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3 New updates

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are fully launched or in the process of rolling out (rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete), launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time (if not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete), and available to all Google Workspace and G Suite customers.


In-line replies for email notifications in Google Classroom 
We’re making Classroom email notifications more functional and easier to use. With in-line replies for comments, teachers and students will be able to easily stay up to date and respond to communication within Classroom. Public and private comment notifications will have the freshest information, like the latest comment threads, and you can now easily respond to comments within the email itself. This will enable teachers to quickly reply to their students without having to switch back and forth between their email and Classroom. | Rollout to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains began January 30, 2023 and is expected to be completed by February 20, 2023. | Learn more. 

Expanding color options in Google Slides, Docs, Sheets and Drawings
In Google Slides, Docs, Sheets and Drawings, you can now select colors in the color palette tool by using RGBA values. In addition, you can also customize colors by using an eyedropper tool and selecting any color on your screen within the color palette. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for February 15, 2023. | Learn more. 
More ways to work with BigQuery data in Google Sheets
We’re expanding your ability to access, analyze, visualize, and share billions of rows of BigQuery data from Google Sheets:
Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts only. Not available to legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers.


Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


Google Sheets adds powerful new functions for advanced analysis
We announced 11 additional functions that will introduce new concepts, provide you with more efficient functions, and help with more advanced analysis | Learn more.


Explore Looker data using Connected Sheets
We added the ability to interactively explore modeled data from Looker, Google Cloud’s modern business intelligence platform, using Connected Sheets. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as users with personal Google Accounts only. | Learn more.


Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog post for additional details.

Rapid Release Domains: 
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New updates 

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are fully launched or in the process of rolling out (rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete), launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time (if not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete), and available to all Google Workspace and G Suite customers. 



New keyboard shortcuts for Keep
In continuing our efforts to provide a top-class user experience on large screen devices, we’re releasing updated keyboard shortcuts for Keep on Android that better align with the web experience. | View the full list of shortcuts and learn more here. 

Enhancing spell check in Google Docs
Words whose spelling is not recognized will now be underlined in red, even if there is no suggestion. When you click on such a word, you'll see it labeled as an "unknown word" -- from here you can choose to add the word to your personal dictionary or ignore the suggestion. This improvement will highlight more potential spelling errors - helping you write correctly and with confidence. Note that this feature is only available in English at this time. | Learn more. 
Improved hearing aid support for Google Meet on Android
We’ve expanded Google Meet hearing aid support on Android devices to recognize a wider variety of hearing aid devices. Meet will automatically default to using hearing aid support when they’re connected. You can also select hearing aids during a meeting from the audio settings menu. If the hearing aid has a built-in microphone, this microphone will be used. If it doesn’t the mobile phone or tablet microphone will be used.
Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


Use built-in mail merge tags like @firstname to personalize multi-send emails
We’ve launched the ability to personalize multi-send emails with mail merge tags like @firstname and @lastname. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Workspace Individual customers only. | Learn more.


Stronger Admin console protection with risk-based re-authentication challenges
In August 2022, we announced strengthened safeguards for sensitive actions taken in your Google Workspace end users accounts. Specifically, this update protected users from bad actors taking over accounts via cookie theft. Beginning this week, we’re extending this protection to the Admin console. | Learn more.


Custom emojis coming to Chat
We’re making emojis even more expressive and personalized by allowing people to create custom emojis. Everyone in an organization can view and use custom emojis uploaded by their colleagues in Chat messages and reactions. | Learn more. 


Save time by adding in grading category information before exporting Google Assignments in Google Classroom
Starting this week, teachers can include grading category information when exporting Google Classroom assignments to the SIS. | Available to Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Aspen and Skyward 2.0 (SaaS Customers Only) SIS customers only. | Learn more.


Create and manage AppSheet databases, available in public preview
AppSheet is Google’s platform for building and deploying end-to-end apps and automation without writing code. As we continue to enhance and streamline app creation, we’re introducing a built-in structured database in public preview. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus customers, as well as those with an AppSheet license. | Learn more. 


Configure App Access Control for third-party applications in bulk
You can now use that CSV file to specify the status of each app—trusted, blocked, or limited—and upload the file back into the Admin console for updates. | Available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Frontline, and Nonprofits, legacy G Suite Basic and Business, and Cloud Identity Pro customers only. | Learn more. 





