We have become a Google Apps for Education district. What this means is that everyone who has an account that allows them to log into the network now also has a Google Apps account. The specific information for logging in was sent to you via email (your @malonecsd.org address). If you have problems logging into your account, please let me know ([email protected]).
What follows is an overview of the major services accessible with your account, and a few ideas for how to use them. Here you'll find interactive resources to help you get started with Apps. The Google Help Center section dedicated to each service is also provided at the end of each overview below.
For more help, you can see the growing series of how-to videos.
Services
What follows is an overview of the major services accessible with your account, and a few ideas for how to use them. Here you'll find interactive resources to help you get started with Apps. The Google Help Center section dedicated to each service is also provided at the end of each overview below.
For more help, you can see the growing series of how-to videos.
Services
Drive
I will start with this one because I am confident that this is the service that will get the most use. To best explain why this is the case, let me tell you what Drive will do.
Storage & Organization
Users can upload any file to Drive and essentially use it as cloud storage. You can also make folders in Drive to group files. You then have the ability to download that file anywhere that you have internet access. Many people end up using this aspect of Drive to replace USB drives as a way to move files back and forth between school and home.
Students, in particular, may find this valuable for keeping their work organized and available. Ok, many of us could probably use that too.
Be aware that Google Apps for Education has a 30 GB storage limit for each user. That limit is shared across all of your services. To put it into perspective, though, I have been an avid Google user for the better part of a decade, and my own account currently has 2.39 GB stored. But I also don’t use Drive to permanently store many of the larger files that I might use it to transfer between work and home. When you are logged in, you can see the current amount of your storage you have used on the bottom of the Drive page.
File Creation
Drive can be used to create, edit, save and print word processing documents, presentations (think simplified PowerPoint), spreadsheets, forms for surveys or assessments, and drawings. It is true that the word processor, presentation creator and spreadsheets do not have all the bells and whistles that are found in the Microsoft Office suite which is installed on all district computers. However, there are a few things that should be pointed out.
First, All Microsoft Office documents can be uploaded into Drive and converted to Drive documents that you may then edit. The same is true in reverse; you can take a document from your Drive and download it to your computer as the corresponding Office file.
Second, the above process can be done as many times as you like. So you could start a Word document at school, upload it to Drive, work on it at home as a Drive document, go back to school and download it as a Word document, and so on. A word of caution: as I said, the Drive versions are simplified, so if you have an Office document with a lot of the bells and whistles, you will lose those if you convert to a Drive document.
Third, it’s free and doesn’t require the purchase of any software. We do have the Home Use Program available to staff so that you can purchase the Microsoft Office suite for use on a home computer for $9.95 (instead of $279.99), but not everyone wants to do that, which is understandable, and the same offer is not available to our students. All of these Google services are available for free on any internet-capable device, smartphones included.
Sharing & Collaboration
Any file that you have in Drive can be shared with any other user. This isn’t the same as emailing a file to someone else though. You aren’t giving them a static copy of a file. You are giving them access to a living document. Depending on how you choose to share the file, you can allow them just to view it. Their view of the document will change every time you change the document. In other words, you can continue to edit the document and they will see the most up-to-date version. I’m sure if you stop and think about it, you can start to see some possibilities right there. For instance, let’s say you need to turn plans in on a weekly basis. Instead of turning in, or emailing, a separate document each week, you could just share a Drive document and add to it each week.
But that’s not where the real power of sharing is. The real power is in the collaboration that it makes possible. When you share a file, you can choose to allow the other user to become an editor of the file. Collaborators can make changes to the files themselves (it keeps a log of who made which changes), or can add notes that appear to the side of the document. Some possible uses include: grading and feedback on student work by a teacher or teachers, peer review and feedback, group creation of a final product, or sharing and discussion of exemplars. There are districts that have gone to almost completely paperless classrooms by having all work between teachers and students shared within Drive.
Google Drive Help Center - includes introductory videos, guides and troubleshooting
Drive and Docs: Basics - a short video overview of how to use Drive for storage, the types of files that can be created, and the benefits of sharing and collaboration
"Making the Most of Google Docs" - from Catlin Tucker's excellent blog on technology integration and blended learning
I will start with this one because I am confident that this is the service that will get the most use. To best explain why this is the case, let me tell you what Drive will do.
