Tag Archives: Chromebooks

What’s new in Chrome OS: better audio, camera and notifications

Every Chromebook runs on Chrome OS, which updates every six weeks to keep your device speedy, smart and secure. Each Chrome OS update happens in the background, without interrupting what you’re doing. Here’s some of what’s new on Chromebook this August.

Control your media in one place

New media controls make it easier for you to pause or play sound from a tab or an app. Have you ever had dozens of tabs and apps open and struggled to turn off a specific tab’s audio? If so, we think you’ll find this change helpful—especially for those moments when you start watching a YouTube video and you want to quickly pause your music.

Starting this month, you can open your system menu and see all of the tabs or apps on your Chromebook that are playing audio tracks and control them from one place.

mediacontrol_final

Take great photos on your Chromebook

The Chromebook camera app has been updated to make taking photos and videos easier. Portrait mode is now available on Google Pixel Slate and we are working on bringing it to other Chromebooks. We’ve introduced an updated interface for navigating between new modes, like square mode and portrait mode.

Now, open your camera app, take a selfie with a landscape or square crop, and access it easily in your Downloads folder.

camera_final

Clear your notifications faster

With Chrome OS, you can access all your favorite apps from the Google Play Store. In response to your feedback, it’s now easier for you to check and clear notifications from Play Store apps on your Chromebook. Starting this month, easily dismiss your notifications with the “Clear all” button.

notification_final

We’ll be back in around six weeks to share more of what’s new in Chrome OS. 

EdTech companies you should know about

Editor’s Note: This week, we’re joining thousands of educators and students at ISTE in Philadelphia. Visit us at booth 2200, where you can demo the latest Chromebook devices and classroom technology from Google and our partners.  Follow along on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

At ISTE 2019, we’re highlighting a wide range of apps and integrations that make learning more accessible for students of diverse strengths, abilities and needs. We work closely with developers to ensure these accessibility-focused tools and integrations work with our own products, and evolve based on the needs of students and educators who share their feedback with us. Here’s how G Suite and Chromebooks power apps that make learning more inclusive:

  • Capti Voice reads aloud documents, books and webpages to students, translates words and passages in more than 100 languages. Students and educators who have a G Suite for Education account can access the app from Google Drive on any web platform. This is especially helpful for students with vision loss, dyslexia, ADHD or motor challenges.

  • Crick Software: One of the first augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) apps—designed to support students with impairments in spoken or written language—created for Chromebook users, Crick Software supports writers at various levels of experience and ability with word grids that help build sentences. This tool also reads passages back so students can check their work with ease. 

  • Scanning Pens: The ReaderPen reads aloud as a student scans the pen over written text, aiding students who need extra support with reading. Students scan the text directly into a Google Doc, upload the audio recordings to a Chromebook or Android device so that they can easily reference the information later.

  • Bulb: Students and educators can create, curate, and share work in a digital portfolio directly from Google Classroom, and access their Bulb portfolio work in Google Drive. Students can share work created in Bulb directly back to Google Classroom, and lessons can be evaluated in Bulb and graded in Google Classroom. 

  • Slooh: Slooh's innovative space lab is a global network of virtual robotic telescopes controlled by students (of all ages) and teachers in curriculum-driven, self-guided space exploration. Through Slooh’s integration with Google for Education, teachers can make assignments and track student progress.

YouTube video of Crick Software's Clicker Communicator for Chromebooks

Expanding personalized learning with the Chromebook App Hub

We’re also working with educational apps focused on cultivating personalized learning environments, improving organization, and optimizing assessments. Here are some partners offering expanded functionality in G Suite, Google Classroom, and Chromebooks, all featured in the brand new Chromebook App Hub.

  • Seesaw has new creative tools optimized for students using Chromebooks. Students can select files from Google Drive, annotate, and curate them into their Seesaw portfolios to share with teachers, parents/guardians, and classmates on Chromebooks. Teachers  can import rosters from Google Classroom to Seesaw in just a few clicks—making sharing and demonstrating student learning seamless. Check out Seesaw on the Chromebook App Hub.

