We’re excited to introduce Google document playback — a feature designed to provide a deeper understanding of student work. Instead of just seeing the finished document, you can now replay a student’s entire writing process, from the first word to the final draft.
In this article, you will learn about:
How to view Google document playback
Go to Assignments → [Assignment name] → All submissions page.
Open a student’s Google document submission and click on the ‘playback button’ located at the bottom-right corner.
Note: This feature is available only for Google documents submitted as links.
How the playback feature works
When you click the playback button, a pop-up window will appear. Here’s what you can view and do using the pop-up:
View edit history
Active time spent: The total time a student spent actively making edits (not just the time the document was open).
Number of edits: The total number of changes made to the document.
Number of pastes: How many times text was pasted in (detected when more than 125 characters are added in a single edit).
Last edited details: Date and time when the document was most recently updated.
Replay the edits
Play button: Starts the replay, showing every change the student made step by step.
Initial state:
If the student used a teacher-provided template → playback starts with the template.
If the student started with a blank document → playback begins with an empty screen.
Note: If you make edits to a student’s submission, those edits will also appear in playback and be attributed to you.
Paste markers: Flag when a large chunk of text (more than 125 characters) is added in a single edit. This helps you quickly spot where content may have been pasted rather than typed gradually.
Playhead: Drag and drop to jump to a specific place in the timeline.
Speed control: By default, playback runs at 10x speed. You can adjust the speed from the playback menu.
Adjust the playback window
The playback pop-up also comes with handy controls allowing you to view the student submission and the playback window side-by-side to make your grading process easier:
Resize: Hover over the edge of the pop-up until a two-sided arrow appears, then drag to adjust the size.
Drag: Use the horizontal bar at the top of the pop-up to reposition the window anywhere on the screen.
Close pop-up window: Click on the ‘x’ button at the top right corner to close the window.
Feature access
Only teachers can access the Google document playback feature. Students and family members cannot see or use this feature.
How to troubleshoot common issues
If you are unable to access this feature, check that:
You are mapped to the class where you want to review this assignment as a teacher.
You have edit rights to the submitted document.
The Google document was submitted as a link.
Note: This feature is not available for Google Slides, Sheets, or other uploaded files.
Your Google account with the required document access/rights is connected to Toddle
If none of this helps, reach out to your Toddle buddy for further assistance!
That's all for now. We will continue to innovate and improve to make your Toddle experience better each day!