Six New G Suite Features for Teachers and Students

Every month Google adds new features to G Suite. Some features only matter to administrators and some features only matter to business users. The complete list of new features is always available on the G Suite Updates blog. If you don't want to scroll through that blog, here's a summary of the new features that could matter to teachers and students.

• Add a table of contents to Google Sites.
• This only applies to the new version of Google Sites. It could be useful to those Google Sites users who have dozens of pages in their sites. 
  
• Improved access to the G Suite accessibility settings.
• I covered this announcement here.
  
• A new right-click menu in Gmail. 
• I wrote about this update here. 
  
• The side access panel that you see in Google Docs now appears in Google Drive too. 
• This is a small, but convenient update that makes it easier to access Google Keep, Calendar, and Tasks.
  
• New grammar and spelling check options are being added to Google Docs. 
• Currently, these new options are only available to users whose domains are participating in the beta test.
  
• Jamboard has an updated UI. 
• The update doesn't change the functions of Jamboard, just the appearance of Jamboard. 

Google Has Improved Access to G Suite Accessibility Settings

One of the new G Suite features that was announced in February was an improvement in the way you can access the accessibility settings in Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets. The accessibility settings themselves aren't new. What's new is the location of the settings. The accessibility settings are now found under the "Tools" drop-down menu in Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets.

Improving the accessibility settings of the accessibility settings is an excellent improvement for those who need the accessibility options. Based on the number of emails I get about G Suite accessibility, the previous location of the accessibility settings was not easy for a lot of teachers to find.

It's important to note that the new location of the accessibility settings has already started to appear in some G Suite accounts but will take a couple of weeks to be fully rolled-out to all users.

VR, Forms, and Storyboards - The Week in Review

Good morning from Maine where more snow is in the forecast! If you like to ski, snowshoe, or snowmobile it has been a fantastic winter. If not, you're probably hoping for it to end soon.

This week I had the pleasure of working with some teachers from adult education programs in Cumberland County, Maine. They were a super-fun group and I can't wait for our next meeting in April. If you'd like to have me work with your group, please send me a note at richardbyrne (at) freetech4teachers.com.

These were the week's most popular posts:
1. How to Use Your Own VR Tours in Google Expeditions
2. Find & Replace in Google Docs
3. My 5 Favorite Google Forms Add-ons
4. Important Changes for Those Who Follow in RSS and Email
5. An Educational Game About Animal Habitats
6. A Comparison of Blogging Services for Teachers and Students
7. Teaching Math With Storyboards

Now Booking Summer Workshops!
Summer might feel a long way away right now, but I'm already booking my summer workshop calendar. If you'd like to have me come to your school this spring (I have two May openings) or summer, please take a look at my speaking page and fill out the short form at the bottom of it.

The Practical Ed Tech Summer Camp is happening on July 15th and 16th. I've secured a beautiful location for it that offers lots of activities for the whole family within walking distance. Register in March and save $50! Registration is now open here.

Please visit the official advertisers that help keep this blog going.
Practical Ed Tech is the brand through which I offer PD webinars.
TypingClub offers more than 600 typing lessons for kids.
Storyboard That is my go-to tool for creating storyboards.
University of Maryland Baltimore County offers a great program on instructional design.