering the pH levels and depleting carbonate ions, which are needed for building seashells and coral skeletons. This is forcing organisms to work harder to build their shells, making them vulnerable to predators, and therefore putting the entire marine ecosystem at risk. I also learned that millions of metric tons of shell waste is produced each year worldwide by the seafood industry and that these shells were made up of 95% calcium carbonate. It was this information that made me wonder what would happen if these shells were returned to the ocean and what impact it would have on the problem of ocean acidification.

When and why did you become interested in science?

I had a fantastic science teacher (Mr. Gordon) in grades 1, 2 and 3, who made learning science both fun and exciting. He would often show us videos of Bill Nye the Science Guy, which were great. Also, I was very lucky to be at a school (St Augustine) that held an annual science fair. Students were eligible to enter starting in grade 4. I couldn't wait to do my first science fair project in grade 4, and I’ve loved science and working on science fair projects ever since.

What words of advice would you share with other young scientists?

My advice to other young scientists would be to be curious, ask questions and work on any subject you find interesting. Sometimes it will be difficult, and sometimes things go wrong and you may have to start again, but do not give up. Have fun and help change the world!

Editor's note: We're celebrating this year's impressive 20 Google Science Fair finalist projects over 20 days in our Spotlight on a Young Scientist series. Learn more about each of these inspiring young people and hear what inspires them in their own words.

Name: Tanay Tandon

Age Category: 16-18

Home: US

Project: Delivering rapid, portable and automated blood morphology tests





Tanay loved hearing his grandfather’s stories of serving patients as a doctor in rural India, but he couldn’t believe that people had to wait in long lines for tests that were easily available in more developed countries. He was inspired to take action after reading a book on informational theory. He sent the authors several emails before receiving a response from a grad student who agreed to work with him. Tanay then wrote an algorithm and created a computer vision model. He attached a low-cost lens imaging system in order to algorithmically classify and count cells in a blood sample. This tool can now provide a rapid, portable and automated blood morphology test in the most rural regions. 

What was the inspiration behind your project? 

My grandfather was a doctor in rural India and owned his own clinic. Over the years, my mother told me stories of villagers who would line up to get blood biopsies at his clinic, often showing up incredibly early in the morning. This helped me realize the disparity in rural diagnostic conditions (especially for complex internal conditions) and the need for a portable, automated means to analyze blood, especially in areas where trained microbiologists and expensive equipment are scarce. Thus, this project has been a long term goal of mine, and as I have conducted separate research in hematology, machine learning and computer vision, my skills and experience have culminated in this one piece representing my work in the fields of AI and biology.

When and why did you become interested in science? 

My interest in science has always stemmed from a love of reading. Some of my earliest memories are sitting with my father and pouring over a book about constellations and astronomy. The concept of finding patterns in seemingly endless swathes of stars was how I got started in the scientific process. Eventually, I abstracted that love for pattern-finding to other fields like math, computer science and artificial intelligence. In my opinion, that in itself is a succinct summary of science – looking at some chaotic system and deciphering meaning through the skills at hand. Whether one does that with a microscope, a computer program or a pencil and paper, the process is essentially the same – a different means to an end, but a very similar end overall.

What words of advice would you share with other young scientists? 

Research is all about building a palette of interests and mixing and matching the colors to create something new. Nearly all of my project ideas originate at the confluence of two or more fields – microbiology and artificial intelligence (this project), engineering and chemistry (my portable water treatment project a few years ago). I'd encourage young scientists to diversify their interests, build a love for several fields and then see what beautiful things come from their confluence.