Storage & Organization
Users can upload any file to Drive and essentially use it as cloud storage. You can also make folders in Drive to group files. You then have the ability to download that file anywhere that you have internet access. Many people end up using this aspect of Drive to replace USB drives as a way to move files back and forth between school and home.
Students, in particular, may find this valuable for keeping their work organized and available. Ok, many of us could probably use that too.
Be aware that Google Apps for Education has a 30 GB storage limit for each user. That limit is shared across all of your services. To put it into perspective, though, I have been an avid Google user for the better part of a decade, and my own account currently has 2.39 GB stored. But I also don’t use Drive to permanently store many of the larger files that I might use it to transfer between work and home. When you are logged in, you can see the current amount of your storage you have used on the bottom of the Drive page.
File Creation
Drive can be used to create, edit, save and print word processing documents, presentations (think simplified PowerPoint), spreadsheets, forms for surveys or assessments, and drawings. It is true that the word processor, presentation creator and spreadsheets do not have all the bells and whistles that are found in the Microsoft Office suite which is installed on all district computers. However, there are a few things that should be pointed out.
First, All Microsoft Office documents can be uploaded into Drive and converted to Drive documents that you may then edit. The same is true in reverse; you can take a document from your Drive and download it to your computer as the corresponding Office file.
Second, the above process can be done as many times as you like. So you could start a Word document at school, upload it to Drive, work on it at home as a Drive document, go back to school and download it as a Word document, and so on. A word of caution: as I said, the Drive versions are simplified, so if you have an Office document with a lot of the bells and whistles, you will lose those if you convert to a Drive document.
Third, it’s free and doesn’t require the purchase of any software. We do have the Home Use Program available to staff so that you can purchase the Microsoft Office suite for use on a home computer for $9.95 (instead of $279.99), but not everyone wants to do that, which is understandable, and the same offer is not available to our students. All of these Google services are available for free on any internet-capable device, smartphones included.
Sharing & Collaboration
Any file that you have in Drive can be shared with any other user. This isn’t the same as emailing a file to someone else though. You aren’t giving them a static copy of a file. You are giving them access to a living document. Depending on how you choose to share the file, you can allow them just to view it. Their view of the document will change every time you change the document. In other words, you can continue to edit the document and they will see the most up-to-date version. I’m sure if you stop and think about it, you can start to see some possibilities right there. For instance, let’s say you need to turn plans in on a weekly basis. Instead of turning in, or emailing, a separate document each week, you could just share a Drive document and add to it each week.
But that’s not where the real power of sharing is. The real power is in the collaboration that it makes possible. When you share a file, you can choose to allow the other user to become an editor of the file. Collaborators can make changes to the files themselves (it keeps a log of who made which changes), or can add notes that appear to the side of the document. Some possible uses include: grading and feedback on student work by a teacher or teachers, peer review and feedback, group creation of a final product, or sharing and discussion of exemplars. There are districts that have gone to almost completely paperless classrooms by having all work between teachers and students shared within Drive.
Google Drive Help Center - includes introductory videos, guides and troubleshooting
Drive and Docs: Basics - a short video overview of how to use Drive for storage, the types of files that can be created, and the benefits of sharing and collaboration
"Making the Most of Google Docs" - from Catlin Tucker's excellent blog on technology integration and blended learning
Calendar
Yes, it’s an online calendar. There are a few advantages, though, over just your ordinary organizer.
Sharing & Collaboration
The things I said above about Drive are true for Calendar too. You can share calendars (you can have as many as you want) with other users. As with Drive, they can, depending on what shared settings you choose, either just view the calendar along with their own, or have the ability to add and edit events on it.
Embedding
If you have your own website, you can easily embed your calendars on a page, giving anyone, not just Google users, the ability to view them. An example of this can be seen on our district’s homepage. For teachers, a common use for this is to give students and parents a way to see what was done in class and what the homework is on any given day.
Google Calendar Help -
Yes, it’s an online calendar. There are a few advantages, though, over just your ordinary organizer.
