Tag Archives: Google Workspace for Education

Assignments audit data now available in the Admin console

Quick summary 

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



Getting started 

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



Rollout pace 


Availability 


  • Available to Google Workspace Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, and the Teaching and Learning upgrade. 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers. 

Resources 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – June 3, 2022

New updates 


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

Previous announcements

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

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


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


Bringing Google Meet features to Google Duo for a single, integrated video solution 
In the coming weeks, all Google Meet features will be added to the Duo app. Later this year, we’ll rename the Duo app to Google Meet, our single video communications service across Google accessible to everyone at no-cost. | Learn more. 


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

Google for Education transformation reports window open, available worldwide

What’s changing 

Google for Education transformation reports are available for K-12 Google Workspace for Education customers worldwide, at no cost. Note: transformation reports are only available in English at this time. 


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

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

Who’s impacted 

Admins 


Why you’d use it 

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


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


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


Getting started 

    • Update their student enrollment and faculty count. 
    • Customize the product reporting windows — choose the two 12 week periods of time (current and previous) that make the most sense for your organization. Graphs in the report will display data comparing usage across these two windows. 
    • Click “View Report” 
    • [Optional] Take and share Transformation Survey: 
      • Survey participation is optional, but we encourage you and your leadership team to complete the survey at least once a year. Those who choose to participate in the survey will have a final version of their report available on July 29, 2022. 
      • See FAQs for recommendations on who to share the survey with and use this email template to communicate the value of the survey with your team. 
  • End users: No action required. 

Rollout pace 

  • Transformation reports are available now for all users

Availability 

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

Resources 

Create more interactive assignments with practice sets for Google Classroom, launching in beta soon

What’s changing

We’re announcing a new tool for Google Classroom called practice sets, which enables educators to transform new and existing content into engaging and interactive assignments. With autograding built in, teachers can receive performance insights and snapshots into student progress and use those insights to help inform future lesson plans. 

If they get stuck and need support, students will see automated hints and video suggestions, along with real time feedback on their answers. Assignments can be completed with a variety of tools for annotation, such as a mouse, stylus, touchpad, or math keyboard depending on how students work best.

When available, the beta will be globally available (note: in English only) for Google Workspace for Education Plus and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade. Education leaders can use this form to express interest in the beta.


Who’s impacted

End users


Why you’d use it 

Every student learns in their own way, though practice and specific feedback helps us all learn more effectively. In large classes, it can be challenging for teachers to support their students' individual journeys. Based on feedback we heard from our users, we’re introducing practice sets for Google Classroom. 


Educators can easily transform their own teaching content into interactive assignments.  Students get real-time feedback as they complete practice sets, so they know whether they’re on the right track. When they’re struggling to solve a problem, they can get hints through visual explainers and videos. 


With practice sets, educators can more easily get insight into which concepts need more instruction time and who could use extra support, giving them quick performance insights to shape future lesson plans. Visit the Keyword Blog to learn more about practice sets.




Availability

  • When available, practice sets will be available to Google Workspace Education Plus (formerly G Suite Enterprise for Education) and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade customers
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers

Resources


Schedule posts for multiple classes in Google Classroom

What’s changing 

Teachers can now schedule posts across multiple classes in Google Classroom on the web. Teachers can use the assignment-scheduling flow to configure the: Due date Post date Topic 


Note: The rest of the assignment will remain the same Once set, they can select which classes should receive the post and when it should be published: 
  • Published immediately 
  • Published at a certain time 
  • Save as draft 


Who’s impacted 

End users 



Why it matters 

This update to the scheduling function will make it quicker and easier for teachers to assign classwork across numerous classes, saving them valuable time and simplifying class planning and management. 



Additional details 

  • There is no additional cost associated with this new functionality. 
  • Once an assignment has been scheduled, teachers can change the assignment within each individual class. 
  • Note that selecting “Copy settings to all” will delete any previously entered settings for the assignment. 
  • If a co-teacher schedules a post to one or multiple classes, they will be the owner of the associated Google Drive assets along with the course owner. 

Getting started 


Rollout pace 


Availability 

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

Resources 

Google for Education transformation reports window is now available

What’s changing

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

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

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

See below for more information on generating your transformation report.


Who’s impacted

Admins


Why you’d use it

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


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


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


Getting started

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


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



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

End users: No action required.


Rollout pace

  • Transformation reports are available now for all users. 