For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).
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What’s changing
For teachers who export grades from Google Classroom to their student information system (SIS), it's important to make sure that all data is transferred seamlessly. Starting today, teachers can include grading category information when exporting Google Classroom assignments to the SIS. 


Who’s impacted 
End users 


Why it matters 
This highly requested grade export feature eliminates the previous experience of teachers having to manually change the grading category directly in their SIS, which was both tedious and prone to error. 


Getting started 
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: 
    • To set up your gradebook with grading categories, go to classroom.google.com, click the class > select Class Settings > and set up your grading categories. 
      • Note: The grading category titles should match the exact text in your SIS gradebook. 
    • After setting up grading categories, assign a grading category when creating an assignment. To export grades with grading categories, click SIS export > select the assignment > click export. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about exporting grades to your SIS.
Rollout pace 
Availability 
  • Available to Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade customers 
  • Available to Aspen and Skyward 2.0 (SaaS Customers Only) SIS Customers (not available with Infinite Campus). Visit the Help Center to learn more about connecting Classroom to your SIS. 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Plus, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers 
  • Not available to users with personal Google Accounts 
Resources Roadmap 
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New updates 
Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are fully launched or in the process of rolling out (rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete), launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time (if not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete), and available to all Google Workspace and G Suite customers. 


Refining notifications on the Google Classroom app 
We’ve made the following improvement to Google Classroom notifications: 
In addition to setting your preference for Classroom push notifications, you can now tailor your email notifications from Android or iOS mobile devices. | Learn more.





The text for all push notifications has been updated and we’ve enhanced Classroom action options, such as “Join class” or “View comment.” With this update, Classroom push notifications are much clearer and more actionable. | These features are available now to Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade customers only. | Learn more. 



Insert Google Maps place chips into Google Docs
Last year, we added the ability for you to insert a Google Maps place chip into a Google Doc by pasting a Maps link directly into the document. Now, you can insert place chips into your Docs using the @ menu. | Roll out to Rapid Release began August 22, 2022; launch to Scheduled Release planned for September 8, 2022. | Learn more. 




Google Meet now automatically adjusts the volume of meeting participants 
With meeting participants using various devices to join a meeting, this can lead to discrepancies in volume, with some participants sounding louder than others. Meet will adjust the audio of all participants, helping to ensure everyone is equally loud. To take advantage of this feature, make sure noise cancellation is turned on. We hope this makes for smoother meetings, with less disruptions. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Frontline, and Individual customers only. 



Previous announcements 
The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details. 



Dark Canvas theme now available on Google Meet hardware home screen 
We’re adding support for a dark home page theme for Google Meet hardware devices. When using Dark Canvas, devices will now feature dark user interface elements on the home screen when not in an active call. | Available for all supported Google Meet hardware devices that have not yet reached their auto-update expiration date. | Learn more.



Easily customize digital signage on your Google Meet hardware through Appspace 
We’re giving admins more options for customization by using their Appspace digital signage content. | Learn more. 



Insert emojis inline with text in Google Docs 
You can now express yourself in a new way by searching for and inserting emojis directly inline with your text in Google Docs. | Learn more. 



Work Insights reporting for Google Chat and Google Meet 
With the recent upgrade from Hangouts to Google Chat for Google Workspace customers, we’re pleased to introduce a Work Insights product for Meet and Chat. Work Insights allows for optimal visibility into your organization’s digital transformation journey, and helps to improve collaboration, promote growth, and much more. | Learn More. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus customers 



Google Hangouts will be fully upgraded to Google Chat starting November 1, 2022 
As a final step in the migration, beginning November 1, 2022, Google Hangouts on web will redirect to Google Chat on web, and Hangouts will no longer be accessible. Admins will receive an email containing more information about this change, as well as changes in Vault and exporting Hangouts data. | Learn More. 


For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).
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New updates

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are fully launched or in the process of rolling out (rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete), launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time (if not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete), and available to all Google Workspace and G Suite customers. 


Extending grammar features to German 
We’ve expanded our grammar features in Gmail and Docs to include German. This highlights possible grammar errors in your text to help you correct them if German is set as your default language. | Rolling out to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains now at a Gradual pace (up to 15 days for feature visibility) | Learn more here and here. 

