Google is continually evolving the applications we use as part of Google Workspace for Education. These updates are pushed out and can take a couple of weeks to arrive with us all! The following updates have been promised for a while but I have just noticed that they are appearing for @ecolint.ch users.

Automated live captions in five languages

[Not as new as the other updates mentioned here - but worth a reminder!]

You can turn captions on to view subtitles as everyone speaks during a video call. They are not a translation but sub-titles of what is being said.

You can use captions in English in all geographical locations. As we are in Europe, we can use captions in: English, French, German, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Mexico), Spanish (Spain).

Read more here → support.google.com - Use captions in a video call

Improved screen layout

When viewing and sharing content with any group of people, you will now have more space to see the content and others’ video feeds through the refreshed new look and improved ability to pin and unpin content.

Hover over your video feed for options between a tile in the grid or a floating picture. You can also resize, reposition, and hide it to concentrate on the call. Your self-view appears in the bottom right of the grid to put more video feeds at eye-level as you look into the camera.

The bottom bar

The bottom bar is always visible, while not covering cover captions and bottom video feeds. Meeting dial-in codes, attachments, the participants list, chat, and other activities have all moved to the bottom right to create more vertical space for seeing people and content. Controls have been consolidated in one place with descriptions available when you hover your mouse pointer over them. The leave call button has been moved away from the microphone and camera buttons to prevent accidental call hang-ups!

Expiring Meet codes

Google Meet meetings can be scheduled across Google Workspace products, such as Calendar, Gmail, Google Chat, and more. This means your unique meeting code and its expiration are based on the product that your meeting is created from.

Most meeting codes will expire 365 days after the last use, but there are instances where the meeting code will expire instantly once the meeting ends →