Google Apps for Group Projects

Online Faculty Development Course

 Google Drive allows students to work together in or on the same document, slidedeck, spreadsheet, or website project at the same time.  "Same" means a single file as it exists on the web, not copies that would later need to be combined or reconciled.  This is much more efficient than having students work in separate .docx or .pptx files, to later have to combine their work to hand it in.  Previously, we identified group project as a key element that extends social presence in online coursework.  For this, Google is second-to-none.  

This works because files in Google Drive, unlike files on your hard drive, are "hosted" on the internet.  "Hosting" means putting files on some computer or "server" somewhere, that people across the internet can access.  This Google Site is hosted on (probably multiple) servers scattered throughout Google's vast dominions.  By contrast, other data is hosted in servers owned and operated by Canisius College.  

(When you see advertisements for "web hosting," that's what this means: you can rent space on the web to build and run a website, for example.  Institutions like Canisius College run their own web spaces, and rent others in various forms, such as D2L or Qualtrics.) 

Google Drive has a series of applications within in it, including:

All of these allow students to work together on the same project at any time or at the same time.

All students, faculty and staff at Canisius have Google Apps accounts, so no one in your class needs to create an additional account.  Below, we'll see the specifics of how faculty get to and use Google Apps.  But this short video demonstrates the basic potential for student collaboration:  

Get Started in Google Drive

Below, this video shows you the very basics of getting into Google Drive, uploading files, and organizing them.

Possibilities

Student Collaboration

Students can group together to write a common proposal, report, or presentation.  They do this in a Google Doc, (spread)Sheet, or Slidedeck (slides) and when it's ready, hand it in by sharing it with you. They might present a group presentation via synchronous web meeting (Zoom, MS Teams, or Google Meet.)

Infographics and Virtual Posters

Google Drawings is a simple, but powerful graphics application where students can make infographics, digital posters, flow charts, diagrams, and other tools.  You might find it's just what you need to create a graphic, yourself!

Interactive Website

The lesson you're working in now is a Google Site, built using Google's "Sites" toolset.  You can build these, too, as interactive lessons in your course.  Here's just one example from a history course.

Students Build Websites

Students work together to create a website.  This can be for a faux business, nonprofit organization, online lesson, or other.  

COLI has a Guide to Google Sites.  Install this link in your course, and your students have a ready guide to building a website. https://canisius.atlassian.net/l/cp/10RANRDH

In many classes, students must specifically create professional portfolios for themselves.  COLI has a tutorial set specifically for that, using Google Sites.  https://canisius.atlassian.net/l/cp/H2YPMfXw 

Additional Resources for Google Apps

Finding tutorials for Google Drive and related applications is easy, via Google searches and YouTube.  But COLI has created or compiled tutorials specifically tailored for Canisius users.  Obviously, the tutorials for faculty and staff may interest you, but visit the student resources as well, since that may help you plan projects in your course.  COLI has created videos for students that you can install in your course.  Several options are available, depending on whether you want students to share videos with each other, or just with you.  

The Canisius College Educational Technology Master's Program has created a great set of extensive tutorials for using Google Apps for teaching.  

These are a bit longer that COLI's tutorial videos, so if you plan to teach using Google Drive, set aside time later to watch them.  It's worth it!

Have you wrestled with getting into your Canisius Google Account in the Past?  This video sorts out where and how to get into your Canisius Google Account, separate from any private gmail account you might have.  

Visit Google's G Suite Learning Center for more great tips when using Google Drive and related apps.