SaaS Updates Summary: August 12 – August 16

Missed the SaaS updates last week? Catch up here. Google released a number of updates targeted at making teachers’ lives easier. Google also announced new fonts that are designed to improve reading speed. For a full rundown of last week’s SaaS updates, keep reading.

New Fonts Intended to Help Improve Reading Speed Now Available in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides
G Suite Updates | The Google Fonts team has teamed up with Thomas Jockin to create a series of fonts that are aimed at improving reading speed. These fonts take into account typographical factors, such as size and spacing, that the font developers hope will improve reading speed. This can be particularly helpful for educators who want to leverage new tools that can improve reading among their students, especially those who are sensitive to visual crowding.

Originality Reports for Google Classroom and Google Assignments Launching to Beta
G Suite Updates | Google is opening a beta for originality reports. The feature scans a student’s work for matches across billions of web pages and books, which can make it easier for instructors to evaluate the academic integrity of work and provide constructive feedback to the student. Originality reports can be used within Google Classroom and Google Assignments.

Use the Collaborative Tools of G Suite Alongside Your LMS With the Assignments Beta
G Suite Updates | Google is announcing Google Assignments, which will be initially available in beta. Assignments is a relaunch of Course Kit and includes new features that improve assignment and grading workflows for instructors, like originality reports and rubrics. Overall, it delivers an improved, expanded, and more user-end focused experience.

Admins Can Now See and Edit User Recovery Information
G Suite Updates | G Suite admins can now view and edit their users’ recovery information, such as backup email addresses and linked phone numbers. Google also use this information to verify login requests and increase account security. By making sure your users have accurate and up-to-date information you can help make their accounts more secure.

Help Your Team Work Better, Together, with the New Team Queues
GQueues | GQueues recently launched their most requested feature: Team Queues. With Team Queues, they took all the functionality you love about GQueues and re-built each component specifically to help your teams collaborate on tasks.

For last week’s SaaS updates (and beyond), click here for our archive.