Tag Archives: Google Workspace for Education

Easily manage and secure your school’s accounts and mobile devices centrally in Google Admin console with the Endpoint Education Upgrade

What’s changing

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

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

Who’s impacted

Admins

Why you’d use it

Using the Endpoint Education Upgrade, admins can configure a wide range of account and device management features, helping to make your organization's data more secure across your users' mobile devices, desktops, laptops, and other endpoints. For example, you can:

Control what Android & iOS app can be installed on a device, who can log into it (for domain owned devices), and where it can access your data.
Protect devices from loss or theft with admin rules for alerts, location tracking, access restrictions, and remote data wipes.
Manage company-owned devices or set up Android work profiles, so users can safely access your school account on the go.
Require stronger device passwords and more.

Visit the Help Center for a complete list of endpoint management features.

Getting started

Admins: Visit our Help Center to learn more about the Endpoint Education Upgrade.

Rollout pace

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

Availability

Endpoint Education Upgrade is available by user based license or device based license (coming soon) — it is not a domain wide license. You can purchase Endpoint Education Upgrade licenses through your current Google Workspace for Education reseller and select channel partners.
If you have Education Fundamentals and wish to upgrade instead of purchasing individual Endpoint Education Upgrade licenses, you can easily upgrade to Education Standard or Education Plus.

Resources

Source: Google Workspace Updates

Changes to YouTube player embedded within Google Workspace for Education services

What’s changing

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

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

We are removing this feature while we evaluate performance and quality. As an immediate next step, if you updated your allowlist or blocklist to include "www.youtube.com", you’ll need to revert your allowlist/blocklist to include "www.youtube.com" as soon as possible to preserve the way your organization uses YouTube videos within Google Workspace for Education services. If you do not revert your allowlist/blocklist to include www.youtube.com as soon as possible, this could change your organization’s access to YouTube videos.

Getting started

Admins: Revert your allowlist/blocklist to include "www.youtube.com". Visit the Help Center to learn more about setting up a Google Workspace host name allowlist.
End users: There is no end user setting for this feature.

Rollout pace

This change is now in effect for Classroom services.
This change will be in effect for Slides, Sites, and Forms starting on October 30th, 2023.

Availability

This impacts Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade

Resources

Google Workspace Admin Help: Set up a Google Workspace host name allowlist

Source: Google Workspace Updates

Third-party app access enhancements for Google Workspace for Education

What’s changing

Through the app access control settings, we’re making it easier for Google Workspace for Education admins to control how third-party apps access their organizations' Google data when users sign-in using their Google Workspace for Education accounts.

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

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

Who’s impacted

Admins, end users, and developers

Why it matters

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

Additional details

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

Getting started

Admins:

To confirm access settings for third-party apps or review third-party apps requested by users designated as under 18, go to the Admin Console > navigate to the App access control card > click Review apps for apps you want to make accessible to users designated as under 18 > click Configure access on the selected app. You can also get started with the guided experience here.
Visit the Help Center to learn more and view instructional videos about managing access to unconfigured third-party apps for users designated as under 18 and confirming your third-party app settings by October 23, 2023.

End users (designated as under 18): Request access to a third-party app using a link within the error message under “Request Access”. Visit the Help Center to learn more about access settings for your Google Workspace for Education account.
Developers: No action required. If you have any questions, you can submit them through this form.

Rollout pace

This feature is available now.

Availability

Available to Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade

Resources

Source: Google Workspace Updates

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – November 4, 2022

New updates

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

Use smart chips in Google Sheets as links on mobile

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

Offline printing now available for Google Sheets

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

Previous announcements

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

Improved flow for expiring access controls in Google Drive

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

Reminder to migrate your classic Google Sites before January 30, 2023

We’re extending the previously announced timeline to give Google Workspace customers more time to migrate from classic Google Sites to new Google Sites:

On January 30, 2023 (previously December 1, 2022): We will begin to turn off the ability to edit any remaining classic Sites in your domain. Your classic Sites will remain viewable until the automatic conversion.
After January 30, 2023 (previously January 1, 2023): We will begin to automatically convert all remaining classic Sites to new Sites drafts for site owners to review and publish, and export static archives to Google Takeout. Your classic Sites will be deleted after they are converted to new Sites. Note: Refer to the CSV file included with the export generated after your domain’s autoconversion completes for any classic Sites we were unable to convert. | Learn more.

