Editor's note: This post is part of our series for Teacher Appreciation Week. Look for more content on our blog and social media throughout the week. Don’t forget to add to the conversation using #ThankATeacher. 

This post comes from Anela Arifi and Ilda Ismaili, 2015 Google Science Fair global finalists who are high school students from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Their teacher, Mrs. Aydan Meydan, won the 2015 Inspiring Educator Award, which acknowledges an educator who goes above and beyond in encouraging her students to achieve great things. In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, Arifi and Ismaili wrote a letter to say thank you to their teacher and mentor, Mrs. Meydan.

Dear Mrs. Meydan,

You inspire us to be confident and to always challenge ourselves. Throughout high school, we’ve turned to you as our mentor and inspiration. When we decided to apply for the Google Science Fair, you supported us every step of the way. You showed us that our science fair project wasn’t just another assignment — it was an opportunity to show the world what we can do.

Some people ask us how a math teacher could be our science fair mentor, and we explain how you put so much time and energy into understanding our project. You learned about chemistry and biology during your free time, so you could guide us. You taught us the importance of being lifelong learners. You’re constantly curious to learn more, whether it’s about our project or a new way of working.

When we reviewed our research paper, we enjoyed teaching you about the properties of biodiesel and explaining the graphs and results, while you taught us the correct format for a research paper. We’re so thankful to have you teach us the principles as we share our knowledge of natural sciences with you.

Thank you for teaching us how to persevere. Whenever we came across a challenge, you told us everything would be okay. Two and a half years ago when we started the project, we reached out to university professors in search of a laboratory to use for our project. Professors responded skeptically — they thought we were too young and pointed out that we didn’t know anything about biodiesel or hydrogen storage. We felt rejected and discouraged. You lifted our spirits by assuring us we’d find the right laboratory. Many students are missing someone who will tell them everything will be okay — and everyone needs that. We all need moral support.
You gave us the confidence to believe that we’re smart and capable. Here in Bosnia-Herzegovina, we don’t always have the chance to pursue every idea, but with you as a great mentor, we had every opportunity to show our talent and passion. Even if we’re in a small country and don’t have as many women in STEM, we can be part of the best science competition in the world.

When we applied for the Google Science Fair, you told us we already succeeded by representing Bosnia-Herzegovina. We’ll never forget when you told us that the most important thing is to be inspired, and to inspire others. The most important part of the competition is to present our project, and if we inspire at least one person, we’re winners.

Thank you for all that you do,
Anela and Ilda

There are only a few weeks left to submit a science or engineering project to the 2016 Google Science Fair. Students that submit a project can nominate their teacher to win the 2016 Inspiring Educator Award.

Posted by Michael Frederick, Google Slides Engineer 

(Cross-posted on the Google Docs Blog.)

Public speaking can be intimidating — even for veteran speakers with phenomenal ideas and experiences to share. Take Shree Bose, for example.

At just 17 years old, Shree took home the top prize at the first ever Google Science Fair for her research on drug resistance in ovarian cancer. Now, a senior at Harvard, she’s met with President Obama twice, crowdfunded a Minecraft computer program to support STEM education, and has given talks across the globe. But she still gets nervous every time she’s asked to speak at events.

When Shree recently visited our New York office to present to 200 middle school students, we invited her to try a new feature in Google Slides: Slides Q&A. This update—rolling out globally today—helps speakers connect with their audience and collect real-time feedback. With a simple link displayed on a Slides presentation, audience members can submit questions from their phones, laptops, and tablets—and vote on those they want answered the most. Hear what your audience has to say 

Slides Q&A is great for audience members, too. During Shree’s talk, students submitted more than 170 questions and voted 800 times. They enjoyed being able to submit questions online the moment they thought of them instead of having to remember them until the end of the presentation. Some students also chose to submit questions anonymously.

At the end of her talk, Shree left time for Q&A, but she couldn’t possibly answer all 170 questions. So, she sorted the questions based on audience votes—and responded to the top ones. The question with the most overall votes was submitted by a seventh grader named Leila. She says, “I was so surprised when I saw my question was the most liked. I probably wouldn’t want to stand up and ask the question because I’m kind of shy.” Focus on your ideas, not set up 

Slides Q&A makes it easy to interact with your audience—without having to worry about mics or moderators. Slides also helps you get your big ideas and stories on screen—without having to worry about wires or set up stress. Starting today, we're improving this "Show up, don't setup" experience in two ways:

• You can now present your slides to a Hangout from your iPhone or iPad. So with just your phone or tablet and the Slides app, you can present to any screen using Chromecast, AirPlay or Hangouts. 
• And for those of you who like presenting from a computer, we're introducing a new laser pointer on the web. Just in time for May the 4th (be with you). 

Today’s Slides updates are rolling out globally on Android, iOS, and the web. So go on, share your stories and present with confidence.

And for a little inspiration, check out Shree’s full talk, #HowCanWe Make the World Better with Science? on the Talks@Google channel.

Posted by Mo Fong, Director of K-12 Education Outreach

Editor's note: This post is part of our series for U.S. Teacher Appreciation Week. Look for more content on our blog and social media throughout the week. Don’t forget to add to the conversation using #ThankATeacher.

When I was five years old, I immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan. My sister and I were the only Asians in our entire school, and I remember how my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Marvin, went out of her way to make me feel welcome in the classroom and country. I stayed in touch with her until her passing a few years ago. Our relationship speaks volumes about how influential teachers can be. Later in high school, my math teacher, Mr. Fee, showed me how to apply my math skills in the real world. His practical guidance shaped my career aspirations to study chemical engineering in college and to become a high school math teacher myself.

After moving from Taiwan to the U.S. at age 5, Mo Fong's first experiences with the U.S. School system was formed by her kindergarten teacher Mrs. Marvin, who helped set her up on a path to success. 