Extending grammar features to German


Previous announcements 

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


Seamlessly access popular Education Technology tools directly in Google Classroom 
We’ve made it easier for educators to access popular EdTech tools that work best for their class directly in Google Classroom with a new seamless integration of single sign-on, assigning, and grading. | Available to the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Google Workspace for Education Plus customers only. | Learn more. 

Choose to grade with Canvas SpeedGrader or Google Assignments 
There is now an option to grade with either Google Assignments or Canvas SpeedGrader within Google Assignments for Canvas. | Available to Google Workspace Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade customers only. | Learn more. 

For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).

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What’s changing
Starting today, within Google Assignments for Canvas, there is now an option to grade with either Google Assignments or Canvas SpeedGrader. 

These tool allows educators to continue using features they already enjoy with Google Assignments, such as assigning personalized files to students, seeing students’ in-progress work, and using originality reports. If educators choose to grade with Canvas SpeedGrader, they can also utilize annotations and audio and video comments as they grade. Select SpeedGrader to grade an assignment 

canvas speed grader

Who’s impacted 
Admins and end users 


Why you’d use it 
This highly requested feature gives Canvas users a choice when deciding which grader interface works best for them. 


Getting started 

Rollout pace 

Availability 
  • Available to Google Workspace Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade customers 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Frontline, Nonprofits, and legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers 
  • Not available to users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources 
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What’s changing 
With a new seamless integration of single sign-on, assigning, and grading, we’re making it easier for educators to access popular EdTech tools that work best for their class directly in Google Classroom. 

classroom add-ons

Who’s impacted 
Admins, end users, and developers 


Why you’d use it 
This feature enables educators to browse, assign, and grade compelling content for their classes and allows both educators and students to access their EdTech tools without having to go through various login steps, such as remembering numerous usernames and passwords, or having to navigate to external websites and apps. 

In addition to saving educators and students time, this provides a more streamlined experience when using technology to make an impact on learning.


Additional details 
We partnered with 15+ EdTech companies to build custom add-ons, including Kahoot!, Pear Deck, IXL, and Nearpod. 


Getting started 
Rollout pace 
  • This feature is available now. 
Availability 
  • Available to the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Google Workspace for Education Plus customers 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Education Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers 
  • Not available to users with personal Google Accounts 
Resources Roadmap 
  • This feature was listed as an upcoming release.
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What’s changing

We’re announcing a new tool for Google Classroom called practice sets, which enables educators to transform new and existing content into engaging and interactive assignments. With autograding built in, teachers can receive performance insights and snapshots into student progress and use those insights to help inform future lesson plans. 

If they get stuck and need support, students will see automated hints and video suggestions, along with real time feedback on their answers. Assignments can be completed with a variety of tools for annotation, such as a mouse, stylus, touchpad, or math keyboard depending on how students work best.

When available, the beta will be globally available (note: in English only) for Google Workspace for Education Plus and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade. Education leaders can use this form to express interest in the beta.


Who’s impacted
End users


Why you’d use it 
Every student learns in their own way, though practice and specific feedback helps us all learn more effectively. In large classes, it can be challenging for teachers to support their students' individual journeys. Based on feedback we heard from our users, we’re introducing practice sets for Google Classroom. 


Educators can easily transform their own teaching content into interactive assignments.  Students get real-time feedback as they complete practice sets, so they know whether they’re on the right track. When they’re struggling to solve a problem, they can get hints through visual explainers and videos. 


With practice sets, educators can more easily get insight into which concepts need more instruction time and who could use extra support, giving them quick performance insights to shape future lesson plans. Visit the Keyword Blog to learn more about practice sets.




Availability
  • When available, practice sets will be available to Google Workspace Education Plus (formerly G Suite Enterprise for Education) and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade customers
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers

Resources

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What’s changing 
Teachers can now schedule posts across multiple classes in Google Classroom on the web. Teachers can use the assignment-scheduling flow to configure the: 
  • Due date 
  • Post date 
  • Topic 

Note: The rest of the assignment will remain the same.  