  • Backpack for Google Drive by Amplified Labs: Students curate, reflect upon, and showcase digital learning materials against a district-defined skills framework. Backpack manages all of the sharing and organization in Google Drive and connects with Google Classroom rosters and assignments. Check out Backpack for Google Drive on the Chromebook App Hub.

  • Kahoot! makes it easy to create, share and play fun learning games or quizzes in minutes. Their single sign-on feature allows Google users to effortlessly log into their Kahoot! account, and their Google Classroom integration enables educators to share Kahoot! homework challenges with their students in one click. Check out Kahoot! on the Chromebook App Hub.

The Google for Education Technology Partner Program gives developers access to technical, marketing and branding support, and Google initiatives, such as Cloud credits for startups, developer scholarships, and launchpad spaces. Have a product that integrates with Google for Education? Explore the available program track options. If you’re looking for awesome apps that integrate with Google tools, check out the Chromebook App Hub, andjoin the App Hub community.

Source: Google Chrome


Helping parents and guardians have the “EdTech talk”

Editor’s Note: This week, we’re joining thousands of educators and students at ISTE in Philadelphia. Visit us at booth 2200, where you can demo the latest Chromebook devices and classroom technology from Google and our partners. Follow along on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

It’s crucial for us, and at the heart of our mission, to provide teachers with effective classroom technology that lets them create supportive learning environments. This includes giving educators tools to communicate with parents and guardians, and work with them as partners—because we know learning isn’t limited to the classroom. This year at ISTE, we’re showcasing our digital citizenship and online safety platforms. These products can help parents and guardians aid students’ digital wellbeing, enable parents and guardians to have visibility and participation in the classroom and strengthen the connection between the home and the classroom.

Using tech to communicate with parents and guardians 

  • Google Classroom offers guardian summary emails. This option allows guardians to receive daily or weekly email digests of their child’s activities in Google Classroom, including upcoming or missing work and different assignments posted in each class.  Educators also told us they use Google Slides or Google Sites to have students create monthly recaps or ongoing portfolios. This is a great way to help students take ownership over their learning. 

  • Hangouts Meet can help teachers regularly check in with parents, especially when in-person parent-teacher conferences are not possible. Virtual meetings and home visits can be easily scheduled using Google Calendar Appointment Slots. Guardians can connect with educators from anywhere via video call to see examples of their child’s progress. 

  • Google Forms can be used to collect trip permission slips, coordinate volunteers or submit questions or concerns to teachers during off hours. Educators can use Forms and Sheets to set up an easy way to contact parents. Extensions like Form Publisher can help with mail merges and formatting.

The school to home connection

Each school, classroom and teacher makes different decisions about classroom technology. Regardless of the type of technology, it’s important for teachers to foster the conversation of why their school or classroom has chosen it, what you’re doing with it in the classroom, how families can continue using it at home. Here’s how to get students talking about technology, from school to home. 

  • Share the Guardian’s Guide to Chromebooks with students’ families to help them understand how Chromebooks are being used in the classroom and send a letter home on how parents and guardians can foster a conversation with their children about the technology they’re using in class. 

  • Send parents and guardians to the Google for Education website to help them understand how students and educators are protected with Google’s best-in-class privacy and security. They can also learn about classroom technology like G Suite for Education, Chromebooks, Google Expeditions and more. 

  • Share the G Suite Learning Centerwith parents and guardians who want to become more familiar with G Suite tools being used in their child’s school. 

  • Use Tour Creator so students and their teachers can create their own virtual reality tours of their school or classroom—or even a topic they are learning in school—to share with family members and guardians. 

Video of Google Cloud Next presentation

Hear from educators and Googlers about using EdTech tools in schools

Digital citizenship and online safety resources

Technology, when used responsibly, can be a powerful resource that can unlock entire worlds. It’s important to teach kids how to navigate the internet responsibly. It’s also crucial to set expectations around how much screen time is appropriate each day, when screens are okay and what activities are appropriate to engage in on their devices. Here are some resources and tools to help parents set digital rules.

  • FOSI online safety lessons: Help students learn how to safely navigate the web and develop skills for school, work, and life. We partnered with the Family Online Safety Institute to build five new lessons to help families stay safe online when it comes to digital wellbeing and screen time.