All good teachers inspire students to pursue new opportunities and challenge themselves, but science, technology, engineering & math (STEM) teachers and specifically computer science (CS) teachers have to overcome some obstacles that others don’t. Often, there’s not enough access to CS resources in schools, and school officials haven’t adopted a CS curriculum. Only 22% of public school principals say that CS education is a top priority, despite the fact that more than 1.3 million computer and math-based jobs will be created by 2022, according to a joint Google and Gallup study. CS teachers also have to overcome stereotypes that keep many students, especially girls and underrepresented minorities, away from the subject.

In the spirit of Teacher Appreciation Week, I would like to share the stories of three high school CS teachers who are overcoming these obstacles and inspiring students to be passionate about the problems they want to solve in the world.

Diane Terrell - Exposing more students to computer science 

When I think of Diane Johnson Terrell words like strength, empowerment and role model come to mind. Terrell, a high school math and engineering teacher at Oakland Unified School District in California, became a CS teacher via an unconventional path. She was working as a programmer analyst and quickly realized she was one of the only African Americans and females in the industry. One of the main reasons the field isn’t more diverse is because people haven’t been exposed to the field, Terrell says. Now her students understand they can build amazing things with a CS degree, and they can have a lucrative career doing so.

Terrell also is breaking down the idea that CS is only for boys and the affluent. She's introducing a CS program that more than 400 9th graders will take next year, and teaching youth at her church how to code and develop an app for the church together.

“Many students in my community play video games and post on social media, but they don’t understand that a lot of programming and code goes into building them,” Terrell says. “My goal is to get my students to move from being consumers to being builders by creating apps on their phones.” 

Another inspiring way Terrell is empowering female students to pursue CS is by connecting them with female executives and doctoral students in the field who mentor them and show them that women can be as successful in the field as men. “After spending time with their mentors at UC Berkeley, girls of color learned they have a phenomenal aptitude to change the world,” Terrell says. “Their confidence exploded and they realized how much of a difference they can make.”

Seth Reichelson - Breaking down the computer science stereotype 

The field of CS shares the unfortunate “geek” stereotype that math and engineering do. But that stereotype doesn’t exist at Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs, Florida. Teacher Seth Reichelson, a White House Champion of Change, has toppled those preconceived notions and made his AP CS class appealing to all students. To make the subject relatable and interesting, he changes his in-class examples to be fun, for example by having students manipulate pixels in a picture instead of doing a bug simulation.

“I won’t acknowledge a stereotype because if you acknowledge it, that’s the same as promoting it,” says Reichelson, who learned this strategy at a National Center for Women & Information Technology workshop. “My students have no idea what the stereotype is.”

The computer science class of 2015 at Lake Brantley High School

Reichelson believes that there should be a diversity requirement that the AP CS student population reflect the diversity of the entire school. He believes a more diverse classroom will lead to a greater diversity of ideas and opinions and thus a smarter, better run workplace. “If you have one type of person working for your company, you’re only going to have one type of solution,” Reichelson says. “You have to have a diverse company to have diverse solutions.”

Leslie Aaronson - Turning the classroom into a startup environment 

After working for Nickelodeon for three years, Leslie Aaronson realized she wanted to teach students communication, collaboration and networking skills in a way that reflects the real world. Today as lead teacher of Foshay Learning Center’s Technology Academy in Los Angeles, California, she’s turned her classroom into a startup environment. She encourages students to take control of their learning and be proactive, instead of waiting for the teacher to provide instructions. “I put learning back into the student’s hands. Students show each other their screens, and when they can’t figure out a solution to a problem, I ask them, ‘What have you tried, and who have you talked to?’ I challenge them to explore all of their resources.”

Aaronson teaches her students to meet with professionals, both to develop the skill of networking and to form strong relationships with people in the industry. She coordinates mentor days and field trips for her students to connect with people at local colleges like USC and UCLA.

To showcase their projects, Aaronson’s students develop a digital portfolio that speaks to their technology skills when applying for college or interviewing for jobs. “Some kids come back to me three years later and say that the portfolio they created in my class got them a job. The most rewarding thing is to know I’m helping people get on their feet and achieve great things in life.” 

Leslie with nine of her students who won the NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Award

These are the stories of just a few of the inspirational CS teachers that are educating the data scientists and software developers of tomorrow. Reach out a hand and support teachers like Diane, Seth and Leslie by donating to a classroom in need at DonorsChoose.org, or partnering with a school to introduce a CS program.

Posted by Justine Tiu, Google Classroom User Experience Designer

Matthew Agrall teaches fifth grade at South Elementary School in Des Plaines, Illinois. He juggles teaching all core subjects, leading before-school tutoring, managing fifth grade patrol, participating in student council and playing volleyball in his “free time.”

This is why we created Google Classroom—to help busy teachers like Matt spend less time on logistics and more time on teaching, tutoring and student council-ing. Since we launched Classroom two years ago, we’ve added more than 50 updates to make it easier to manage assignments, communicate with students and stay organized.

Today, on National Teacher Appreciation Day, to show our thanks for the millions of hardworking teachers like Matthew, we’re making it even easier to stay organized and save time with Classroom.

Schedule ahead, post later 

Starting today, teachers can plan ahead by scheduling announcements, assignments and questions to post at a later date or a specific time (great for the early birds who want to get a head start on school planning during the summer ;). Just look for the scheduling option when posting new assignments, questions and announcements. You can find scheduled and draft posts in the “Saved posts” section of your class stream, and you’ll get email and mobile notifications when your scheduled posts go live.

We’re also adding new updates to Classroom over the next week—all designed to help teachers save time and stay organized. Look out for easier-to-read email notifications and updates to our iOS and Android apps.

