What's New in Google - April 2020

Catch up on everything new in G Suite for Education from April 2020, and see great ideas and resources!

Below is the recorded video from our April 2020 Google User Meeting, along with the meeting agenda and all the awesome resources and G Suite updates from the summer months. This includes 16 new Google updates and 32 Google resources for your class.

The monthly meetings are hosted by the Google Educator Group of Ohio, but are open to anyone from any location. The purpose of these meetings is to:

• Connect Google-using educators
• Share the latest Google Apps news and features
• Provide tutorials, demonstrations, and how-to’s
• Share best practices of how Google Apps is being used within schools
• Ask questions and get answers

The video from the meeting is recorded and available for later viewing for those who cannot attend or connect live. See below to view the recorded video, agenda, and all the resources from the April 2020 meeting:




Note: If you would like to see each of the agenda items with links directly to those spots in the video, open the video using the YouTube link below and then click “Show More” below the video.

 YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP-Jnk11A3k

You can view the full Google Document agenda with links to all the Google Apps updates from the last month, as well as all the resources covered in the meeting in the Google Doc linked below.

 View the agenda - Google Document link

Agenda details

Upcoming Events

• Free Webinar - Remote Learning & Pear Deck (with Eric Curts) - Wednesday, May 6 at 6pm EDT - Website link
• Global GEG Staffroom: Mental Health Matter - Sign up here for future sessions - Join in here - Resources - Sunday: 3pm EST, Tuesday: 9:00am EST, Thursday: 5:30am EST
• NEOTech On Demand - neotechconference.org (CEUs and Grad Credit available)

What's New in G Suite

April 2020

• 3/31/2020 - Chromebooks Getting Microphone Gain Controls - Resource link
• 4/1/2020 - Google Keep gets always-visible docked sidebar on the web - Resource link
• 4/2/2020 - Transform your photo in the style of an iconic artist with Art Transfer - Resource link
• 4/9/2020 - A new keyboard for typing braille on Android - Resource link
• 4/9/2020 - Extending availability of Google Meet advanced features to all customers through September 30, 2020 - Resource link
• 4/9/2020 - New Meet features to improve distance learning - Resource link
• 4/16/2020 - Start or join a Google Meet video meeting directly from Gmail- Resource link
• 4/17/2020 - Google Drive in-app document scanner gains Material Design makeover - Resource link
• 4/21/2020 - Google Duo adds new features including increasing size to 12 participants - Resource link
• 4/22/2020 - Google Meet gets upgrades including tile view with 16 participants, high quality video, low-light mode, and noise cancellation - Resource link
• 4/22/2020 - Present high-quality video and audio in Google Meet- Resource Link
• 4/23/2020 - New features for Google Sites: Templates, announcement banners, and access for children with Google Accounts- Resource link
• 4/27/2020 - Google Meet for mobile gets low-light mode - Resource link
• 4/28/2020 - New sharing dialog for Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms- Resource link
• 4/28/2020 - Google Lens working on a step-by-step math problem solver - Resource link
• 4/29/2020 - Google Meet premium video meetings now free for personal Gmail accounts - Resource link

Show and Tell

Resources from special Guest Sarah Kiefer

• Tech You Can Do - Resource link
• TYCD: Resources - Resource link
• Templates for Teachers - Resource link
• Create your own field trip app with Google Slides - Resource link
• Create your own school app with Google Slides - Resource link
• Create your own app with Google Sheets and Glide - Resource link

Resources from Eric Curts

• Screencastify for Remote Teaching - Resource link
• Video Series: How to Use Google Classroom (9 short videos) - Resource link
• Video Series: How to Use Google Hangouts Meet (13 short videos) - Resource link
• See Everyone with the Google Meet Grid View Extension - Resource link
• How to Create Self-Grading Quizzes in Google Classroom - Resource link
• How to Keep Students from Starting or Recording a Meet - Resource link
• How to Keep Students from Joining or Rejoining a Google Meet without You - Resource link
• Whiteboard Tools for Google Hangouts Meet - Resource link
• Google Meet is now integrated in Google Classroom! - Resource Link
• 3 Ways to See Your Students when Presenting in Google Meet - Resource link
• Give Remote Control in Google Meet with One Click! - Resource link
• Annotate PDF's Together in Google Meet with Kami - Resource link
• Chromebook accessibility tools for distance learning - Resource link
• "Killed by Google" site catalogs all discontinued Google products - Resource link

Resources from Stephanie Howell

• Get EdTech Smacked - Resource Link
• Google Mute Tab - Resource Link
• Meet Mute - Resource Link
• Group work - Resource Link
• Have Fun In Your Online Meetings! Game Ideas For Class, Staff, Or Family Online Meet-ups - Resource link
• Jamboard - Resource Link
• Daily check in - Resource Link
• Where in the world - Resource link
• Challenges - Resource link
• Providing Feedback - Resource link
• Too Suite - Resource Link
• Slides Reveal - Resource link

(For more community submitted resources from the meeting, see the agenda document.)

To see the schedule for upcoming Google User Group meetings visit:

 Google User Group schedule - https://sites.google.com/view/geg-ohio/monthly-meetings

Post by Eric Curts. Connect with me on Twitter at twitter.com/ericcurts