Tag Archives: Chromebooks

New video editing and productivity features coming to Chromebook

Today we’re announcing new features and apps for Chromebook to take your creativity and productivity to the next level. Whether you’re enjoying your favorite music or movies, creating a vacation highlight reel or powering through work, Chromebook lets you do it all with speed, security and ease — right out of the box.

Over the next few months we’ll roll out new Chromebook features, including video editing tools in the Google Photos app to help you showcase your summer adventures, enhanced app capabilities and features to help you get organized and get things done.

Get in the director’s chair with Google Photos

Share your favorite memories with friends and family and bring your creativity to life with Google Photos’ new movie editor and video editing features — available first on Chromebook this fall.

The upcoming Google Photos movie editor displays on the screen. In the center is a still from a video clip of two people bicycles, with an editing menu open to let the user adjust brightness, contrast, whitepoints and more.

A peek at Google Photos’ new movie editor coming to Chromebook (UI subject to change)

Creating an end-to-end movie made up of multiple video clips, photos, a title card and music can come with a learning curve and take a lot of time. But Google Photos’ revamped movie creation tools help you make high-quality movies with just a few taps. You’ll be able to create beautiful movies from suggested themes, or put yourself in the director’s seat and start from scratch, right on your Chromebook.

Start by selecting a theme and the people (or pets!) you’d like to feature, and Google Photos will make a movie with both video clips and photos. It even intelligently selects the most meaningful moments from your long videos.

For those who like more creative control, you can also build your own movie from scratch with the Google Photos movie editor. Google Photos’ search capabilities make it easy to select, then arrange photos and clips in the order you’d like.

Whether you start from a theme or a blank slate, you’ll be able to trim video clips, or edit them to adjust the brightness, contrast and more. Or you can apply one of the Real Tone filters we added earlier this year – these filters were made to work well across skin tones, so you can choose from a wide assortment of looks to find one that reflects your style. You can also add finishing touches, like music and a title card, to make your movie shine.

GIF walks through the steps of creating a movie from a suggested theme on Google Photos. “Friendship movie” is selected, then two people are chosen – from there, a movie is produced using clips of these people.

Select a theme, like “Friendship movie”, and choose who you want to include and Google Photos will create a movie with clips and photos (UI subject to change)

Google Photos integrates with Chromebook’s Gallery and Files apps, so if you open a video in the Gallery app, you can continue editing it in Google Photos with a tap. You can also use images and videos saved on your Chromebook in the movies you make on the Google Photos app.

And for professional-grade video editing, the LumaFusion app is also coming to Chromebooks. LumaFusion’s multitrack video editor lets you add graphics, visual effects, transitions and distortions, audio tracks and sound effects, narration, color grading and more.

No matter what kind of movie you want to create, from a summer highlight reel to a short film, Chromebook’s versatile and easy-to-use tools and apps have you covered.

Meet new apps, and get more out of your favorites

Whether you’re diving into forecasting at work or preparing and planning for back-to-school season, Chromebook’s preinstalled apps are ready to help. Here are a few new ones we recommend trying out:

Gallery app. We’re introducing new PDF editing features to Gallery, Chomebook’s default media app, so you can fill out forms, highlight text, sign documents and add text annotations. No more printing and scanning just to sign a form. You’ll start to see this roll out next week.
Screencast app. Anyone can now use Screencast to record, view and share transcribed videos and presentations, whether it’s a virtual lesson or a how-to video or demo.
Cursive app. Capture, edit and organize handwritten notes on stylus-enabled Chromebooks. When it's time to share, you can quickly copy and paste your notes into another app or send as a PDF.

A PDF of a lease agreement is on the screen. It’s been highlighted and signatures have been added.

Using the Gallery app you’ll be able to annotate, highlight, edit, and sign PDFs.

And of course, when it’s time to go back to school or catch up on work after a long summer vacation, Google Workspace apps — like Docs, Calendar, Meet and Chat — are already on Chromebook. Whether you’re catching up on emails or collaborating on a group project you paused weeks ago, all of your files will be waiting on Google Drive. And when you want to kick back and relax, entertainment apps are just a tap away. Check the latest trends on YouTube, update your “Summer 2022” playlist on YouTube Music or play a game on Stadia.

For creativity, easy-to-use design tools like Canva, Figma and Adobe Express are made to work easily on Chromebook so you can create everything from beautiful presentations to professional-looking social media posts. Apps like FL Studio help you arrange, record, mix and master quality music, and add instruments like synthesizers, drum kits and more.

For a little more support in and out of class, Evernote helps you keep your life organized with great note-taking, project planning and easy ways to find what you’re looking for. Plus, get expert advice to help you succeed from Outlier.org, which provides world-class online college education from the founders of MasterClass. And you have 1000+ powerful PC games on NVIDIA GeForce NOW and Luna to help you unwind.

Check out special offers on some of these apps and others — perfect for college students heading back to school in the U.S.

Manage your life and make Chromebook your own

Recently we’ve added new ways to help you get things done easily, like the newly redesigned Launcher that lets you find what you need with the press of a button, and additions to cross-device features like Phone Hub and Nearby Share. In the next few months, we’re also rolling out some new organization and productivity features to help you manage your schedule and stay focused, with some new ways to personalize your Chromebook.

