In a previous post on this blog, we introduced Google Apps for Education. This week’s post will focus on one of those apps, Google Docs.
First, things first-why use Google Docs in the classroom?
- Your work is stored on Google's secure servers and it saves automatically as you go.
- No need to carry your computer everywhere (or have access to your Pbox). If you have an internet connection, you have access to your documents.
- No need to use a flash drive
- No worry about losing work when your hard drive crashes.
- Lots of storage.
- No more excuses from your students that they left their homework at home, or that the dog ate it, or that mom threw it away. They can share documents directly with you.
- Revisions are automatically tracked. You'll be able to see what's been revised, by whom, and when.
- Collaboration made easy! Teachers and/or students can have access to the same version of a document at the same time, making it a great productivity tool.
To access Google Docs, first log into your Google Account (see previous post for more information about this: previous post). This could be your personal Google account, or your school Google account.
Note: you won’t be able to collaborate with students through their school Google accounts if you are using a personal account.
After you are logged in, click on the Google Apps icon and then click on Google Docs (see image below).
On the next screen, you’ll be able to choose whether to start a blank document, start a new document using a template, or open a previous document.
Once you have a document open, the features are much like creating a document in Microsoft Word. You can type text, add pictures, and so on.
Ready for more? Check out the tutorial right from the Google Apps Learning Center:
or for a summary of the highlights, check out the Cheat Sheet:
If you have questions or would like to learn more, your TechCoaches are here to help!
If you’ve had success using Google Docs in the classroom, please comment below!
Google Docs has made submitting, revising and grading assignments more convenient and has decreased time in returning assignments to the students. In Spanish at the high school we coordinate this with Google Classroom for instantaneous delivery and return as well as embedded organization in Google Drive.
ReplyDeleteUnlike drop off boxes, the students can access their documents and submit them to you digitally from anywhere. In addition you can grade them from anywhere - great for travelling teachers.
Commenting and assessing the Google docs allows for more timely and more detailed feedback. Links to more information can even be provided in the comments. It is easy to access revision history of your assignments so you are only looking at the items that were changed.
My middle school students have used this for essay submission and rewrites. The essays are actually coming in, being graded and returned twice as fast as when they were handwriting the assignment.