  • ConnectSafely: Read the Parent Guides from our partners who are dedicated to educating users of connected technology about safety, privacy and security. Share guides with parents and guardians on social media, cyberbullying, EdTech, Media Literacy & Fake News, Cybersecurity and more. 

  • Family Link and Be Internet Awesome: With Family Link, manage the quantity of children's screen time(daily time limits, device bedtime, locking the device remotely) and the quality as well (app approvals, website whitelisting/blacklisting. You can also see how much time kids are spending in apps, and hide apps on their device. And use Be Internet Awesome’s  family resources to teach students how to be safe, confident explorers of the online world. 

As teachers and parents guide the next generation of digital citizens, we’re continuing to offer new ways to foster a safe and supportive learning environment for students, teachers and families. From exploratory tools in classrooms that can be used at home, to accessible platforms that encourage confident and safe online exploration, we’ll continue to make it our goal to provide tools that go beyond the classroom. 

Source: Google Chrome


Building the Future of the Classroom with Google for Education

Editor’s Note: This week, we’re joining thousands of educators and students at ISTE in Philadelphia. Visit us at booth 2200, where you can demo the latest Chromebook devices and classroom technology from Google and our partners.  Follow along on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

In order to build technology helps students learn, we try to imagine where the future of education is going. The recent Future of the Classroom Global Report identifies emerging trends in education, backed by research. Here’s how our products and initiatives line up with each of those trends: 

Emerging technologies

WithGoogle Expeditions, students can go on virtual field trips—and there are 1,000 tours to pick from, including Carmen Sandiego tours published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Through the rest of the rest of the year, we’re rolling out an improved Expeditions experience across many Chrome OS devices. Check here to see if your device is compatible.

Students can also use Tour Creator—which was just recognized as an AASL 2019 Best Website for Teaching & Learning—to create their own virtual reality tours. They can take fellow students or parents on tours of their town or school using the Expeditions App.

Innovating teaching 

We’re continuing to grow the Teacher Center, our library of free online trainings for educators. For teachers getting started with our tools for the first time, we’ve added courses for Expeditions and G Suite Editors (Google Docs and Slides ) to complement the existing trainings on Classroom, Forms, and Jamboard. 

We’ve also created shorter courses across a variety of topics, like helping teachers support English language learners, how to use Chromebook accessibility features, or how to get started with our CS First and Applied Digital Skills curriculums. 

And for educators who want to get the most out of Google technology, local experts are there to help. Check out our network of trainers, innovators, reference schools and local PD partners on our newly re-designed EDU Directory.  

Coaching in the classroom

For educators to benefit from investments in technology, they need to know how to integrate it into their classrooms. The Dynamic Learning Project trains teachers on how to effectively use classroom technology, and we have a new training curriculum for administrators, teaching them how to support instructional coaches in their schools. 

We’re also helping school administrators quantify their organization’s Google for Education implementation across products (G Suite and Chromebooks) and programs (Certification and Transformation) with the launch of the EDU Transformation Report. 

Additionally, we’ve expanded our resources to help school and district leaders think about centering equity in their school’s transformation. So we created a new Educational Equity page with resources and case studies to help school leaders understand how equity can be a central characteristic in all seven pillars of the Transformation Framework. 

Digital Responsibility 

Applied Digital Skillshas seven new lessons focused on digital wellbeing. Teachers can use these free, project-based lessons to teach students to build healthy digital habits, avoid online scams, understand their digital footprint, and more. 

Life Skills and Workforce Preparation

Applied Digital Skills also has new lessons that prepare middle and high school students to use G Suite fluently in college, the workforce and beyond. To prove their mastery, students can take the professional G Suite certification and add it to resumes and applications. Other new lessons focus on introducing students to machine learning, making art with Google Sheets, calculating probability, and exploring women’s history.  

Computational Thinking

CS First, our coding curriculum for students in elementary and middle school, has a new professional development session for teachers to integrate coding activities into English Language Arts, math and science classes. 

Acquired by Google last year, Workbench is a content library for educators to discover, create, remix, and share lessons and resources. At ISTE we’re announcing a new integration with the Workbench Blockly programming canvas and Google Sheets. This enables people to build Blockly programs to control multiple bluetooth devices (robots, drones, sensors, microcontrollers) and send that data to or retrieve data from Google Sheets. 

