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What’s changing

This year, we announced Endpoint Education Upgrade, which adds enterprise endpoint management features to your Google Workspace for Education edition. Using endpoint management, admins can better manage and secure the phones and tablets used across their school directly from the Admin console.

Note that advanced endpoint management features are already included with Google Workspace for Education Standard and Plus.

Who’s impacted
Admins


Why you’d use it

Using the Endpoint Education Upgrade, admins can configure a wide range of account and device management features, helping to make your organization's data more secure across your users' mobile devices, desktops, laptops, and other endpoints. For example, you can:
  • Control what Android & iOS app can be installed on a device, who can log into it (for domain owned devices), and where it can access your data.
  • Protect devices from loss or theft with admin rules for alerts, location tracking, access restrictions, and remote data wipes.
  • Manage company-owned devices or set up Android work profiles, so users can safely access your school account on the go.
  • Require stronger device passwords and more.
Visit the Help Center for a complete list of endpoint management features.


Getting started

Rollout pace
  • The Endpoint Education Upgrade will be available for purchase through your current Google Workspace for Education reseller and select channel partners on February 29, 2024. If you do not currently have a Google Workspace for Education reseller, you can find one here.


Availability
  • Endpoint Education Upgrade is available by user based license or device based license (coming soon) — it is not a domain wide license. You can purchase Endpoint Education Upgrade licenses through your current Google Workspace for Education reseller and select channel partners. 

  • If you have Education Fundamentals and wish to upgrade instead of purchasing individual Endpoint Education Upgrade licenses, you can easily upgrade to Education Standard or Education Plus.

Resources
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What’s changing
In June, we introduced updates to the embeddable YouTube player within Google Workspace for Education services. This included a new URL (www.youtubeeducation.com) for the YouTube player to serve embedded content within Google Workspace for Education services. 


As a result of this change, if your organization allowed or blocked YouTube videos within Google Workspace for Education services, you were asked to add “www.youtubeeducation.com” to these allowlists or blocklists. This preserved the way your organization used YouTube videos within Google Workspace for Education services, such as Google Classroom or Slides.


We are removing this feature while we evaluate performance and quality. As an immediate next step, if you updated your allowlist or blocklist to include "www.youtube.com", you’ll need to revert your allowlist/blocklist to include "www.youtube.com" as soon as possible to preserve the way your organization uses YouTube videos within Google Workspace for Education services. If you do not revert your allowlist/blocklist to include www.youtube.com as soon as possible, this could change your organization’s access to YouTube videos.
Getting started 
Rollout pace 
  • This change is now in effect for Classroom services. 
  • This change will be in effect for Slides, Sites and Forms starting on November 7, 2023.
Availability 
  • This impacts Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade 
Resources 
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What’s changing
Through the app access control settings, we’re making it easier for Google Workspace for Education admins to control how third-party apps access their organizations' Google data when users sign-in using their Google Workspace for Education accounts. 

Users designated as under 18 using the age-based access setting are required to request access to apps that aren’t already configured by admins with a trusted, limited, or blocked access setting.


All Google Workspace for Education Admins must review and confirm access settings for third-party configured apps that are currently accessible to your users by Oct 23, 2023 in order for users designated as under 18 to maintain access to those third-party apps. You’ll have the option to allow users designated as under 18 to skip requesting access for all unconfigured apps that only ask for basic profile information for authentication purposes. These apps will be accessible for users designated as under 18 without further configuration on your part.
Who’s impacted
Admins, end users, and developers 


Why it matters 
Third-party app settings are important for protecting users’ data. We are providing enhanced app access controls to manage access to third-party applications for users designated as under 18. Google Workspace for Education Admins are required to confirm third-party app settings for third-party apps currently accessible by users in their institution by October 23, 2023 to avoid disrupting access to third-party applications for users designated as under 18. 


Additional details
If you’d like to set different levels of access for specific sets of users, you can now configure third-party app access by organizational units.


Getting started 
Rollout pace 
  • This feature is available now. 
Availability 
  • Available to Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade 
Resources 
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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. 


Use smart chips in Google Sheets as links on mobile 
With smart canvas, you’re currently able quickly add people and files into Google Sheets with smart chips on the web. Starting this week on mobile, these chips are treated like linked text and will show relevant hovercards and context menu items. 

