Every month Google rolls out updates to the products that teachers know and love. Some of those updates are significant and others are just minor tweaks that make life a little easier. Here are some of the more significant product updates that occurred in April.
1. A completely new version of Google Earth was unveiled. The new version was designed to be used in the Chrome web browser, in turn making it available for Chromebook users. Click here to watch my tour of the new Google Earth. And join me in Teaching History With Technology to learn how to use Google Earth in your classroom.
2. Google Classroom is now available to anyone who has a Gmail address. As long as you have a Gmail address you can create and or join Google Classroom courses. Click here for directions on how to make your own Google Classroom. Join me in Getting Going With G Suite to learn how all parts of G Suite can work together in your classroom.
3. Speak to Go is a new WebVR experiment that allows you to direct virtual reality with your voice. You can use it in your Google Cardboard viewer or you can use it on your desktop in the Chrome browser. More information can be read here.
4. Speaking of VR, Google is promoting a set of virtual reality tours related to Alexander Hamilton’s life.
5. More Street View imagery was added to Google Maps including these great images of California’s redwood forests.
6. Google+, the social network that everyone has, but no one remembers, has a new “Topics” feature that is supposed to help you discover more posts about things you are interested in.
7. For administrators there is a new option for controlling who can or cannot use Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets in offline mode.
