Integrating Google Drive into your Teaching
|
|
A Training Manual
|
|
|
|
This training manual illustrates how you can sign up for Google
Drive, create files and collaboratively work on them with others. Most
importantly, it offers a lot of ideas regarding how you can best use Google
Drive for teaching and learning.
|
|
|
M. S. Xavier
Pradheep Singh
Assistant Professor of English,
V. O. Chidambaram College,
Tuticorin, Tamilnadu, India
|
|
Mobile: +91 82207773131
Email: pradheepxing@gmail.com
|
|
|
Google Drive is “a file storage and synchronization service provided by
Google” (Wikipedia). It allows cloud storage, file sharing and collaborative
editing on documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more. Teachers can use
Google Drive for a variety of reasons. This training manual illustrates how you
can sign up for Google Drive, create files and collaboratively work on them
with others. Most importantly, it offers a lot of tips regarding how you can
use Google Drive for teaching and learning.
The icons below have been used throughout
this manual for the following reasons.
|
i
|
Remember section presents essential points
you need to keep in mind.
|
|
|
Try section provides ideas for
classroom activities using Google Drive.
|
|
&
|
Reference provides web links for further
references.
|
“Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together
and motivating them, the teacher is most important.” - Bill Gates
“Any teacher that can be replaced with a computer, deserves to be.” –
David Thornburg
“Teachers need to integrate technology seamlessly into the curriculum
instead of viewing it as an add-on, an afterthought, or an event.” –
Heidi-Hayes Jacobs
At the end of the session,
participants will be able to
·
Remember and
locate the various features available in Google Drive properly;
·
Understand and
demonstrate the uses of these features in appropriate ways;
·
Apply and
carry out procedures to share, edit and collaborate in Google Drive fittingly;
·
Analyse the given
ideas and find out ways to implement them in their teaching suitably;
·
Evaluate all
available features and discuss their effectiveness for teaching critically; and
·
Create and
design learning activities using Google Drive for their learners innovatively.
Storage
·
15
GB storage [See 1.4.1.]
·
Store
anything affordably [See 1.6.]
·
Desktop
folder [See 1.4.2.]
Accessibility
·
Access
your files anywhere from any devise [See 1.4.2., 1.4.3., and 1.5.]
·
Offline
access [See 1.8.]
·
Compatibility
with MS office applications [See 1.6.]
·
Download
Collaboration
·
Share
files with anyone [See 1.7.]
·
Real
time and asynchronous collaboration [See 1.7., 1.9.1., 1.9.2., and 1.9.3.]
·
Comment
[See 1.9.1.]
·
In-built
Chat [See 1.9.2.]
·
Revision
History [See 1.9.3.]
·
Email
Collaborators [See 1.9.7.]
·
Notifications
[See 1.9.7.]
Research
·
Research
[See 1.9.5.]
·
Translate
[See 1.9.7.]
·
Publish
to the Web [See 1.9.4.]
Synchronization
·
Automatic
Saving and Backup [See 1.9.7.]
·
Third
Party Apps [See 1.6.]
·
Add-ons
[See 1.9.6.]
·
For
teaching
o
Listening
(DriveTunes App) [See 1.6.]
o
Speaking [See 1.6., and 1.9.2.]
o
Reading
[See 1.6.1.]
o
Writing
[See 1.6.1.]
o
Presentation
skills [See 1.6.3.]
o
Collaboration
skills [See 1.7., 1.9.1., 1.9.2., and 1.9.3.]
·
For
traditional assessment
o
Multiple
choice tests [See 1.6.4.]
o
Cloze
tests [See 1.6.4.]
o
Essays
[See 1.6.1.]
o
Short
answers [See 1.6.4.]
·
For
alternative assessment
o
Portfolio
[See 1.6.1.]
o
Quizzes
[See 1.6.4.]
o
Learning
journal [See 1.6.1.]
o
Slideshow
presentations [See 1.6.3.]
o
Group
projects [See 1.6.1.]
o
Peer
assessment [See 1.9.1.]
