Google 2019 Year in Review

What were all the new additions to Google in 2019

Created by Scott Aten, December 20, 2019

With the end of 2019 at hand, I thought it would be a good idea to show all the new features that have been introduced in G Suite during this year. I have listed them by product.

Google Facts

• Chromebooks are the #1 selling device in the US K-12 schools
• 90 million students and teachers use G Suite for Education
• 30 million students worldwide use Chromebooks
• 40 million students and teachers use Google Classroom

Google Forms

• June - question import in Google forms (see image to the right)
• August - locked mode for quizzes finally arrives
• October - fresh new look to Google Forms

Google Slides

• April - Add audio files from Drive into Google Slides (they had a little trouble with this and I don't think it made the April deadline, but is there now)
• October - new accessibility options for closed captions

Google Docs

• April - comparison in Docs allows you to compare two Google Docs and review the differences as suggested edits.
• May - grammar suggestions added (underlined in blue)
• July - new grammar tools in Docs to help students with spelling and grammar
• September - you can now see the word count while you type
• September - new fonts introduced to improve reading speed (see Lexend)

Google Classroom

• February - move posts to the top added in Classroom's Stream
• April - topic filters on the Classwork page is added
• April - new items will post to the top of the Classwork page
• April - thumbnails for the way that attachments appear in assignments
• June - rubrics added in Google Classroom
• June - grades section added to get a holistic view of students grades over time
• June - ability to sync grades to ProgressBook (Biggest new add of the year!!)
• June - rubrics now embedded in the student view of Classroom
• June - teacher can now archive a Google Classroom on iOS devices
• August - originality reports introduced to reduce plagiarism
• September - classroom celebrated its fifth birthday
• September - rubrics on mobile devices (beta)

Google Drive

• April - you can now edit Office files from Docs, Slides, and sheets without converting file types.
• April - you can now edit the metadata in Drive to better organize and search by tagging files

Google Sheets

• April - connected sheets will let you collaborate on up to 10 billion rows of BigQuery data - FINALLY :-)

Gmail

• April - added the ability to schedule send email

Hangouts Chat an Meet

• April - classic Hangouts in Gmail is replaced with new Hangout Chat
• April - live captions now available in Hangouts Meet

I am sure we can expect more great features to come in 2020!

[Green Google Training Center]

[Click here to go to the YouTube Channel]

For more helpful information and the archive of previous posts, look for items in the menu to the left.

Green Local Schools

Tech Integration Team

Avoid and report phishing emails

A phishing attack happens when someone tries to trick you into sharing personal information online.

What phishing is

Phishing is usually done through email, ads, or by sites that look similar to sites you already use. For example, someone who is phishing might send you an email that looks like it's from your bank so that you'll give them information about your bank account.

Phishing emails or sites might ask for:

• Usernames and passwords, including password changes
• Social Security numbers
• Bank account numbers
• PINs (Personal Identification Numbers)
• Credit card numbers
• Your mother’s maiden name
• Your birthday

Important: Green Local Schools, Google, or Gmail will never ask you to provide this type of information in an email.

Report phishing emails

When we identify that an email may be phishing or suspicious, we might show a warning or move the email to Spam. If an email wasn't marked correctly, follow the steps below to mark or unmark it as phishing.

Note: When you manually move an email into your Spam folder, Google will receive a copy of the email and may analyze it to help protect our users from spam and abuse.

Report a phishing email - 

1. On a computer, go to Gmail.
2. Open the message.
3. Next to Reply , click More.
4. Click Report phishing.

An email was incorrectly marked as phishing

1. On a computer, go to Gmail.
2. Open the message.
3. Next to Reply , click More.
4. Click Report not phishing.
5. Avoid phishing attacks

Be careful anytime you get an email from a site asking for personal information. If you get this type of email:

1. Don’t click any links or provide personal information until you've confirmed the email is real.
2. If the sender has a Gmail address, report the Gmail abuse to Google.

