The dreaded "You need permission" in Google docs

We've all had the experience when someone sends you the link to a document, you click to open it, and...

(cue sad trombone music)
If you're a teacher whose students send you links to Google documents, you can avoid this problem by setting up shared folders.  I posted last fall about how shared folders work.  Once the folder is shared, any document created in that folder (or added to the folder), is automatically shared in the same way.

There are several ways to accomplish this:

1. Have students create the folders manually and share them with you.  
2. Create the folders yourself and share with each student.
3. Use a tool like GClassFolders (I used this with class today and it went great) or Doctopus.

The advantage of method #3 is that the folders are all created with a uniform naming convention and placed in a larger folder for ease of access.  The teacher is the owner of each folder, with each student being an editor of the appropriate folder. 

I'd be happy to help you set this up.  It only takes a few minutes!

Using Shared Folders in Google Drive

How can I create a folder that all students in my class can access (and contribute to)?

(note-- after writing this post, it dawned on me that I had already written a very similar post back in October! I'm posting this one, anyway, as it has more detailed step-by-step, but here's a link to the older post-- which includes a screencast and a link to GClassFolders, a more sophisticated tool for creating shared folders in Drive).

This is easy to do in Google Drive.  Once you create and share the folder, any files added to the folder are shared, as well.

To do this:

1. Go to Google Drive, click Create... Folder

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2. Name it

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3. Once the folder is created, find it in My Drive, click on it, and click the Share icon (the person with the + sign).

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4. In the screen that pops up, you have two options:

• If you want the folder to be visible to your students, you can change Private to Anyone with the link.  Then just provide the link to your students (for example, on your Moodle page).
• If you want to invite only your students and/or allow students to add files to the folder, paste in their e-mail addresses where it says Invite people.  

• You can tell which folders are shared by the person inside the folder icon.

Sharing video from your phone or tablet

Have you ever used your phone or table to record video, then gotten stuck sharing it?

Frustrated with trying to email video to yourself, only to have it broken up into small clips?  

There’s a better way!

Use Google Drive.

Uploading:

1. Download the (free) Google Drive app. (iOS , Android)
2. To sign into Drive with your school Google account, see IT to set your password (if you haven’t already).  You can also use a personal Google account.
3. In the Drive app, click the + sign to upload.
4. Choose the video from your Camera Roll.

Sharing:

You can share right from the app, but only with specific people (to do this, click on the grey “i” icon, then Sharing).  

If you want to share with “anyone with the link” (which is how I prefer to do it), just hop on a computer, log into Google Drive and do it from there.

Remember-- you can store and share any kind of file in Google Drive.  One nice thing about putting video there is that it plays right in the browser (just like YouTube).

Questions?  See Charlie in 127 or cmacfadyen@cvuhs.org

Shared folders in Google Drive

Here's a tip that can save you a lot of clicks!  If you create a folder in Google Drive and change the sharing/visibility of that folder, any document that you put in that folder will inherit those properties.  This can be very useful in the classroom setting.  Say, for example, that your students are working in groups on a project.  You can create a folder for that group that is shared with all group members.  When anyone in the group adds to the folder, the document will be automatically shared will all other group members.  Some teachers have gone the route of creating and sharing individual folders for each of their students-- essentially creating a "drop box."  This process has even been automated by a tool called GCLassFolders that was developed by a Vermont educator.

Here's the process:

1. In Google Drive, click "Create," then "Folder."
2. Name the Folder.
3. Hover over the folder name and click the pull-down arrow to the right.
4. Choose "Share."
5. Share just as you would any Google Doc-- with specific individuals or an entire group.
6. Now if you move an existing document, presentation, etc. to that folder (or create a new one within the folder), it will be shared with the same people.

And here is a screencast of the process:

Let me know if I can help you get started with this!