We’re honored to be a part of a global community of educators and parents who help their students develop problem-solving skills, safely navigate the digital world, and prepare for future careers. As classrooms continue to evolve, our products to help educators and students evolve as well. 

Source: Google Chrome


The Chromebook App Hub offers more choices in the classroom

Editor’s Note: Next week, we’re joining thousands of educators and students at ISTE in Philadelphia. Visit us at booth 2200, where you can demo the latest Chromebook devices and classroom technology from Google and our partners.  Follow along on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Chromebooks have become the device of choice for hundreds of thousands of schools around the world. Educators love them because they are fast, easy to share and simple to use at any grade level. Admins love them because they are intuitive, easy to manage and have a low total cost of ownership. Thanks to the many apps and tools available on Chromebooks, they can help students be creative in new ways.

Educators told us that they were spending a lot of time researching the right apps and ideas for how to use them in the classroom. We listened, and earlier this year we announcedwe were building the Chromebook App Hub, a place where educators can get the most out of their devices. Today, the App Hub is up and running.

Working better together

This online resource is designed to help educators, administrators and developers work together to learn about Chromebook apps and activity ideas for schools. Educators can discover apps for their lessons and share how they use them in their classrooms. IT administrators and curriculum designers can identify effective tools for their schools and see how technology complies with district policies. And EdTech developers can reach educators and help them understand the benefits of using their apps. Ultimately, this means that students get high-quality, engaging tools and confident instruction.

Ideas from educators, apps from developers

After finding the perfect app, educators can browse ideas and inspiration from fellow educators. We’re working with EdTechTeam and educators to gather ideas around using apps in the classroom. These include tips for success, differentiated instruction strategies and links to additional resources such as how-to videos, activities and websites.

We’re working with developers to create a community in the App Hub where they can show off the best of their tools and apps for the classroom. One such app creator is Epic!, the vast children’s digital library offering unlimited access to thousands of high-quality kids’ books, videos, quizzes and more. Suren Markosian, Epic!’s founder and CEO, told us App Hub makes it easier for teachers to find the highest quality ideas and tools to inform their practice. “We are all about giving teachers access to the best resources available, so they can focus on what matters most—their students,” Suren says.

Another partner is Adobe Spark, which brings creative visual storytelling to students of all levels. Aubrey Cattell, VP of Adobe Spark and Creative Cloud Education, says App Hub will not only “allow for more seamless discovery of apps like Adobe Spark, it will allow educators to see how each tool fits into their classroom and curricula.”

We’ve also worked with Khan Academy, a free library of trusted, standards-aligned practice and lessons which cover math, grammar, science, history, standardized tests and more. "The App Hub is a great resource for teachers, making it fast and easy to find apps and classroom activities that work well on Chromebooks,'' says Eirene Chen, Teacher Marketing Leader for Khan Academy.

Apps on the Chromebook App Hub

Security and transparency

The App Hub is dedicated to bringing transparency to developers’ data and accessibility policies, and to helping decision-makers find information about apps to meet the unique learning goals and policies of their school districts. We’re working with policy partners, including the non-profit Student Data Privacy Consortium (SPDC), to assist developers considering the student privacy implications of their products. “The SDPC is proud to work with [the Chromebook App Hub] to provide transparency and openness around the critical aspects of schools, states and vendors securing learner information,” says Dr. Larry L. Fruth II, CEO of A4L/SDPC.

This means administrators can rest assured that apps on the hub are built by developers committed to transparency and security.  Steve Smith, CIO of Cambridge Public Schools, emphasizes the importance of our transparency and partnership with SDPC. "As a CIO, knowing that district staff have one location to go to learn such valuable information about [Chromebook] apps is fantastic,” he says.

We’re also working with the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) and ConnectSafely on guidelines to create healthy digital citizenship habits-a journey parents, students, and teachers take together.

Chromebook App Hub ideas page

You can find apps and ideas on the Chromebook App Hub today. If you’re an educator, you can submit idea sparks, and if you’re a developer, you can join the App Hub community. We will be updating and adding new content quarterly, so teachers and students alike can find new ways to learn with Chromebooks.

