Create and Share a Document for Collaboration using Google Apps for
Education - JJobe April, 2013
Google Apps for Education includes an online word processor with a variety of unique features
that make it well suited for use in education.
1. Go to our specific Google Apps for Education setup at http://docs.norridge80.net
and login.
Note that the URL will automatically and rather quickly change to
http://www.google.com/a/norridge80.net/...... This is normal and to be expected. The actual
address to our setup is pretty long. docs.norridge80.net is much easier to remember. (Docs in this
case is short for documents.)
You can use Google Apps for Education from school, from home, or anywhere else that you can
get on the Internet. It is recommended to use the Google Chrome web browser instead of Internet
Explorer, Safari, Firefox, etc. when using Google Apps for Education if possbile.
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2. After logging in through http://docs.norridge80.net you will automatically land in
Google Drive.
The black bar at the top of the web page shows the major Google Apps for Education categories:
+You, Search, Images, Mail, Drive, Calendar, Sites, Groups, Contacts, and More. In this document
we will be focusing on the DRIVE category since that is where you will go to create and work on
word processing/text documents.
On the DRIVE web page you will see a listing of any files you currently have in your Google Drive
space. Stored files can be viewed as a list or as icons. They can be grouped into folders.
On the DRIVE web page you will also see a CREATE button and to the right of the CREATE button
you will see a small red button with a line and an up arrow on it. The small red button with the line
and up arrow is the upload button. You can upload and store files that you have created outside of
Google Apps for Education (GA4E) in your Google Drive space and even share them with others
from your Google Drive.
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3. Click Create.
GA4E includes the same type of tools we've learned to expect from using Microsoft Office. It
includes DOCUMENT (rather than Word), PRESENTATION (rather than PowerPoint),
SPREADSHEET (rather than Excel), FORM (for creating online forms/surveys/quizzes), and
DRAWING (rather than Paint). Let's get started by looking at the word processor; click the
CREATE button and then click the DOCUMENT option.
4. Begin working on your new word processing document.
To change the name of your document click the auto-title (in this case "Untitled document"), type in
the name you would like to use for the document, and click the OK button.
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When looking at your new word processing document you should notice that you have all the
basic tools that you are familiar with from Word: center, bold, italics, underline, font type choice,
font size, bullets, font color, etc..
Inserting an image is done by choosing IMAGE from the INSERT menu. When doing this you will
have a number of choices of where the image comes from including: a picture file that exists on
your computer, taking a snapshot from a built in web cam, or providing a URL (web address) that
points to a picture.
Go ahead and type something up.
5. Save your work.
Just kidding... Google saves your work for you as you work. Your file is automatically saved into
your Google drive space and updated as you make changes. There is even a feature that allows
you to revert back to previous saves if you'd like (find this at File: See Revision History).
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6. Share your document with others.
To share your document with others just click the big blue SHARE button in the right hand corner
of your word processing document to start sharing setup.
Under ADD PEOPLE type the @norridge80.net email addresses of people you would like to share
your document with. Note that there is an option to the right of ADD PEOPLE which allows you to
set whether the people you are sharing with CAN EDIT, CAN COMMENT, or CAN VIEW (view
only).
When you share a file with someone you can choose to notify them by email (checkbox is just
below the ADD PEOPLE box). The file will be visible in their Google Drive space and they will be
able to EDIT, COMMENT on, or VIEW the file immediately after you click the green SHARE &
SAVE button. Google Documents can be shared with up to 200 specific people or made public
(anyone can view public documents, no limit).
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Committees: teachers can share documents with other teachers
Classrooms: teachers can share files with students, students can work on files with other students,
students can turn in (share) homework to their teacher
7. Go back to work.
You don't need to have a document open or even be in GA4E for those you have shared a file with
to view, comment, or edit the files you have shared with them, but you can be. Multiple users can
edit a document at one time (up to 50 users at one time per document).
If you are working on a document and another user, with which you have shared a file, begins
working on it you will see their changes happen in real-time. A colored cursor with their GA4E
login name will move along at the point where they are working.
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Misc., but worth mentioning...
If you really need an offline copy of your Google Document just go to the FILE menu and choose
DOWNLOAD AS. You will have options to download your document as a Word file (.docx),
OpenDocument file (.odt), Rich Text Format file (.rtf), PDF document (.pdf), plain text file (.txt), or
web page (.html).
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