7 Google Product Updates You Might Have Missed in April

Every month Google rolls out updates to the products that teachers know and love. Some of those updates are significant and others are just minor tweaks that make life a little easier. Here are some of the more significant product updates that occurred in April.

1. A completely new version of Google Earth was unveiled. The new version was designed to be used in the Chrome web browser, in turn making it available for Chromebook users. Click here to watch my tour of the new Google Earth. And join me in Teaching History With Technology to learn how to use Google Earth in your classroom. 

2. Google Classroom is now available to anyone who has a Gmail address. As long as you have a Gmail address you can create and or join Google Classroom courses. Click here for directions on how to make your own Google Classroom. Join me in Getting Going With G Suite to learn how all parts of G Suite can work together in your classroom. 

3. Speak to Go is a new WebVR experiment that allows you to direct virtual reality with your voice. You can use it in your Google Cardboard viewer or you can use it on your desktop in the Chrome browser. More information can be read here. 

4. Speaking of VR, Google is promoting a set of virtual reality tours related to Alexander Hamilton's life. 

5. More Street View imagery was added to Google Maps including these great images of California's redwood forests. 

6. Google+, the social network that everyone has, but no one remembers, has a new "Topics" feature that is supposed to help you discover more posts about things you are interested in. 

7. For administrators there is a new option for controlling who can or cannot use Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets in offline mode. 

The Month in Review - April's Most Popular Posts

Good evening from Maine where it's nice to be home after a few days on the road. We enjoyed New Orleans, but this northerner is happy to be back in the cool, crisp weather of spring in Maine. Earlier this week I literally watched the ice go out.

As I do at the end of every month, I have assembled a list of the most popular posts of the previous 30 days. Take a look and see if there is anything that you missed that you can use in your practice.

Here are the most popular posts of April, 2017:
1. More Than 400 Science Animations
2. 10 Math Tutorial YouTube Channels Not Named Khan Academy
3. 7 Google Product Updates You Might Have Missed in March
4. 33 Lessons on Critical Thinking
5. How to Create Appointment Slots in Google Calendar
6. The Periodic Table of Videos - An Update from the Archive
7. Two Free Speech-to-Text Tools
8. 7 Blogging Tools for Teachers Compared and Ranked - Updated for 2017
9. 5 Good Ways for Students to Create Digital Showcases of Their Work
10. Create Your Own Google Classroom - G Suite Not Required

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I am hosting five online courses starting this week.

• Getting Going With G Suite is a five week course that offers a graduate credit option. 
• Teaching History With Technology is a three week course for middle school and high school social studies teachers. 
• Blogs & Social Media for Teachers and School Leaders is a three week course that walks you through how to create blogs and use social media to engage your community. 
• Practical Ed Tech Jumpstart is the course for anyone who has looked at the educational technology landscape and wondered, "where do I start?" 
• Finally, by request, I am offering from Blog to Job - A Teacherpreneur Jumpstart.

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