Take your achievements with you, Class of 2019

It's graduation season, which means that students who have spent years researching, writing and learning are off to the next big thing. But whether you’re bound for college or the workplace, you may want to hold on to your papers and presentations for record keeping or sentimental value. And we have a way to take that work with you.

With Google Takeout, you can keep the papers you wrote and submitted in Google Docs, the emails you sent with classmates in Gmail, and the Slides presentations you worked so hard on. Instead of losing all digital work or spending hours downloading and migrating emails and school work, you can copy these from their G Suite for Education accounts into another Google account before you leave the school’s domain. This allows you to easily retain emails, projects, essays, resumes, and any other files stored on Google Drive if your school revokes access to your old account.

Protecting students’ privacy and data is critical for schools, so we ensure administrators have control over this feature. Administrators adjust their Admin Console settings for Takeout based on the needs of their schools, like allowing access for just one grade level.  

Video of graduation scenes

Pack a Pixelbook

Whether embarking on the path to college, trade school, or a career (like an astronomer at NASA), graduates need a laptop that works as hard as they do. Over 30 million students have known and loved Chromebooks and Chrome OS throughout K-12, so to ease the transition from school to the working world, between June 9 - 16, 2019, you can save up to $250 on Google Pixelbook.* 


Why Pixelbook?

  • Pixelbook has a super thin design with a 360° hinge— perfect for watching movies or converting into tablet mode.

  • Powered by Intel® Core™ processor and Chrome OS, Pixelbook starts fast and stays fast.

  • Get through a full day of classes with up to 10 hours of battery life.**

  • It’s light, so take Pixelbook wherever you go.

  • Write, draw, and design with the Pixelbook Pen.

  • Protect yourself with built-in virus protection and automatic updates.

  • Read emails, check your calendar, edit documents, watch movies, and more, even when you're offline.

  • Download your favorite apps, including Evernote and Slack, for your field of study or work.

  • Use tools for study, research, writing and content creation, including Adobe Acrobat Reader and Adobe Lightroom.

  • Access and edit across Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides and other productivity suites.

*$100 off i5 128GB model. $250 off i5 256GB and i7 512GB models. From regular retail price. US authorized retailers only. Offer expires on 06/16/2019. While supplies last. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Non-transferable. Not valid for cash or cash equivalent. Void where prohibited. Restrictions apply.

**Battery performance is based on a mix of video, web browsing, productivity and other use. Actual results may vary.

Congratulations, class of 2019. We’re here for you with the tools you need as you take your next step.

Source: Google Chrome


Building for all learners with new apps, tools, and resources

Everyone deserves access to a quality education—no matter your background, where you live, or your abilities. We’re recognizing this on Global Accessibility Awareness Day, an effort to promote digital accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities, by sharing new features, training, and partners, along with the many new products announced at Google I/O.

Since everyone learns in different ways, we design technology that can adapt to a broad range of needs and learning styles. For example, you can now add captions in Slides and turn on live captions in Hangouts Meet, and we’ve improved discoverability in the G Suite toolbar. By making these features available—with even more in the works—teachers can help students learn in ways that work best for them.

Working with our partners to expand access

We’re not the only ones trying to make learning more accessible, so we’ve partnered with companies who are building apps to make it easier for teachers to communicate with all students.

One of our partners, Crick Software, just launched Clicker Communicator, a child-friendly communication tool for the classroom: bridging the gap between needs/wants and curriculum access, empowering non-verbal students with the tools to initiate and lead conversations, and enabling proactive participation in the classroom. It’s one of the first augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) apps specifically created for Chromebook users.

Learn more about the Clicker Communicator for Chromebooks, one of the first augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) apps specifically created for Chromebook users.

Learn more about Clicker Communicator, an AAC app for Chromebooks.

Assessing with accessibility in mind

Teachers use locked mode when giving Quizzes in Google Forms, only on managed Chromebooks, to eliminate distractions. Locked mode is now used millions of times per month, and many students use additional apps for accommodations when taking quizzes. We’ve been working with many developers to make sure their tools work with locked mode. One of those developers is our partner Texthelp®. Coming soon, when you enable locked mode in Quizzes in Google Forms, your students will be able to access Read&Write for Google Chrome and EquatIO® for Google that they rely on daily.