Coming this fall: keeping parents and guardians in the loop 

We know parents and guardians are instrumental to student success at school. And to the school leaders and teachers who’ve told us they need an easy way to keep guardians updated with what’s happening in Classroom—we hear you! Later this year, we’ll launch email notifications for guardians so they can stay involved and help to motivate their students.

Guardians will be able to sign-up to receive daily or weekly email digests of their student’s progress, upcoming work and class announcements. Administrators will be able to invite guardians directly and set domain-wide policies for guardian linking and notifications.

To teachers like Matthew who are fueling the future—we thank you. Here’s hoping you get all the appreciation you deserve this week . . . and for the rest of the school year.

Posted by Michael de la Cruz, Google for Education

Editor's note: This post is part of our series for U.S. Teacher Appreciation Week. Look for more content on our blog and social media throughout the week. Don’t forget to add to the conversation using #ThankATeacher.

I’m in awe of Mrs. Zazulak, my daughter’s 5th grade teacher. She is constantly finding new ways to engage students with her inquiry based learning approach. She inspires her student’s creative writing with “Who would win Wednesdays?” and asks them to write any story about what would happen if King Kong faced off against Godzilla. This week is Teacher Appreciation Week in the United States, so we’d like to honor teachers like Mrs. Zazulak and the millions of others who put their talents and passion into educating our children. Below are a few more examples of teachers using creative methods to engage students and teach valuable skills for the future.

Majoring in leadership 

Teachers are dedicated to building the next generation of leaders. Teachers like Lou Ann McKibben at Jackson Preparatory School in Jackson, Mississippi are fostering leadership skills and giving students opportunities to experiment with the kinds of projects and tools they’ll encounter in the workplace. For example, Ms. McKibben, an economics teacher, hosts an annual “Shark Tank” day where students pitch their ideas to local business leaders. She’s giving the students a fun way to guide their own learning, while preparing them to share ideas and drive projects in the workplace.

Mrs. McKibben with one of her graduating students

Classroom commerce

In addition to developing crucial skills for the future, teachers are empowering students to dream big. Matt Martin, a chemistry teacher at High Tech High in San Diego, California, gave his students a crash course in entrepreneurship that led them to create the Wicked Soap Company, a student-run ecommerce business. Students are involved in every aspect of the company, from creating the soap to reporting on the business to their classmates. From day one, Mr. Martin has encouraged his students to experiment — the idea for Wicked Soap came from one student’s science project — and to follow their instincts. Mr. Martin’s class uses the revenue from the business to fund field trips, reinvest and organize a scholarship for fellow students. By rallying the class around a complex project, Mr. Martin created an experience that inspired students to try new things, work together and believe in their ability to run a business.

Mr. Martin, chemistry teacher at High Tech High

Encouraging innovation 

Teachers are also redefining traditional notions of the classroom and challenging students to do the same. Stacy Dang, who teaches at Cornwall Terrace Elementary in Pennsylvania, created a virtual classroom that supports inquiry-based learning, a method for prompting students to solve problems themselves. In one instance, Ms. Dang created a shared classroom with second graders from Pennsylvania and seventh graders in neighboring New Jersey. Second graders submitted science questions using online forms for the seventh graders to research and answer with presentations. She also encourages students to teach one another in the virtual classroom through “live lessons.” Teachers like Ms. Dang are encouraging young people to learn from themselves and from one another — skills that will help them to think critically, embrace curiosity and see the world in new ways.

To the millions of teachers, including Mrs. Zazulak, Ms. McKibben, Mr. Martin and Ms. Dang, who create dynamic learning experiences that prepare and inspire our children to lead: thank you for the work you do every day. We’ll be posting more on Google for Education Twitter channel and here on this blog throughout the week. It’s a great time to thank teachers for the difference they make — share what you’re thankful for by joining the conversation: #ThankATeacher.

Posted by Soledad O’Brien

(Cross-posted on the Official Google Blog.)

Editor's note: Soledad O’Brien is a broadcast journalist and founder of Starfish Media Group. She is also CEO of the Starfish Foundation, which provides financial assistance and mentoring to help kids go to college. Recently, the Starfish Foundation launched virtual career tours using Google Expeditions, about which O’Brien joins us to talk about today. To become part of the Expeditions Pioneer beta program, sign up via this form. -Ed.

Kids dream about what they want to be when they grow up, but these dreams are often limited—built around the few professional people they know. What if children don’t know a veterinarian, an airplane pilot, a paleontologist, or someone in dozens of other careers? What if they lack access to internships or mentors? Can they ever dream big? I know from watching my own kids visit me at work, and from the scholars I mentor, that exposure to all kinds of professionals is the key to inspiring young people. When I first found out about Expeditions, I saw its potential for broadening the horizons of the student scholars we help at Starfish Foundation. I envisioned creating virtual reality Expeditions that let kids step into someone’s work day, simply by using phones and Google Cardboard viewers. So that’s what we did.

Soledad O'Brien with scholars from the Starfish Foundation.

Working with the Google Expeditions team, we created virtual reality tours that show kids the ins and out of careers they might not ever learn about otherwise. From flying an airplane to testing fossil samples, kids can see with their own eyes exactly what people do in many different scenarios. They can watch Carolyn Brown, director of surgery for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, perform a procedure on a cat. Or join Mark Norell, a paleontology professor with the American Museum of Natural History, as he examines a velociraptor specimen up close. And today, schools participating in the Google Expeditions Pioneer Program and Expeditions beta will be able to go on an Expedition of the Google Mountain View campus to see what it’s like to work at Google.

A career Expedition on American Airlines Pilot, Pam Torell. The view is from the cockpit of one of her scheduled flights.

These Expeditions reveal what professionals like about their jobs, what they studied in school, and how they apply their knowledge to their work. Regular field trips are logistically challenging, and they don’t usually focus on careers. But with Expeditions, teachers can share an experience with students right in the classroom. You can’t fit 30 students in the cockpit of a plane, but you can get a virtual reality tour of one using Expeditions. And today, on “Take Your Kids to Work Day,” there’s no better time to get creative about exposing students to different types of jobs and workplace environments.

