How To Use Google Docs In The Classroom

by TeachThought Staff

The use of cloud-based word processing and storage is among the most underrated examples of education technology. If literacy is the foundation of learning, tools that promote its integration can be considered equally foundational.

Through the cloud, students, teachers, parents, and other stakeholders are able to access the same document. Comments can be added. Changes can be monitored. Assignments can be distributed, accessed, and saved.

Collaboration is simple. The writing process can be supported by stage–pre-writing, drafting, revision, editing, and publishing are all entirely natural when both teachers and students are working with the same tools and files–often simultaneously.

So then, Google Drive. Like Microsoft Word, Google Docs is a word processing tool that offers templates, automatic updating, file sharing, and more. Google Drive is like Microsoft OneDrive–a storage locker in the sky for all of your digital stuff.

An analogy? Google Docs: Google Drive:: Microsoft Word:: Microsoft OneDrive.

We’ve shared content around Google Drive in the past (see related links if you scroll down below this post). What makes this video useful is its format (video), and teacher-focus (setting up classes, sharing and editing rights, etc.) Not every instance of Google Drive in a school is the same; some use personal Gmail accounts, some use Google apps, and so on.

Either way, this video should be useful for teachers trying to wrap their heads around the idea of using Google Docs in their classroom, no matter the content area.

A Tutorial For Google Drive In The Classroom