Note: Green Local Schools won't ever ask you for personal information, like your password, over email.

When you get an email that looks suspicious, here are a few things to check for:

• Check that the email address and the sender name match.
• Check if the email is authenticated.
• Hover over any links before you click on them. If the URL of the link doesn't match the description of the link, it might be leading you to a phishing site.
• Check the message headers to make sure the "from" header isn't showing an incorrect name.

Important: If you think your school Gmail has been taken over, notify the technology department immediately.

New Google Contacts, Distributions Lists, and More

The NEW Google Contacts

Time to setup your distribution lists and organize your NEW Google Contacts.  

Created by Scott Aten, August 31, 2018

If you have converted your Gmail to the NEW look then you will have noticed that Contacts have changed as well. I have put together a series of video to help you navigate your way through the NEW Google Contacts as well as how to use them in Gmail. Many of you are probably putting together contacts of parents or setting up department distribution lists so this should be valuable information to get you started this school year.

• Intro to Google Contacts - Shows you how to get to convert to the new look of Gmail, how to find Contacts, and how to make a single new contact.
• Import Multiple Contacts - Using an Excel template, this video shows how to import multiple contacts all at once into your Contacts and rename the Label that gets created when you import them. This is perfect to bring in all your parent contacts quickly and easily. You will want to download this TEMPLATE to use with the video. Open the template as a Google Sheet and then download it to use in Excel.
• Use Contact Labels to Send an Email - This is essentially the Google equivalent of using a distribution list.
• Share Contacts by Exporting Them - Do you need to give a colleague one of your groups of contacts? This video shows how to export the group. They will then go back to the "Import Multiple Contacts" video to see how to bring them into their Contacts.
• Make a Contact from an Email - Built into Gmail is the ability for you to make a contact from an email you have received.
• Make Distribution Lists (Labels) from Gmail or Contacts - This video demonstrates how to make distribution lists (in Google they are called Labels) both from Gmail and Contacts.
• Adding a Contact to an Existing Group (Label) - Did you forget to include an email address in your group or has new come into a situation that you want to include them in a group? This video shows how to add them to a contact to an group or label that you have already made.

For more helpful information and the archive of previous posts, look for items in the menu to the left.

Green Local Schools

Tech Integration Team

The NEW Gmail Look

Gmail has gotten a facelift that includes some new features.  

Created by Scott Aten, May 24, 2018

Google is constantly updating and improving their products.  About a week into my training the staff on our transition from Outlook to Gmail, Google announced that Gmail would be getting a new look with some new features.  Rather than change all my training midway through, I decided to continue to train you all in what is now referred to as “Classic” Gmail and wait to show you the “new” gmail until everyone had a chance to start using Gmail.  There are many nice features of the “new” Gmail and this article will highlight them.

What is new in the “new” Gmail: [watch the video]

• New “Compose” button - works the same just looks different
• Quick action buttons - hover over an email and you now have the option to archive, delete, mark as read/unread, or snooze the email.
• Snooze Emails - You must have conversation view on for this to work.  Hitting snooze on an email takes it out of your inbox for a period of time you designate, then it returns to the inbox at that time.
• Suggested replies - at the bottom of your emails will be some suggested replies that you can use based on the content of the email.
• Show or hide the left menu - to make room for previewing email, you can expand or shrink your inbox view by clicking the three lines in the upper left corner.
• View Calendar, Tasks, Keep & Add-ons - a new right menu allows you to quickly and easily access these tools.

To make the change to this “new’ gmail, simply click the settings gear and select “Try the new Green Local Schools mail”.  This should not be confused with our transition from Outlook to Gmail. What this means is try the “new” Gmail look and features.

I think once you try this new look, you will agree that it is an improvement over the previous “classic” look of Gmail.

