What's New in Google - January 2020

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What's New in Google? graphic with starburst
(Image credit: Eric Curts)

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

Below is the recorded video from our January 2020 Google User Meeting, along with the meeting agenda and all the awesome resources and G Suite updates from the summer months. This includes 37 new Google updates and 15 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 January 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=FwPvr581ZU8

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

What's New in G Suite

December 2019

  • 12/2/2019 - Drive file suggestions in Google Chrome will be generally available beginning in December - Resource Link
  • 12/2/2019 - Improvements to image carousels, table of contents, and buttons in new Google Sites - Resource Link
  • 12/3/2019 - Version History rolling out to the new Google Sites - Resource Link
  • 12/3/2019 - Embed Cloud Search in your new Google Sites - Resource Link 
  • 12/3/2019 - Dark mode available for Google Tasks on iOS - Resource Link
  • 12/4/2019 - Review the latest changes to a new Google Site before publishing - Resource Link
  • 12/4/2019 - Google launches Santa's Village site for this year with new educational and fun activities - Resource Link
  • 12/4/2019 - Google rolls out Focus Mode as part of the Digital Wellbeing tools for Android - Resource Link
  • 12/5/2019 - Google updating search results in Admin Console to be more helpful - Resource Link
  • 12/6/2019 - Google Chrome prepares built-in QR code generator to share web addresses - Resource Link 
  • 12/9/2019 - Propose a new meeting time or add a note to Calendar invites from Gmail - Resource Link
  • 12/9/2019 - Google adds new option to attach emails to other emails in Gmail - Resource Link
  • 12/10/2019 - Google expands password, phishing protections in Chrome and redesigns profiles - Resource Link
  • 12/11/2019 - Google Search rolling out "smarter" Top Stories carousel with machine learning - Resource Link
  • 12/12/2019 - Google's "Art Zoom" video series adds two new entries: "The Scream" by Edvard Munch and Botticcelli’s "Birth of Venus" - Resource Link
  • 12/12/2019 - Google Assistant adds "Interpreter Mode" to provide live translation so you can have a back and forth conversation with someone speaking a foreign language - Resource Link
  • 12/17/2019 - Google Calendar has started testing Google Tasks integration - Resource Link
  • 12/17/2019 - Chrome OS gets update to control music from lock screen - Resource Link
  • 12/17/2019 - Change to locations of booked rooms in Google Calendar events - Resource Link
  • 12/18/2019 - Help your team get more out of G Suite with four new resources - Resource Link

January 2020

  • 1/6/2020 - Doodle for Google 2020 contest now open - Resource Link
  • 1/7/2020 - Google Assistant on Android will offer powerful "read this page" text to speech option for web pages - Resource Link
  • 1/8/2020 - More options for copying presentations in Google Slides - Resource Link
  • 1/8/2020 - Break out a single value within a pie chart in Google Sheets - Resource Link
  • 1/9/2020 - Google Docs add-on "SAS Writing Reviser" to be discontinued on July 15, 2020 - Resource Link
  • 1/13/2020 - Google Admin Console adds option for super admins to recover their passwords - Resource Link
  • 1/15/2020 - Google updates timeline for discontinuing Chrome apps - Resource Link
  • 1/16/2020 - Manage audio and video in Chrome with one click - Resource Link
  • 1/21/2020 - G Suite Add-ons now generally available in Calendar, Gmail, and Google Drive - Resource Link
  • 1/21/2020 - Originality reports and rubrics now generally available for Google Classroom users - Resource Link
  • 1/21/2020 - Google updates the collection of creativity apps for Chromebooks to include WeVideo, Book Creator, Infinite Painter, Squid, Soundtrap and Explain Everything - Resource Link
  • 1/21/2020 - Google extends support for new Chromebooks to 8 years, but also raises price for licenses - Resource Link
  • 1/23/2020 - Google's Dataset Search comes out of beta - Resource Link
  • 1/27/2020 - Google App Maker will be shut down on January 19, 2021 - Resource Link
  • 1/28/2020 - Google Translate app to add "Transcribe" mode for long-form real-time translation - Resource Link
  • 1/29/2020 - Google launches Tangi for 60-second how-to videos for art, cooking, DIY, fashion, lifestyle, and more - Resource Link
  • 1/29/2020 - Hangouts Meet gets option to use your phone for your audio during a video call - Resource Link

Show and Tell

  • SAMR matrix with Alex Oris - Resource Link
  • Create Stop Motion Animation on a Chromebook using Stop Motion Animator - Resource Link
  • Create Filters in Gmail - Resource Link
  • Second Grade Harvest Holidays Hyperdoc - Resource Link
  • Sheet Spider add-on for Google Sheets - Resource Link
  • Easy Accents - New version of the popular Docs add-on released, needs reinstalled - Resource Link
  • Stop, Breath, and Listen - Resource Link
  • ScriptSlide - Resource Link - Add-on for Google Slides to display your speaker notes and then use your phone to remotely control your progress through the text.
  • Google Calendar cheat sheet - Resource Link
  • Writing Roadmap - Resource Link
  • Picture in Picture extension for Chrome - Resource Link
  • The easiest way to make a buzz-in type game to play with students - Resource Link
  • Screencastify extension updates free version with all premium features, now with a 5 minute limit per video - Resource Link
  • Forget Ctrl + V... Learn Windows + V - Resource Link
  • Classroom Assist - Google Innovator Project- Resource link

To see the schedule for upcoming Google User Group meetings visit:
Google User Group schedule - https://sites.google.com/view/geg-ohio/monthly-meetings

cross posted at www.controlaltachieve.com

Eric Curts is an education trainer and consultant with over 20 years' experience throughout the U.S. He is an authorized Google Education Trainer and a Google Certified Innovator. Read his blog at www.controlaltachieve.com and follow him on Google+ and @ericcurts on Twitter.

Eric Curts