New Updates for the School Year

 There have been many updates this summer but instead of telling you about all of them, I decided to highlight the ones I believe you will either really appreciate or will want to use.


Google Classroom Update


  1. A new update to Google Classroom is the ability for the teacher to lock submissions on assignment past a certain date. If the submission is closed for a specific assignment, students may still access their assignment-related documents to continue to edit. 


  1. The Comments feature has had an update. You can now format the text using bold, italics, underline, and with bullet points. You can also reply to a comment right from your Gmail without having to go to Google Classroom. 


Google Doc, Slides, Sheets Updates


  1. In Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets, there is now a magnifying glass in the top left-hand side. You can use this to quickly find and use a tool without having to go through the menu bar. If you select the tool, it will automatically do it for you. (this will be very handy in Sheets when trying to format or add formulas)


  1. You can add Alt-Text to images in Docs, Slides, and Sheets to help with accessibility features. It will be on the Image Options tool. This allows you to add text to describe the picture so people with vision issues can still access the information. Click here for more info.


  1. Soon, you will be able to add annotations while presenting in Google Slide. To do so, you must be in the Presentation mode. Then, you will select the three vertical dots and select Turn On Pen. Click here for more info.


  1. The tables feature available in Google Docs has changed. You can now easily customize exactly where you want it like you can currently do with images. (this is coming soon) Click here for more info.


Google Forms Update


  1. When sharing a Form with others, you now have different options regarding collecting email addresses. Your options now will be Verified Email Collection (previously automatic email collection), Responder input (previously manual email collection, i.e. the person typed in their email address), and Do Not Collect.

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