Once set, they can select which classes should receive the post and when it should be published: 
  • Published immediately 
  • Published at a certain time 
  • Save as draft 


Who’s impacted 
End users 



Why it matters 
This update to the scheduling function will make it quicker and easier for teachers to assign classwork across numerous classes, saving them valuable time and simplifying class planning and management. 



Additional details 
  • There is no additional cost associated with this new functionality. 
  • Once an assignment has been scheduled, teachers can change the assignment within each individual class. 
  • Note that selecting “Copy settings to all” will delete any previously entered settings for the assignment. 
  • If a co-teacher schedules a post to one or multiple classes, they will be the owner of the associated Google Drive assets along with the course owner. 

Getting started 

Rollout pace 

Availability 
  • Available to Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Education Plus customers. 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers 

Resources 
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What’s changing

You can now use originality reports on Google Slides files, which were previously only available for Google Docs.

Originality reports allow students and teachers to compare work against billions of web pages and books on the internet, making it easier to ensure academic integrity of the work. It can be used when submitting or receiving files within Google Classroom and Assignments.

Who’s impacted
End users



Why it matters
Students widely use slides to showcase academic work. By expanding the originality reports feature to run in Slides, students can ensure they’ve properly integrated external ideas into more of their work, while instructors can check for potential plagiarism in more assignments.


Additional details
Originality reports are available for all Google Workspace for Education users, but teachers will still need to turn on originality reports for individual assignments in Classroom.
 
If you have a Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals account, you can turn on originality reports for 5 assignments per class. Unlimited originality reports are available for the Teaching and Learning upgrade or upgrade to Google Workspace for Education Plus
 
Additionally, students can check their Slides file for originality before submitting it in Classroom. When the student file is ready and submitted, their teacher will receive an originality report for the student’s work.



Getting started




Rollout pace
  • This feature is now available for all Google Workspace for Education users

Availability
  • Available for Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Education Plus customers 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers

Resources

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What’s changing

Google Classroom teachers can now export their grades to Follett Aspen, a third-party Student Information System (SIS). Grade export is a one-way information push that allows:

  • Admins to establish a connection between their district SIS and Google Classroom, and configure export settings that apply to Google Classroom teachers.
  • Teachers to manually link new or existing Google Classroom classes to their SIS, and push returned assignments and grades from Google Classroom.

This is only available to users in the United States and Canada. Additionally, there is no additional cost associated with this functionality.


Who’s impacted

Admins and teacher end users


Why it matters

This feature expands the interoperability between Google Classroom and Follett Aspen SIS in the United States and Canada. Grade export saves teachers time and duplicative work by keeping their SIS in sync with fewer manual steps.


Getting started


Rollout pace

Availability
  • Available as a core service to Google Workspace Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Education Plus. 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers


Resources

Roadmap

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What’s changing 
We’re adding an Admin console setting which will enable admins to control whether students can unenroll from classes. If turned on, it will prevent students from unenrolling themselves from classes. A teacher or admin would have to unenroll them from the class instead. 


Who’s impacted 
Admins and end users 


Why you’d use it 
Students erroneously unenrolling from classes can cause disruption for teachers and an increased support volume for admins. By using this setting, you can help ensure your class rosters are accurate and up to date. Additionally, if you’re using roster import, this makes it easy to maintain your SIS as the source of truth for the roster. 


Getting started 
  • Admins: This feature will be OFF by default, and can be enabled at the domain or OU level. Find the setting at Admin console > Apps > Google Workspace > Settings for Classroom > Student unenrollment. Visit the Help Center to learn more about controlling student unenrollment settings. 
  • End users: If turned on by their admin, students will no longer see the unenroll button on the course cards on the Classroom homepage.


Rollout pace 

Availability 
  • Available as a core service to Google Workspace Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Education Plus. 
  • Available as an additional service to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers. 
Resources 
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What’s changing 
We’ve added several new features to Google Meet in Classroom, making it easier and more secure: 
  • The Class Meet link is now accessible on the side of the class stream, so students can easily join and teachers can manage the link from the stream. 
  • Students will be directed to a waiting room until a teacher has officially joined the class Meet link. 
  • Guests not on the class roster will have to “ask to join” and be admitted by the teacher before they can participate, so no unintended participants join the meetings. 
  • All designated co-teachers for a class will automatically be co-hosts in the meeting. This moderation tool will enable co-hosts to start the meeting with the same Meet link without the class teacher needing to be present. 

