Google Unveils Slate of New Features and Integrations for Chromebooks, Classroom and Meet
- By Kristal Kuykendall
- 06/07/22
Google has announced a slate of new apps and functions for Chromebooks, Google Classroom and Google Meet, as well as planned integrations with popular ed tech apps expected to launch later this year.
During a livestreamed announcement, Google for Education leaders introduced the Screencast app now built into Chromebooks running M103; Screencast allows students and instructors to easily record, review, trim, transcribe, translate and share a lesson or project. Users can also draw on the screen using a mouse or stylus during their recording, and the user's face and voice is recorded along with the on-screen content, Google said.
The recordings are automatically saved into the user's Google Drive folder. Each is transcribed automatically, and when the recording is viewed, the transcript appears at the right, the transcription is searchable, and clicking on a section of the transcript jumps the recording to the associated section of the video.
The Screencast feature is available now, Google said, for users whose Chromebooks are running the latest update.
Cast Moderator is another new feature for Chromebook users that will begin piloting this summer, Google said. Enabling instructors — and students with instructor approval — to wirelessly cast their Chromebook screen to a central display, Cast Moderator will become available this fall to select users of Google TV devices. Learn more or sign up for updates on availability of Cast Moderator at goo.gle/castmoderator-interest.
Figma, a browser-based collaborative design software, is another new app coming to Chromebooks, Google announced. Figma will be available this summer through a free beta for U.S. classrooms using Chromebooks, Google said, and schools can apply starting today to participate in the beta by visiting Figma.com/chromebooks. The free Figma licenses can be managed from within the Google Admin console, and implemented similar to the way Google Docs licenses are assigned, the company said.
Practice Sets, Google Classroom's AI-powered helper previewed in a March announcement, will soon be available to all educators using a Teaching and Learning Upgrade within Google Classroom, or any institution using Google Workspace for Education Plus, the company said today. Practice Sets gives students hints for solving problems and immediate feedback on their answers — and it can turn course content into interactive assignments and automatically grade responses, Google explained in a previous blog post.
Educators can sign up to participate in the Practice Sets beta at goo.gle/practicesets-beta.