Another partner, Don Johnston, supports students with their apps including Co:Writer for word prediction, translation, and speech recognition and Snap&Read for read aloud, highlighting, and note-taking. Students signed into these extensions can use them on the quiz—even in locked mode. This integration will be rolling out over the next couple of weeks.

Learn more about the accessibility features available in locked mode, including ChromeVox, select-to-speak, and visual aids including high contrast mode and magnifiers.
  • Locked mode with Texthelp extensions

    Texthelp extension Read&Write in locked mode in Quizzes in Google Forms.

  • Locked mode with Don Johnston extension

    Don Johnston extension Co:Writer in locked mode in Quizzes in Google Forms.

  • Locked mode in Quizzes in Google Forms

    Locked mode in Quizzes in Google Forms, only on managed Chromebooks.

Tools, training, and more resources

Assistive technology has the power to transform learning for more students, but educators need training, support, and tutorials to help their students get the most from the technology.

The new Accessibility section on our Google for Education website has information on Chromebooks and G Suite for Education, a module on our Teacher Center and printable flashcards, and EDU in 90 YouTube videos on G Suite and Chromebook accessibility features. Check out our accessibility tools and find training on how to use them to create more engaging, accessible learning experiences.

EDU in 90 video of Chromebook accessibility features

Watch the EDU in 90 on Chrome accessibility features.

We love hearing stories of how technology is making learning more accessible for more learners, so please share how you're using accessibility tools to support all types of learners, and requests for how we can continue to improve to meet the needs of more learners.

More science in more places with Science Journal and Google Drive

We first launched Science Journal in 2016 so that students, teachers and science enthusiasts could conduct hands-on science experiments using their phones, tablets and Chromebooks. Since then, we've heard one request from teachers loud and clear: students need to be able to access their experiments no matter what device they're using or where they are. Learning doesn't just happen in the classroom, it happens outdoors, at home and everywhere in between. So today, we’re bringing a new Google Drive syncing feature to Science Journal. Now, you can access your experiments on any device using a Google Account.

Drive Sync with Science Journal

Accessing your experiment from Google Drive is easy: you can sign in with any Google Account and all of your experiments will be backed up to a Science Journal folder in Google Drive. If you have existing experiments on your device, you can add them to your Google Drive account. Many viewing, sharing and collaboration features will be coming to Science Journal in the future.


If you don't have a Google Account or you don't want to sign in, you can still use Science Journal—but your data won't be saved to Google Drive. If your school doesn't have Google Accounts, you can sign up for G Suite for free—just remember that G Suite for Education accounts need a domain administrator to activate Science Journal in the G Suite Admin console.


In addition to today’s syncing feature, we have a lot of new resources in Science Journal, just for teachers. Check out the new fundamentals and advanced professional development modules in the Google for Education Teacher Center. For introductory science activities, head over to Scholastic's Science in Action initiative, and for more hands-on physics content, you can pre-order Arduino's Science Kit. If you're looking for new ways to enhance Science Journal's capabilities, check out Vernier's Go Direct line of classroom sensors. Science Journal activities can now be found on the Workbench site, and you can always find activities and more on the Science Journal website and get support in our new help center. Finally, the Science Journal iOS app is now open source, so the app's code is available to the public, making it a great opportunity for students, hobbyists and companies who want to see how Science Journal works and even contribute code back to us.


Our goal with Science Journal is to help you enhance scientific thinking and data literacy in your classroom. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming months, and let us know what you think on our forum. You can tweet at us @GScienceJournal, or just use the #myScienceJournal hashtag on Twitter.

Source: Drive


More science in more places with Science Journal and Google Drive

We first launched Science Journal in 2016 so that students, teachers and science enthusiasts could conduct hands-on science experiments using their phones, tablets and Chromebooks. Since then, we've heard one request from teachers loud and clear: students need to be able to access their experiments no matter what device they're using or where they are. Learning doesn't just happen in the classroom, it happens outdoors, at home and everywhere in between. So today, we’re bringing a new Google Drive syncing feature to Science Journal. Now, you can access your experiments on any device using a Google Account.

Drive Sync with Science Journal

Accessing your experiment from Google Drive is easy: you can sign in with any Google Account and all of your experiments will be backed up to a Science Journal folder in Google Drive. If you have existing experiments on your device, you can add them to your Google Drive account. Many viewing, sharing and collaboration features will be coming to Science Journal in the future.


