The Chromebook Classroom Podcast

Each school year I select five strategies, tools, or ideas you can use to engage your students and shake things up a bit. These five tools and strategies are all about making your life easier and your students' learning more engaging. Join 20,000 teachers who get the Google EDU Update each month: http://chrm.tech/update Episode Summary: 0:00 Intro  2:00 Google Vids 7:20 AI Agents with Workspace Studio 12:20 Talk with Google Classroom using Gemini 14:08 Read Along for Google Classroom 19:50 Differentiate with AI Read the blog post: https://www.chrmbook.com/5-cool-things-for-2026-27/ 

I've been holding off on sending out the June EDU update because I knew there were some BIG updates taking place during the ISTE conference. Today in Orlando, Google is announcing 40+ updates for the 2026-27 school year! That's a LOT of news…but I've got you covered. I spent an entire week reviewing, reading, and considering these new features to determine which ones will have the biggest impact on your classroom. Today's podcast isn't just a list of links, it's a carefully curated overview of what's happening, where things are headed, and what this means for your classroom. Let's dive into the June updates coming out of the 2026 ISTE conference in Orlando, Florida! ***Episode Sponsor: VIZOR for Chromebooks*** VIZOR provides Chromebook fleet management Software for Schools. Stop hassling with out of date spreadsheets and paper inventories and move into the 21st century with VIZOR: http:///vizor.cloud/cbc Show notes and links: https://www.chrmbook.com/s9e17/ ----------------------------- Thanks for tuning into the Chromebook Classroom Podcast! If you enjoyed today's episode, I would appreciate your honest rating and review! You can connect with me, John Sowash, on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. I would love to hear your thoughts on the show!  

As part of my daily routine, I scan dozens of blogs, visit a handful of Facebook groups, and skim through Twitter. The goal: find the most helpful resources, tools, and articles that I can share with my teacher friends (that's you!). Show notes and links: https://www.chrmbook.com/s9e16/ ***Episode Sponsor: VIZOR for Chromebooks*** VIZOR provides Chromebook fleet management Software for Schools. Stop hassling with out of date spreadsheets and paper inventories and move into the 21st century with VIZOR: http:///vizor.cloud/cbc Here are my favorite links for May 2026: Google AI Educator Series Native File Support & Auto-Updating in NotebookLM Google Vids: Converting Slides to Video with AI Avatars AI Agents: "Skills for Chrome" and the Agentic Era Introducing "Googlebook" 5 Tips to Clear Digital Clutter Before Summer Break Google I/O 2026: Google Docs Live & Gemini Sparks Gemini for Science Google Glass is Back? ----------------------------- Thanks for tuning into the Chromebook Classroom Podcast! If you enjoyed today's episode, I would appreciate your honest rating and review! You can connect with me, John Sowash, on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. I would love to hear your thoughts on the show!

Welcome to the April 2026 Google EDU update! In this video, we explore the latest edtech tools transforming the classroom, including some cool updates to Google Classroom and mind-blowing cinematic videos generated by NotebookLM. We also dive into how one school district utilized "vibe coding" to save $250k, alongside major updates to Canva's Learn Grid and Google Vids. 👉 Show notes and links: https://www.chrmbook.com/s9e15/ *** Episode Sponsor: Gemini Academy for Teachers Summer Tour! Join me virtually or in-person at one of six different stops on my summer tour! We'll explore Gemini and NotebookLM together and prepare to become Gemini certified educators! Visit http://chrm.tech/gemini26 for dates and locations *** 2:10 Gemini Summer Tour Announcement 4:00 Google Vids: Custom AI Video Avatars 7:57 Gemini in Classroom Expands to 75 Languages 9:16 Personal Class Notebooks for Students 12:04 Gemini in Google Docs & Formatting Tools 14:35 Fully Editable AI Decks in Google Slides 17:06 NotebookLM's New Cinematic Videos 22:53 How "Vibe Coding" Saved a District $250k 26:42 Google Takeout: Transferring Data for Graduates 31:42 Canva Learn Grid & Interactive Games 35:53 Google Cloud Next Recap: The "Agentic" Era 44:53 Outro & Final Thoughts ----------------------------- Thanks for tuning into the Chromebook Classroom Podcast! If you enjoyed today's episode, I would appreciate your honest rating and review! You can connect with me, John Sowash, on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. I would love to hear your thoughts on the show!

For years, IT admins have relied on a patchwork of complicated spreadsheets and manual data entry to keep track of their fleets. When you are managing thousands of devices, "Ctrl+F" on a spreadsheet just doesn't cut it. Recently, I sat down with Jeff LaLonde from VIZOR to learn about  the latest updates to VIZOR's already impressive asset management software. Whether you manage 500 devices or 50,000, VIZOR will improve your ability to manage your device fleet.  Learn more and schedule a free demo: vizor.cloud/cbc Thanks to VIZOR for sponsoring the Chromebook Classroom podcast! ----------------------------- Thanks for tuning into the Chromebook Classroom Podcast! If you enjoyed today's episode, I would appreciate your honest rating and review! You can connect with me, John Sowash, on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. I would love to hear your thoughts on the show!