Children won’t know what jobs are possible if they don’t know the careers exist. Rather than just telling them, teachers can actually show them. With these career Expeditions, students can travel outside the classroom walls and be exposed to more ideas, places and opportunities than ever before.

Posted by Matt Ward, Software Engineer

In August 2015 we launched YouTube Settings in Google Apps to give schools and other organizations a way to manage the YouTube experience for users logged in to their domains and on networks they manage. Today we’re happy to announce a number of new features to make these more flexible and easier to use.

Channel whitelisting 
Administrators and designated approvers can now whitelist entire channels, not just individual videos. For example, if you want to ensure that all current and future videos uploaded to your organization or school’s channel are watchable by your users, you can now simply add the entire channel to your approved list. Learn how to designate approvers.

Using YouTube settings in Google Apps for Education already gives your users access to all the videos on educational YouTube channels like Veritasium, but now your domain's video approvers can add other channels as well, like your school's YouTube channel.

More flexible options for administrators 
Administrators have new capabilities to help them manage YouTube to meet the needs of their organization.

• Administrators can now choose between two levels of Restricted Mode restrictions -- strict or moderate -- for their logged-in users.

Admins can select between a strict and moderate level of restriction for YouTube.

• Network managers can now use an HTTP header to enforce either strict or moderate restricted mode on managed devices. 
•  Network managers can also use this new DNS configuration if they want to enforce moderate restricted mode on wifi networks they manage. 
• Coming soon, logged-out users on YouTube’s mobile apps on restricted networks will also get a restricted experience. 
• And since we know this can be tricky to set up, network managers can visit this page to ensure their network restrictions have been configured correctly.

YouTube for Schools 
In August we announced that we would no longer be maintaining YouTube for Schools (YT4S). As of July 1, 2016, YT4S will no longer be available. View the YouTube Settings in Google Apps Help Center for additional details.

More information 
Learn how to enable YouTube settings for your Google Apps domain and join the discussion in the product forum.

Posted by Maggie Johnson, Director of Education and University Relations

Computer science education is a pathway to innovation, to creativity, and to exciting career prospects. No longer considered an optional skill, CS is quickly becoming a “new basic”, foundational for learning. In order for our students to be equipped for the world of tomorrow, we need to provide them with access to computer science education today.

At Google, we believe that all students deserve these opportunities. Today we join some of America’s leading companies, governors, and educators to support an open letter to Congress, asking for funding to provide every student in every school the opportunity to learn computer science. Google has long been committed to developing programs, resources, tools and community partnerships that make computer science engaging and accessible for all students.

We are strengthening that commitment today by announcing an additional investment of $10 million towards computer science education for 2017, along with the $23.5 million that we have allocated for 2016. This funding will allow us to build more resources, scale our programs, and provide additional support to our partners, with a goal of reaching an additional 5 million students.

With Congress’ help, we can ensure that every child has access to computer science education. Please join us by signing our online petition at www.change.org/computerscience.

Posted by Melissa Horwitz, Product Marketing Manager

Editor's note: To celebrate Earth Day, we’re sharing how schools are using technology to be more environmentally friendly.

It’s a tradition in many parts of the world to plant a tree on April 22nd in honor of Earth Day, but some schools are going even further by reducing their use of paper and going digital. Here’s how environmentalism is coming to life in the classroom.

Going paperless 

When Chagrin Falls Exempted Village Schools in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, introduced Google for Education tools in 2014, they started down the path to becoming paperless. Today, students access handouts, work on assignments and turn them in using Google Classroom, decreasing the amount of printed pages by 100,000 sheets per year and reducing printing by 20 percent. This spring, teachers told Mike Daugherty, director of technology and information systems at Chagrin Schools, they haven’t been to the copier since the start of the school year.

“The traditional model of printing a worksheet for every student is wasteful and outdated,” says Daugherty. “Now printing is an afterthought for most classes.”

Similarly, with more than 900 students and 40 teachers, Westlake Charter Schools in Sacramento, California, used a lot of paper in the classroom and for administrative tasks. Since introducing Google for Education tools a year ago, the schools have reduced their paper use by a third, saving them thousands of dollars. For example, the board of directors stopped printing dozens of paper meeting agendas and policies, and now share Google Docs on a password-protected website. “Before, our schools went through 120 cases of paper a year on average — that’s over a million pieces of paper,” says John Eick, executive director at Westlake Charter Schools.

Students at Westlake Charter Schools use Chromebooks to access resources and turn in assignments, reducing their paper consumption.

Turning paper-based books into digital books

Tennessee’s Tullahoma City Schools took a creative earth-friendly approach by integrating interactive content into the classroom: they created digital textbooks using Google Docs. These open-source textbooks are accessible on any device and can be edited to include timely information, reducing the number of paper textbooks purchased. “Since our district is 1:1 in grades 3 through 12, we have the capability to deliver digital content electronically. However, those districts who are not 1:1 can still use open-source textbooks since hard copies can be generated and printed for students’ use at a fraction of the cost in comparison to paying a publisher $80 for a textbook,” says Dan Lawson, superintendent at Tullahoma City Schools.

The schools have transitioned to digital social studies and math content, and plan to have digital textbooks for all core subjects in the 2017-2018 school year. They’re also helping other schools create digital textbooks and take a green approach when introducing new technology.

Tullahoma City Schools is reducing the number of paper textbooks in the classroom by creating digital textbooks.

Building awareness about recycling 

Many green programs are spearheaded by schools and teachers, but at Bronx Community Charter School in New York, fifth graders Amma Nkatiaah and Julia Malyzsko led the environmental initiative. Nkatiaah says, “We wanted our classmates to realize how much waste they’re producing.”