Chromebook screen with a pink background. The new Wallpaper & style app is open, and in it users can select a wallpaper, screensaver, and theme.
If you’re not the type to plaster your laptop with stickers on the outside, you can now personalize your Chromebook in new ways. Now you can set your wallpaper from one of your Google Photos albums – and even have it automatically change daily. Imagine waking up to see your photos rotate between your friends, parents, pets… you get the idea. You can also see your favorite pictures sway in the breeze or gently float across your screen using one of the new screensaver photo frames.
A GIF showing a Chromebook screen going from Light theme to Dark theme. The pink background shifts to a darker red, and the shelf also becomes darker.
We’re introducing light and dark themes. The “light” theme keeps things bright and airy, while “dark” makes for easy reading at night or in low light, and can help conserve power. You can choose to keep your laptop on one theme all the time, or choose “auto” to have your Chromebook automatically transition from light to dark when day turns to night. Bonus: some new wallpapers are made for both themes, so your wallpaper will subtly shift from light to dark, too.
The GIF starts with several windows open in a desk titled “Research Project”. The user taps on “save for later” and the desk contents condense, and several saved desks show on the screen.
You might already use virtual desks to keep all your related apps and windows grouped and organized when you’re focusing on a specific project, like one desk for a research project and another for planning a vacation (as you can see, I think a lot about vacations). Soon you’ll be able to save and close an entire desk, including all windows and apps — perfect for when it’s time to shift gears and focus on emailing friends or family. When you’re ready to get back to it, you can open your saved windows and tabs with a tap. And once your project is done (and who doesn’t love that feeling?), you can also close all open windows at once.
The new monthly calendar view is open on the right side of the screen.
Last but not least, tap on the date on your Chromebook shelf and a monthly calendar will now pop up on the side of your screen. Select any date to see your Google Calendar events in more detail and check your availability at a glance – no need to open another app or browser tab. Notifications are also getting an upgrade. Notifications from the same sender will be grouped together, plus larger buttons make it easier to join a meeting or respond to a message, right from the notification.

We’re keeping busy through the rest of the summer making Chromebook even more useful and powerful. We’ll be back to share more updates soon.

Source: The Official Google Blog

New video editing and productivity features coming to Chromebook

Get in the director’s chair with Google Photos

Share your favorite memories with friends and family and bring your creativity to life with Google Photos’ new movie editor and video editing features — available first on Chromebook this fall.

A peek at Google Photos’ new movie editor coming to Chromebook (UI subject to change)

Select a theme, like “Friendship movie”, and choose who you want to include and Google Photos will create a movie with clips and photos (UI subject to change)

No matter what kind of movie you want to create, from a summer highlight reel to a short film, Chromebook’s versatile and easy-to-use tools and apps have you covered.

Meet new apps, and get more out of your favorites

Gallery app. We’re introducing new PDF editing features to Gallery, Chomebook’s default media app, so you can fill out forms, highlight text, sign documents and add text annotations. No more printing and scanning just to sign a form. You’ll start to see this roll out next week.
Screencast app. Anyone can now use Screencast to record, view and share transcribed videos and presentations, whether it’s a virtual lesson or a how-to video or demo.
Cursive app. Capture, edit and organize handwritten notes on stylus-enabled Chromebooks. When it's time to share, you can quickly copy and paste your notes into another app or send as a PDF.

Using the Gallery app you’ll be able to annotate, highlight, edit, and sign PDFs.

Check out special offers on some of these apps and others — perfect for college students heading back to school in the U.S.

Manage your life and make Chromebook your own

Chromebook screen with a pink background. The new Wallpaper & style app is open, and in it users can select a wallpaper, screensaver, and theme.
If you’re not the type to plaster your laptop with stickers on the outside, you can now personalize your Chromebook in new ways. Now you can set your wallpaper from one of your Google Photos albums – and even have it automatically change daily. Imagine waking up to see your photos rotate between your friends, parents, pets… you get the idea. You can also see your favorite pictures sway in the breeze or gently float across your screen using one of the new screensaver photo frames.
A GIF showing a Chromebook screen going from Light theme to Dark theme. The pink background shifts to a darker red, and the shelf also becomes darker.
We’re introducing light and dark themes. The “light” theme keeps things bright and airy, while “dark” makes for easy reading at night or in low light, and can help conserve power. You can choose to keep your laptop on one theme all the time, or choose “auto” to have your Chromebook automatically transition from light to dark when day turns to night. Bonus: some new wallpapers are made for both themes, so your wallpaper will subtly shift from light to dark, too.
The GIF starts with several windows open in a desk titled “Research Project”. The user taps on “save for later” and the desk contents condense, and several saved desks show on the screen.
You might already use virtual desks to keep all your related apps and windows grouped and organized when you’re focusing on a specific project, like one desk for a research project and another for planning a vacation (as you can see, I think a lot about vacations). Soon you’ll be able to save and close an entire desk, including all windows and apps — perfect for when it’s time to shift gears and focus on emailing friends or family. When you’re ready to get back to it, you can open your saved windows and tabs with a tap. And once your project is done (and who doesn’t love that feeling?), you can also close all open windows at once.
The new monthly calendar view is open on the right side of the screen.
Last but not least, tap on the date on your Chromebook shelf and a monthly calendar will now pop up on the side of your screen. Select any date to see your Google Calendar events in more detail and check your availability at a glance – no need to open another app or browser tab. Notifications are also getting an upgrade. Notifications from the same sender will be grouped together, plus larger buttons make it easier to join a meeting or respond to a message, right from the notification.

