(Series) Technological news and other interesting features... from Google

Here are some new features found in Google tools. These were presented by our Instructional Services Coordinator, Alexandra Coutlée, at the Community of Practice for Information Technology Management in Education (CPGTIE) on November 25, 2022. These are drawn primarily from the Google blog or the calendar launch of the new products.

Please note that not all of the announced new features are being rolled out simultaneously to all users. Some of them are also reserved for Education Standard, Education Plus or Teaching and Learning. Please refer to your local RÉCIT or your school's IT department to verify the availability of features.

Google Sheets/Spreadsheet

• Use the tokens (smart chips) to share a document, an event in a calendar or a contact. A nice way to organize content in a spreadsheet.
• A new feature is available in the Insert menu: the Timeline. For project management or for timelines, it is now very easy to organize information that will be presented in a chronological way!

Google meet

• Share meeting artifacts (like attendance lists or recording) with additional hosts. Enable this option through Google Calendar or directly in the video call options.
• Start or join a Meet from Jamboard. Ideal when you have only one screen or when you want to focus on your meeting.
• Control Google Slides presentations directly from the Meet screen (again, very convenient in single screen mode).
• A transcript of the meetings is also available in some versions. The transcript is then added to a Google Docs document that includes time markers to easily find some of what was said during a meeting.

Google Docs/Document

• Link preview and word prediction, already available on the web version, are now available on the mobile versions.

Google Chat

• Custom emoji creation allows the user to import an image and use it as an emoji. Great creative possibilities!

Google Marketplace

• Google's app store has added search filters to locate available apps by tool, price or free and user rating.

Google Data Studio/Looker

• Google Data Studio becomes Looker. The tool that allows to create dashboards and databases changes its name, but keeps its free version. 

To see an example of its use, check out our professional development podcast directory created with Looker. https://ecolebranchee.com/liste-balados-education-numerique/

Youtube

• Several visual novelties have appeared in YouTube, but they are rather aesthetic. However, one new feature could be useful when watching a tutorial. It is the pinch zoom. Just as you can do with an image, you can target a part of a video to get a closer look.

You will find here the complete presentation of the new products prepared by Alexandra Coutlée. 

To know more :

• A presentation made to the GEG Quebec Facebook group.
• The Service Geek Podcast which deals with the subject.

Published on August 25, 2022

In collaboration with Alexandra Coutlée, École branchée Educational Services Coordinator

It's back to school and you have a thousand and one things on your mind. To help you out, we've taken a look at what's new from the major manufacturers of digital tools and platforms that you may be using at school. In this series, we will present you with changes and improvements that should catch your attention. 

Here are the new features announced by Google Education.

Please note that not all of the new features listed are being rolled out to all users at the same time. We invite you to refer to your local RÉCIT or to your school's IT services to verify the availability of the features.

Classroom

• Schedule assignments to be published in multiple courses (different times, different topics, etc.)
• Arrival of the complementary modules (add-ons) (available only with Teaching and Learning and Education Plus versions)
• New interface for attaching a file to an assignment

Cat

• Participant limit increased from 400 to 8000 for Google Chat rooms
• Add a task from a message in Chat
• Most frequent emojis available quickly

Forms

• Added rich text format: it is now possible to bold, italicize, add a link and much more in questions and descriptions (finally!)
• New font options (in the Theme section).
• Synchronize real-time survey results with Slides, Docs, Sheets

Site (s

• Ability to reuse themes from one site to another
• Added a content spacing option
• Integration of pages as complete pages

Meet

• Ability to pin multiple participants
• Adding the mode Picture-in-Picture (this allows those who have only one screen to continue to follow a meeting, while browsing elsewhere)
• Automatic disconnection after warning if you are alone in a meeting after 5 minutes (no more forgetting in the background!)
• From Documents, Spreadsheets or Presentations, it is now possible to participate in a Meet video conference and present content directly in the video conference (requires Chrome or Edge browser)

Disk (Drive)

• Adding new search filters
• Changes in the document sharing interface
• Added a new column that indicates where a document is located when searching
• Keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V) now work without the need to install an extension

Documents

• Ability to select multiple text boxes for editing
• Added table layout options
• Adding emojis in comment mode
• Ability to add drop-down menus directly in the text

Agenda

• Added a new individual booking calendar that can be easily shared (ideal for scheduling meetings with relatives or colleagues)
• Adding the workplace (home, office, or other) - very convenient for hybrid work mode and sharing with colleagues!

Chromebook

• A new option Screencast has been integrated

In addition :

• Presentation What's new at Google through Alexandra Coutlée.

Discover the other articles in this series:

• On the Apple side
• On the Microsoft side
• In various educational applications

Have you noticed other new features in these tools or other applications that you use regularly with your students? Let us know by writing to info@ecolebranchee.com