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Let Students Drive How We Use Technology, Not IT Directors

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Let Students Drive How We Use Technology, Not IT Directors

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Let Students Drive How We Use Technology, Not IT Directors

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Help Determine our Tech Training Workshops

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Help Determine our Tech Training Workshops

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Want to get more out of Google apps at work or school?

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Google Docs Training | Teacher Center | Google for Education

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With Google Docs more popular than ever in education, I thought I should share some of my favorite tips.

I have 10 Google Docs Tips Every Teacher Should Know

Over the years, I have shared a lot of Google tips.

In this post, I'm pulling together ten posts with Google skills that every teacher should know.

From learning the basics, how to make a copy of files that have been shared online, creating template links, using voice typing, citing sources, inserting GIFs, editing images, using Docs offlines, and much more!
Listen to this article:
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1. File>Make a Copy

How to Make a Copy of Google Files IS A MUST-HAVE GOOGLE SKILL!

How to Make a Copy of Google Files

STEP 1: Open the file (Google Doc, Slide, Drawing, or Sheet) in your browser (Chrome is recommended).

STEP 2: Go to the FILE menu and select MAKE A COPY.

STEP 3: A small pop up will prompt you to name your new copy and give you the option to organize it in one of your Google Drive folders. Click on the folder to select a different folder or create a new folder.

Note: If you are copying your own document, you will also see two checkboxes. (1) Share it with the same people, which will automatically share the new copy with the same people, and (2) Copy comments, which will automatically copy all of the comments from the original document to the new file.

2. Force a Copy

Here's an easy way to force users to make a copy of Google Docs, Sheets, Slides or Drawings!

By hacking the URL you can prompt users to make a copy!

Have you ever shared a file with a student or colleague and instructed them to go to file>make a copy, and instead, they start typing on the document like it's their own?

There are lots of ways to make a copy and distribute to students, like using Google Classroom or Doctopus, but this little trick is super simple!

Since Google Classroom solves this issue with students, this is mostly a trick that comes in handy when sharing with adults or on your website or blog.

How to Force a Copy of a Google Doc, Slide, Sheet, or Drawing

Here's how it works!

STEP 1

Be sure you have shared your document either as "anyone with the link," or "public." This has to be enabled before you can use the force a copy trick.

You could share it individually with the person, but that usually prompts a notification and they will see it in Drive and could still ignore your instructions.

(Do you need help with learning about sharing? Get my FREE Guide to Google Drive Sharing!)

STEP 2

STEP 3

Open the doc, slide deck, sheet, or drawing you want to use.

Click in the search box and look at the end of the link.

Replace the word EDIT with the word COPY in the link.

Click return/enter.

Copy and paste this new copy link wherever you need-in an email, on your website, presentation, newsletter, etc.

Don't forget STEP 1! If you haven't made it shareable the link will not work!

When the user clicks on the copy link, they will be prompted to make a copy of the file.

Once they click the "Make a Copy," button, it will make a copy of the file and add it to their Google Drive. AWESOME!

See this blog post for more tips on Forcing a Copy of Google files.

3. Template Links

Yes! This G Suite trick will let you change some words in the URL of your file and magically create a template link!

This is a game-changer, y'all! Templates make life easier, especially as a teacher. I make copies of interesting G Suite files and templates all the time. Sharing is caring!

To change a Doc, Sheet, Slide, or Drawing to a template link, replace the word, "edit," with the words, "template/preview." Hit enter/return, and you will see a preview window with the magical, "Use Template," button.

**Keep in mind that sharing rules still apply, so it still has to be at least viewable to whoever is "using the template." To learn more about all the sharing options in G Suite, check out my Guide to Google Drive Sharing.

How to Create a Template Link

The Magical "Use Template" Button

Once you click the "Use Template," button, the file is added to your drive and named exactly as the template. Oh, and it doesn't have that annoying, "Copy of ..." wording!

*NOTE: This option doesn't work well on mobile devices. I would only recommend this for desktop/laptop.

4. Voice Typing

One tiny little feature that packs an amazing punch is Voice Typing in Google Docs. This is a speech-to-text feature that is built-in to the most popular word processor in the world, and it is available to you and your students if you have a microphone in your devices.