We’re keeping busy through the rest of the summer making Chromebook even more useful and powerful. We’ll be back to share more updates soon.

Source: The Official Google Blog

Your Chromebook now works better with your other devices

During CES and I/O this year, we announced a few new Android and Chromebook features designed to help your phone and laptop work better together. Soon you’ll see some of those features roll out to your Chromebooks so you can try them yourself.

Easily access your recent photos

When you’re trying to stay on task, there’s nothing more distracting than switching between your phone and your laptop to get something done. Last year, we introduced Phone Hub, a built-in control center that lets you respond to text messages, check your phone’s battery, turn on tethering and more, all from your Chromebook.

With the latest update, you’ll now also have instant access to the latest photos you took on your phone — even if you’re offline. After taking a picture on your phone, it will automatically appear within Phone Hub on your laptop under “recent photos.” Just click on the image to download it, then it’s ready to be added to a document or email.

No more sending yourself emails with pictures or going through multiple steps to get an image from your phone to your laptop. The next time you’re recapping yesterday’s hike in an email to your friends, you can easily add your best photos to the message, without ever having to pick up your phone.

A zoomed in Chromebook Phone Hub exaggerates the new section called “Recent photos”.

In Phone Hub, you can see recent pictures that were shot on your Android phone.

Coming soon: connect headphones with a tap

Bluetooth-enabled headphones help you stay connected without wires, but that can be difficult when you can’t figure out how to set them up. We’ve all been there – trying to decipher the deeper meaning of tiny blue pulsing LEDs. With Fast Pair coming later this summer, it’s easier than ever to sync headphones or other compatible accessories to your Chromebook.

Just turn on your Chromebook’s Bluetooth, and it will automatically detect when a new pair of Bluetooth headphones are on, are nearby and are ready to be set up. A pop-up notification will appear and with one tap, your new accessory is connected and ready to go. No more digging through settings or struggling to figure out the right button to press to pair your headphones. Fast Pair also saves the connection to your Google Account, so both your Chromebook or a new Android phone will remember your headphones and seamlessly connect to them in the future.

Whether you want to use new headphones to watch a video, join a virtual meeting or listen to music, Fast Pair will make it hassle-free. This feature will be compatible with hundreds of different headphone models — and counting.

An image of a Chromebook showing a notification that headphones are ready to pair. An image of Pixel Buds floats over the picture.

Fast Pair on Chromebook will work with hundreds of headphones, including Pixel Buds.

Plus, share your ideas with Screencast

In case you missed it, earlier this month we announced the new, built-in Screencast app. Screencast lets anyone record, trim, and share transcribed videos automatically uploaded to Google Drive. You can even draw or write on the screen as you record using a touchscreen or stylus to diagram or illustrate key concepts.

Screencast makes it easy for anyone to record instructional videos, software demos, presentations, and more. It will start rolling out this week, so give it a go by tapping the Everything Button and searching for the Screencast app.

Later this year, we’ll introduce even more helpful features that will make all of your devices work better together. In the meantime, we’ll be back to share more exciting Chromebook announcements this summer. Stay tuned.

Source: The Official Google Blog

Share your ideas with Chromebook

Editor’s Note: Join us for Google for Education’s product launch event, The Anywhere School 2022, to find out about the latest features to help students pursue their personal potential.

Over the last two years, many school districts have gone from sharing devices to providing one for every student. Students aren’t the only ones getting devices, either - teachers are, too. We’ve talked to a lot of teachers to see what tools they might be missing on their devices so we can design new tools to make key workflows easier, and provide students with even richer learning experiences.

We heard loud and clear that returning to the classroom this year after remote learning, many educators are now using computers not just to prep for class, but also to teach in real time. Having a lightweight convertible Chromebook with a stylus and all-day battery life allows them to step away from their desks and move freely about the classroom to engage with students. And with so many schools moving toward a 1:1 student to device ratio, students are taking their Chromebooks home in backpacks to work on homework; this gives them unprecedented access to digital tools both in school and at home. With that, video has quickly become both a critical teaching tool and a powerful way for students to show their work. So for this back to school season, we've built new ways for both students and teachers to share and record their screens for real-time collaboration in the classroom and creating instructional videos and reports.

Share your ideas with Screencast

Make video creation capabilities available to everyone in your class with the Screencast app built into Chrome OS. Educators can record, trim, transcribe and share lessons or demos to build a custom library of recordings. Students can create their own screencasts to share their ideas and what they’ve learned, or access lessons if they missed a class or need homework help. You can even draw or write on the screen using a touchscreen or stylus to diagram or illustrate key concepts. Recordings are stored on Google Drive, and can be accessed via link to the Screencast app – at school or from home. Update Chrome OS to M103 to get access.

