What’s changing
In addition to the recent announcement of educators being able to upload content to Read Along in Google Classroom, we’re excited to introduce a new feature that allows students to read a book in silent reading mode.
Prior to today, students could only read aloud and unlike the default reading mode, silent reading mode will allow students to read a book silently without having to draw attention to themselves or disturbing their classmates. In addition to giving teachers more flexibility in how they use Read Along, this new reading mode is particularly useful in scenarios where multiple students might be working on a reading assignment in the same space. With less noise and fewer distractions, students can still build independent reading skills and will continue to:
- Receive assistance from the AI reading buddy when needed by clicking on any unknown words
- Be presented with questions to help with their reading comprehension
- Receive stars when they read with few errors or assistance and answer questions correctly
Additional details
When using silent reading mode, teachers will not be provided with a student's reading performance related to accuracy, words per minute, or phonics. The teacher will receive reading performance insights related to comprehension.
Getting started
- Admins:
- Existing Workspace Customers (those who signed up for Workspace for Education before July 7, 2024): Read Along in Classroom will be available to all Google Workspace for Education customers as a service that will be covered under the Workspace for Education Terms of Service. You can enable Read Along in the Admin console for users in your domain to access this service. Visit the Help Center to learn more about turning Read Along on or off for users.
- For new Workspace Customers (those who sign up for Workspace for Education on or after July 7, 2024): Read Along will be automatically enabled in the console, and all eligible users will have direct access to it. Visit the Help Center to learn how to turn Google Read Along on or off for users.
- End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about Read Along in Google Classroom.
Rollout pace
- Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Available now.
Availability
Available for Google Workspace:
- Education Plus and the Teaching and Learning add-on