Availability

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


Resources 


Making Google Classroom video meetings easier and more secure

What’s changing 

We’ve added several new features to Google Meet in Classroom, making it easier and more secure: 
  • The Class Meet link is now accessible on the side of the class stream, so students can easily join and teachers can manage the link from the stream. 
  • Students will be directed to a waiting room until a teacher has officially joined the class Meet link. 
  • Guests not on the class roster will have to “ask to join” and be admitted by the teacher before they can participate, so no unintended participants join the meetings. 
  • All designated co-teachers for a class will automatically be co-hosts in the meeting. This moderation tool will enable co-hosts to start the meeting with the same Meet link without the class teacher needing to be present. 

Who’s impacted 

Teachers and student end users 


Why it matters

These features make it easier for teachers to manage meetings, help prevent unintended meeting participants from joining meetings, and generally help meetings run more smoothly. Overall, teachers and students will have a smoother and more secure experience while using Google Classroom and Google Meet. 


Additional details 

Please note that after a Meet link is generated, if a co-teacher is added or removed, you must regenerate the Meet link to update the host status. We are working on changing this functionality so the host status auto-updates, and hope to implement the change by the end of the year. 

You can follow this Forum post to stay updated on the progress of the rollout, get additional tips, FAQs and other useful updates on this launch. 

Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature, but Google Meet must be turned on for these features to be available in Google Classroom. Learn more about how to set up and manage Meet and use Meet for distance learning.
  • End users: These features will be ON by default for new meetings created in Google Classroom. Users with existing class Meet links should reset the link to get this updated functionality. Visit the Help Center to learn more about starting a video meeting for education. 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available as a core service to Google Workspace Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Education Plus. 
  • Available as an additional service to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 

Resources 

Roadmap 

View Google Classroom activity with new audit logs, view adoption and other metrics with BigQuery activity logs

What’s changing

We’re making two enhancements for Google Classroom, which will help Google Workspace for Education admins surface information about how Classroom is being used in their organization. Specifically, we’re introducing:

  • Classroom audit logs in the Admin console
  • Classroom activity logs in BigQuery, and Data Studio dashboards.

See below for more information and availability.






Who’s impacted

Admins



Why it’s important

By surfacing Classroom audit logs, Admins can quickly pinpoint who did what in their domain, such as: who removed a student from a class, who archived a class on a certain date, and more. 

For Education Standard and Plus customers, admins can export the Classroom audit log data from the Admin console to BigQuery, which allows them to query the data as needed. As a starting point, we’ve provided a Data Studio report template, which surfaces your data in an easily digestible format. Admins can copy this template and further customize it using Data Studio.

We hope this makes it easier for admins to quickly look up common activities in their organization and quickly act on scenarios where support may be needed.



Getting started


Rollout pace


Availability

Classroom audit logs
  • Available to Google Workspace Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers

BigQuery Logs + Data Studio Templates
  • Available to Google Workspace Education Standard and Education Plus customers
  • Not available to Google Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Frontline, Education Fundamentals, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers


Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – July 30, 2021

New updates

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


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


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


Previous announcements 

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


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



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



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



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



Workspace for Education Plus now syncs Google Classroom courses and rosters with Student Information Systems
U.S. school districts with Google Workspace for Education Plus will be able to automatically set up Google Classroom courses and keep rosters in sync with their Student Information System (SIS). IT admins will do the setup via Clever, meaning teachers will no longer need to manually create classes and invite students to join them. | Learn More.



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



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



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



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



Use the new Google Meet web app for better meetings on desktop devices
We’ve launched a new Google Meet standalone web app. This Progressive Web Application (PWA) has all the same features as Google Meet on the web, but as a standalone app it’s easier to find and use, and it streamlines your workflow by eliminating the need to switch between tabs. | Learn more.


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

Workspace for Education Plus now syncs Google Classroom courses and rosters with Student Information Systems

What’s changing

U.S. school districts with Google Workspace for Education Plus will be able to automatically set up Google Classroom courses and keep rosters in sync with their Student Information System (SIS). IT admins will do the setup via Clever, meaning teachers will no longer need to manually create classes and invite students to join them. Note that this will not overwrite Classroom courses that teachers create individually.

Who’s impacted


Admins and end users

Why you’d use it


This feature, created in partnership with Clever, improves the interoperability and integration between Google Classroom and most major SIS in the U.S. It saves teachers time with class setup and keeps Classroom classes and SIS rosters in sync with less manual and duplicative work.

Getting started

  • Admins: This feature will be OFF by default and can be enabled in the Admin console under Classroom settings. After that, go to Clever, link to the Google Classroom rostering app & follow the setup wizard.
  • End users: This feature will be OFF by default and can be enabled by your admin. There is no end user setting for this feature. When your admin sets up rostering via Clever, teachers will receive an invite within Classroom to teach the class with the roster pre-populated.

Rollout pace



Availability


  • Available to Education Plus

Resources



Roadmap