New Google Tool Helps Teachers Check Students’ Homework More Easily

Google has launched a new tool that will help teachers check students’ outputs for plagiarism. Called Assignments, the tool incorporates features found in other Google programs such as Google Docs, Google Drive, and Google Search. The program works by generating an “originality report” when an output is submitted on its platform. The tool creates this report by cross-checking outputs against Google’s database for any signs of plagiarism, which include ineffective paraphrasing and missing citations. According to Google’s G Suite for Education Product Manager Brian Hendricks, the tool can help teachers check and grade assignments more efficiently. He said that, currently, many teachers manually copy and paste students’ outputs into Google’s search bar to check for lifted text. Hendricks hopes that with Google Assignments, teachers’ checking process will become less time-consuming. Apart from this, the new tool can also help students write their outputs. Before submitting their final work, students can run a maximum of three originality reports to check the integrity of their work. This lets them edit out any unintended plagiarism that might have been committed while writing. The new tool also features a comment bank that lets teachers easily leave feedback on their students’ outputs. Students can also respond to or communicate with their teachers directly through the comments. In the future, Google plans to add a feature that lets schools have their own repositories of students’ outputs. This will enable teachers to check and compare assignments with past submissions within the same schools. However, the tech company has no plans of creating a worldwide network of student papers. Currently, Assignments is available for free in beta.