Google Drive, Google Forms & Google Drawing: Take 2

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Back in January, I started exploring Google Drive a bit, but leave it to Google to always keep us guessing as they constantly develop new features -- it's almost impossible to learn it all. While there are so many cool things you can do with Drive, I want to share three new features I discovered this week that you may also find useful:

1. Google Drive Offline: To use this feature you have to use the Google Chrome browser (which I discovered while I tried to enable it on Safari). Using Chrome, if you go to your Drive Settings by clicking the gear icon, you'll find an Offline option under the General tab. By enabling this feature, your are able to access your Docs, Slides, Sheets and Drawings to edit or create anytime you don't have good WiFi access. Whether you're sitting in an airport or want to work on your back patio, this trick helps you stay connected even when your computer isn't.

2. Lucidchart: This week I also learned that, much like Chrome extensions, there are apps and add-ons for Google Drive, like this one -- Lucidchart. Lucidchart is an add-on that can be installed to help users create a variety of diagrams, charts, maps and graphic organizers. The coolest part about this add-on is that it allows for real-time collaboration, even among users long distance from one another.

3. Drive Search: The last feature I want to mention is the Google Drive search bar. You'll notice at the top of Drive that there's a space to search, just like you'd see on most websites. However, the cool thing about this search is that Drive is able to pick up on words in pictures and pdf's in addition to actual documents. This feature can be seen firsthand in this video around the 3 minute mark.


Also this week I did some additional exploring with Google Forms and Google Drawing, both found in Google Docs. In the past, I've used Google Forms to create survey-type questionnaires, but this week I learned how to change it to more of an assessment tool with instant grade results for multiple choice questions. Click here for an example of a short quiz I made about the book The Giving Tree. To turn on the grading option, you need to click on the Settings gear inside of Forms, then choose the Quizzes tab and slide the marker next to Make this a quiz. Then as you create your questions in Forms, you'll be asked to create an Answer Key with the correct answers for immediate student feedback.

As for Drawing, I previously had used this program to draw a picture, much like drawing on paper, but this week I used it to create an organizer that could be printed and used with students. Drawing has a lot of capabilities for creating diagrams and shapes, much like Lucidchart, but in a more basic way. The good thing about staying within the Google program is that the file is easily shared with others or quick to input into other Google formats.



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About Me

My name is Megan, I live in Overland Park, KS, and I'm a Head Start early childhood teacher. I love music, art, and I'm a little bit stuck in the 90's. This is a blog about useful Google features & technology tools that can be applied to any classroom setting. Teach on!

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