Offline printing now available for Google Sheets 
We’ve launched offline printing to support users working in a Sheet with offline access. In addition, emojis and system fonts are now included in offline printing. This feature is only available to those using Google Chrome. As a reminder, your organization can encrypt Sheets files with Workspace Client-side encryption, an additional feature supported by offline printing. | Learn more. 


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.



Improved flow for expiring access controls in Google Drive 
You can now set expiring access when sharing files in My Drive. This update improves the existing expiring access capabilities by allowing you to add an expiration when sharing, as opposed to after a person already has access to the file. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, Education Standard, and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more. 

Reminder to migrate your classic Google Sites before January 30, 2023 
We’re extending the previously announced timeline to give Google Workspace customers more time to migrate from classic Google Sites to new Google Sites: 
  • On January 30, 2023 (previously December 1, 2022): We will begin to turn off the ability to edit any remaining classic Sites in your domain. Your classic Sites will remain viewable until the automatic conversion.
  • After January 30, 2023 (previously January 1, 2023): We will begin to automatically convert all remaining classic Sites to new Sites drafts for site owners to review and publish, and export static archives to Google Takeout. Your classic Sites will be deleted after they are converted to new Sites. Note: Refer to the CSV file included with the export generated after your domain’s autoconversion completes for any classic Sites we were unable to convert. | Learn more.
Google for Education transformation reports window open for customers worldwide 
Google for Education transformation reports are available for K-12 Google Workspace for Education customers worldwide, at no cost. Note: transformation reports are only available in English at this time. | Available to K-12 Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade customers only. | Learn more. 

Manage projects & tasks with a new timeline view on Google Sheets 
We’ve introduced an interactive timeline view that allows you to track projects in Google Sheets. This new visual layer displays project information stored in Sheets, such as the task start and end date, description, and owner. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits 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
Google for Education transformation reports are available for K-12 Google Workspace for Education customers worldwide, at no cost. Note: transformation reports are only available in English at this time. 

The reporting window is open from Nov 2, 2022 through Dec 31, 2022. Workspace admins will benefit from: 

  • Immediate access: Google Workspace for Education super admins can log in today and immediately view their custom report. 
  • Realtime customization: You can adjust settings in realtime, including your two 12 week product data reporting windows and the numbers of teachers and students in your organization. (The report will be locked for editing after Dec 31, 2022.) 

See below for more information on generating your custom transformation report. 


Who’s impacted 
Admins 


Why you’d use it 
The transformation report is a free tool designed to help quantify your organization’s Google for Education implementation across our products and programs. Semester-based reports track usage trends over time and make it easy to understand how your organization is using Google Workspace for Education, Chromebooks, and progressing through educator certification programs. Additionally, each report includes links to free resources aimed to support your Google implementation. 




Getting started 
  • Admins: Google Workspace for Education super admins can log in to the transformation report tool starting Nov 2, 2022 to view their custom report. Upon login, Admins should: 
    • Update their student enrollment and faculty count.
    • Customize the product reporting windows — choose the two 12 week periods of time (current and previous) that make the most sense for your organization. Graphs in the report will display data comparing usage across these two windows. 
    • Click “View Report” 
  • End users: No action required. 

Rollout pace 
  • Transformation reports are available now for all users 

Availability 
  • Available to K-12 Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, 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, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 

Resources 
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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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Quick summary 
Google Workspace for Education admins can now view Assignments data in their audit logs. Using this data, admins can find and act on Assignments related events such as who removed a student from a video call, when assignment files were created or submitted, and more. 


Getting started 
  • Admins: Audit logs can be found in the Admin console under Reporting > Audit > Investigation > Admin log events. Visit the Help Center to learn more about Admin log events. 
  • End users: There is no end user impact 


Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to Google Workspace Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, and the Teaching and Learning upgrade. 
  • 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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New updates 


There are no new updates to share this week. Please see below for a recap of published announcements. 

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.

Easily see file locations in Google Drive
You can now see a file’s location information in the Search, Recent, Starred and Trash web views of Google Drive. | Learn more. 


Google for Education transformation reports window open, available worldwide 
Google for Education transformation reports are available for K-12 Google Workspace for Education customers worldwide, from June 1, 2022 through July 26, 2022. | Learn more. 


Bringing Google Meet features to Google Duo for a single, integrated video solution 
In the coming weeks, all Google Meet features will be added to the Duo app. Later this year, we’ll rename the Duo app to Google Meet, our single video communications service across Google accessible to everyone at no-cost. | 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 
Google for Education transformation reports are available for K-12 Google Workspace for Education customers worldwide, at no cost. Note: transformation reports are only available in English at this time. 