·
For
research & project work
o
Survey
[See 1.6.4.]
o
Questionnaire
[See 1.6.4.]
o
Project
management [See 1.6., and 1.9.6.]
o
Database
[See 1.6.2.]
o
Analysis
[See 1.6.2.]
·
For
creating
o
Whiteboard
[See 1.6.1.]
o
Booklets
[See 1.6.]
o
Learning
materials [See 1.6.1.]
o
Attendance
[See 1.6.2.]
o
Mark
lists [See 1.6.2.]
o
Student
profiles [See 1.6.2.]
o
Reports
[See 1.6.1.]
Google Drive lets you work from various devices and platforms: web
browsers especially Chrome, local drives of your computer, smart phones,
iPhones, and tablets. But you need to sign up for Google Drive first in the web
browser of your computer.
·
You
need to have a Google account to access Google Drive.
·
Visit
https://accounts.google.com/signup to sign up for a Google account.
·
Log
in to https://drive.google.com/
|
i
|
Remember
Having a Google account lets you freely access a range of its products
including Gmail, Drive, Sites, Calendar, Maps, Youtube, Play, Plus, News,
Alerts, Translate, Books, Blogger, Photos, Scholar, Groups, Hangout, Orkut,
etc. For a list of even more products visit http://www.google.co.in/intl/en/about/products/
You have 15 GB of free storage to share between Google Drive, Gmail,
and Google+ Photos. You can also purchase additional storage.
|
The Desktop Folder for Google Drive is like other folders on your
computer except for one big difference: automatic syncing with your Google
Drive on the web. So, you can move files into this folder to upload them to
Google Drive on the web, and changes made on your computer are synced across
devices. To install a Desktop Folder,
·
Click
on ‘Install Drive for your Computer’ in the left hand side bar of the
Google Drive.
·
You
will then be lead through a process of downloading, installing and
synchronizing the application.
|
i
|
Remember
While installing the Google Drive application for your computer, you
can specify the location for the Google Drive Folder in your computer hard
drive. Only the folders and files in
the ‘My Drive’ (on the web) will be synced with the Desktop Folder. And whatever
you drop in the Desktop Folder will be synced with the ‘My Drive’ on the web.
|
|
&
|
Visit http://gappstips.com/docs-tips/view/106/change-the-google-drive-default-folder
for tips regarding Google Drive Desktop Folder.
|
|
|
Try
With Google Drive Desktop Folder, you can connect many computers
(yours, your learners’, and your colleagues) as with a Local Area Network (LAN).
In this way you can encourage BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) approach.
|
Google Drive application is available for mobiles and tablets that run on
android, windows or iOS. You can download and install it from visiting Apps
stores at the following websites. Alternatively you can scan the following QR
codes using your devise’s camera to install it.
|
For
Android devices
|
For
Windows devices
|
For iOS
devices
|
|
www.windowsphone.com
|
www.itunes.apple.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
following are the main parts in Google Drive on the web. You need to
familiarize yourself with them as they will be referred in the proceeding
sections.
1. ‘Create’ button
2. ‘Upload’ button
3.
List of folders in My Drive
4. ‘Shared with Me’ items
5.
Recycle Bin
6.
‘Offline’ edit settings
7.
Install Drive for your Computer
8.
Dashboard
9.
Activity history
10. Drive Settings
The
document editing apps in Google Drive are similar to Microsoft Office
applications. So, working in them does not require much expertise. By default, Google
Drive in the web has the following preinstalled apps.
Document à MS
Word
Presentation à MS
Powerpoint
Spreadsheet à MS
Excel
Form à MS
Acess
Drawing à Paint
To create a folder or file in Google
Drive in the web,
·
Click
on the ‘Create’ button at the left side bar.
·
Choose
the app you want to work on.
|
i
|
Remember
You can also connect thousands of apps to Google Drive and work on
them. To connect these apps, click on the ‘Create’ button and then
choose ‘Connect more apps’. You will then be prompted to a dialogue
box where you will find countless apps categorized into business, education,
entertainment, news, lifestyle, productivity, communication and utility.