The students emailed Google asking them to bring the Expeditions Pioneer Program, a virtual reality program in which students use Android phones and Google Cardboard to go on virtual field trips, to their school and teach their peers the importance of being environmentally friendly. Their wish was granted: the Google for Education team and our partner Subaru brought Expeditions to Bronx Community Charter School, and fifth graders went on virtual field trips to the local sanitation facility and recycling plant to see where their waste goes. Students were immediately inspired to start identifying ways to cut back on their waste.

 “Since we started this big idea, there can be many other students that can follow in our footsteps, or many other people try and maybe get different ideas,” Malyzsko says. “I think it’s really amazing that we get to take the first step and be the root of all of this.”

Bronx Community Charter School students going on an Expedition to a local recycling plant to learn more about being environmentally friendly

These schools are pushing the boundaries on how they use educational technology by adopting a paperless mindset and finding 21st century solutions to use less paper. Here are four ways to make your school more green:

1. Replace paper-based resources with digital ones
2. Choose technology with low-energy consumption and long battery life 
3. Encourage students to find new ways to introduce digital tools 
4. Start a classroom recycling program for paper and used electronics 

How is your school reducing its environmental footprint using technology? We want to hear from you — share your story below or on Twitter and tag us (@GoogleEdu) or include the #GoogleEdu hashtag.

Posted by Mario Anima, Product Manager

(Cross-posted on the Google Docs Blog.)

How many times have you found yourself with a great idea, but no easy way to jot it down for later? Or maybe you’ve got lots of notes scattered around, without no central spot to find them. Having a single place to capture what’s on your mind and save your ideas and to-do lists is what Google Keep is all about, and today's updates give you a few new ways to collect and manage the information that's important to you.

Keep is ready when you are
The next time you’re on a website that you want to remember or reference later on, use the new Keep Chrome extension to add it—or any part of it—to a note in Keep. Just click the Keep badge to add a site’s link to a note, or select some text or an image and create a new note from the right-click menu.

Same goes for Android—you can now create a note while you’re browsing or tapping away in other apps—without having to open Keep. Just open the “Share via” window and choose Keep to create a new note.

Organize your thoughts with #Labels One of your top asks has been for a way to organize and categorize notes, and now it’s as easy as using a #hashtag. This should help you keep track of to-do lists for a #trip or a collect your favorite #recipes, for example.

You’ll also notice that some of the menus have been moved around to group similar options together, as pictured below.

So whether you’re researching a project at work, putting together details for your Science Fair submission, or collecting inspiration for your upcoming home renovation, give these updates a try on the web, or with the Keep app on Android and for iPhone & iPad.

Posted by Nicky Rigg, Google RISE Awards Program Manager

In communities around the world there are barriers preventing many students from learning computer science (CS). Anything from Internet access to biases about the nature and identity of computer scientists can keep a student from pursuing or attempting CS. Unfortunately, the barriers posed by unconscious bias can be the most damaging because they aren’t visible. Stereotypes reinforce a very limiting message about who can succeed in the field of CS. I know this to be true from my own experience when I was told as a young girl that computers were too expensive for me to “play around with.” Sure, I may have accidentally erased the hard drive, but I also figured out how to recover the data - and I learned from that mistake.

At Google, we believe it’s critical that more students have the ability to explore, tinker and even make mistakes with computers. We know that computer science is a tool for change, and we want to see more students become creators, not just consumers, of technology. That’s why we are so excited to announce our latest group of RISE Award winners: 28 organizations in 16 countries that are working to increase access to CS education for groups who are currently underrepresented in the field.

These organizations are engaging girls, low income communities, and other minorities to make sure that CS is available for everyone. Techbridge is integrating the power of everyday role models into its CS programs, showing that you don’t need to be a CS graduate to influence a child; Laboratoria is helping bridge the gender gap in Peru’s tech industry by running a code academy for young women from Lima’s lower-income areas. Visit our site to see the full list of RISE awardees.

Many of our RISE awardees are filling in the gaps in access to formal CS learning, and our hope in supporting them is to to make CS accessible to all students. Since 2010, we’ve supported more than 250 organizations through RISE. The program will accept applications again this summer at g.co/riseawards, and we’re calling all eligible CS nonprofits to apply!

Posted by Miriam Schneider, Product Marketing Manager, Education Team

This year’s White House Science Fair is a special one for us, not just because it marks the last fair for the administration that made history by first introducing the event six years ago, but also because some of our Google Science Fair and Made with Code teens get the chance to be a part of this history.

This will mark the fifth year that a few of the Google Science Fair winners — this year Olivia Hallisey, Anurudh Ganesan and Deepika Kurup — will have the chance to exhibit their projects, and the first time a group of Made with Code teen programmers dubbed “Team Alpha Wolf” — Siobhan Garry, Mona Fariborzi, Lauren Mori, Bansi Parekh and McKenna Stamp — will get to showcase their creativity and passion to impact change on LGBTQIA+ issues. We are so proud of these students who are being recognized as America’s most innovative STEM students.

Here’s a little more about what they’re sharing at the White House:

Olivia Hallisey, 17, Greenwich, Connecticut - Google Science Fair 2015 Grand Prize Winner 
Olivia was concerned about the dangers of the Ebola epidemic spreading through Africa, in regions where many did not have access to care. This worry, coupled with her curiosity about silk storage and whether Ebola antibodies could travel longer without refrigeration as a result of silk’s stabilizing properties, led her to develop the Ebola Assay — a temperature-independent, rapid, portable and inexpensive diagnostic test for the detection of the Ebola virus. The card can potentially save thousands of lives.