You can dictate all kinds of words, lists, and writing into Google Docs. You can also dictate formatting, punctuation, and editing. But wait...there's more! YOU CAN DICTATE IN OTHER LANGUAGES!!!!! WHOA!!!!
See this blog post for more template link ideas!
How to Enable Voice Typing in Google Docs (desktop version)

To use voice typing or voice commands, your computer microphone needs to be on and working.
Step 1: Turn on Your Microphone Step 2: Start voice typing in a document
See this blog post for 7 Reasons You Need to Try Voice Typing in Google Docs.

1. Check that your microphone works.

2. Open a document in Google Docs with a Chrome browser.

3. Click Tools Voice typing. A microphone box appears.

4. When you're ready to speak, click the microphone.

5. Speak clearly, at a normal volume and pace (see below for more information on using punctuation).

6. When you're done, click the microphone again.

Did you know you can EASILY cite sources without ever leaving Google Docs? Yep! It's so easy!

Insert Footnote Citation in Google Docs

You can easily add footnote citations by using the Explore tool in Google Docs. Even those footnote citations do not meet every need; it is so nice to have this built-in to Google Docs. This is light years above what I could get my sixth graders to do when it came to citing sources.

1. Go to Tools>Explore (or click on the explore icon 0n the bottom-right)

2. Type in your search query to find the source

3. Hover over the result, then click on the quotations in the top right of the result

4. A footnote citation will be added to the bottom of your doc

But Wait...There's More! Change the Citation Format:

Yes! You can cite the source in MLA, APA or Chicago!!!!!

Go to the three dots (snowman) to change from MLA, APA, or Chicago.

Yep! It's THAT EASY! Students today will never have to do citation the hard way some of us did. They won't count spaces; they won't have to suffer with citations the way some of us did.

I have a Google Doc with these directions that you can copy and share. CLICK HERE to make a copy of the directions.

See the full blog post for more citation tips.

In case you haven't noticed, animated GIFs, those moving pictures that are almost like videos, are ruling the world. It's not enough anymore to just have a cool image in your presentation; you need to engage them with a little animation. Better yet, GIFs offer an excellent way to show step sets to help teachers and students learn new skills!

Find a GIF

You can use the advanced search filter in Google images to find GIFs. Watch the animation below for an example.

Copy the Image Address of the GIF

Locate the URL (or Image Address as it's called in Chrome) of the GIF you wish to use. Simply right-click to copy the image address as shown in the animation below. (Note: this will vary in other browsers, but you should be using Chrome anyway!)

Insert By URL in Docs, Slides, Sheets, Drawings, etc.

The only way to get the animation to work is to insert by URL.

1. Go to images.google.com and enter your search terms

2. Click on the "search tools" button

3. Under type, select "animated"

So take the time to spice up your presentations, documents and more with animated GIFs. It's a great way to engage students (and adults). Your animations can be for humor and other emotional responses, or they can be to show how-to complete tasks as I did above.

Learn more about how to insert gifs in Google Docs and Slides here.

Did you know you can edit images inside Google Docs and Slides?

In just a few clicks, you and your students can add some pizazz to your images in Google Docs and Google Slides!

Resizing Images

1. Do

1. Inside your document/slide, go to the Insert menu.

2. Select Image

3. Select By URL

4. Copy and paste the image address you copied above.

5. Click Select to insert the image.

6. Voila!

(Image with 4pt orange border)

You can reshape your images in Google Slides for

added effect.

1. Select the image

Image Options (Google Docs)

When you click on an image in Google Docs, you will see "image options," in the toolbar. Clicking on "image options," will open a sidebar menu where you can recolor your image (think Andy Warhol), and also adjust the transparency, brightness, and contrast of your image inside Google Docs, giving you some finer controls over the image.

Format Options (Google Slides)

When you click on an image in Google Slides, you will see "format options," in the toolbar. Clicking on "format options" will open a sidebar menu where you can fine tune many different things on your image.

The Google Docs Explore tool brings you quick access to your Drive files, web search, images, recommendations and more.

Explore is available in Docs, Sheets, and Slides and it uses machine learning to try to predict the things you need as you compose and create.

Please note, while this post is focused on the desktop/web version of Google Docs, the Explore tool is also available on mobile. ( Android directions| iOS directions)

What is the Google Docs Explore Tool?

The Google Docs Explore tool uses machine learning to suggest topics, images, and files from your Google Drive to help you create and compose.