Connect with any app you want.
|
|
|
Try
Here is a list of interesting apps available in Google Drive:
|
|
|
Voice Recorder Apps:
Drive Voice Recorder
Kaizena
Video Editing Apps
WeVideo
Book Creating Apps
Simplebooklet EDU
Lucidpress Layout & Design
Presentation Apps
Presentation Remote
Presentme for Education
Whiteboard App
Realtime Board
Audio Player App
DriveTunes
|
Quiz App
Quiz Buzzer Beta
Mindmap Apps
Lucidchart diagrams
Mindmeister
Mindmap
Project Management Apps
Gantter for Google Drive
Smartsheet Gantt Timeline
Liquidplanner Project
Conceptboard
Social Network App
Hojoki
QR Codes &
Barcodes Apps
QR Code and
Barcode Label
QR creator
|
|
Google Docs is an online word processor that lets you create and format
text documents and collaborate with other people in real time. To create a
Google Document,
·
Click
on ‘Create’ button in the left sidebar of Google Drive in the web.
·
Choose
‘Document’ in the dropdown menu that appears.
|
&
|
Visit https://support.google.com/docs/answer/143206
for an overview of Google Docs.
|
|
|
Try
You, as a teacher, can use Google Docs to
·
Enhance learners’ reading skills by
o presenting reading passages,
o making them map ideas, and
o encouraging them to comment on
ideas.
·
Enhance learners’ writing skills by
o giving them writing assignments or
group projects,
o encouraging them to follow process
approach to writing,
o monitor their writing strategies,
o making them provide peer feedback,
and
o making them resolve specific
writing problems.
·
Teach work place skills such as
o collaboration
o constructive feedback
o interaction
o critical thinking
o problem solving
o collaborative editing, and
o creativity
·
Publish course-related documents such as
o syllabus,
o learning materials,
o announcements, and
o reports.
|
Google Sheets is an online spreadsheet app that lets you create and
format spreadsheets and simultaneously work with other people. To create a
Google Sheets,
·
Click
on ‘Create’ button in the left sidebar of Google Drive in the web.
·
Choose
‘Spreadsheet’ in the dropdown menu that appears.
|
&
|
Visit https://support.google.com/docs/answer/140784
for an overview of Google Sheets.
Visit https://support.google.com/docs/answer/160749
for mathematical functions.
|
|
|
Try
You, as a teacher, can use Google Sheets to
·
Enhance learners’ research skills by making them
o create a database,
o analyse data using mathematical
functions, and
o generate visual aids like charts
and diagrams.
·
Enhance learners’ vocabulary by making them
o create a database of lexical items
from their lessons.
·
Create course-related documents such as
o students’ profiles,
o learning log, and
o timetable.
|
Google Slides is an online presentations app that allows you to show off
your work in a visual way. To create a Google Presentation,
·
Click
on ‘Create’ button in the left sidebar of Google Drive in the web.
·
Choose
‘Presentation’ in the dropdown menu that appears.
|
&
|
Visit https://support.google.com/docs/answer/126127
for an overview of Google Slides.
|
|
|
Try
You, as a teacher, can use Google Slides to
·
Enhance learners’ presentation skills by making them
o create a slideshow,
o present online,
o record their presentation, and
o provide feedback on others’
presentation.
|
Google Forms is a useful tool to help you plan events, send a survey,
give students a quiz, or collect other information in an easy, streamlined way.
A Google form can be connected to a Google spreadsheet and responses can automatically
be sent to the spreadsheet. Otherwise, users can view them on the “Summary of
Responses” page accessible from the Responses menu.
The question types available in Google Form are text, paragraph text, multiple
choice, tick boxes, choose from a list, scale, grid, date, and time. Image and video
can also be embedded in the Form. To create a Google Form,
·
Click
on ‘Create’ button in the left sidebar of Google Drive in the web.
·
Choose
‘Form’ in the dropdown menu that appears.
|
&
|
Visit https://support.google.com/docs/answer/87809
for an overview of Google Forms.
|
|
|
Try
You, as a teacher, can use Google Forms to
·
Enhance learners’ research skills by making them
o create questionnaires and rating
scales,
o collect data,
o record their presentation, and
o provide feedback on others’ presentation.