YouTube video of Screencast on Chromebooks

Secure, wireless casting for the entire class with cast moderator

Share ideas and content wirelessly with a moderator mode for casting that lets educators control casting in their classrooms. Cast moderator lets educators and students share their screen, whether sharing a presentation, a video or a worksheet, wirelessly to a central display, using a secure access code. Educators can keep class on track by controlling when the code gets displayed and instantly turning off a disruptive cast in their classroom with the click of a remote or from the teacher’s own Chromebook. With cast moderator, all educators need is a cast sender, like a Chromebook or a desktop Chrome browser, and a supported Google TV device as a cast receiver. We’re piloting this with schools this summer, so to get notified about availability, express interest through our form.

Working with Figma to optimize for Chromebooks

Our team aims to give students access to the tools they need to build key skills and creatively express their ideas on Chromebooks. We’re working with developers like Figma, the leading browser-based collaborative design software, to optimize their products for Chromebooks and run pilots in real classrooms. Through this partnership, we hope to equip students with the visual communication, problem-solving and collaboration skills they need to thrive in a digital-first world. We’re announcing a free Figma beta for U.S. high schools using Chromebooks. Now you can deploy Figma and manage free app licenses all from Google Admin Console, making it easy to deliver to many people at once. Starting today, you canapply to participate in the Figma beta, which launches later this summer.

YouTube video of Figma partnership with Chromebooks

Find the right Chromebook for you (and your school!)

Whether you’re looking for Chromebooks for high schoolers or for educators, or for yourself, you can find recommendations onour website, along with accessories that are Works with Chromebook certified, like styluses from Logitech. You can learn how to set up a Chromebook repair program in your school, with device-specific resources from Acer and Lenovo. Or if you have old Macs and PCs sitting around, you can repurpose them with Chrome OS Flex, a new version of Chrome OS that can help extend the lifespan of your devices.

Building for the future of teaching and learning

We’re excited to see how educators are using Chromebooks to expand their teaching. Chris Preston, an honors biology teacher at Rider High School in Wichita Falls ISD, is among the teachers who rely on Chromebooks for teaching. “As a teacher, I’m always looking for ways to save time, and my Chromebook is the ultimate time saver,” Chris says. “I actively share my experiences with my Chromebook with fellow educators because Chromebooks have changed the way I work. I want others to have that same opportunity.” And now, with Screencast and cast moderator, we hope educators around the world feel the same way.

Source: The Official Google Blog

The Anywhere School 2022

Editor’s Note: Join us for Google for Education’s product launch event, The Anywhere School 2022, to find out about the latest features to help students pursue their personal potential.

Each year, my team and I speak with thousands of educators around the world to better understand how students and teachers are using technology in the classroom. We do this to help educators amplify their efforts and, most importantly, help students pursue their personal potential. Today, we’re sharing new updates to Chromebooks, Google Classroom and Google Meet to set up teachers and students for success ahead of the next school year.

Create screencasts and cast to a big screen with Chromebooks

From sharing devices to 1:1, to teachers using Chromebooks alongside students, we’re constantly evolving our features to meet the needs of the classroom. We’re adding new features like the Screencast app, built into Chrome OS in M103, where you can record, trim, share and view transcribed screencasts — and create a custom library of videos automatically saved in Google Drive. Cast moderator is a new mode coming to select devices with Google TV that enables both educators and students to wirelessly share their Chromebook screen to a class display using an access code, so that only folks in the same classroom as the display are able to cast. To get notified on availability of cast moderator hardware, express interest in this form. And for more on what’s new for Chromebooks, read our blog.

Adaptive learning enhancements in Google Classroom

We’re rolling out newintegrations and tools to improve teachers’ day-to-day tasks and help students grow their skills. Practice sets lean into adaptive learning by giving students instant feedback on their answers and real-time support if they get stuck — providing automated insights for teachers to identify potential gaps in students’ understanding. Practice sets are now globally available in beta, and in English only, for Google Workspace for Education customers with the Education Plus or the Teaching and Learning Editions. Sign up here to get access. With add-ons, we’re making it possible for students and teachers to access more than 15 EdTech tools, like Kahoot! and Pear Deck, all with a single login. Teachers can create engaging assignments and see new grading experiences, while students don’t have to worry about remembering extra passwords and navigating external websites. Add-ons will be available with the Education Plus or Teaching and Learning Edition. And to get ready for the new school year or semester, we’re expanding our roster import feature in Google Workspace for Education Plus to an additional 15 countries, in partnership with Elevate Data Sync, so class lists can automatically be synced with student information systems. Sign up here for the beta. For more on what’s new with Classroom, read our blog.