Deepika Kurup, 18, Nashua, New Hampshire - 2015 Google Science Fair National Geographic Explorer Award Winner 
During summer trips to India with her family, Deepika felt troubled by the sight of children drinking unclean water. She discovered that according to the World Health Organization, the world is in the midst of a global water crisis that has resulted in one-ninth of the global population without access to clean water. Her solution — a solar-powered technology that uses silver and other materials to rapidly remove bacteria from water — can potentially provide cleaner drinking water to people around the world.

Anurudh Ganesan, 16, Clarksburg, Maryland - 2015 Google Science Fair LEGO Education Builder Award Winner 

As an infant, Anurudh and his grandparents had to walk 10 miles to a remote clinic in India so that he could receive critical vaccinations. Upon their arrival, his grandparents learned that high temperatures and lack of refrigeration made the vaccines they sought ineffective. This personal experience and his discovery that according to UNICEF, 1.5 million children die every year as a result of lack of access to safe and effective vaccines, inspired Anurudh to search for better methods of refrigerations for vaccines. He invented the VAXXWAGON, which can effectively transport vaccines in the last leg of distribution without the use of ice (he learned that ice packs used to transport vaccines can freeze them, diminishing their efficacy) and electricity. It has the potential to save thousands of lives worldwide.

Team Alpha Wolf: Siobhan Garry, 17, Mona Fariborzi, 17, Lauren Mori, 17, Bansi Parekh, 17, and McKenna Stamp, 18, San Diego, CA - Made with Code Newest Mentors

Siobhan, Mona, Lauren, Bansi and McKenna created Spectrum, an Android app that aims to provide a resource network for the LGBTQIA+ community, especially teens looking for a safe support system.

Spectrum addresses the need among teens for a positive and welcoming place to turn to as they navigate gender identity, sexual orientation and romantic orientation. In 2016, the Team Alpha Wolf teens were named mentors of Google’s Made with Code movement — an initiative that inspires girls to try code and to see it as a means to pursue their dream careers and the causes they’re passionate about.

Here are a few moments we’ve captured from this great day:

Olivia Hallisey, 17, exhibiting her Ebola Assay, a temperature-independent, rapid, portable and inexpensive diagnostic test for the detection of the Ebola virus

Deepika Kurup, 18, exhibiting her silver doped photocatalytic pervious composites, water filter that uses sunlight to remove contaminants in water

Anurudh Ganesan, 16 exhibiting his VAXXWAGON invention which transports in the last leg of distribution

Team Alpha Wolf: Siobhan Garry, 17, Mona Fariborzi, 17, Lauren Mori, 17, Bansi Parekh, 17, and McKenna Stamp, 18, exhibiting Spectrum, an Android app that aims to provide a resource network for the LGBTQIA+ community

Stay tuned for more action at this sixth and final White House Science Fair under President Obama’s administration by keeping up with us on Twitter using #whsciencefair and #googlesciencefair and on our Google+ page. To all of you budding scientists, explorers, engineers, mathematicians and innovators, we’re now accepting applications for Google Science Fair 2016. And don’t forget to check out how you can get involved in Made with Code to inspire more girls to code.

Posted by Chris Stephenson, Head of Computer Science Education Programs

(Cross-posted on the Google Research Blog)

Interest in computer science education is growing rapidly; even the President of the United States has spoken of the importance of giving every student an opportunity to learn computer science. Google has been a supportive partner in these efforts by developing high-quality learning programs, educational tools and resources to advance new approaches in computer science education. To make it easier for all students and educators to access this information, today we’re launching a CS EDU website that specifically outlines our initiatives in CS education.

The President’s call to action is grounded in economic realities coupled with a lack of access and ongoing system inequities. There is an increasing need for computer science skills in the workforce, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimating that there will be more than 1.3 million job openings in computer and mathematical occupations by 2022. The majority of these jobs will require at least a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or in Information Technology, yet the U.S. is only producing 16,000 CS undergraduates per year.

One of the reasons there are so few computer science graduates is that too few students have the opportunity to study computer science in high school. Google’s research shows that only 25% of U.S. schools currently offer CS with programming or coding, despite the fact that 91% of parents want their children to learn computer science. In addition, schools with higher percentages of students living in households below the poverty line are even less likely to offer rigorous computer science courses.

Increasing access to computer science for all learners requires tremendous commitment from a wide range of stakeholders, and we strive to be a strong supportive partner of these efforts. Our new CS EDU website shows all the ways Google is working to address the need for improved access to high quality computer science learning in formal and informal education. Some current programs you’ll find there include:

• CS First: providing more than 360,000 middle school students with an opportunity to create technology through free computer science clubs
• Exploring Computational Thinking: sharing more than 130 lesson plans aligned to international standards for students aged 8 to 18
• igniteCS: offering support and mentoring to address the retention problem in diverse student populations at the undergraduate level in more than 40 universities and counting
• Blockly and other programming tools powering Code.org’s Hour of Code (2 million users)
• Google’s Made with Code: movement that inspires millions of girls to learn to code and to see it as a means to pursue their dream careers (more than 10 million unique visitors)
• ...and many more!

Computer science education is a pathway to innovation, to creativity and to exciting career opportunities, and Google believes that all students deserve these opportunities. That is why we are committed to developing programs, resources, tools and community partnerships that make computer science engaging and accessible for all students. With the launch of our CS EDU website, all of these programs are at your fingertips.

Posted by Brittney Fraser, Google Classroom Software Engineer

Google Classroom helps teachers and students communicate and learn together. Today we’re making the learning process even easier with a new polling feature that helps teachers quickly check for understanding, gather feedback or gauge interest. Here are four creative ways teachers are using polling in their classrooms.

1. Post exit tickets 

Cindy Nordstrom, a teacher at Oak Ridge Elementary School in Minnesota, uses polling to make sure students understand the main points of a lesson. She explains, “We were studying poetry and talking about novels in verse. Since this was the first time that most students had encountered the format, I wanted to see if they knew what novels in verse were. I created this poll as an exit slip for the class. I could click on students’ answers and see their names associated with their response. This helped me get an at-a-glance view of who understood the concept and who didn't.”