Who’s impacted 
Teachers and student end users 


Why it matters These features make it easier for teachers to manage meetings, help prevent unintended meeting participants from joining meetings, and generally help meetings run more smoothly. Overall, teachers and students will have a smoother and more secure experience while using Google Classroom and Google Meet. 


Additional details 
Please note that after a Meet link is generated, if a co-teacher is added or removed, you must regenerate the Meet link to update the host status. We are working on changing this functionality so the host status auto-updates, and hope to implement the change by the end of the year. 

You can follow this Forum post to stay updated on the progress of the rollout, get additional tips, FAQs and other useful updates on this launch. 

Getting started 
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature, but Google Meet must be turned on for these features to be available in Google Classroom. Learn more about how to set up and manage Meet and use Meet for distance learning.
  • End users: These features will be ON by default for new meetings created in Google Classroom. Users with existing class Meet links should reset the link to get this updated functionality. Visit the Help Center to learn more about starting a video meeting for education. 
Rollout pace 
Availability 
  • Available as a core service to Google Workspace Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Education Plus. 
  • Available as an additional service to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 
Resources Roadmap 
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What’s changing

We’re making two enhancements for Google Classroom, which will help Google Workspace for Education admins surface information about how Classroom is being used in their organization. Specifically, we’re introducing:

  • Classroom audit logs in the Admin console
  • Classroom activity logs in BigQuery, and Data Studio dashboards.

See below for more information and availability.






Who’s impacted
Admins



Why it’s important
By surfacing Classroom audit logs, Admins can quickly pinpoint who did what in their domain, such as: who removed a student from a class, who archived a class on a certain date, and more. 

For Education Standard and Plus customers, admins can export the Classroom audit log data from the Admin console to BigQuery, which allows them to query the data as needed. As a starting point, we’ve provided a Data Studio report template, which surfaces your data in an easily digestible format. Admins can copy this template and further customize it using Data Studio.

We hope this makes it easier for admins to quickly look up common activities in their organization and quickly act on scenarios where support may be needed.



Getting started

Rollout pace

Availability
Classroom audit logs
  • Available to Google Workspace Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers

BigQuery Logs + Data Studio Templates
  • Available to Google Workspace Education Standard and Education Plus customers
  • Not available to Google Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Frontline, Education Fundamentals, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers


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What’s changing
U.S. school districts with Google Workspace for Education Plus will be able to automatically set up Google Classroom courses and keep rosters in sync with their Student Information System (SIS). IT admins will do the setup via Clever, meaning teachers will no longer need to manually create classes and invite students to join them. Note that this will not overwrite Classroom courses that teachers create individually.

Who’s impacted

Admins and end users

Why you’d use it

This feature, created in partnership with Clever, improves the interoperability and integration between Google Classroom and most major SIS in the U.S. It saves teachers time with class setup and keeps Classroom classes and SIS rosters in sync with less manual and duplicative work.

Getting started
  • Admins: This feature will be OFF by default and can be enabled in the Admin console under Classroom settings. After that, go to Clever, link to the Google Classroom rostering app & follow the setup wizard.
  • End users: This feature will be OFF by default and can be enabled by your admin. There is no end user setting for this feature. When your admin sets up rostering via Clever, teachers will receive an invite within Classroom to teach the class with the roster pre-populated.

Rollout pace


Availability

  • Available to Education Plus

Resources


Roadmap

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What’s changing 
In addition to checking student work for matches across billions of web pages and books, originality reports can now check for matches against a repository of student work within your domain. 

Once school matches are enabled by your admin, submitted assignments will automatically be added to your school-owned private repository after an originality report is run. If a match is detected amongst other documents in the repository, the match is included as a flagged passage for the educator to review. This can make it easier for instructors to evaluate the academic integrity of the student’s work and provide them with constructive feedback. 




Who’s impacted 
Admins and end users 



Why it’s important 
School matches allow educators to compare student work within their school without compromising student privacy--with originality reports, you own your school’s repository of papers. Admins can also manually add or remove work from their school’s repository. 