The reporting window is open from June 1, 2022 through July 26, 2022. Returning users will notice the following improvements: 

  • Immediate access: Google Workspace for Education super admins can log in today and immediately view their custom report. (The former three-week-long survey window has been removed.) 
  • Realtime customization: You can now adjust settings in realtime, including your two 12 week product data reporting windows and the numbers of teachers / students in your organization. (The report will be locked for editing after July 26, 2022.) 
  • Optional Survey: Taking the Transformation Survey is no longer a prerequisite to generate a report. The survey remains available for interested users to take through July 26, 2022. 
See below for more information on generating your custom transformation report. 
 
Who’s impacted 
Admins 


Why you’d use it 
The transformation report is a free tool designed to help quantify your organization’s Google for Education implementation across our products and programs. Semester-based reports track usage trends over time and make it easy to understand how your organization is using Google Workspace for Education, Chromebooks, and progressing through Certification programs. Additionally, each report includes links to resources aimed to help accelerate the impact of your Google implementation. 


An optional survey is also available for admins to take and share with their leadership teams to get feedback on how the organization is progressing across seven key areas of transformation (Vision, Culture, Learning Approach, Professional Development, Community Engagement, Technology, Funding & Sustainability). 


See here for more information about Google for Education transformation reports, and review frequently asked questions. 


Getting started 
    • Update their student enrollment and faculty count. 
    • Customize the product reporting windows — choose the two 12 week periods of time (current and previous) that make the most sense for your organization. Graphs in the report will display data comparing usage across these two windows. 
    • Click “View Report” 
    • [Optional] Take and share Transformation Survey: 
      • Survey participation is optional, but we encourage you and your leadership team to complete the survey at least once a year. Those who choose to participate in the survey will have a final version of their report available on July 29, 2022. 
      • See FAQs for recommendations on who to share the survey with and use this email template to communicate the value of the survey with your team. 
  • End users: No action required. 
Rollout pace 
  • Transformation reports are available now for all users
Availability 
  • Available to K-12 Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, 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, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 
Resources 
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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

Google for Education transformation reports are available for K-12 Google Workspace for Education customers worldwide, at no additional cost. The next reporting window is open as of November 2, 2021 and will close December 10, 2021. 

Additionally, we’ve introduced several improvements for transformation reports:

  • Immediate access: Starting today, super admins for any Google Workspace for Education domain can login to view their transformation report. We've removed the waiting period between logging in to request a report and receiving a report. 
  • Realtime updates: You can now adjust the product data windows and the number of teachers and students you expect to be using Google products. This will allow you to view real time updates for your report regarding what’s most useful to you. any time between November 2, 2021 and December 10, 2021.  (The report will be locked for editing after December 10)
  • Ease of use: Reports are now available immediately upon login without having to request one in advance. Additionally, reports can now be customized with updates in real time any time Nov 2- Dec 10. 

See below for more information on generating your transformation report.


Who’s impacted
Admins


Why you’d use it
The transformation report is a free tool designed to help quantify your organization’s Google for Education implementation across our products and programs. Semester-based reports track usage trends over time and make it easy to understand how your organization is using Google Workspace for Education, Chromebooks, and progressing through Certification programs. 


Based on usage information and survey responses, you’ll receive tailored recommendations and resources from Google for Education to help you drive more impact across your organization. 


See here for more information about Google for Education transformation reports, as well as a list of frequently asked questions.


Getting started
Super Admins: Super admins may log in to g.co/edutransformationreport to access a custom transformation report:


  • Log in to view your report 
    • Note: All Google for Education customers will have a report available without having to proactively request one in advance.



  • Take and share the transformation survey [optional]
    • Survey participation is optional, but we encourage you and your leadership team to complete the survey at least once a year to reflect on your digital transformation and receive customized feedback.  
    • See our FAQs for recommendations on who to share the survey with and this email template when sharing with your leadership team.

End users: No action required.


Rollout pace
  • Transformation reports are available now for all users. 


Availability
  • Available to K-12 Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, 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, 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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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.


Delegate Information is now available in Gmail Log Search
Email log search now indicates when an email was sent on behalf of the user by a delegate. In cases where a delegate sent the email, the delegate will be listed, along with the sender, in message details in email log search. Delegate information will only be available on emails sent after this change rolls out. | Available to all Google Workspace with Gmail enabled. | Learn more.