You can also search the web, your Drive files, Google Images, and even cite sources using this fantastic tool.

There are two ways to access the Explore tool, (1) Go to Tools>Explore, or (2) Click on the Explore icon on the bottom right of your page.

A new sidebar panel will open giving you access to many different features as shown in the animation below.

Click here to learn 5 Ways to Use the Google Docs Explore Tool.

This is the best of both worlds!
Learn even more image editing options in this post.
If you are using Google Drive to store your files, you may find yourself with some Microsoft files that you would like to edit without having to download and open in their native applications.

How to Edit Microsoft Office Files in Google Drive

To be clear, this post is about editing native Office files in Google apps without converting. Please remember that formatting will get wonky! But it is nice to have this ability when you need it.

Files Supported

I wish I could say that all Microsoft files could be edited from Google Drive, but there are only three, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

The following Office file types are supported:

Note: If you edit Word, Excel, or PowerPoint documents older than Office 2007, files will be saved to a newer format when editing using Office editing.

Learn more about using this feature on this page.

Sometimes we need to work on our Google Drive files when we don't have an Internet connection. So I'm going to show you how to access files in Google Drive using the Google Docs offline extension.

This comes in handy when you are traveling.

It is also a great tool for students and teachers with limited or no Internet access at home.

This process varies by device.

This is NOT the same as backup and sync, which stores ALL your files on your local hard drive. This method shows you how to select individual files that you would like to make available for offline access.

If you aren't connected to the Internet, you can still view and edit files, including:

Save and open Google Docs, Sheets & Slides offline

Open Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides offline

Save Google Docs, Sheets & Slides for offline use

Word files: .doc, .docx, .dot

Excel files: .xls, .xlsx, .xlsm (macro enabled Excel files), .xlt

Powerpoint files: .ppt, .pptx, .pps, .pot

To save multiple files offline, press Shift or Command (Mac)/ Ctrl (Windows) while you click other files.

Preview offline files

© Shake Up Learning 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kasey Bell and Shake Up Learning with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on ShakeUpLearning.com. See: Copyright Policy.

1. Open Chrome. Make sure you're signed in to Chrome.

2. Go to drive.google.com/drive/settings.

3. Check the box next to "Sync Google Docs, Sheets, Slides & Drawings files to this computer so that you can edit offline."

1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.

2. Right-click the Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides file you want to save offline.

3. Turn on "Available offline."

1. On your computer, go to drive.google.com.
Make sure you turn on offline access first.

2. At the top right, click Ready for offline .

3. Click Offline preview.

Learn more about offline access, and how it works on mobile devices in this post.

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10 Google Docs Tips Every Teacher Should Know

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Over the years, I have cultivated a laundry list of tips and ideas for using Google Docs in the classroom. In this episode, I will share with you 10 Google Docs Tips Every Teacher Should Know. We will cover basic skills, as well as, some tips to help you become a power user.

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updated article from 2018

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5 Simple Ways To Use Google Docs In The Classroom

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5 Simple Ways To Use Google Docs In The Classroom

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How to Use Google Slides for Lesson Plans

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Google Forms Training | Teacher Center | Google for Education

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How I Make My Google Slides for Teaching | Top Requested Video!

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Google Classroom: How to Create a Classroom

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This is a basic overview of the tools which make up the Google Suite.

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Word processing is the process of creating or editing a document using a word processor. It enables you to write text, store it electronically, display it on a screen, modify it, and print or share it. To make life easier, this application also has many templates that can be used to create content for your classroom. For these reasons, word processing is the most common computer application.

Google Docs

"Google" Document by Erickson Duverge from the Noun Project

Google Docs is a free web-based application for word processing. Files can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection and a full-featured Web browser. A mobile version is also available. When working offline, Docs can be converted and downloaded to one of these file types: .docx (Word), .odt, .rtf , .pdf, .txt, .epub and html zipped.

To learn more, visit Google Docs training and help .

Spreadsheets

A spreadsheet is a computer application that allows for the organization, analysis, and storage of data in a tabular format. They were originally developed to replace analog accounting worksheets, but today the rows and columns of data can be sorted, arranged, and used to make calculations.