·
Conduct online tests such as
o multiple choice test,
o cloze test,
o paragraphs, and
o quizzes.
·
Create administrative documents like
o membership forms,
o opinonnaire,
o rating scales for course / teacher
/ student evaluation
|
With Google drawings you can easily create, share, and edit drawings
online. To create a Google Drawing,
·
Click
on ‘Create’ button in the left sidebar of Google Drive in the web.
·
Choose
‘Drawing’ in the dropdown menu that appears.
|
&
|
Visit https://support.google.com/docs/answer/177123
for an overview of Google Drawings.
|
|
|
Try
You, as a teacher, can use Google Drawings to
·
check learners’ understanding of concepts by making them draw what they
learnt,
·
make learners create visual aids for presentations,
·
motivate learners by asking them to draw pictures for lessons in the
text book.
|
Sharing folders and files [documents, images, and PDFs] is easy in Google
Drive. You have to just indicate which email addresses or mailing lists have
access to a given file. You don’t have to email them as attachments.
There are four levels of access: owner, editor, viewer,
and commenter. Owners can do anything to the file—even delete it—and
invite more collaborators. Editors can edit, but only invite more collaborators
if the owner allows it. Viewers just see what is going on. Commenters can see
it, plus leave comments on a document. To share a folder or a file,
·
Check
the box next to the file or folder you like to share.
·
Click
the
Share icon.
·
Change
the sharing settings in ‘Who has access’ section.
·
Choose
a visibility option: ‘Public on the web’, ‘Anyone with the link’ or ‘Specific
People’.
·
If
you choose ‘Specific People’ option, you have to type the email
addresses of the people you want to share with in the text box below ‘Add
people’. You can add a single person or a mailing list.
·
Choose
the access level from the drop-down menu next to each collaborator: ‘Can
view’, ‘Can comment’, or ‘Can edit’.
·
Click
Share & save.
|
i
|
Remember
When you share a folder or file with a mailing list, select ‘Notify
people via email’ option. Your mailing list members need to directly
click the link shared in the email notification. Then only the file will show
up in the ‘Recent’ and ‘All items’ section of Google Drive for group members.
|
|
&
|
For more details on the privileges of owner, editor, viewer and
commenter, visit https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2494886
|
|
|
Try
You, as a teacher, can share
·
course-related documents (syllabus, materials, etc.) with learners,
·
course announcements with a mailing list for a wider reach,
·
learners-related documents (profiles, case studies, progress reports,
etc) with your colleagues and parents,
·
learners’ assignments with peers to receive feedbacks, and
·
learners’ assignments and projects publicly to receive feedbacks
from real world audience.
|
Setting up offline access allows you to view Google documents,
spreadsheets, presentations, and drawings, shuffle folders around, and edit
files stored in your Google Drive folder. Follow these steps to enable offline
access on your computer.
1. In your Chrome browser, click ‘More’
on the left side bar of Google Drive.
2. Select ‘Offline’.
3. Setting up offline access is a
two-step process. First, click the blue button that says ‘Get the app’.
If you already have the app installed, skip to step 6.
4. You will be taken to the Chrome web
store. Click ‘Add to Chrome’ in the upper-right corner of the browser
window.
5. Once the app is installed, you will
be taken to a Chrome page with the Google Drive app icon. To return to Drive,
click the Google Drive icon.
6. On the right side of the dialog on
the Offline Docs page, click the blue button that says ‘Enable Offline’.
|
i
|
Remember
Offline access is available only when you are using Chrome or a Chrome OS
device
|
|
|
Try
Offline access is really useful for learners or teachers to view or
edit files
·
when they are not connected with internet, and
·
when they travel.
|
The document editing apps in Google Drive share a few features which are
really useful for collaboration and learning. Some of them have been explained
in the following sections.
Comments allow you to have a discussion about what one is working on.
Comment threads, called discussions, help keep track of comments, address
comments to specific people, and respond to and follow comments from email
inbox. These can be invaluable for communicating with collaborators about
specific parts of the document, as well as making notes about changes made. To
add a comment,
·
Highlight
or select the text, object, or spreadsheet cell you like to comment on.
