Dive Brief:

• Just two months after announcing its Classroom learning management system, Google is rolling out upgrades.  
• Namely, the LMS now features Google Groups integration, allowing multi-person discussions, the ability for teachers to download grades all at once, and control over how and when students can post in a class' shared activity log.  
• The updates come just a week after Microsoft announced its own LMS app within Office 365.

Dive Insight:

According to PC World, Google previously relied on third-party ISVs (independent software vendors) to create specialized software for their education suites. Both Google and Microsoft's forays into the LMAS market indicates a hopeful push for innovation as competition rises. Both companies already had tools that would benefit classrooms, but teachers were forced to use them on their own accord or in isolation for a true education suite.  Now, that Google is actually thinking about technologies like Google Groups from an education standpoint, we can probably expect to see many more useful "reinventions" in the future.