At Bett 2023, we’re sharing our vision for the future of education, announcing new updates around Google Workspace, Chromebooks and Chrome, and discussing advances in AI…
Today we're announcing new Chromebooks for students and teachers, updates to Screencast and cast moderator, and new features like reading mode.
Discover some of the Chromebook team’s favorite apps for your new Chromebook.
We recommend Chrome extensions to help you be more productive at work, enjoy watching shows and learn new skills.
It’s Native American Heritage Month in the U.S., a time when we honor the history, traditions and contributions of Native Americans. As a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, I celebrate this month by taking time to reflect and express gratitude for my ancestors, the resilience of my tribe and other Indigenous people, and future generations carrying our tribal traditions forward.
As a product manager at Google, I’m also proud of how we’re celebrating across our products. On Google Assistant, for example, just say “Happy Native American Heritage Month” or “Give me a fact about Native American Heritage” throughout the month of November to hear a collection of historical facts and stories from the Native American community. Meanwhile, a recent Doodle on Google’s homepage celebrated the history of Stickball, a traditional sport created by Indigenous tribes.
We also commissioned five Native American artists to create a collection of themes for Chromebooks and Chrome browser. This collection has a special meaning to me because it showcases important traditions and reminds me of home. Richard D. York’s piece “ᎤᎧᏖᎾ (Uktena, or Horned Serpent)” in particular brings me back to my childhood listening to the stories of Uktena and other tales from my elders. A more solemn work, “A Lot Meant,” reminded me of growing up in Oklahoma and how historical policies like allotment impacted my family and so many others.
Now available globally, these themes reflect the unique experiences and identities of each artist. Here’s what they shared about their work:
To apply one of these themes (or others from Black, Latino and LGBTQ+ artists) to your Chrome browser, visit the Chrome Web Store collection, select a theme and click "Add to Chrome." You can also open a new tab and click the “Customize Chrome” button on the bottom right to explore background collections. To apply one of these wallpapers to your Chromebook, right-click your desktop, choose "Set wallpaper and style," then select "Native American Artists.”
The need for accessible tools and equitable learning environments has become more critical than ever, as the number of students with disabilities is on the rise, including those with specific learning disabilities.
Google for Education uses built-in accessibility features to help support the needs of all students, to help foster inclusive environments so that students can learn individually and as a group. Our accessibility features provide individualized support while giving students the resources they need to learn in a collaborative way.
We aim to build helpful features across all our products. One of those features is captions, which are useful not only for those who are deaf or hard of hearing, but also if a room is loud, or a student just needs additional support focusing, or if someone needs support in a different language. Captions are available in Google Meet in six languages, and you can change the font size and placement on the screen. You can also access and add captions to videos in YouTube, Google Drive and Chrome. For Android users, captions are also available through Live Transcribe.
Our accessibility features are easy to use and built directly into Chromebooks, like Select-to-Speak, the ChromeVox screen reader and magnification, that enable every individual to do their best work. Now we’ve added more dictation improvements, like the ability to speak into any text field on the Chromebook simply by clicking on the mic icon in the status area. You can also press Search + d to dictate, and you can now edit using just your voice.
We recently announced more customization for accessibility settings in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drawings, so users can set accessibility settings for each product individually. And soon, we’ll build upon that by consolidating the Docs settings for screen reader and braille support into a single setting, with a single checkbox. We’ll also soon be adding improvements to voice typing in Google Docs, voice typing for speaker notes in Google Slides, and captions in Google Slides, including adding automatic punctuation and the ability to access from all browsers.
For people who are blind or low vision and use screen readers, you can nowtype a keyboard shortcut (ALT + number, 1-7) that verbalizes the content of a Calendar event. This way, Calendar details can be heard on demand, instead of through time-consuming navigation.
We’re supporting teachers through our own tools and partnerships with organizations that share our mission. Many of these apps and extensions integrate with Google tools like Classroom, Google Workspace for Education, and Chromebooks.
This includes Texthelp, a company which makes extensions and tools that help people learn, understand and communicate through the use of digital learning and accessibility tools. Students can use tools like Read&Write to help with reading support, and Equatio to help with creating math equations digitally. Created by an occupational therapist, SnapType breaks down the barriers to education by helping students feel more confident and independent. Students challenged by handwriting or visual impairments can keep up in class with their peers by using SnapType to easily take a picture of their assignment and then type or dictate their schoolwork.
We’re also continually working to update our Help Center articles for screen reader users, including how to use a screen reader with Google Calendar, how to use a screen reader with Google Drive, and how to make your document or presentation more accessible. Stay up to date on the latest accessibility features from Google for Education.
