19 Aug Three Google Workspace Updates to Note This Week

Just about every week Google makes updates to Google Workspace. Some only affect administrators of Google Workspace domains while others affect all end-users of Google Workspace products. This week there were three Google Workspace updates that teachers and students should note. 

More Accessibility Controls
People who use screen readers, magnifiers, and braille now have more control over the accessibility settings for Google Workspace products. Now you can set different accessibility options for Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Drawings. What this means is that the settings you apply to Docs won’t automatically apply to Slides, Sheets, and Drawings. Read more about this update right here.

To learn more about accessibility settings in Google Workspace products, read this blog post and watch the videos within it. And to learn about accessibility settings in Chrome, read this post and watch the videos within it.

Social Links in Google Sites
This update simply makes something you’ve always been able to do just a little bit easier. In the insert menu in Google Sites there is now an option labeled “social links.” You can use this option to insert links to your social media accounts and have those links display little social media icons. This is something that was always possible to do with icons and links, it’s now just a little easier. Take a look at Google’s announcement about this feature to see an animated GIF of the process of adding social links to your Google Site.

Assign Tasks in Google Docs
Earlier this year Google added project management templates and to-do lists as options in Google Docs. Now when you create a task in one of those templates or lists, it’s assigned to you and or your collaborators as Tasks that appear in the sidebar of Google Docs (and any other Google Workspace tools you use). Read this blog post to learn more and see an animated GIF of this new feature.

Just about every week Google makes updates to Google Workspace. Some only affect administrators of Google Workspace domains while others affect all end-users of Google Workspace products. This week there were three Google Workspace updates that teachers and students should note. More Accessibility ControlsPeople who use screen readers, magnifiers, and braille now have more control over the accessibility settings for Google Workspace products. Now you can set different accessibility options for Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Drawings. What this means is that the settings you apply to Docs won’t automatically apply to Slides, Sheets, and Drawings. Read more about this update right here. To learn more about accessibility settings in Google Workspace products, read this blog post and watch the videos within it. And to learn about accessibility settings in Chrome, read this post and watch the videos within it. Social Links in Google Sites This update simply makes something you’ve always been able to do just a little bit easier. In the insert menu in Google Sites there is now an option labeled “social links.” You can use this option to insert links to your social media accounts and have those links display little social media icons. This is something that was always possible to do with icons and links, it’s now just a little easier. Take a look at Google’s announcement about this feature to see an animated GIF of the process of adding social links to your Google Site. Assign Tasks in Google Docs Earlier this year Google added project management templates and to-do lists as options in Google Docs. Now when you create a task in one of those templates or lists, it’s assigned to you and or your collaborators as Tasks that appear in the sidebar of Google Docs (and any other Google Workspace tools you use). Read this blog post to learn more and see an animated GIF of this new feature. Are you a tech coach or media specialist looking for some new ideas to share with your colleagues? If so, 50 Tech Tuesday Tips is an eBook you need. You can get it right here.accessibility, Free Technology For Teachers, Google Docs, Google Sites, Google Workspace, Google Workspace for EduRead More