·
From
the ‘Insert’ menu, select ‘Comment’. Alternatively you can right
click and select comment.
·
Type
your comment in the box that appears to the right of the document.
·
You
can reply to a comment with a new post, edit or delete a
previous comment you have inserted, and resolve the discussion when you
are ready to remove it.
|
i
|
Remember
You can work with comments in two main places – within the yellow
comment box, or from within the discussions thread. You can access the
discussions thread by clicking the Comments button in the top right-hand
corner of your browser window.
|
|
|
Try
You can address your comment to a specific person by typing a plus sign
followed by their email address, for example +johndoe@google.com. That person
will receive an email with your comment.
Turning on notifications allows you to receive emails for each edit a document
gets. Click on ‘Comments’ at the top right corner and choose ‘Notifications’.
You can use ‘Comments’ feature to
·
sensitize learners to errors and typical writing problems,
·
provide learners feedback on specific words or sentences in their
writing,
·
make learners provide feedback on other learners’ writing, and
·
make them comment on reading passages and ask questions in specific
places in a text.
|
Google Drive enables users to work on the same document in real time.
When doing so, users can chat and make edits to the document simultaneously.
When two or more people work on document in Google Drive, their Google+
profile pictures appear in the top-right corner of the browser window. [If the
person doesn't have a Google+ profile picture, their first initial appears. If
the person is viewing the document anonymously, they are assigned an animal
name and image.]
To begin a group chat with everyone viewing the document,
·
Click
the Chat
button in the top-right corner of your window.
·
A
chat box will appear at the bottom of your file.
·
Everyone
who is viewing the document will be included in the group chat.
|
i
|
Remember
Real-time collaboration is available only when you and your
collaborators are online.
Unlike other Google products, Google Drive allows you to have only one
group chat including all people viewing the file. You cannot have multiple
chat boxes open at a time.
Users who are not signed in with their Google accounts will not be able
to chat. If you are viewing a file but are not able to chat, make sure you
are signed in with your Google account.
|
|
|
Try
You, as a teacher, can use ‘Chat’ facility to
·
encourage interaction among your learners while working on a document,
·
make learners ask for clarifications, and
·
discuss issues with learners while monitoring their work.
|
Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides have a revision history pane that allows
you to view at a glance all changes made to a document by each collaborator. It
lets you view and revert to earlier versions of your document and see which
collaborators made edits to any of these versions. To access revision history,
·
Select
‘File’ and then ‘See revision history’.
·
Click
a time stamp in the right pane to see a previous version of the document,
edited by the collaborators listed below the time stamp.
·
If
you like to revert to the version you are currently viewing, click Restore
this revision.
·
If
you like to return to the current version of your document to continue editing,
click the X in the upper right of the 'Revision History' pane.
|
i
|
Remember
Revision history is only available for users with ‘Can edit’ access.
Users with ‘Can view’ and ‘Can comment’ access cannot see revision history.
Restoring your document to a previous version does not remove any
versions of your document. Rather this version moves to the top of your
revision history, maintaining all previous versions of your document,
including the current version.
|
|
|
Try
You, as a teacher, can use ‘Revision History’ to
·
monitor learners’ progress in a work,
·
research learners’ learning (or writing) strategies, and
·
reuse documents in future classes.
|
Publishing allows you to make your documents available to the whole
world. Once you publish your document to a webpage, you get a URL that you can
share with anyone you choose. To publish any of your items,
·
Open
the item you like to publish.
·
From
the ‘File’ menu, select ‘Publish to the Web’
·
Click
the ‘Start publishing’ button. A link to the published item appears in
the publishing dialogue box.
·
Send
this link to anyone you like to access your item.
·
|
i
|
Remember
Your item will be accessible from this URL until you either delete your
item or choose to stop publishing. To stop publishing, open the publishing
dialog again and click the Stop publishing button. If you do this, anyone
clicking the link to the published item will no longer be able to access it.