YouTube video of practice sets in Google Classroom

Better interconnectivity and efficiency with Google Meet

For those using the Google Workspace for Education Teaching & Learning and Plus editions, we’re adding features focused on increasing interconnectivity, control and efficiency in the classroom to Google Meet. Now, Meet calls can be auto-transcribed directly into a Google Doc for easy lesson reviews and the ability to search for keywords and concepts. Ever wished you could keep tabs on your class and present from another tab? Now you can, with Picture in Picture in Meet, where you can navigate other tabs in Chrome while viewing 4 tiles of students in a Meet call. And to keep your class engaged and regularly check for understanding, you can now add polls and Q&A to Live-streams, and live-stream directly to YouTube. For more on what’s new with Google Meet, read our blog.

Gif of picture in picture in Google Meet on Chrome OS

Building for the future of more personal learning experiences

We want to continue developing products and features that meet the needs of students and teachers today, and in the future. The magic happens when tech is put in the hands of teachers who know how to engage students, to challenge them and instill that love of learning. Education is not one size fits all — and neither is the technology that powers education.

Source: The Official Google Blog

Personalize Chrome with themes from LGBTQ+ artists

Back in high school, before I came out, seeing LGBTQ+ role models made me feel a sense of community. In particular, seeing LGBTQ+ people depicted in art and media who were thriving gave me confidence to be who I am. Artistic expression, from people like Keith Haring and Frida Kahlo, has been crucial for LGBTQ+ people throughout history for telling our stories and securing equal rights.

To celebrate the next generation of LGBTQ+ artists this Pride month, Chrome commissioned five LGBTQ+ artists to create themes you can select to personalize your Chrome browser and Chromebook. Available globally starting today with more options coming soon, these themes reflect the unique points of view of each individual artist. Here’s how some of the artists describe their work:

Chrome browser theme with one person in a purple shirt facing another person in a green shirt looking out into the world.
Derek Abella: “This theme was inspired by the special feeling of finding someone who sees life in the same way. Oftentimes, people in our community feel misunderstood and grow to be observers, but we’re never totally alone in this world.”
Chrome browser theme with a person in pink tank top depicted having glasses with multiple eyes.
Carlos Aponte: “All the pieces are autobiographical; I can only speak from my own experiences. This image is about a person who survived the hardships of life and still kept his spiritual integrity.”
Chrome browser theme with images of Greek mythological figures, including a woman drawing a bow surrounded by wolves who faces a woman resting with a sword and shield.
Sofie Birkin: “The story goes that Britomartis leapt into fishermen's nets to escape the unwanted attention of King Minos, and Artemis rescued her from drowning and turned her into a goddess and a hunting companion. They’re two of the more unambiguously queer characters in Greek mythology.”
Chrome browser theme featuring a person with multi-colored hair flowing across the frame in all directions.
Ohni Lisle: “LGBT+ people often go from hating their inability to fit in, to relishing it as a beautiful character building experience. The joy of self exploration and presentation is reflected in this theme — someone completely letting their freak flag fly.” (Note: this theme will be available on Chromebooks starting today and in Chrome browser later this month)
Chrome browser theme with two people wearing cowboy hats with their arms around one another looking at fireworks.
Tallulah Fontaine: “I wanted to create a scene that reflected the place I grew up — the prairies — and the idea of finding love in unexpected places. Cowboys come up so often in my work because I grew up surrounded with so much of that imagery and country music.” (Note: this theme will be available on Chromebooks and Chrome browser later this month)

Our Chrome team crafted themes around the work of the artists to fuse them seamlessly into Chrome, coordinating the colors of your tabs and making sure the work looks great on all types of laptop and desktop screens. To get one of these themes for Chrome browser, visit the Chrome Web Store, select “Themes” and click “add to Chrome”. To set a wallpaper for your Chromebook, right click your desktop, choose “Set wallpaper”, then select “LGBTQ Artists”

This collection is a testament to the expansiveness of the LGBTQ+ community, which continues to become more vibrant and diverse. You can browse all themes in the collection on the Chrome Web Store, where you’ll also find themes from Black and Latino artists.

Source: The Official Google Blog

Look closer and take better notes with your Chromebook

With the latest update to your Chromebook, we’re introducing a note-taking app, features that improve screen magnification and more. Whether you’re using your laptop for work or fun, these handy features will help you get things done your way.

Take better notes with Cursive

Say goodbye to taking notes with pen and paper. Last year, we launched Cursive on select devices and now we’re excited to roll it out to all Chromebooks that work with a stylus.

The Cursive app makes it easy to capture, edit and organize handwritten notes on your Chromebook. Beyond just handwriting, you can also sketch out drawings, or paste images within your notes. And you can keep related content together by sorting notes into custom notebooks for different projects. When it's time to share your idea with others, you can quickly copy and paste it into another app or send a PDF.

If you write a sentence that fits better on a different part of the page, that’s not a problem – easily move it by circling the content on the page and dragging it to wherever you like. Didn’t quite perfect your drawing the first time? Erase it by scribbling over it with your stylus. And if you need to add more notes to the top of the page, just draw a horizontal line and drag your content down to free up more space. Try doing that with a pen and piece of paper!

In the coming months we’ll also introduce features for more personalization, like more easily changing the thickness, style and color of the stylus stroke.

