It's here, the latest update from Google is finally here, and boy was it needed. Google recently started rolling out beta trials of an update for Gmail, and finally dropped the update for most other users. It now finally follows their Material (2.0) design ensuring a lot cleaner of a platform for us to go about our emailing. This also means that very soon we can hope to see the update get rolled out to G-Suite users meaning our students will have access to this and its additional services as well. Why is this important you might ask? If you look at the image above, you'll notice that it now has Google Calendar integrated into a new sidebar, you'll also notice that it has two additional icons, one for Google Keep (Google's notepad equivalent), and Google Tasks (which they've recently released a nice new app for). All of these applications are meant to maximize productivity and help keep all your to-do's, reminders, and shopping lists in as centralized a location as possible. What does this mean for students though? Well, all of these applications seamlessly synchronize across whatever device you are using the service on, so if a student receives an email to schedule an appointment, it can be added to their calendar right then and there. If a student takes a note in class, or thinks of something while on the walk, it'll be right there later when they pull it up. Additionally, for those who use androids, phone calls will be forwarded and display on your Gmail interface if you are not near your phone should you opt in for the feature. It's a major step for Google, and puts a pleasing aesthetic to a mundane day to day task. And hopefully with the additional features, it'll help us be more organised day to day, with huge applications for students!
