Google has unveiled a host of innovative accessibility and learning features during the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) expo. The tech giant's recent updates include an expanded reading mode, AI-powered question suggestions revolving around YouTube videos, and enhanced sign language interpreter pairing in Google Meet.
For some time now, Google has been experimenting with AI-powered tools across various consumer products, such as Search, Gmail, and Sheets. In this latest move, the company is integrating AI-driven questions into assignments featuring YouTube videos in the classroom. Educators can now choose to add their personalized questions or modify suggestions generated by AI. Google currently accepts applications to test this functionality in English, with future support plans for languages like Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and Malay.
Earlier this year, Google introduced a Reading Mode feature. This side-pane tool removes media elements like images and videos on a webpage, enabling users to focus exclusively on the text. Initially, Reading Mode was only available on Chrome browsers running on ChromeOS. However, the company announced at the ISTE event that the feature would soon become accessible to all Chrome users.
Another update sees screen reader users enjoy the ability to convert images to text for PDFs using Chrome browsers on Chromebooks. Nonetheless, it's worth noting that this feature might not allow users to copy text from the PDFs directly.
On the topic of readability, Google rolled out new fonts to better accommodate Arabic, Cyrillic, and Latin systems. These optically variable fonts are designed to adapt to a range of sizes, significantly improving readability across dimensions.
Google Meet is also receiving a series of updates. The video conferencing platform now supports a tile-pairing feature, enabling a seamless connection between a sign language interpreter and a speaker. With this enhancement, both tiles are highlighted when one participant talks in Google Meet.
In addition to the tile-pairing enhancement, Google Meet gains features like support for polls and Q&A sessions during live streams for classrooms subscribed to the 'Teaching and Learning Upgrade' or 'Education Plus' plans.
Google offers Workspace for education free of charge. However, advanced security, learning, device management, and analytics features come with a cost. Standard tier subscription runs at $3 per student annually, while the Plus tier costs $5 per student per year. As more educational institutions embrace tools like those offered by Google, the possibility arises that platforms like the AppMaster no-code app development solution could make integration with these systems even more seamless.