2. Help students self-monitor 

Mike Fricano, a high school teacher at the Iolani School in Hawaii, teaches a makerspace course called Make It 101. He polled his class to see if his students were on track for meeting a project deadline. Fricano says, “When I sent out this poll, I could see who was on schedule and who was at risk of missing their deadline. For those who reported being "way off track,"I met with them to help them get back on schedule. I will continue to use multiple choice polls like this to check in on deadlines and gauge interest in future projects.”

3. Guide student discussions

Heidi Bernasconi, a teacher at Clarkstown North High School in New York, used polling to help guide a career discussion with her students. “I wanted to discuss skills and qualities employers are looking for from graduates,” Bernasconi says. “I kicked off the discussion with a poll, which led us to review a Forbes article. I allowed students to see each others’ posts so they could get a feel for what others felt was important. ”

4. Get feedback on your lesson from students 

Allyson Greene of Barrett Elementary School in Virginia uses polls to understand what her students liked best about a lesson. She says, “We were doing a unit on electricity and forces and I wanted to see which part of the unit was the most fun for them. Setting up a poll was very easy.”

We also recently updated our Android and iOS mobile apps. Teachers can now draft any type of post or reuse existing posts from any of their classes. Android users also now have a notifications center, where they can see what’s new in their classes. Plus, Android teachers can post to multiple classes. 

Get in touch on Google+ or Twitter and let us know how you’re using polling in your class.

Posted by Vinton G. Cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist and Maggie Johnson, Director of Education and University Relations

(Cross-posted on Communications of the ACM)

Editor's note: This piece by Vint and Maggie was recently published on Communications of the ACM, and we wanted to share it here as well.





I want to return to a theme I have explored before: diversity in our discipline. To do this, I have enlisted the help of my colleague at Google, Maggie Johnson. We are both concerned the computer science community is still not benefiting from the diversity it could and should have. College students are more interested than ever in studying computer science (CS). There has been an unprecedented increase in enrollment in CS undergraduate programs over the past four years. Harvard University's introductory CS course—CS50—has recently claimed the spot as the most enrolled course on campus. An astounding 50% of Harvey Mudd's graduates received engineering degrees this year. The Taulbee Study is an annual survey of U.S. Ph.D.-granting institutions conducted by the Computing Research Association. Table 1 from the 2014 Taulbee report shows the increases CS departments are experiencing.

While the overall number of students in CS courses continues to increase, the number of women and underrepresented minority students who go on to complete undergraduate degrees is, on average, not growing at all. As noted in Table 2, recent findings show that while these students may begin a CS degree program, retaining them after their first year remains a serious issue.

Why is this important? The high-tech industry is putting enormous effort into diversifying its work force. First, there is a social justice aspect given the industry demand and the high salaries associated with that demand. Second, high-tech companies recognize if they are going to create truly accessible and broadly useful products and services, a diverse workforce will best create them. Third, with the advent of an increasing amount of software in virtually every appliance ranging from cars to clocks to say nothing of smartphones, we are going to need every bit of system design and programming talent we can find to avoid collapse into a morass of incompatible, uncooperative, and generally recalcitrant devices in our homes, offices, cars, and on or in our persons. Whether we like it or not, programmable devices are much more malleable than electromechanical ones, potentially less expensive to make, and, possibly, easier to update. The Internet of Things is upon us and we need all hands on deck to assure utility, reliability, safety, security, and privacy in an increasingly online world.

What can faculty do in their own departments? There are several simple interventions that can increase student retention in CS programs. Here are some examples:

• Consider student interests when planning assignments.
• Provide early and consistent feedback on assignments.
• If you have teaching assistants, ensure they are aware of the best practices you follow.
• Emphasize that intellectual capacity—like a muscle—increases with effort. (You are not born with the ability to program!)
• Tell students about conferences and the benefits of attending conferences for targeted support groups.
• Women and minority students often believe they are not performing well, even when their grades tell a different story. It is important to tell women and minority students they will succeed if they stay.
• Be open and accessible to students. You may not know who needs a sounding board, but generally letting students know you are available can make it easier for them to ask for help or guidance.
• Consider helping to form student chapters of ACM-W and IEEE. 
• A list of constructive steps, created by NCWIT, is here.

Faculty can make a huge difference in retaining our diversity students. As leaders in the CS field, your actions and words have a profound impact. When we lose the interest of a significant part of our diverse society, we suffer irretrievably. We cannot even calculate the opportunities we may have lost for the CS discipline. The next potential scientific breakthrough or blockbuster business might have come from someone whose interest we failed to keep. Please join us in highlighting this important opportunity and sharing these and your own solutions with your faculty.

Posted by Chelsea Lax, on behalf of the Google Code Jam Team

Google Code Jam 2016 is here, and we’re calling all coders from around the globe to put their skills to the test in multiple online rounds of intense, algorithmic puzzles.* The contest kicks off with the Online Qualification Round in just a few days on April 8 at 23:00 UTC, so register today!


Back for its 13th year, the competition will be bigger and better than ever with the return and expansion of the Distributed Code Jam track, which we introduced in 2015 to allow coders to solve problems in a distributed environment. Finalists will compete for the titles of both Code Jam and Distributed Code Jam Champion at the World Finals held at Google New York on August 5-6 (see the full schedule here).

We’re looking for all programmers - from returning champions to first-time competitors - who want to take a stab at practicing their programming skills in the contest arena to solve some of the most challenging problems out there. For those needing an introduction to Google Code Jam or simply a refresher, review the Quick-Start Guide, try your hand at past problems, and check out our new Tutorials section for an in-depth look into solving puzzles.