New font in Workspace improves accessibility for vision impaired
Now there's a new font in Workspace optimized for vision impaired users.  When you create or want to read a document, set the font to Atkinson Hyperlegible for improved legibility.


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.


Improvements for braille mode in Google Docs provide a richer, more interactive experience
We've improved how suggestions are announced in braille mode in Google Docs. You’ll now hear detailed suggestion information inline with the rest of the text — this includes whether the suggestion is an insertion or deletion, and the author of the suggestion. | Learn more.



Disabling File Transfer in Google Chat
Admins can now disable or limit file sharing for their users in Chat. Specifically, admins
will be able to specify controls within and outside their organization, and will be able to choose between restricting all files, allowing images only, or allowing all files. | Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, Enterprise Essentials | Learn more.



Alert Center enrichment with VirusTotal threat context now generally available
Earlier this year, we pre-announced an integration between the Alert Center and VirusTotal. Currently, the Google Workspace Alert Center provides admins with actionable, real-time alerts and insights regarding security-related activity in their domain. With the VirusTotal (now part of Google Cloud) integration, admins have the ability to dig into their alerts at a deeper level. | Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals and Education Plus customers. | Learn More.



Use dynamic security groups for group based policies
Google Workspace admins can now use dynamic groups to manage policies for their users in the Admin console. Previously, it was only possible to apply these policies to static groups and OUs. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Cloud Identity Premium customers. | Learn more.



Workspace for Education Plus now syncs Google Classroom courses and rosters with Student Information Systems
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. | Learn More.



Enhancements to Google Voice
We’ve made several enhancements to Google Voice, including information and troubleshooting tips for missed calls, the ability to easily redial dropped calls, the ability to delete SMS messages in bulk, and an option to show your Google Voice number as the caller ID when forwarding calls. | Learn more.



Search within a folder in Google Drive on iOS
You can now search for content inside a specific folder in Google Drive on iOS. Simply navigate to the folder you want to search within and select the search bar — you’ll see a list of suggested folders, documents, and users to refine your search results. Select the folder chip before typing your search query. | Learn more.



Assign SSO profile to organizational units or groups with the new SAML Partial SSO beta
Currently, you can configure to authenticate your users using a third-party identity provider — this configuration applies to all users within your domain. Now, you have the option to specify groups or organizational units (OUs) to authenticate a subset of your users using Google. This feature is available as an open beta. | Learn more.



New enrollment privilege and naming updates for Google Meet hardware in the Admin console
We are making two improvements to the admin controls for Google Meet hardware: a new enrollment privilege admins and updates for hardware management in the Admin console. | Learn more.



Use the new Google Meet web app for better meetings on desktop devices
We’ve launched a new Google Meet standalone web app. This Progressive Web Application (PWA) has all the same features as Google Meet on the web, but as a standalone app it’s easier to find and use, and it streamlines your workflow by eliminating the need to switch between tabs. | 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
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 
Google for Education transformation reports are available for K-12 Google Workspace for Education customers worldwide, at no additional cost. Note: transformation reports are only available in English only at this time. 


The next reporting window is open as of May 3, 2021. See below for more information on generating your transformation report.



Who’s impacted 
Admins 



Why you’d use it 
The transformation report is a free tool designed to help quantify your organization’s Google for Education implementation across our products and programs. Semester-based reports track usage trends over time and make it easy to understand how your organization is using Google Workspace for Education, Chromebooks, and progressing through Certification programs. 


Based on usage information and survey responses, you’ll receive tailored recommendations and resources from Google for Education to help you drive more impact across your organization. 


See here for more information about Google for Education transformation reports, as well as a list of frequently asked questions.


Getting started 
  • Admins: Google Workspace for Education super admins must log in to the transformation report tool between May 3rd and May 21st to ensure a report will be available on June 2, 2021. Within the tool, we strongly recommend Admins:

    • Update their settings, specifically their student enrollment and faculty count. 
    • Customize the product reporting windows — we recommend selecting two 12-week periods of time, current and previous, to display product data.
    • Take and share Transformation Survey:
      • If you log in within that time frame, but don’t take or share the survey, you’ll still receive a report—it will simply lack a valuable section of survey data, recommended next steps, and resources. 
      • See our FAQs for recommendations on who to share the survey with and this email template when sharing with your leadership team.

  • End users: No action required. 

Rollout pace 

Availability 
  • Available to K-12 Google Workspace Education Fundamentals 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 G Suite Basic and Business customers

Resources 
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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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