Official Google Canada Blog

Find high-quality apps for kids on Google Play

Tuesday, September 1, 2020

We’ve heard from parentsKids tab “Teacher Approved” kid-friendly app content

Apps are rated on factors like age-appropriateness, quality of experience, enrichment, and delight. We include information in the app listing about why the app was rated highly to help parents determine if the app is right for their child.

How to find “Teacher Approved” apps in Google Play
Whenever parents search the Play Store, they can look for the “Teacher Approved” badge to quickly see which apps have been reviewed and rated highly by teachers. If you want to browse content that's been "Teacher Approved", simply go to the "Kids" tab. And, if you’re a Google Play Pass subscriber, a great selection of “Teacher Approved” content is available within "Apps and games for kids."

Today’s announcement wouldn’t be possible without teachers who’ve been working closely with us for the last few years to curate apps that can help kids develop, grow and have fun. We trust teachers to enrich our kids while they’re in school, and we’re grateful they’ve shared their expertise to rate the apps kids use when they’re not in school as well.

The new Kids tab with “Teacher Approved” apps will roll out in Canada on Google Play over the next few days, and we’ll be expanding to new countries in the coming months. We’d love to hear what you think as we continue to make the Play Store more helpful for parents. You can share your thoughts by opening the menu in the Play Store and tapping “Help and feedback.” And don’t forget—for parents who want to set digital ground rules for their kids, like setting time limits on the apps your child has on their device, check out our Family Link app (not available in Quebec).

Explore Kids Space: A way to nurture your kid's curiosity

Monday, August 31, 2020

Family Linkkids tab Designed for nurturing your kid’s curiosity and creativity

Recommended library of free books, apps and videos
To evaluate and select “teacher-approved” apps in Google Play, we worked with academic experts and children’s education specialists to define rubrics. For Kids Space, we’ve built on that foundation and applied our quality standard to an ever-expanding library of apps and books in the Play and Read tabs. We worked with top publishers to make popular children’s books free of charge, and have over 400 free books available in English alone. In the Watch and Make tabs, your kids can view creative and fun videos from YouTube Kids that are engaging and encourage off-screen activities. And if you’re looking to customize even more, parents can download additional content from Google Play.

Join us in our journey as we continue to create productive and healthy experiences for kids that adapt to the evolving world and needs of your family.

* Kids Space requires a Google Account for your child. Parental controls require the Family Link app on a supported Android, Chromebook, or iOS device. Books and video content not available in all regions. Video content subject to availability of YouTube Kids app. Books content requires the Play Books app. Availability of apps, books, and video content may change without notice. † Google Assistant not available in Kids Space.

Helping Canadian nonprofits connect with local communities

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

COVID-19 is expected to drive 49 million people around the globe into extreme poverty, with social issues such as unemployment, food security, housing, mental health, domestic violence and racial inequality being amplified by the pandemic. In Canada, searches for 'how to help' and 'where to donate' have reached an all-time high, as Canadians across the country look for ways to give back. As a result, many nonprofits are responding to the call to action, despite also struggling to stay afloat with typical fundraising activities impacted due to social distancing.

One way nonprofits can get their message out to a wider audience, so that they can continue to attract donors, raise awareness and recruit volunteers is to use in-kind advertising on Google Search through Google Ad Grants. Launched in 2003 as Google's first philanthropic effort, Google Ad Grants offers nonprofits $10,000 USD a month to spend on search ads. Today, there are over 85,000 nonprofit organizations in Canada that are eligible for Ad Grants.

To help onboard nonprofits who may not be aware of Ad Grants or don't know how to get started, Google employees across Canada's three sites in Toronto, Waterloo and Montreal created a nonprofit accelerator program, led by 90 volunteers. Through the accelerator program, nonprofits are provided recommendations on how to fully optimize their Ad Grants and are given training on how to improve organizational productivity with easy to use G Suite tools like Gmail, Docs, Calendar, Drive, and Meet.

For Food Banks Canada, an Ad Grant recipient and participant of Google Canada's nonprofit accelerator program, feeding those experiencing food insecurity is difficult in the best of times. New challenges brought on by the pandemic, such as decreases in community-based fund and food raising events, supply chain challenges, and less volunteers, make it even more difficult to ensure everyone that needs it, receives support.

During the pandemic, Food Banks Canada launched the 'I Ate' campaign to ensure all Canadians from coast to coast can say “I Ate”. With the help of Google Ad Grants and our agencies Skylar Media Group and The Local Collective, the campaign saw a 690% increase in personal donations in the first 3 weeks, over that same time period the previous year,” said Tania Little, Chief Development and Partnerships Officer. “We have been so grateful for the outpouring of support from Canadians during these times.”

With community organization needs and volunteer roles changing rapidly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Volunteer Canada responded quickly by compiling and developing resources to help nonprofit organizations, companies and individuals navigate volunteer engagement and related topics. Google Ad Grants have allowed them to further extend their reach to provide relevant and up-to-date information on evolving volunteer engagement practices.