Google Sheets

"Google" spreadsheet by Erickson Duverge from the Noun Project

Google Sheets is a free web-based application for creating spreadsheets. Files can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection and a full-featured Web browser. A mobile version is also available. When working offline, Sheets can be converted and downloaded to one of these file types: .xlsx (Excel), .ods, .pdf, html zipped, .csv (comma separated values), and .tsv

To learn more, visit Google Sheets training and help .

Slide Decks

A slide deck is a collection of slides (single page presentations). This collection serves as a presentation tool that is often projected onto a screen for an audience to view and follow along.

Google Slides

"Google" slide show by Chameleon Design from the Noun Project

Google Slides is a free web-based application for creating presentations. Files can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection and a full-featured Web browser. A mobile version is also available. When working offline, Slides can be converted and downloaded to one of these file types: .pptx (PowerPoint), .odsp, .pdf, and .txt. Also, individual slides can be converted to image files with these extensions: .jpeg, .png, .svg.

To learn more, visit Google Slides training and help .

Survey/Poll - what is it? A survey or poll allows for the collecting of data and information from or about people to describe, compare, or explain knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. Some survey tools can also serve as a platform for assessment with automatic grading.

Google Forms

"Google" forms by Jemis Mali from the Noun Project

Google Forms can serve two purposes. They allow for the creation of a survey, quiz, or poll and the analysis of the results. In other words, once the survey is administered, the results are viewable online or they can be exported to a Google Sheet where the data can be aggregated.

To learn more, visit Google Forms training and help .

Blended Learning Platform

Google Classroom: This is an organizational system for teachers utilizing Google apps. It allows teachers to assign and receive work from students. For more information, visit Getting Started with Google Classroom

Web Browser

In order to facilitate seamless connections between Google apps, most people utilize Chrome as their web browser. For more information, visit Getting Started with Google Chrome .

Other Google Suites Tools Commonly Used in the Classroom

Click on the titles to learn more

Additional Google Drive Features

Here are some special features in Google Drive:

History of changes: When a Google document is edited the document is automatically saved and stored, and a history of the changes is kept.

Collaborators: An on-screen chat window shows who else is online viewing the documents. You can collaborate in Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, and more!
Collaborating in Google Drive Video

Speech to Text: Using the Chrome browser open a Google doc and go to the Tools menu. Select Voice Typing. Click on the microphone icon that appears in your document, it will turn red showing it is recording. Begin speaking and watch as it types what you say.

When you need a period say "period."

When you need a new line, say "new line."

When you are done click the microphone icon to turn it off

Citations for your research: When you are working in a Google document (using Chrome, Firefox, or Safari browsers) and want to get some resources, go to the Tools menu and select Research. This opens a side window where you can search for any topic, access a dictionary, images, and much more. You will also find a citation format where you can select MLA, APA, or Chicago.
Google Workflows Worksheet Resource
Files in Folders: Similar to Dropbox, you can create folders to keep your documents orderly. To move a document to a folder, you can drag and drop it in the appropriate place.

Save formats: Google Drive also lets you save in a variety of formats, including DOC, XLS, CSV, ODS, ODT, PDF, RTF, and HTML. In addition, you can also import files from Microsoft Office or other applications for collaboration.

Google Drive is also available as an app for multiple platforms.

Helpful tutorials: Here is the link to Google tutorials. If you like step-by-step help to get started, the basics from LearnFree.org are a great place for you to get your Drive going! Google Forms Tutorial

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Word processing is the process of creating or editing a document using a word processor. It enables you to write text, store it electronically, display it on a screen, modify it, and print or share it. To make life easier, this application also has many templates that can be used to create content for your classroom.

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How to Make a Student Survey with Google Forms

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Managing a Classroom full of Chromebooks (practical tips for teachers)

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How to Create a Quiz in Google Forms (2020 Tutorial)

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How to Use Google Classroom 2020 - Tutorial for Beginners

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How to Use Google Classroom 2020 - Tutorial for Beginners

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How to Use Google Classroom - Tutorial for Beginners

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Links to helpful tips to get you started.

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Must-Have Google Slides Add-Ons for Teachers

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Next Steps

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4 Benefits of Tracking Chromebooks in Schools

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Reading Time: 3 minutes As asset management experts, we have helped several schools manage their Chromebooks . Therefore, our goal is to help educate schools on the importance of Chromebook management, its benefits to the schools and how to properly manage them.