In case you need further convincing, registering for Code Jam gives you the chance to win grand prizes of $15,000 (Code Jam) or $5,000 (Distributed Code Jam), the esteemed World Champion titles, and/or a limited edition Code Jam T-shirt if you’re in the top-scoring 1000 contestants from Code Jam Round 2 or the top-scoring 500 contestants from Distributed Code Jam Round 1. Take a peek at the 2016 T-shirt design, which creatively depicts our World Finals location using 27 lines of code in 25 different languages written by 26 different 2015 Code Jammers.

To better understand the magic of Google Code Jam, watch highlights from last year’s World Finals in Seattle, or tune into the entire live streamed event. For more updates and to keep in touch, join our G+ community or follow along with us on Twitter.

We hope to see you in contest arena during the Online Qualification Round. Are you up for the challenge? Register today at g.co/codejam.

P.S. Don’t forget to share the Code Jam 2016 flyer with your friends, classmates and communities!

*Per the Terms and Conditions, you may participate in the Contest only if you are 13 years of age or older at the time of registration, but you must be 18 years of age or older at the time of registration to be eligible for the onsite final round; if not, you are only eligible to win a t-shirt.

Posted by Vidya Nagarajan, Senior Product Manager, Chrome for Work

(Cross-posted on the Google for Work Blog.)

Since we introduced Chromebox for meetings just over two years ago, many of you have enjoyed how our devices make meetings simple and easy. Companies such as Flipkart, PwC, Pinterest and the State of Wyoming are spending less time setting up their conference calls and more time collaborating as groups across regions in rooms of all sizes with Chromebox for meetings.

Today we’re making this easy collaboration available in smaller spaces and also improving remote device management. Say hello to the Acer Chromebase for meetings, an all-in-one secure video-conferencing device optimized for use in small meeting areas with up to two people. It's a secure, self updating, easy to manage unit that builds on Chrome and WebRTC innovations for sharper video, audio and screen sharing. Guest account support makes it simple to join a meeting even without a Google account: Just click a meeting link invitation and you’re connected.

Meet from more places, with more particpants

So now, you can collaborate and meet over video from a dedicated device at home, your desk at work or a phone room. And since meeting in smaller spaces creates additional opportunity to work together across larger groups, we've also recently expanded the number of meeting participants to 25 people for Google Apps customers. After testing Chromebase for meetings in its offices, SignalFx sees the benefits.

“Using Chromebase for meetings has been an amazing experience from the start! Right out of the box, it's easy to use and lets us collaborate quickly. The centralized management option allows for full control and oversight, and the price is amazing as well." — Heidi Olson, Executive Assistant / Office Manager, SignalFx

Chromebase for meetings gets technology out of the way; just plug it in, connect it to your network and you’re up and running securely.

Chromebase for meetings is ideally suited for capturing audio and video in personal and shared workspaces:

• Large 24-inch adjustable touchscreen display
• Integrated, adjustable HD camera
• 4 microphones and 2 stereo speakers

Improved management tools for meeting devices

We're also happy to announce new features to our remote fleet management tools. Administrators can receive alert notifications and track health of their fleet of Chrome devices for meetings. They can remotely diagnose and troubleshoot audio, video quality and bandwidth problems. Administrators can also customize the interface using their own background images.

Chromebase for meetings availability

Chromebase for meetings is available at $799 from our partners in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland and Australia. The cost includes the first year’s management and support fees. We'll soon after expand availability to additional countries where Chromebox for meetings is available today. You can learn more about Chromebase for meetings on our website. Sign up here to try two Chromebase for meetings devices at no cost for 30 days and receive a special promotion pricing of $549 per device with first year’s management and support fee included.*

 *Subject to approval and limited to the first 1,000 signups

Posted by Mary Radomile, Google Open Source team

Are you a university student looking to learn more about open source software development? Look no further than Google Summer of Code (GSoC) and spend your summer break working on an exciting open source project, learning how to write code.

For twelve years running, GSoC gives participants a chance to work on an open source software project entirely online. Students, who receive a stipend for their successful contributions, are paired with mentors who can help address technical questions and concerns throughout the program. Former GSoC participants have told us that the real-world experience they’ve gained during the program has not only sharpened their technical skills, but has also boosted their confidence, broadened their professional network and enhanced their resumes.

Students who are interested can submit proposals on the program site now through Friday, March 25 at 19:00 UTC. The first step is to review the 180 open source projects and find project ideas that appeal to you. Since spots are limited, we recommend a strong project proposal to help increase your chances of selection. Our Student Manual provides lots of helpful advice to get you started on choosing an organization and crafting a great application.

For ongoing information throughout the application period and beyond, see the Google Open Source Blog, join our Google Summer of Code discussion lists or join us on internet relay chat (IRC) at #gsoc on Freenode.

Good luck to all the open source coders out there, and remember to submit your proposals early — you only have until Friday, March 25 at 19:00 UTC to apply!

Posted by Alex Chen, Coder and Weekend Ukelele Hobbyist

(Cross-posted on the Chrome Blog.)

This year, for Music in Our Schools Month, we wanted to help make learning about music a bit more accessible to everyone by using technology that’s open to everyone: the web. We built a set of experiments that let anyone explore how music works. It’s called Chrome Music Lab, and you can check it out at g.co/musiclab.

You can play with sound, rhythm, melody, and more. Chrome Music Lab is all built for the web, so you can start playing instantly, whether you’re on a tablet, phone, or laptop. Just like today’s Clara Rockmore doodle, the experiments are all built with the Web Audio API, a freely-accessible, open web standard that lets developers create and manipulate sound right in the browser. We’re also providing open-source code so that others can build new experiments based on what we’ve started.

Exploring music can help spark curiosity in all kinds of ways. We hope these experiments inspire you – whether they give you a new perspective on music, make you more curious about math and science, or even make you think of new ways to teach or code.

So crank up the volume and start playing at g.co/musiclab.