“Google Ad Grants provided us with a new tool to get timely information into the hands of those who needed it most,” shared Karine Diedrich, VP Public Engagement and Knowledge Mobilization at Volunteer Canada. “It helped us reach nonprofits who were looking to thank and celebrate their volunteers, connect with companies seeking guidance on how to support community partners, and guide individuals looking to give back in their communities. As a fairly new recipient of the grant, the support we received through the accelerator program was just what we needed to refine, target and adapt our ads.”

In Quebec, nonprofit organization Immigrant Quebec uses Ad Grants to make sure they are communicating the most up-to-date and reliable information to newcomers in need of support.

“Google Ad Grants give us the opportunity to increase our communication towards immigrants who are looking for information in this uncertain period. We are very grateful that Google gives us the opportunity to reach many more people than usual,” said Christophe Berthet, General Manager, Immigrant Quebec.

For nonprofits looking to reach a wider audience and enhance their productivity, here are some tips on how to get started:

Check out all of Google's resources and programs for nonprofits by visiting our resource hub.
Activate your Google for Nonprofits account.
If you are eligible, activate Google Ad Grants and watch this five minute video on how to get started.
Sign up for G Suite for Nonprofits to receive free access to productivity tools like Gmail, Docs, Calendar, Drive, and Meet, which can help your team collaborate remotely.
Watch our first and second Grow with Google OnAir educational webinars, specifically designed for nonprofits. Or check out our Google for Nonprofits YouTube channel for additional resources.
Sign up for our Google for Nonprofit newsletter for monthly updates and tips.

Posted by Natasha Walji, Director, Telco, Public Sector & Tech, Google Canada

Boost your bass and share your sounds, with Pixel Buds

Thursday, August 20, 2020

Today, we’re dropping new features for Pixel Buds to help you customize your unique sound experience, find your earbuds more easily if you misplace them and get more done with your earbuds—including an experimental feature that alerts you to what's going on around you even when you have your Pixel Buds in. Personalize your audio experiencebass boost sharing detection

More helpful features Attention Alerts

We launched ring my earbuds earlier this year so you can hear where your Pixel Buds are if you’ve misplaced them. Now, you can see them too. We’ve added an update to Find My Device that will show you the last known location of your Pixel Buds on a map even when they’re no longer connected to your Android phone.

Ask Google Assistant
Google Assistant on Pixel Buds is becoming even more helpful by allowing you to do more with your earbuds while on the go. Now, you can ask Google to turn touch controls on and off, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally triggering them. You'll also be able to turn touch controls on and off in the Pixel Buds settings. And you can now ask Google Assistant to help check your battery life by saying "Hey Google, what's the battery on my earbuds?”

All of this begins rolling out today to Pixel Buds users. To learn more, head to the help center.

Also beginning today, Pixel Buds will be available in Quite Mint and Almost Black in Canada, available at the Google Store, Best Buy, Staples and more.

Meet the inaugural class of Canada’s Google for Startups Accelerator

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Earlier this year, we made a commitment to take our work with startups to the next level, by introducing the Google for Startups Accelerator to Canada . While our original plan was to host programming in-person, we had to pivot our Accelerator model to an online format, while also reworking our program content to make it virtually digestible. Following the announcement on our shift to a digital program, we were humbled by the support we received from our ecosystem partners, and thrilled with the quality and caliber of the Canadian startup applications we received. Nine startups have been selected for the inaugural Google for Startups Accelerator Canada cohort, who are all using technology to solve complex challenges.From faster disease detection to real-time crop and pest management, we're inspired and honored to work alongside these companies over the next few months to help solve their most pressing technical and business needs. And with that, please meet the first cohort of our Canadian Accelerator:

Arkangel AI is an artificial intelligence algorithm for early detection of preventable diseases, generates results 20x faster, 10x more scalable, 5x more cost-effective, and all this with an accuracy above 95%.

Bridge7 uses AI to scale clinical expertise to improve the efficiency, consistency and quality of delivering cancer treatment plans.

Curv Health empowers health providers to build, prescribe and remotely monitor digital therapies. Providers get more efficient business models and decreased churn, and patients get better experiences and improved outcomes.

Eyeread believes that the time kids spend on screens is the biggest untapped opportunity for learning today. Their purpose is to support educators in the delivery of the best education to all kids through video games they love. Eyeread, the developer of Squiggle Park and Dreamscape, builds digital literacy games that motivate kids to master and love reading through personalized and adaptive games.

Kabo is a Canadian pet food brand that delivers the healthiest dog food customized to a dog's dietary needs and delivered to customers through contactless delivery. In just 12 months, Kabo has delivered over 250,000+ customized meals to dogs all across Canada.

Longan Vision provides a professional smart engineering product, platform, and solution of enhanced vision and communication devices. Their current focus is AR glass, aka FVS, for firefighter departments with enhanced sensing capabilities.