Sharing & Collaboration
The things I said above about Drive are true for Calendar too. You can share calendars (you can have as many as you want) with other users. As with Drive, they can, depending on what shared settings you choose, either just view the calendar along with their own, or have the ability to add and edit events on it.
Embedding
If you have your own website, you can easily embed your calendars on a page, giving anyone, not just Google users, the ability to view them. An example of this can be seen on our district’s homepage. For teachers, a common use for this is to give students and parents a way to see what was done in class and what the homework is on any given day.
Google Calendar Help -
Sites
This service gives you the ability to create websites very quickly and easily.
Classroom Sites
As many of you know, I personally prefer to use education.weebly.com for creating and hosting free sites, but that isn’t to say that Sites isn’t a perfectly serviceable alternative. Some of you may prefer to have as much of the digital side of your work under the same umbrella, which is understandable.
Sharing & Collaboration
As with Drive and Calendar, Sites can be shared with other users. So, one possible use would be as a tool for students to collaboratively present information; pairs or groups of students could work together to create a website on a topic.
Google Sites Help -
This service gives you the ability to create websites very quickly and easily.
Classroom Sites
As many of you know, I personally prefer to use education.weebly.com for creating and hosting free sites, but that isn’t to say that Sites isn’t a perfectly serviceable alternative. Some of you may prefer to have as much of the digital side of your work under the same umbrella, which is understandable.
Sharing & Collaboration
As with Drive and Calendar, Sites can be shared with other users. So, one possible use would be as a tool for students to collaboratively present information; pairs or groups of students could work together to create a website on a topic.
Google Sites Help -
Gmail
At this time, Gmail will not be enabled on student accounts. This is not to say that the door is closed on its use down the road, but that will require some discussion and planning at the district level. Gmail usage is not required, however, for any of the other services. Users can still share and collaborate with one another, it just means that email notifications won’t be sent when items are shared.
Staff will have Gmail enabled on their accounts. A primary consideration for this, as I have said, is that if you choose to use it, Gmail can notify you when something has been shared with you, or when a file, calendar, or site you’re collaborating on has been modified. There is no requirement for you to use this service if you choose not to.
Google Gmail Help -
At this time, Gmail will not be enabled on student accounts. This is not to say that the door is closed on its use down the road, but that will require some discussion and planning at the district level. Gmail usage is not required, however, for any of the other services. Users can still share and collaborate with one another, it just means that email notifications won’t be sent when items are shared.
Staff will have Gmail enabled on their accounts. A primary consideration for this, as I have said, is that if you choose to use it, Gmail can notify you when something has been shared with you, or when a file, calendar, or site you’re collaborating on has been modified. There is no requirement for you to use this service if you choose not to.
Google Gmail Help -
Classroom
This is a new service, having just come online August 14, so I don’t have much in the way of personal experience to share right now. What I can tell you is that if you’re familiar with online learning management systems like Edmodo or Schoology, then you’re familiar with what Classroom will do.
If you haven’t used something like this before, what Classroom will let you do is organize your students into classes and then provide you with a place to provide information and make announcements, distribute assignments, grade and comment on student work. It’s designed to smoothly integrate the various other Google services discussed above, especially Drive. Assignments are automatically organized in folders for teachers and students alike.
As we get into the school year, if there is a need, we can certainly organize some workshops and other training opportunities on its implementation.
Google Classroom Help -
Classroom 101 - a short (2 minutes +) video showing the basics of Clasrrom
This is a new service, having just come online August 14, so I don’t have much in the way of personal experience to share right now. What I can tell you is that if you’re familiar with online learning management systems like Edmodo or Schoology, then you’re familiar with what Classroom will do.
If you haven’t used something like this before, what Classroom will let you do is organize your students into classes and then provide you with a place to provide information and make announcements, distribute assignments, grade and comment on student work. It’s designed to smoothly integrate the various other Google services discussed above, especially Drive. Assignments are automatically organized in folders for teachers and students alike.
As we get into the school year, if there is a need, we can certainly organize some workshops and other training opportunities on its implementation.
Google Classroom Help -
Classroom 101 - a short (2 minutes +) video showing the basics of Clasrrom