Getting started 



Rollout pace 



Availability 
  • Available to Education Plus customers. Also available with the Teaching and Learning Upgrade. 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Frontline and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 


Resources 
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Quick launch summary 
Originality reports in Google Classroom and Assignments are now better at detecting potential plagiarism by alerting you when a document contains symbols from different alphabets or other writing systems. 

Students sometimes swap out specific characters with similar looking symbols in order to trick plagiarism detection technology. For example, if the letter “a'' is replaced with the Greek symbol “⍺” or Cyrillic symbol “α,” a plagiarized assignment may not be detected as such. 

Originality reports will now alert you when a document contains symbols from another alphabet or writing system. Educators can then review it and determine whether the student had a legitimate reason for using those different symbols. Note that students who use originality reports will not see this feature. 

Getting started 
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: This feature will be automatically available to educators when originality reports are turned on for an assignment. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using originality reports. 
Rollout pace 
Availability 
  • Available to G Suite for Education and Enterprise for Education customers, as well as standalone Classroom and Assignments users 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus, as well as G Suite Basic, Business and Nonprofits customers 
Resources 
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Quick launch summary 
Today, we announced several new features that will help administrators, teachers, and students be more productive using our tools. See our Google for Education blog to learn more about these features and other upcoming launches in Google for Education. 

Announced improvements to Google Classroom include: 
  • New to-do widgets: We’re adding a to-do widget for students and a to-review widget for teachers to help keep track of work in Google Classroom. Learn more. 
  • Join classes via link: Teachers can now send out links to classes, which students can join with a single click. This can help educators share classes anywhere they communicate with students, including in messaging platforms. Learn more. 
  • Student information systems (SIS) grade export: You can now export grades from Gradebook to your SIS. This can make it easier to keep track of grades in one central location. Learn more. 
  • Support for new languages: We’re launching Classroom in 10 additional Indian languages. Soon, Classroom will support over 54 languages globally. 
In addition to these improvements, we’re also making other changes: 
  • Assignments now generally available: Assignments will move from beta to general availability. Learn more. 
  • Applied Digital Skills integration: You can now connect your Google Classroom account with Applied Digital Skills to import classes, student rosters, and assign Applied Digital Skills lessons more seamlessly. Learn more. 


Who’s impacted 
Admins, teachers, and end users 

Getting started 
Rollout pace 
Availability 
  • Available to all G Suite editions. 
Resources 
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Quick launch summary 
We’re making Assignments generally available as a Core Service for G Suite for Education customers. It was previously available in beta. Assignments is an add-on for your school’s learning management system (LMS), which simplifies the process of creating and grading coursework with flexible, collaborative, and easy-to-use tools. 
  • You can use G Suite for Education tools to optimize your assignment workflows, including: 
  • Distributing personalized Google Drive templates and worksheets to students 
  • Enabling students to submit Google Drive files as assignments 
  • Analyzing student work for plagiarism and fostering authentic writing with originality reports 
  • Providing feedback and grades which sync to your LMS gradebook 
See the Google for Education blog for more information on how Assignments brings the G Suite experience to your LMS. 


Getting started 
  • Admins: Assignments works as a Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) tool integrated within your LMS. It must be installed or configured in your school's LMS before any instructor or user can start using it. Visit our Help Center to learn more about how to set up Assignments for your organization. 
  • Instructors and end users: No action needed until Assignments is enabled by an admin. Once enabled, use our Help Center to learn more about how Assignments works. 

Rollout pace 
Availability 
  • Available to G Suite for Education and G Suite Enterprise for Education customers 
  • Not available to G Suite Basic, G Suite Business, G Suite Enterprise, G Suite for Nonprofits, G Suite Essentials, and G Suite Enterprise Essentials customers 
Resources 
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Quick summary

In 2018, we began making changes to our API and service infrastructure to improve performance and security. As a result of these changes, some older versions of G Suite desktop and mobile apps may stop working on August 12, 2020. In particular, versions released prior to December 2018 may be impacted.

To ensure their workflows are not disrupted, your users should update the following Google apps to the latest versions as soon as possible:

Getting started
  • Admins: Encourage your users to upgrade their apps. If you deploy Drive File Stream to your organization, ensure you’re using the latest version.
  • End users: Upgrade the apps listed above to the latest versions as soon as possible.
Rollout pace

Availability
  • This impacts all G Suite customers and users with personal Google accounts.
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