LumenEd is simplifying the process for tutors, tutoring companies and education organizations to run their business, match with students, and provide great tutoring services. Their goal is to increase access to personalized learning, and give educators the freedom to operate from anywhere at a lower cost without purchasing a complex set of disparate tools.

ProteinQure is a computational platform for protein drug design combining molecular dynamics, machine learning and biophysical models. They partner with large pharma such as AstraZeneca, to help create de-novo therapeutics for challenging diseases.

Semios offers a precision farming platform that provides real-time crop data and pest management tools for growers of tree fruit, nut and vine crops. Leveraging a proprietary, in-orchard IoT wireless network, machine learning, and big data analytics, Semios helps farmers manage insect pests, disease, frost and irrigation.

We know that investing in these founders will help to grow and scale their business, which in turn supports the larger Canadian startup ecosystem. We can't wait to get started. Posted by Ashley Francisco, Head of Startup Developer Ecosystems, Google Canada

Make informed travel decisions with confidence

Thursday, August 13, 2020

With the end of summer nearing, and COVID-19 restrictions starting to loosen across the country, more Canadians are searching for ways to get out and explore. In Canada, searches for road trips and local travel are up, while globally, searches for "staycation '', '' beach rentals '' and '' cabins for rent '' have grown by over 100% year over year, as many look for travel ideas closer to home.
Over the past three months, the spike in searches for road trips cover some of Canada's most beautiful settings like Vancouver Island in British Columbia and Gaspésie in Québec . Top searched questions around road trips in the past two weeks include:

What to bring on a road trip?
How to plan a road trip?
What to do on road trips?
How long does a typical road trip across Canada last?
How to road trip across Canada?

With one of the longest drives across Canada taking at least 90 hours (Cape Spear in Newfoundland to Atlin, British Columbia), domestic explorers are also looking into where they can rest their heads and relax before the next leg of their trip. Searches for "hotels open in" have grown globally by over 100000% year over year. Top rising hotel destinations in Canada over the past two months include:

Kelowna, BC
Banff, Alberta
Jasper, Alberta
Osoyoos, BC
Penticton, BC
Tofino, BC
Mont-Albert, QC
Canmore, Alberta
Whistler, BC
Prince Edward County, ON

Because the impact of COVID-19 on destinations can vary, it's important to stay up to date on the latest travel-related information for places you may want to visit. “Canada's tourism industry is working tirelessly to ensure Canadians know what new measures are in place for their protection,” says Gloria Loree, Chief Marketing Officer of Destination Canada. "From small to large businesses, we're seeing extraordinary work being done to ensure enjoyable and safe experiences." If you're planning to travel soon, here are a few updates to help you make travel decisions with confidence.

Get travel related updates about a destination When you search on Google for information like hotels, flights or things to do, you already see when there's a COVID-19 travel advisory or restriction for your destination. And, we recently introduced driving alerts to notify you about COVID-19 restrictions along your route in Google Maps. As restrictions and advisories begin to lift, we're adding information about travel resuming in a specific destination on Google Search. You'll now see the percentage of flights operating and open hotels with availability based on Google Flights and Hotels data from the previous week. When you visit google.com/travel you'll also see trendlines for flights and hotel availability as well as links to additional local resources, including the number of COVID-19 cases, at the top of the page.

Travel trends including flights operating and open hotels with availability on Google Search
Find hotels and vacation rentals with refundable rates Due to the uncertainty around COVID-19, people often want flexibility when making travel plans. Many hotels and vacation rentals now offer free cancellation to give travelers more confidence when planning trips. Search for a hotel, and later this month a vacation rental, on google.com/travel and filter to see only rooms or properties with free cancellation policies. Tap on a specific listing to see more details.
We'll continue to share the most relevant information so you can make informed decisions and travel safely when the time comes. If you do have travel plans coming up we encourage you to check Public Health Agency of Canada to understand the potential health risks when traveling and recommendations on how to reduce them.

Posted by Natasha Walji, Director Public Sector, Tech & Telecom and Jon Bromstein, Head of Public Sector & Tourism

Use Lookout to take care of daily tasks faster

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

LookoutLookout

We’re also making it easier to go through letters and mail with Scan Document. Use Lookout to take a snapshot of a document, and it will capture the entire document’s content in detail so that it can be read aloud by your screen reader.

Based on feedback from the blind and low-vision community, we’re introducing an accessible design that is even more compatible with TalkBack, our Android screen reader. This includes making more space for the camera view, which makes it easier to frame the object you want more information about. In addition, we’ve changed navigation between modes to require fewer taps and less time by making it possible to scroll between them at the bottom of the screen.

With this update, Lookout will be available on all devices with more than 2GB of RAM running Android 6.0 and later. Lookout also now works in French, Italian, German and Spanish. Expanding this app to more people and devices is part of our commitment to make the world's information universally accessible and to build helpful products with and for people with disabilities.

Download Lookout today on Google Play.

Posted by Scott Adams, Product Manager, Google Accessibility Engineering

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