Around the world, ChromeOS admins are hard at work, collectively managing 50 million students and educators using Chromebooks and other ChromeOS devices. Some of them are looking after huge fleets across entire school districts, and others are just starting out.
Whatever size or type of organization they support as ChromeOS admins, we’re here to make life a little easier for them with a range of new policies and updates. We’re also announcing a new Professional ChromeOS Administrator certification, to recognize and reward their ChromeOS expertise.
We’re always adding new policies in Google Admin Console, and now have more than 600 to help customize and curate environments for different schools’ and organizations’ unique needs.
To make it easier to configure apps and extension permissions, we’ve introduced group-based policies for new and existing Google groups. Now if an admin needs to install an app for a specific set of users — who may or may not belong to different organizational units — they can simply add them to a group instead of moving them into a new organizational unit.
Here’s how it could play out in a school. Imagine a small group of students needs access to an app for Science Club. These students are from different grades, so they belong to different organizational units — let’s call them Third Grade, Fourth Grade and Fifth Grade. Instead of setting the app policy as “Allow Install” for all kids in those grades (and then hoping the right kids will install the app themselves), you can create a group-based policy that sets the science app to “Force Install” onto the devices of students in Science Club.
On the flip side, if a group of students were getting distracted by an app or abusing it, you could create a custom group to block their access — without having to disable it for all students.
Group-based policies not only reduce the time and effort involved in configuring apps and extensions, but also help avoid the forced install of apps to entire organizational units, saving valuable disk space and network bandwidth.
We’ve long been asked about creating a certification for proficiency in administering for ChromeOS, much like our certification for Google Workspace admins. Certifications not only are great for training, but also help with career development and progression and help establish professional credibility. According to the Global Knowledge IT Skills and Salary Report, certified IT professionals earn more than non-certified peers, and the more certifications, the higher the salary. Today, we’re introducing a new Professional ChromeOS Administrator certification. It’s a great opportunity for people to demonstrate their skills as a ChromeOS IT admin, and earn a badge that proves proficiency to peers and prospective employers.
Designed for enterprise and education systems administrators, and junior engineers with at least one year of holistic IT infrastructure experience, the three-hour exam has 50 multiple choice questions and 30 hands-on lab questions. Test-takers have 90 minutes to complete each section. The exam assesses the ability to perform actions from Google Admin Console, including configuring ChromeOS policies and understanding the tenets of ChromeOS.
For the next 12 months, to help organizations build highly skilled and effective teams, Google is waiving the $125 fee and offering the Professional ChromeOS Administrators exam for free to all enterprise and education IT admins. The exam is English only to start, and will be offered in Japanese in early 2023.
Find more information about repairing devices
With 40 million students and educators using Chromebooks, it can be challenging for school IT administrators to find information about which devices they can repair. As part of the Chromebook repair program, we’re partnering with companies like Acer and Lenovo, and now CTL, to spotlight more Chromebooks that are repairable. On our site, schools can easily identify which Chromebooks have commonly repaired components, and find information on how to get them repaired. We’ll continue to expand the program globally soon.
Chromebooks have always been known for being fast, secure and easy-to-use devices. Since their launch more than a decade ago, we’ve improved their capabilities and expanded the variety of devices for people to choose.
Today, we’re taking that effort a step further, by introducing the world’s first laptops built for cloud gaming along with our partners Acer, ASUS and Lenovo. These new Chromebooks bring together gaming hardware features, access to the latest games with cutting edge graphics through the cloud, and software designed to make gaming fast and easy.
We are announcing three new Chromebooks today: Acer Chromebook 516 GE, ASUS Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip and Ideapad Gaming Chromebook from Lenovo. These laptops come loaded with features that are great for gaming, including 120Hz+ high resolution screens for crystal clear visuals, RGB gaming keyboards (on select models) with anti-ghosting capabilities for added speed and excitement, WiFi 6 or 6E for seamless connectivity and immersive audio to draw you into your game.
All cloud gaming Chromebooks have been independently tested and verified by leading game performance measurement platform, GameBench, to consistently deliver a smooth, responsive gaming experience with 120 frames per second and console-class input latency of under 85ms1.
We’ve teamed up with NVIDIA to bring support for GeForce NOW’s highest performance RTX 3080 tier to cloud gaming Chromebooks, so you can stream titles like Fortnite, Cyberpunk 2077, Crysis 3 Remastered and more at up to 1600p resolution and 120 frames per second, taking full advantage of the 120Hz+ high-resolution displays.