Cursive will be preinstalled on all eligible Chromebooks – just tap the Everything Button and search for the app – or you can download it by going to cursive.apps.chrome and tap “install” in the toolbar. Check out this list of most stylus-enabled Chromebooks and see if you can try out Cursive.

Animation of the Cursive app in action. A stylus circles then drags to move one word, then scribbles out another word to remove it.

The Cursive app makes taking and editing notes easy.

Improvements to magnification and panning

We zoomed in on your feedback and are rolling out magnification customization on Chromebooks. Currently, the docked magnifier feature creates a split screen: the bottom half is your standard screen, and the top half is the zoomed in version of your screen. This is especially helpful if you have a vision impairment and want to zoom in on just part of your screen.

With our new update, you can control the size of the magnified portion of the screen. You can make it larger if you want to see more zoomed in content, or smaller if you want to see more of the standard screen. You can adapt it to fit your preferences, or adjust based on the content you’re looking at.

Animation of a resizing the docked magnifier. The user grabs the bar at the bottom of the magnified area and drags it down so that a larger part of the screen is shown magnified.

Now you can resize the docked the magnifier so you can see just the part you want.

Recently, we also made updates to the panning experience. With continuous panning, when you move your cursor the rest of the screen will follow it. And if it’s more convenient, you can also use your keyboard to control panning by pressing ctrl + alt + arrow keys.

Alerts for USB-C cables with limited functionality

We’ve all been there before. You try to use a spare USB-C cable to connect a docking station or monitor to your laptop and it just doesn’t seem to work. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have a faulty cable. Many USB-C cables look identical, but function differently.

Now you can get your extra monitor up and running with less headache. Eligible Chromebooks will notify you if the USB-C cable you're using won’t support displays, or isn’t performing ideally for your laptop. You’ll also get a notification if the cable you’re using doesn’t support the high performance USB4/Thunderbolt 3 standards that your Chromebook does.

To kick things off, this feature is available on Chromebooks with 11th or 12th generation Intel Core CPUs with USB4 or Thunderbolt capability, with more devices to come. You can learn more about the best cables to use with your device in the support center.

A notification on a Chromebook says “Cable may not support displays. Your USB-C cable may not connect to displays properly.”

You’ll now get a notification if the USB-C cable you’re using doesn’t support your displays.

We hope you like using these new features as much as we do. We’ll be back soon with more updates.

Source: The Official Google Blog

Helping every student learn how they learn best

Editor’s note: Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day. We’re also sharing how we’re partnering with people with disabilitiesto build products and a newAndroid accessibility feature.

I often think about what Laura Allen, a Googler who leads our accessibility and disability inclusion work and is low vision, shared with me about her experience growing up using assistive technology in school. She said: “Technology should help children learn the way they need to learn, it shouldn’t be a thing that makes them feel different in the classroom.”

As someone who has spent years building technology at Google, I’ve thought a lot about how we can create the best possible experience for everyone. A big part of getting that right is building accessibility right into our products — which is especially important when it comes to technology that helps students learn. Ninety-five percent of students who have disabilities attend traditional schools, but the majority of those classrooms lack resources to support their needs. The need for accessible learning experiences only intensifies with the recent rise of blended learning environments.

Teacher working with a student on a Chromebook
An educator works 1:1 with a student
A teacher sitting with a student with intellectual disabilities. The teacher's cane is leaning on the table nearby.
An educator sits with a student working on a Chromebook.
One autistic student and one student with Downs Syndrome working together in classroom on a Chromebook
Students in their special education class working together in their classroom

We want students to have the tools they need to express themselves and access information in a way that works best for them. Here are a few recent ways we’ve built accessibility features directly into our education tools.

You can now add alt-text in Gmail. This allows people to add context for an image, making it accessible for people using screen readers and helping them better understand exactly what is being shared.
We’ve improved our Google Docs experience with braille support. With comments and highlights in braille, students reading a Google Doc will now hear start and end indications for comments and highlights alongside the rest of the text. This change makes it easier for people using screen readers and refreshable braille displays to interact with comments in documents and identify text with background colors.

We added new features to dictation on Chrome OS. Now you canspeak into any text field on the Chromebook simply by clicking on the mic icon in the status area or pressing Search + d to dictate. The dictation feature can be helpful for students who have trouble writing — whether that's because of dysgraphia, having a motor disability or something else. You can also edit using just your voice. Simply say “new line” to move the cursor to another line, “help” to see the full list of commands, or “undo” to fix any typos or mistakes.

Accessibility in action

We see the helpfulness of these features when they’re in the hands of teachers and students. My team recently spoke with Tracey Green, a teacher of the Deaf and an Itinerant Educational Specialist from the Montreal Oral School for the Deaf (MOSD) in Quebec. Her job is to work with students with hearing loss who attend local schools.

She and Chris Webb, who is a teacher at John Rennie High School and also a Google for Education Certified Innovator and Trainer, have been using Google Classroom to support students throughout distance learning and those who have returned to the classroom. For example, they integrate YouTube videos with automatic captioning and rely on captions in Google Meet. Their efforts to improve access to information during school assemblies kicked off a school-wide, student-led accessibility initiative to raise awareness about hearing loss and related accessibility issues.