PDFs cannot be published to the webs.
|
|
|
Try
You can use ‘Publish to Web’ feature to
·
publish finished products (such as learners’ project reports, writing
assignments, term papers, etc) to be viewed by the whole world,
·
create samples of assignments, project reports for future classes, and
·
create a portfolio of learners’ work.
|
The Research tool makes it easy to add information from the web to your
documents and presentations. To access the tool:
·
From
the Tools menu, select the Research option.
·
Alternatively,
right-click on a specific word and select Research.
The Research tool will appear along the right-hand side of your document.
You can start a search by typing into the search bar.
|
i
|
Remember
You can narrow your search to specific types of results (e.g. images,
quotations, scholarly articles, web, and your own documents) by using the
drop-down menu in the search bar.
|
|
|
Try
Always ask your learners to use ‘Research’ feature while writing any
assignment because it enables them to
·
develop their reference skills,
·
add authentic sources in their writing,
·
synthesize existing knowledge with new knowledge, and
·
develop their scholarly writing skills.
|
Add-ons are tools built by third-party developers for Google Docs and
Sheets. They add more functionality to documents and spreadsheets. To install
add-ons,
·
Open
a document or spreadsheet.
·
Click
the Add-ons menu and then Get add-ons.
·
Browse
the entire add-ons store.
·
Hover
over an add-on to see a short description or to quickly install it.
·
Click
Add-ons Install Button to install the add-on.
·
Click
Accept.
·
Once
the add-on is installed, it is listed in the “Add-ons” menu within all of your
files of that file type.
|
i
|
Remember
Add-ons are available only in Documents and Spreadsheets. Each add-ons
can be managed individually and turned on and off at any time.
|
|
|
Try
Here is a list of useful add-ons for teaching, learning and testing.
|
|
|
For Document
Templates
Template Gallery
Mail merging
Merge by Mailchimp
Visual Aids
Table of Contents
Lucidchart Diagrams
Maps for Docs
Study Skills
Texthelp Study Skills
ProWritingAid
Mind Mapping
Mindmeister
Bibliography Generator
EasyBib
Conference Call Tool
UberConference
Connecting Social Media
Social Drop
|
For Spreadsheet
Templates
Template Gallery
Automatic Assessment of Objective
Tests
Flubaroo
Project Assessment
Doctopus
Project Management
Schedule Generator
Editing
Remove Duplicates
Monitoring Shared Files in Drive
Drive Eye
Mail merging
Yet another Mail Merge
Connecting Social Media
Social Drop
|
|
1. Auto Save: Google
Docs, Sheets, and Slides continuously save your work automatically. So There is
no ‘Save’ button. The last updated time shows near the menu bar.
2. Translate: Google
Docs uses Google Translate to help you translate entire documents into one of
64 languages. To translate a document:
·
Go
to the ‘Tools’ menu, and select ‘Translate document’.
·
Type
in the name of the new document, select the language into which
you like to translate
·
Press
OK.
·
A
translated copy of your document will be created.
3. Email Collaborators: You can email all collaborators of a document by choosing
the ‘File’ menu and then ‘Email Collaborators’.
4. Email as Attachment: Since Gmail does not allow attachments exceeding 25 MB, the
‘Email as Attachment’ facility in Google Drive is beneficial for anyone
working with large files. Click on the ‘File’ menu and then choose ‘Email
as Attachment’.
5. Notifications: Notifications serve as a best way to keep track of the changes in a
shared document. Click on the ‘Comments’ button at the top right corner
and choose ‘Notifications’ to receive email notifications.
1. Create a Google Docs, write a short
description about you, and share it with your fellow participants.
2. Comment on anyone of the Docs shared
with you.
3. Chat with other participants in the
Docs shared with you by the instructor.
4. Create a database of your learners’
profile using Google Sheets.
5. Create an online test using Google
Forms.
& Google
Drive Help Centre
https://support.google.com/drive
& Google
Drive Blog - News about Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, & more
http://googledrive.blogspot.in/
& 26
Google Drive Tips You Can't Afford to Miss
http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/story/323450/26-google-drive-tips-you-can-t-afford-to-miss
& Integrating
Google Drive into your Classroom
https://sites.google.com/site/workshopondrive/
