Google making education services better with new AI features

Google education: Google LLC is focusing on its Google for Education service with over 30 new features, incorporating various artificial intelligence and accessibility tools. The announcement was made at Bett 2024, an education technology event in London, where Google also unveiled 15 new Chromebooks, including six Advanced Use models designed for hardware-intensive tasks such as coding.

Google for Education, a product bundle featuring the Google Workspace productivity suite tailored for schools, includes offerings like Google Classroom. The update introduces several enhancements accessible through Classroom, including the ability for teachers to assign YouTube videos to students and create AI-assisted questions about the content. Another feature allows the conversion of data from Google Forms into AI-generated practice sets, initially introduced in 2022.

Among the machine learning improvements are two content management tools. A new Resources tab in the Classroom interface aids teachers in managing AI-generated practice sets and learning materials. Additionally, an embedded electronic signature tool has been added to streamline contract processing within Google Workspace.

The focus on accessibility includes updates for Google Meet, ChromeOS, and Chrome. Google Meet now supports closed captions in 30 additional languages, accompanied by a feature allowing the pinning of multiple video tiles during presentations, beneficial when using sign language interpreters.

In ChromeOS, the built-in screen reader gains optical character recognition capabilities to extract text from PDFs, read it aloud. Chrome's Reading Mode feature also receives a text-to-voice capability, enhancing the browsing experience.

To address diverse needs, Google plans to launch App Hub, a marketplace offering third-party add-ons and integrations with external applications later this year. These add-ons will cover various use cases, from creating virtual whiteboards to teaching programming concepts.

Two new cybersecurity controls have been introduced, allowing educational institutions to implement approval requests for sensitive configuration changes and streamlining the process for educators to request and approve integrations with third-party applications.