Benefiting everyone

One phenomenon that underscores how disability-first features benefit everyone is called the “Curb-cut Effect.” When curbs were flattened to allow access for people with disabilities, it also meant greater access for bikers, skateboarders, and people pushing strollers or shopping carts. Everyone benefitted. Similarly, accessibility improvements like these recent updates to our education tools mean a better experience for everyone.

We see this similar effect time and time again among our own products. Take Live Caption in the Chrome browser for example. Similar to Google Meet captions, Live Caption in Chrome captions any video and audio content on your browser, which can be especially helpful for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. It can also be helpful when people want to read content without noise so they don’t disrupt the people around them.

When we build accessible products, we build for everyone. It’s one of the things I love about working for Google — that we serve the world. There’s a lot of work ahead of us to make sure our products delight all people, with and without disabilities. I’m excited and humbled by technology’s potential to help get us closer to this future.

Stay up-to-date on the latest accessibility features from Google for Education.

Source: The Official Google Blog

Celebrating update 100 with new Chromebook features

Thanks to regular automatic updates, Chromebooks are always stepping up their game. Each Chrome OS update helps your laptop (and you) get things done faster, easier and more securely.

And you might have noticed we’ve had a lot of them. In fact, Chrome OS officially hit update 100 this week. In celebration of the big 1-0-0, we’re sharing a few announcements to improve Chromebooks for everyone — whether you’re using them to work, learn, manage a business or just kick back and relax.

Find more with the new Launcher

With a quick press of the Everything Button on your keyboard or the circle icon on the bottom left corner of your screen, Chromebook’s Launcher has made it easy to search for your apps and files — and even find answers online. And now, Launcher is getting an updated design and enhanced search functionality to help you more easily find what you’re looking for.

First, you’ll notice that Launcher will open on the side of your screen instead of from the bottom — leaving more space for any windows you have open. You’ll also be able to organize your apps by name or color, or manually arrange them in any order you like. And when you download a new app, it will follow the same organizational style.

Searching with Launcher is also getting easier. Looking for that celebrity name on the tip of your tongue? Before, Launcher would show you a short preview of your search result. Now, it will show even more information — so you can check the weather or find that celebrity name, all without leaving Launcher. You can also quickly search for Chromebook shortcuts, like how to take a screenshot or turn on caps lock.

GIF of new Launcher UI zooms in to show the Launcher activated on the left side of the screen, then scrolls through a grid of apps. User types “Steph Curry” and more information about the basketball star appears right in the interface.

Launcher now provides even more information when you search

If you work with a lot of Chrome browser tabs and windows open (no judgment), it can be difficult to find the exact one you’re looking for. Instead of sifting through your tabs for that crossword puzzle you started this morning, a quick search in the new Launcher will direct you to the right open tab.

Keep an eye out for the new Launcher, rolling out to all Chromebooks soon.

Discover your next Chromebook

Our partners HP, Lenovo, Acer and ASUS recently announced several powerful Chromebooks to help you make the most of Chrome OS now and in future updates. Check out a few of our favorites, available for purchase in the next few months:

HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook: Designed for a premium productivity experience, with features like a haptic trackpad, an integrated privacy screen, 5G and support for a wirelessly chargeable magnetic Stylus pen
Acer Chromebook Spin 513: The first Chromebook to feature the MediaTek Kompanio 1380 processor, bringing together power and efficiency with up to 10 hours of battery life
ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5: Made for productivity and entertainment with 12th Gen Intel Core processors, a 16-inch nano-edge display and Harmon-Kardon certified speakers
Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook: Built with productivity in mind and comes with powerful processors, a 1080p webcam and a stunning 14-inch 16:10 FHD display

Four Chromebooks are shown in a row on a white background. They are labeled, from left to right: Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook, HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook, Acer Chromebook Spin 513, ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5

Recently announced Chromebooks from Lenovo, HP, Acer and ASUS

Make edits with your voice

You might already use the Dictation feature, where you can dictate text anywhere you would normally type on your Chromebook — like in an email or on your browser. Now, you can also edit using your voice. Simply say “delete” to delete the last letter, or “move to next character” to adjust where your cursor is on the screen. Or, if you’re not sure what command to use, say “help” and your Chromebook will give you ideas. Once you’ve enabled “Dictation” in Settings, try it out by pressing the Everything Button + D.

A zoomed-in Chromebook screen shows the text “Hello! How are your.” The letter “R” is highlighted and an on-screen command indicates this letter is about to be deleted using voice dictation.

Use your voice to edit dictated text on Chromebooks

Create and share your own GIF

Instead of digging through the internet to find that perfect GIF, you can now make your own right in the Chromebook Camera app. Simply open the Camera app, select “Video” and flip the toggle to “GIF.” Record a five-second video and when you’re done, it will automatically convert to an animated GIF. Share it through email and other apps on your Chromebook, or send it to your Android phone using Nearby Share.