For more helpful information and the archive of previous Check This Out! Digests, go to http://www.greenlocalschools.org/technology.aspx

Green Local Schools

Tech Integration Team

Gmail Changing the Default Phone Setting from Archive to Delete

Gmail Phone Settings Setting your phone up to delete rather than archive email.  

As we move closer to the date of our change from Outlook to Gmail, I want to continue to pass along helpful tips to make your transition as smooth as possible.  When working with Gmail on your phone, if you swipe across a piece of email you will see that the default setting is to “Archive” the email - not delete it. Remember that archiving a piece of mail does not delete it, but rather moves it to the “all mail” area.  If you are like me, I don’t want to archive most of the email I get, I want to delete it. I have created a short video that demonstrates how to change the default setting from archive to delete email.

How to change the default setting of a swipe from “Archive” to “Delete”: [watch the video]

In case you missed the Gmail training, below are a list of video tutorials on how to use Gmail on your laptop/desktop/chromebook.

Videos

• How to access Gmail
• View Mail in you inbox
• Make my Gmail look like Outlook
• Gmail Labels (similar to folders in Outlook)
• Where did my email go?
• Using stars and importance indicators
• Compose Email
• Adding a Signature
• Contacts in Gmail
• Distribution Lists (Groups)
• Gmail Bonuses (Take Back and Canned Responses)

If you have any additional questions or have any issues after May 21st, please feel free to contact me.

For more helpful information and the archive of previous Check This Out! Digests, go to http://www.greenlocalschools.org/technology.aspx

Green Local Schools

Tech Integration Team

Gmail on Your Phone

Gmail on Your Phone A complete video example of how to setup your iPhone.  

We are just a few days away from moving from Outlook to Gmail/Google Calendar.  Hopefully you have had an opportunity to get trained on Gmail, if not there are helpful links below.  Today what I would like to show you is how to get your phone ready for the transition. I have created a video of me installing and setting up my phone with the Gmail app.  I have an iPhone, but the process will be very similar on an Android phone as well.

[Watch the Video]

In case you missed the Gmail training, below are a list of video tutorials on how to use Gmail on your laptop/desktop/chromebook.

Videos

• How to access Gmail
• View Mail in you inbox
• Make my Gmail look like Outlook
• Gmail Labels (similar to folders in Outlook)
• Where did my email go?
• Using stars and importance indicators
• Compose Email
• Adding a Signature
• Contacts in Gmail
• Distribution Lists (Groups)
• Gmail Bonuses (Take Back and Canned Responses)

If you have any additional questions or have any issues after May 21st, please feel free to contact me.

Green Local Schools
Tech Integration Team

Google Mail Checker

An extension that will show you if you have gmail messages  

In case you have not heard, Green will be switching to Gmail on May 21st.  Training at GPS and GIS for teachers has already occurred and training for GMS, GHS, and Greenwood is coming.  Today I would like to introduce to you an extension that may prove to be helpful after May 21st. The extension is called “Google Mail Checker” and it lives in the extension area of your Chrome browser.  Once added this extension will give you a visual cue letting you know that you have new emails. You can also launch Gmail by clicking on the extension making it the fastest way to get into your gmail account.

How to install:

1. Open your Chrome browser
2. Login to your Google Account
3. Access the “Web Store”
1. On a Laptop or Desktop computer you simply click the Apps Button in the upper left corner .  Then click “Web Store”
2. On a Chromebook click the circle in the lower left corner.  Then Click “Web Store” . You may have to scroll to see the “Web Store” app.
4. In the “Web Store” type “Google Mail Checker” in the search box, then Search.
5. Click the “+ADD TO CHROME” button
6. Click “Add extension”

That is it, your extension is added in the upper right portion of your browser.  It now keep track of your Gmail account and let you know if you receive email. If you want to see the email simply click on the extension and your gmail will load.

For more helpful information and the archive of previous Check This Out! Digests, go to http://www.greenlocalschools.org/technology.aspx

Green Local Schools

Tech Integration Team