New Discover search and a Google Classroom add-on aim to reduce the time teachers spend finding and sharing educational resources
The BBC Bitesize add-on allows teachers to search for resources within Google Classroom. Image: BBC.
BBC Bitesize has worked with secondary school teachers to map more than 140 tasks that can sit alongside delivering lessons, informing the development of new tools for lesson preparation and resource sharing.
The work covered nine areas of teachers’ working lives, including curriculum planning, assessment, safeguarding, student wellbeing, behavior management and professional development. Participating teachers described homework tracking and assessment planning as manual and time-consuming.
In separate market research commissioned by BBC Bitesize with 500 teachers, 77% identified saving time on lesson planning and preparation as a priority when choosing digital learning resources.
Matt Green, a former secondary school teacher and TikTok content creator known as the Rapping Science Teacher, describes the cycle of preparation and follow-up:
“Before a lesson even begins, you're finding the right resources, adapting materials for pupils with different abilities and preparing activities for the class. Then once the lesson is over, there's homework to set, assessments to review and pupil progress to monitor, all while getting ready to do it again the next day. It's not just the time these tasks take, it's the mental load of constantly keeping track of everything.”
Finding BBC resources inside Google Classroom
BBC Bitesize for Teachers is introducing two experiences: Discover, which provides improved search and filtering, and a Google Classroom add-on that brings resource searches into teachers’ existing assignment tools.
The add-on allows teachers to browse thousands of BBC Bitesize resources without leaving Google Classroom, attach content to lesson materials and assignments, and share it with students.
The search improvements are also available through the Teachers section of BBC Bitesize. Results carry “For Teachers” or “For Students” labels to identify their original audience. Teacher resources include guidance and suggestions for classroom use, while student resources are designed for learners to use directly or with support.
Schools’ Google Workspace administrators may need to approve access through Google Workspace Marketplace before teachers can install the add-on.
Cerys Griffiths, Head of BBC Bitesize, says:
“We want to help teachers save time by bringing Bitesize into Google Classroom and launching Bitesize for Teachers Discover, making our resources easier to find and share.”
BBC Teach becomes Bitesize for Teachers
The tools form part of a wider change to the BBC’s education website. BBC Teach has become Bitesize for Teachers, bringing teacher-facing content into BBC Bitesize alongside resources for learners and parents.
Its free classroom materials cover primary and secondary education, including curriculum-linked videos, Live Lessons, School Radio and projects such as BBC micro and 500 Words. Existing resource URLs remain unchanged, so saved bookmarks continue to work.
The content cannot be accessed outside the UK and Crown Dependencies, including by British institutions overseas.
For Green, the integration builds on services already familiar to teachers: “BBC Bitesize is already a resource I know and trust, and Google Classroom is part of how many teachers manage their day-to-day work. Having the two work together is a really practical step.”
He adds: “It's about making the tools we already rely on work better together, without adding another job to the list.”
ETIH Innovation Awards 2027 open for entries
The ETIH Innovation Awards 2027 are now open for entries, with 26 categories recognising companies, institutions, projects and individuals making a measurable impact across education technology. The global awards span AI in education, digital learning, higher education, skills and workforce, inclusion, education operations, evidence and impact, with entries managed through ETIH’s new online awards platform.
Entries are open worldwide, with the early-bird deadline on Friday 18 December 2026 and the final entry deadline on Friday 26 February 2027 at 23:59 UK time.
Explore the 2027 categories and judging criteria, read the How to Enter guide or start an entry through the ETIH Innovation Awards 2027 platform.