Grab a friend, or a pet, and make your own GIF on the Chromebook Camera app

Continue learning at home

Thanks to new Chromebook updates, students can easily review what they learned at school that day. With school accounts for Family Link, parents and guardians can add a Google for Education account for kids to access Google Classroom and other school resources on supervised Chromebooks at home. And with so many teachers sharing educational YouTube videos during class, parent supervision to YouTube is now available for Family Link users on Chromebooks. Plus, a new YouTube app for Chrome OS allows offline playback, so students can keep up with their lessons even without access to Wi-Fi at home or on long car rides and flights.

YouTube video describing how Family Link works with school Google accounts

See more device insights

We’re also making it easier for IT administrators to keep their organization’s devices running smoothly.

Within Google Admin console, we’ve added a new report for a quick look at which devices need attention. Meanwhile, the new Chrome Management Telemetry API provides more detailed information about device performance so you can create your own personalized report. This complements the existing Chrome Policy API, which allows IT admins to quickly apply policies across a fleet of devices.

Go cloud-first and reduce e-waste

Chrome OS Flex is a new, free-to-download operating system that brings the speed, simplicity, manageability and proactive security of Chrome OS to PCs and Macs. Built for businesses and schools, it allows you to modernize PCs and Macs with a cloud-first operating system and reduces e-waste by extending the lifespan of older devices. Since early access availability in February, we’ve verified more than 100 devices to work with Chrome OS Flex and brought it into beta. Try it out and share your feedback.

We’ll be back to share more Chromebooks and features to help you personalize your laptop and work even better across multiple devices. And of course, we look forward to bringing you the next 100 Chrome OS updates.

Source: The Official Google Blog

The Chromebook repair program: A sustainable fix for schools

Did you know that using a Chromebook can help reduce your carbon footprint? In fact, Chrome OS devices made by our manufacturing partners consume up to 46% less energy than comparable devices and are designed with sustainability in mind — from their durable shells to their scratch-resistant glass. And we’ve worked with these same partners to make Chromebook components interchangeable, reusable and safely disposable.

Graphic showing two stats: “Chrome OS devices consume up to 46% less energy than comparable devices” and “Switching 1,000 devices to Chrome OS can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90%.”

Sustainable features like these are particularly helpful to the education world, with 50 million students and teachers using Chromebooks made by our manufacturing partners. With such a large community of Chromebook users, we want to work with our partners to build towards a more sustainable device ecosystem — starting by helping schools find information about repairable devices. Today, we’re taking the first step by creating a Chromebook repair program for schools, beginning in the United States.

Animation showing tools , with text explaining the benefits of a student-led repair program — including faster and more cost-effective repairs.

Easily find repairable devices

Many Chromebooks have been repairable for years, with some repairs already covered under system warranties and managed by authorized service providers. But it’s been 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 to spotlight more Chromebooks that are repairable. On our new site, schools can easily identify which Chromebooks have commonly repaired components, like the keyboard, display and palmrest. Online manufacturer guides will also show how to repair the devices, find tools to safely fix them, get replacement parts, find training and get system update access if needed. This is just the first step, and we’re looking forward to hearing feedback to help grow and improve the program.

Start your own school repair program

Some Chromebook manufacturers, like Acer, provide training for schools to perform their own repairs. So, many schools have already created Chromebook repair programs, working alongside teachers and IT teams to repair their devices (shout-out to some of our favorite names, like “Chromestop” and “Chrome Depot”). Some even offer Chromebook repair as an elective course. In-school programs like these are not only eco-friendly, they can significantly reduce turnaround time, save on costs and help students learn valuable skills.

"Acer designs its Chromebooks for the education market with both durability and ease-of-repair in mind,” says James Vick, Vice President, Customer Service, Acer Pan America. "On campus repair programs enable students to help their own school by conducting safe and rapid repairs of Chromebooks, while also teaching them a valuable transferable skill that can help them pursue a career in the IT field. Acer supports valuable programs that give students an opportunity for hands-on learning beyond traditional curriculum.”

We’re inspired by schools around the world that are creating their own Chromebook repair programs — like Jenks Public Schools in Oklahoma, whose in-school repair service led to faster turnaround time for Chromebook repairs and stronger IT skills in graduates. To help others get started, we’ve created a playbook for setting up a Chromebook repair program in your school, with input from IT administrators. Keep an eye on our page for more resources and sustainability-focused devices best suited for a repair program.

Looking for a sustainable way to reuse other devices? Schools can also revive and extend the lifespans of PCs and Macs by converting them to deliver a Chrome OS experience using CloudReady.

Acer designs its Chromebooks for the education market with both durability and ease-of-repair in mind. On campus repair programs enable students to help their own school by conducting safe and rapid repairs of Chromebooks. James Vick
Vice President, Customer Service, Acer Pan America

Three images of students at school with Chromebooks, repairing devices and participating in a Chromebook repair program

Students at Jenks Public Schools in Oklahoma run their own student-led repair program for Chromebooks

Educate the next generation

Preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s environmental challenges is also key to our commitment to sustainability. As we aim to run on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030, we’ll continue to share Google’s best practices with the education world. And we’ll keep developing sustainability courses in our Teacher Center and through programs like Science Buddies, Your Plan, Your Planet, Google Arts & Culture Expeditions, Experiments with Google and Google Earth Education.