The end of November is here. In the past month, Google has announced a number of updates for many of the products that are often used by teachers and students. I discussed a lot during the month, but there were a few that I missed. And there are few updates to the original updates from earlier this month. Here are seven Google product updates that should be noticed from November.
Add audio to Google slides
This was probably the biggest update that Google announced in November. After years of waiting, Google Presentations finally has native support for adding audio to your presentations. You no longer need to use suspicious-quality third-party add-ons or other crazy solutions to add audio to your slides. Watch my video to see how you can add audio to Google Presentations.
[Embed] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8EspYOYaN4 [/ embed]
Smart Compose in Google Docs
Just like Smart Compose in Gmail, Smart Compose in Google Docs will try to predict what you want to write in a sentence. If the prediction is correct, you can press the tab key to complete the sentence. To use this feature, you must register to participate in the beta test. To register for the beta you must be a domain administrator. Read more information here.
Different page numbers for different sections of Google Docs
This is a small but welcome update for Google Docs users. You can now specify the page numbers that apply to a portion of a Google document instead of being stuck with the default set of page numbers. More details here.
Take guided tours in the web version of Google Earth
This is a feature that we have been waiting for two years to see add to the web version of Google Earth. Now you can add your own set of multimedia placemarks to Google Earth. Read more or view my demo to see how it works.
[Embed] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16FqvNoEP7U [/ embed]
A new way to collect feedback on Google sites
This was announced on November 19, but an update six days later said that this feature has been postponed for most users. When Google Sites is fully rolled out, users have a new option to get feedback through their sites. Instead of creating a Google form and then embedding it, you can use a native feedback form in the Google Sites footer. Read more about how that works by reading this announcement from Google.
Add foldable text boxes to Google Sites
At first I didn’t think too much about this update. Then I saw how much it improved the layout of the portfolios of some of my students built in Google Sites. This has proven to be a great option for my students to use on the pages on which they write long blocks of text about their app development projects.
Re-use sections in Google Classroom
Earlier this fall, Google introduced a beta test of a rubrics feature in Google Classroom. My feedback, as well as that of many others, was that an option to re-use sections was needed. Google has listened this week and added that option.
[Embed] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liqKPld2vP0 [/ embed]
