Google Docs for researchers (from EducatorsTechnology.com)

Google Docs help on EducatorsTechnology.com:

The website Education Technology and Mobile Learning has an entire page devoted to using Google Drive in the classroom.

The page previewed above is one of the most useful. It shows how to use Google Docs' built in spell checker and word counter. It also goes into more detail about how to use the "research" sidebar and how to put citations into a paper with just a single click and without ever leaving the document you are working in.

Click on the links above, or click here ,for more in-depth information.

Updates and Further Tips for Google Drive

In the past year there have been a few changes to Google Drive/Docs but the basic site has stayed the same. One of the best changes is the integration of Google search directly into Google docs.  Now students can highlight any word in the document they're working with, right click, and select "research."  A small Google search box opens on the right side of the screen but still within the document itself.

It's then possible to do additional searches using the search bar within that box.

Google Drive/Docs lends itself very well to informal writing and to reducing the paper piles.  Having students submit rough drafts on Google Drive and reading them on Drive (there are apps for iPad and Android) can remove that pressure that a lot of teachers feel to put marks on everything.  One feature that works well for this is the comment option.  Click past the jump to read more:

Making a Form

Making a Google Form:

Google Forms are tools that allow teachers (or students) to create questions that, when answered, are tabulated into answers on a spreadsheet.  There is some complexity involved in creating questions of different types, but once you figure it out, it can be a handy way to assess students.

Below is a simple form that I made up for my American Literature class. There are many background themes that you can apply to the form. Google added some new themes recently that are a big improvement:

The results are first put into a spreadsheet in Google Docs that looks very similar to an Excel spreadsheet.

There is also a summary view that generates tables and statistics of the results.  An example of the summary view is below:

To look at the spreadsheet view for the data above, click on this link.  Once that form opens, clicking on "form" then "show summary of responses" will show you the images above in full.

Clicking on "form" and "go to live form" will take you to what the teachers who responded to the form saw as they were filling it out.

To create a form of your own, return to the "Documents" home screen, click on "Create" and then "Form."  From there it gets somewhat too complex to spell out in blog format.  For further information, check out Google's help documents on creating forms located here.

What is Google Drive?

Google Drive

You may have noticed that Google Docs is now called "Google Drive." For the most part, this change is just a re-branding of what Google Docs has already been able to do.  As stated in previous posts, it's been possible to upload all different types of files to Google Docs for quite awhile.  "Google Drive" is mainly just Google deciding to make it official.  They will be rolling out the change in three phases.  By the end of the third phase, everyone's "Documents" choice in Google Apps will change to the name "Drive."

The web interface will change slightly, but for the most part the experience will be the same.  

There is another aspect to "Drive" that would require a significant amount of changes if it were to be applied within the district.  "Drive" has a downloadable desktop app that functions as a local repository for documents and files stored on Google Apps.  Installing this app would require administrative privileges, which is why it would require a larger conversation about whether it should be implemented or not. There are also apps for iOS and Android smart phones.

The "Drive" desktop app allows users to setup offline access, so that they can edit Google Documents without an Internet connection.  Then, when the computer has access again, the "Drive" app syncs the files edited on the local computer with the files stored in the Google Apps cloud.  

Tip #9--Ideas for Student Use

How students can put Google Docs to use:

• Divide up work:  Students can work side-by-side on the same document, splitting up the work load
• Always have their files:  Instead of emailing files to themselves, students can upload their non-Google files to Docs and then download them at school.
• Record research:  Instead of using index cards to record research for papers or projects, students can create a Google document and share it with their teacher
• Share research:  Students can easily take notes and then share them with other students of their choosing (of course, this could also make plagiarism easier as well)
• Make presentations:  Google recently update their Presentation maker to include things like embedding video files and creating animations.
• Draw:  Use Google Drawings to collaborate on and create charts, diagrams, logos, etc.
• Meet up virtually:  Students can be assigned group work at home (provided they have computers and Internet) and they can "meet" on the web instead of having to physically get together.

One thing that is certain is that those students who are comfortable with technology will always come up with new and unique "tweaks" to use these emerging technologies.

Tip #5--How to upload and download files

To upload files to Google Docs, as we discussed in Tip #4, you need only open Docs and click on the red upload button:

Using Google Chrome, it is possible to upload entire folders to Docs, but we will focus on sending just files for now.  The process is the same for folders.  Clicking on "Files" opens up the box below:

Note that the two boxes marked "convert" are unchecked.  This means your file will upload in the original format.  If you check the first box, Google Docs will convert your document to their proprietary format.  If you check the second box, Google Docs will convert a PDF file into Google Docs format.   Click "Start upload" and a box will pop up in the bottom right corner displaying your upload status.  Once it's done, your files have been uploaded to Google Docs and can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection:

Downloading files is just a matter of checking the box next to the file and selecting "more" and then "Download."  Once there, a pop up will appear giving you choices about what type of file you wish to download.

 

** Side note:  If you uploaded a PDF file (perhaps one that you have scanned to file) to Docs and converted it, you can now download the file as a Word document that can be modified.

Tip #2--Document Collaboration

Chatting inside documents

When a shared document is opened by another Google Apps user, a notification appears in the top right of the screen and a different colored cursor shows within the text.  You can then view the changes that person is making as they make them.

By clicking on the notification at the top right of the screen, you can begin chatting with the other editor.  Multiple users can edit a document and chat about it at the same time.