The RTX 3080 membership also boosts your gameplay with features like ray tracing, which simulates how light behaves in the real world to make visuals hyper-realistic. The GeForce NOW app will come preinstalled on gaming Chromebooks, so getting to your favorite game will be even easier.
We’ve also worked with Microsoft to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) to Chromebook through an installable web app. You can access and install this app by visiting xbox.com/play. Xbox brings a library of hundreds of games including Forza Horizon 5, Grounded and Microsoft Flight Simulator, accessible through an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription.
Chromebooks will now support three leading cloud gaming platforms — Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta), NVIDIA GeForce NOW and Amazon Luna2 — bringing with them full PC and console games straight from the cloud.
Plus, the new cloud gaming Chromebooks make it easier than ever for gamers to find the games they love and start playing them in an instant. Just tap the Everything button, find your game on your platform of choice, then launch the game. No installs. No downloads. No hassle.
A GeForce NOW and Google Play using the Chromebook’s Everything Button (3)
This search functionality will include games on NVIDIA GeForce NOW and Google Play at launch. We are seeking to include other cloud gaming platforms in the future.
We know gamers love to enhance their gaming experience with accessories, so we’re partnering with leading peripheral manufacturers like Acer, Corsair, HyperX, Lenovo and SteelSeries to ensure their popular mice, headsets and controllers are tested and certified as part of the Works With Chromebook program.
From left to right: HyperX Cloud II Gaming Headset, SteelSeries Rival 3 wireless mouse and SteelSeries Stratus+ controller, all of which are Works With Chromebook certified
Cloud gaming Chromebooks will come with new offers that get you gaming right out of the box. New cloud gaming Chromebooks come with a three-month trial to Amazon Luna+ and NVIDIA GeForce NOW’s RTX3080 tier.4
With these offers, you can play nearly 200 of the 1500+ titles available on Chromebook at no cost, including games like Control Ultimate Edition, Overcooked 2, Fortnite and League of Legends.
Visit chromebook.com/perks from your new cloud gaming Chromebook for more details on these offers.
As we launch the first Chromebooks designed for cloud gaming, we understand that, today, Chromebooks are not necessarily known for being gaming laptops. A lot of people know our devices best for productivity (work, school, documents, presentations and spreadsheets) or online streaming (movies, television and music videos).
But the new cloud gaming Chromebooks can actually be the perfect devices for gamers who aren’t always seen as gamers — “undercover” gamers, if you will. We’ve worked with actor Winston Duke, as well as Jackson State University head football coach Deion Sanders and his sons, Shilo and Shedeur, to show how easy it is to game on a Chromebook, while of course getting everything else done that you need to as well. It is the ultimate cloud gaming machine, disguised as a Chromebook.
Starting this October, you can order the new Acer Chromebook 516 GE, the ASUS Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip and the Ideapad Gaming Chromebook from Lenovo. Learn more about these devices and their features by visiting chromebook.com.
Disclaimers:
1Tested at 1080p when plugged in to power while playing Fortnite and Destiny 2 using early access test accounts on NVIDIA GeForce NOW.
2Luna is available in the mainland US only.
3Sequence sped up for illustrative purposes.
4Limited time offer. Terms and conditions apply.
The technology we use has a meaningful impact on the environment. And given how much people rely on laptops in both their work and personal lives, we’ve teamed up with our partners to build some more sustainable options. These new Chromebooks are made with recycled materials and are easy to customize, repair and upgrade.
The new Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition, made of 50% post-consumer recycled aluminum, is the most customizable Chromebook yet. It’s durable, powerful, thin, light and designed to last. You can upgrade the laptop’s memory and storage and replace key parts like the screen, battery and webcam without needing to replace your entire laptop. And if you ever want to switch up your Framework Laptop’s look, simply swap out the bezel with different colors. You can pre-order this device starting today.
The Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition is easy to upgrade and repair.
We also recently announced the Acer Chromebook Vero 514, which incorporates post-consumer recycled plastic into its design, including recycled ocean-bound plastic in its internal fan housing and touchpad. It’s durable and comes with molded pulp packaging made with recycled paper, cardboard and other natural fibers. The packaging can also be reused as a laptop stand.
The Acer Chromebook Vero 514 incorporates post-consumer recycled plastic.
Earlier this year, we launched the high-performance HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook that brings together powerful capabilities and sustainable design. It uses recycled materials throughout its body, including recycled magnesium in the top, recycled aluminum in the bottom and recycled plastic in the keyboard’s keycaps.
The HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook.
