Google showcased a few of the educational features that Chromebooks will get this year at BETT 2023. Notably, a Reading Mode is coming to ChromeOS and the Chrome desktop browser.
The Reading Mode is presented in the dropdown menu that opens in the side panel of a desktop browser. The new Reading Mode is different because it doesn’t include the distractions i.e., images and videos presented on the screen. In this way, users can focus on the primary content of the page.
In addition to this, Reading Mode appears on the same original page. It appears in a side panel whose width can be increased at any time. Besides this, Reading Mode is provided with several fonts. Similar to the width, the text size can be increased or decreased. Other features presented in the Reading Mode include the ability to modify background color (light, dark, yellow, blue) as well as adjustment of line spacing/margins.
The new feature will be rolled out to the Chrome browser (Mac, Windows, Linux) and ChromeOS (version 114) later this year.
Other educational features introduced by Google
In addition to Reading Mode, Google has introduced several other useful features. One of them is the Screencast app. It was announced by Google in 2022. It enables teachers to record and annotate their Chromebook screens. Additionally, the teacher can place their face and voice in the corner. Spoken words are transcribed by Google. Followed by this the recordings are uploaded on Google Drive to share them in class.
Besides this, google will introduce recording and transcription support in various other languages i.e., Spanish, Japanese, Swedish, Italian, and others new languages. Other features like the addition of animated clicks/taps and the facility to highlight keyboard shortcuts will also be introduced. Last but not the least, a new web player will enable students and teachers to watch screencasts in any browser on any device. The new updates for Screencast will be introduced with ChromeOS 112 in April.
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