Google for Education transformation reports window open for customers worldwide

Google for Education transformation reports are available for K-12 Google Workspace for Education customers worldwide, at no cost. Note: transformation reports are only available in English at this time. | Available to K-12 Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade customers only. | Learn more.

Manage projects & tasks with a new timeline view on Google Sheets

We’ve introduced an interactive timeline view that allows you to track projects in Google Sheets. This new visual layer displays project information stored in Sheets, such as the task start and end date, description, and owner. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more.

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

Source: Google Workspace Updates

Google for Education transformation reports window open for customers worldwide

What’s changing

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

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

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

Who’s impacted

Admins

Why you’d use it

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

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

Getting started

Admins: Google Workspace for Education super admins can log in to the transformation report tool starting Nov 2, 2022 to view their custom report. Upon login, Admins should:

Update their student enrollment and faculty count.
Customize the product reporting windows — choose the two 12 week periods of time (current and previous) that make the most sense for your organization. Graphs in the report will display data comparing usage across these two windows.
Click “View Report”

End users: No action required.

Rollout pace

Transformation reports are available now for all users

Availability

Available to K-12 Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade customers
Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers

Resources

Source: Google Workspace Updates

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – August 5, 2022

New updates

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

Extending grammar features to German

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

Previous announcements

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

Seamlessly access popular Education Technology tools directly in Google Classroom

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

Choose to grade with Canvas SpeedGrader or Google Assignments

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

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

Source: Google Workspace Updates

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – August 5, 2022

New updates

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

Extending grammar features to German

Previous announcements

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

Seamlessly access popular Education Technology tools directly in Google Classroom

Choose to grade with Canvas SpeedGrader or Google Assignments

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

Source: Google Workspace Updates

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – August 5, 2022

New updates

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

Extending grammar features to German

Previous announcements

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

Seamlessly access popular Education Technology tools directly in Google Classroom

Choose to grade with Canvas SpeedGrader or Google Assignments

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

Source: Google Workspace Updates

Choose to grade with Canvas SpeedGrader or Google Assignments

What’s changing

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

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

Who’s impacted

Admins and end users

Why you’d use it

This highly requested feature gives Canvas users a choice when deciding which grader interface works best for them.

Getting started

Admins: Google Assignments (LTI 1.3) must be enabled to use SpeedGrader. Visit the Help Center to learn more about setting up Assignments in Canvas.
End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about using Canvas SpeedGrader.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on August 4, 2022

Availability

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

Resources

Source: Google Workspace Updates

Seamlessly access popular Education Technology tools directly in Google Classroom

What’s changing

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

Who’s impacted

Admins, end users, and developers

Why you’d use it

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

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

Additional details

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

Getting started

Admins:

District admins must enable access to add-ons in order for educators to use these features. Visit the Help Center to learn more about installation instructions for setting up the add-ons feature and individual add-ons for a domain, OU, or group.
Once you’ve set up add-ons, your district can use this professional development kit, which includes a presentation and lesson plan, to train educators on how to get started with add-ons. Add-ons partner, Genially, also created an interactive genially version of the professional development training.

Educators:

Once enabled by your admin, you will see an “add-ons” module within the Assignment and Stream screens. From there, you will find the list of available add-ons for your district. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using add-ons in Classroom.

EdTech Tools & Developers: If you are interested in creating a Classroom add-on, express interest here.

Rollout pace

This feature is available now.

Availability

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

Resources

Roadmap

This feature was listed as an upcoming release.