See the latest releases and changes we’ve rolled out this month.
Happy September, Kami-ly! Find out what’s new in Kami this month — plus all the exciting updates that we’re planning to release over the next few weeks.
“Open with Kami” Button in Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets
Want to add Kami-magic to your Google Docs, Slides, or Sheets? You can now do this more efficiently with the all-new Kami button — a time-saving addition to your Google toolbox!
Clicking the Kami button will instantly convert your file, so you can start enhancing any existing resource using the Kami tools you know (and love).
What are some of the benefits?
- Ease of use and improved workflows: We’ve made Kami even easier to use by adding this button; a time-saver for you and your students.
- Personalized feedback: Create timely multimedia comments and feedback that your students are more likely to engage with.
- Create and edit content for assignments: Quickly edit your content in Kami before pushing it out as a Google Classroom assignment.
To learn more, check out this article.
Read Aloud feature for Text Box and Dictionary
You wanted it; we made it happen. Text Box and Dictionary just got a whole lot better! Now, you can access the Read Aloud feature to read Text Box content/words aloud and to read the text/definitions displayed with the Dictionary tool.
Read Text Boxes aloud
- Using the Select, Text Box, or Read Aloud tool, hover over or click on any text box content.
- On the pop-up toolbar, click the microphone button to start. You can pause if you need to.
Read Dictionary definitions aloud
- With the Dictionary tool, click or highlight the word you want to define.
- A definition will pop up, here you’ll see microphone buttons you can click.
A new look for Kami’s Dashboard
With this new look, we’ve taken steps to create a Dashboard that is simpler and future-proofed for Kami’s brand direction. See the difference between then, and now:
New look, same functions: Your Dashboard may look a little different but, don’t worry, the functionality is still the same! The buttons you’re familiar with are still where they should be.
Intuitive and sleek design: The modern design makes the display a lot friendlier for any device. Plus, buttons and sections are reorganized for easy navigation.
Designed for accessibility: Your new Dashboard is designed to support our accessibility features, including keyboard navigation and Dark Mode display.
Question tool is now available in beta
Have you always wanted to create quizzes and graded activities in Kami? Our new Question tool will do just that — and more!
What does the Question tool do?
The Question tool gives you the option of Multiple Choice, Dropdown, and Short Answer question types. Each can be modified, so you can customize the questions to your needs.
Who can access the Question tool?
The Question tool will be available to Google Classroom users for the initial release. We plan to make it available for other LMS integrations in the future.
Check out this Help Center article to learn more.
Want to test the Question tool?
We’re beyond excited to be building this tool with the help of our community. If you’re keen to test drive the Question tool and provide feedback to our team, we’d love to hear from you!
Sign up to this form: kami.app/form/beta
More updates
Show/Hide Add Pages in Feature Control — you can now show/hide the Add Pages button for your students or collaborators through Feature Control.
The “Class View” button in Google Classroom (formerly named “Grade by Page”) has been updated to say “Class View” Check out this article to learn more about Class View for Google Classroom.
Publish Changes with Google Classroom is now available for all teachers to try! Check out this article to learn more about Publish Changes for Google Classroom.
Shapes tool usability improvements mean it’s now easier to interact with shapes that you create or edit. This change mainly improves user experience.
The music sheet in Add Pages has a refreshed design to ensure that the page is even more user-friendly.
What’s Coming this October
Video subtitles for Video Comments and uploaded videos
We’re constantly looking for ways to make Kami more and more accessible for everyone. That’s why we’re excited to be busy working on a new feature that lets you turn on video subtitles for Video Comments and videos you’ve added in your documents.
Allowing file owners to delete collaborators’ annotations
We’re currently making the final tweaks to make it possible for file owners to delete their file collaborators’ annotations. The initial release will be usable for files linked to your Google Drive, OneDrive, and Kami Cloud files –but not including files shared through a learning management system.
Ability to move annotations from page to page
We’re working on a usability enhancement that will let you move your annotations between pages in Kami. This has been a much requested feature for a while, so we’re stoked to release this for you soon!
More improvements to usability
We’re currently working on a few improvements to make your Kami experience even better, especially to improve user interactions with shapes, drawings and added media. There’ll be more updates on these types of improvements in our next blog release.
Real-time updates with Class View
With this improvement, teachers’ changes while grading will be visible to students in real-time. Allowing your students to receive feedback in-class and get straight back to business! Read our Help Center article to learn more about Class View.
Enhancements for Kami and Microsoft Teams integrations
Kami’s integration with Microsoft Teams will keep getting better as we add more features. We have a few improvements lined up, including the ability to use our popular Feature Control.
Explore our August updates
Sign up to join our mailing list! 
If you’d like to stay up-to-date with our latest resources, updates, and news, sign up for a free Kami account!
What is Kami?
Looking for a crash course; watch our quick introductory video!
