Google is tweaking Chrome so that it’s even easier for those who have difficulty reading to use. The company will be bringing a new option to the browser in the coming months which will allow you to turn images into text.
Powered by PDF optical character recognition (OCR) technology, this feature builds on Reading Mode, which was previously introduced to ChromeOS and Chromebooks. Now, Google will also be bringing Reading Mode to Chrome on all devices, in addition to launching image to text in Chrome. With the feature, when a PDF file doesn’t have alt text, Chrome’s screen reader will be able to convert the text it sees in the image and read it aloud to you. No word yet on when exactly the feature will be coming, but Google provided the screenshot seen in the featured image above with a sample of how it’d work. Presumably, you’ll be able to get to it from the Convert image to text in a navigation menu.
This feature was announced during ISTE, which is an educational technology exhibition. Google also went into other updates for its products, including the new Google for Education App Hub, a one-stop shop for apps that connect with Google for Education products. Google even partnered with Adobe to bring Adobe Express to more Chromebooks in the classroom with free license provisions. Other things revealed by Google at ISTE include a new Read Along integration within Google Classroom to help educators assign reading activities, tile pairing in Google Meet to pair two people together on a call, auto-generated by AI suggested questions in Classroom lessons with YouTube videos and some options for students to share links to class templates in Google Classroom.
IT admins, meanwhile, are getting more Chromebook data controls. This should make it easier to percent copying a pasting, screen captures, screen sharing, and printing. There even will be some new privacy toggles, too, to give those using Chromebooks in education more control over camera and microphones.