Chromebooks are power efficient, providing up to 12 hours of battery life on a full charge. They’re also designed to last, with automatic updates for up to eight years that keep it running fast and secure. And all the Google apps that run on it — like Drive, Photos and Gmail — operate on Google Cloud, the cleanest cloud in the industry.
It’s also easy to share a Chromebook with multiple family members so you can limit the number of devices in your household. You can add multiple profiles on one Chromebook — which keeps each person’s files, apps and settings separate — to personalize your device the way you like it, even when it’s shared.
Don’t have a Chromebook yet? Modernize your existing device with ChromeOS Flex. The cloud-first, fast and secure operating system for PCs and Macs gives you the sustainability-focused benefits of ChromeOS at no cost.
And when you’re ready to let go of your old Chromebook, we’ve made it easier to safely recycle them. Simply search for “electronics recycling near me” on Google to find verified services that can recycle your laptop for you.
Google Search can help you find electronics recycling locations near you.
From launching sustainable devices with our partners to helping educational institutions repair their old Chromebooks (from Lenovo, Acer, and now, CTL), we’ll continue working toward a more sustainable future.
Access to education is one of the most important enablers for a child’s future success. School resources can often be limited, especially with the sudden shift to remote learning during COVID. Our team works on creating digital solutions for schools to provide a great learning experience for students, whether it’s collaborating across countries or keeping track of academic records.
Increasingly, we’re seeing schools around the world adopt tools like Chromebooks and Google Workspace for Education, transforming the ways teachers deliver lessons, and students learn. And, Asia-Pacific is home to some of the largest user bases for these tools. Let’s meet three teachers from Thailand, Japan, and Australia who have adopted Google for Education tools.
Tell us about your school, and its mission.
Pradchayakorn Hodmalee, Deputy Director, Princess Chulabhorn Science High School Loei: We’re a science-focused school in Thailand where students collaborate on projects with peers from affiliate schools across Thailand and Japan. We create our own standardized curriculum, for which our teachers regularly travel from different regions to meet and jointly design syllabuses and exams. We also take pride in organizing overseas immersion trips to Japan for our students.
Emil Zankov, Leader of Innovation and Enterprise, Pedare Christian College: We’re located in Golden Grove, South Australia. We focus on ‘bringing industry to the classroom’ - and work hard to build an environment where teamwork, friendly competition, and the messy play of learning are at the forefront. These are things that happen out in the real world, and are what the industry looks at when it comes to hiring.
Shinsuke Nakamura, English teacher, Kochi Prefectural Sakawa High School: We’re located in Kochi prefecture, in a small sunny town on Japan’s Shikoku island. Kochi recognizes that students have different motivations and ambitions. So our vision is to create a personalized journey of learning for every student throughout their lifelong education, even as they leave our school and start at a new one.
Why did you start using Google for Education tools?
Emil: What Google for Education tools allow teachers to do is really focus on what they want their students to learn, while the technology sits in the background. We chose Workspace and Chromebooks because of their simplicity and reliability. Knowing that they are going to work time and time again is critical as teachers have very little patience when it comes to technology. In addition, Google’s cloud solutions allow students to easily share their work, which helps them focus on creating content rather than dealing with tech difficulties.
Pradchayakorn: With the pandemic’s travel restrictions, in-person meetings among teachers and student trips to Japan had to be canceled. So we quickly rolled out Workspace to enable teachers to continue communicating and working closely with their peers through tools like Google Meet, Drive and Forms. It’s actually more efficient, as teachers no longer have to commute to another province for meetings. To replace the immersion trip to Japan, we used Workspace tools to organize a four-month-long collaborative project with an affiliate school in Japan. We wanted to ensure our students still have the opportunity to work with peers from overseas and learn from others who may not be similar to them.
Shinsuke: Our vision of seamless, personalized learning meant that we needed to keep digital records of our students’ daily learnings through their elementary, junior high and high schools, so that teachers can continuously track their progress and help them work towards their personal goals. To help with that, the Kochi Prefectural Board of Education gives a Chromebook to every student in its public schools, which are sturdy, secure and easy to use. We also deploy Google Workspace for Education Plus and Cloud solutions in our school to help teachers easily access their students’ records and tailor their teaching methods for each student.
In one sentence, what does the future of education look like for you?
Shinsuke: If high schools could see what these students have learned (in elementary and junior high) and the achievements they’ve made each year, we can create a seamless journey of learning.
Pradchayakorn: Schools will be less and less about learning in a fixed physical setting, and classrooms will no longer have restrictions on how many students can attend.
Emil: It’s having the industry and students collaborate on real-world problems, breaking the notion that the real world is only outside of school.