If you don't have a Google Account or you don't want to sign in, you can still use Science Journal—but your data won't be saved to Google Drive. If your school doesn't have Google Accounts, you can sign up for G Suite for free—just remember that G Suite for Education accounts need a domain administrator to activate Science Journal in the G Suite Admin console.


In addition to today’s syncing feature, we have a lot of new resources in Science Journal, just for teachers. Check out the new fundamentals and advanced professional development modules in the Google for Education Teacher Center. For introductory science activities, head over to Scholastic's Science in Action initiative, and for more hands-on physics content, you can pre-order Arduino's Science Kit. If you're looking for new ways to enhance Science Journal's capabilities, check out Vernier's Go Direct line of classroom sensors. Science Journal activities can now be found on the Workbench site, and you can always find activities and more on the Science Journal website and get support in our new help center. Finally, the Science Journal iOS app is now open source, so the app's code is available to the public, making it a great opportunity for students, hobbyists and companies who want to see how Science Journal works and even contribute code back to us.


Our goal with Science Journal is to help you enhance scientific thinking and data literacy in your classroom. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming months, and let us know what you think on our forum. You can tweet at us @GScienceJournal, or just use the #myScienceJournal hashtag on Twitter.

Source: Drive


How Dutch educators use Chromebooks to transform classrooms

When I first moved to Amsterdam in 2014, there were a small number of passionate educators using Google tools to shape digital teaching and learning. Schools like Corlaer College, a secondary school in Nijkerk, were already working with Chromebooks at the time. Over the next few years, organizations like Corlaer invited others to learn from what they were doing. I saw educators sharing their stories and experiences with one another through communities like Google Educator Groups.

Across these schools, one common thread we noticed was that teachers were using Chromebooks as a way to make learning more accessible and prepare every student for a future where they’ll need digital skills. “The role that schools play in society is shifting. They no longer just impart facts and theories. It’s just as important that students learn skills such as cooperation, communication, reflection and research, which prepare them to play a role in society,” says Ronald Schaefer, Vice Principal at Corlaer College.

This school-led movement brought Chromebooks and G Suite to more classrooms, enabling students to work together and learn from one another efficiently and effectively. Since then, Chromebook adoption across The Netherlands has been rapidly growing. At the same time, our partners have developed an ecosystem of tools which extend the functionality of the G Suite Admin Console and the G Suite for Education experience for students and Chromebooks in collaboration with Dutch IT admins and teachers. One of these is Cloudwise’s “COOL picture login,” which allows young students to get started in a simple way by using pictures to log into their Chromebook, instead of memorizing their email address and password.

At ds. Pierson College, students are also using G Suite and Classroom to work at their own pace, in their own way. Teachers can see exactly where students are with the content of the curriculum and take into account differences between pupils. “I sometimes have thirty pupils in my English class, none of whom are doing exactly the same lesson at any one time. As a teacher, you take on more of a coaching role,” says Frank Klumpers, who’s an IT coordinator at the school.

Schools in the Dr. Schaepman Foundation prepare students for a digital future by creating their own Google Sites and linking them to Classroom and Forms, developing their own digital portfolios. The school’s ICT coordinator Björn de Wals explains, “This portfolio will contain everything that they’ve done. If they’re proud of a project, a drawing or something they made in craft lessons, they can share it with their parents and grandparents.”

Children using Chromebooks in a classroom.

Students at a primary school get started with G Suite for Education.

Futuresource, a leading market analyst, released a new report showing Chromebooks were the top-selling device in Benelux schools in 2018. With this news, they join the U.S., Canada, Sweden and New Zealand, where Chromebooks are also the top devices used in classrooms.

Today, there are 80 million educators and students around the world using G Suite for Education, while 40 million students and educators rely on Google Classroom to stay organized and support creative teaching techniques. Meanwhile, Chromebooks are opening up a world of possibilities both inside and outside the classroom for 30 million students worldwide.

For the coming years, I know that teachers in the Netherlands will continue to amaze me with their use of technology in the classroom and make learning more accessible for every student. And that’s the real goal.