--- title: January slug: january docTags: createdAt: 2025-04-02T16:48:36.894Z --- ## New Google Meet Collaboration Integration in ampEducator **Release Date: **January 27, 2025 We’re excited to announce that **Google Meet** is now available as a collaboration provider in ampEducator! This update allows instructors and students to use Google Meet for online meetings, making collaboration even more flexible. ::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/dAaYdF15xm67t_NLKoQQv/dc2ogCV9CBsi5p5SnY74E_googlemeet.png" size="54" width="940" height="788" position="center" showCaption="false"} ### Key Features - **Multiple Collaboration Providers**: Users can now choose between multiple collaboration providers (such as **Google Meet** and **Zoom**) - **Google Meet Integration**: Instructors can integrate **Google Meet** for scheduling and hosting virtual meetings. Students can easily access these meetings through the platform. - **Attendance Tracking**: Google Meet now supports automatic attendance tracking, ensuring that instructors don’t need to manually check in on participants. - **Instructor Domain Requirement**: For Google Meet meetings to work, instructors must have an email address that is part of the same domain as the meetings. For example, if meetings are on **@school.com**, the instructor’s email must also be **@school.com**. - **Seamless Collaboration**: The integration works similarly to **Zoom** – simply navigate to **User Name / Institution Config / General / Collaboration**. Select **Google Meet** as the meeting provider and follow the instructions to configure it. Once configured, instructors can easily choose the provider to schedule and host virtual sessions when creating a new collaboration. ![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/dAaYdF15xm67t_NLKoQQv/BucdR00SglJ3OvliC9f-l_screen-shot-2025-01-27-at-61913-pm.png) ### Updated Student Course Collaboration View - The student view for collaboration sessions has been updated to make it more user-friendly and intuitive. The **Launch** button now replaces the previous **Link** icon and will be disabled until 5 minutes before the meeting starts. - A **View Recordings** button has been added for when meeting recordings are available. **Note**: While Google Meet does not yet have features like auto-recording, we are continuously working on improvements. ## New Grading Updates in ampEducator **Release Date: **January 21, 2025 We’ve rolled out several updates to improve grading efficiency, provide more control, and enhance the student experience: ### Course Grade Groups - Organize grade items into customizable groups - Set individual weights for each grade item, with automatic calculations for relative and absolute weights - Track dropped grades with the **Take Best** option - Easily categorize grade items and track group totals ### Student Grade Item History - A new **Clock** icon tracks the history of each grade, including date, user, grade changes, and comments - View all updates made to a student’s grade for greater transparency ### Gradebook Enhancements - **Grade Items** are automatically categorized under their respective **Grade Groups** for clearer organization - Error alerts prevent you from assigning more weight than is possible for a group ### Student Portal Improvements - **Assessments** and **Resources** have been grouped for easier navigation - **Weighted marks** are now displayed more clearly, and students can see which grades have been dropped in grade groups using the **Take Best** option ### Course Templates - Grade group configurations are now available in **Course Templates**, making it easy to apply your grading structure to new courses These updates enhance grading and course management, improving both instructor workflows and student experience. ![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/dAaYdF15xm67t_NLKoQQv/0HNcynVAv15eiqSxhky8b_screen-shot-2025-01-21-at-25347-pm.png) ::Iframely{originalUrl="https://scribehow.com/embed/New_Grading_Features_in_ampEducator__7e6V1cdOSd-OiNsEB8TA2w?as=video" embedUrl="https://scribehow.com/embed/New_Grading_Features_in_ampEducator__7e6V1cdOSd-OiNsEB8TA2w?as=video" title="Scribe | Embed New_Grading_Features_in_ampEducator__7e6V1cdOSd OiNsEB8TA2w" html="
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