This has definitely been a unique summer filled with moments of uncertainty. For me, making sure our kids have social connections yet are kept safe has been my ongoing and main concern. Thankfully, with the help of amazing friends and family, we’ve tucked away a few sunny summer memories despite the circumstances.
Back to School Means Online Learning For Many
But all summers must come to an end and very soon (if not already) our kids will be starting some version of school.
“Back to school” will look different depending on where you live and we all know it is bringing another set of challenges and tough decisions.
One thing that many parents will have in common is facing more online learning. As a parent, teacher and guidance counselor, I know that this mode is contrary to much of what we know about how many children learn. However, it has become a new reality out of necessity, yet I hope it is temporary.
Keeping Up With Technology… Really?!
Because technology changes so quickly, it is really hard (some would argue impossible) to stay caught up. Feeling pressure as a parent to keep on top of productivity and social media apps in today’s world creates added stress because it is one more thing for moms and dads to do when there is never enough time in the first place!
But we may as well start somewhere so let’s take a look at Google Apps! 🙂
What Are Google Apps?
There are many technologies used in education but a common platform with a familiar name is Google Apps.
If you’re a seasoned mom like me (as in you once used WordPerfect and Netscape Navigator), or you just aren’t very techy, my hope is that this overview gives you a basic understanding of Google Apps.
Google Apps is simply the name given to the whole pile of web-based applications that Google has created for users so they can be productive (get stuff done) and collaborate easily (communicate with each other and work together).
What Does Web-Based Mean?
Do you remember when you used to buy software and it would come with a bunch of discs and you would have to download those to your computer to install the program?
That sentence makes me sound really old. Kind of like I once worked here.
Anyway, programs that you have to download and store on your computer or laptop (whether via discs or through websites) are called desktop applications.
They will only work on the machines on which they are installed.
Programs (apps) that are web-based run directly from the website and are not stored on your own computer. Rather, they are stored on servers that service the web site. A server is a powerful computer that processes commands and information.
Web-based applications are often called cloud-based applications but there is a difference, although not really relevant to this basic overview.
The nice thing about web-based applications is that you can access them anywhere from any device. You don’t need to be at home using your computer like you had to in the good old days.
If You Have A Gmail Address, You Have Google Apps
Anyone with a Google account (e.g. gmail address) has access to a number of Google Apps such as Drive, Docs and Sheets.
However, Google also offers paid plans for organizations called G Suite. There are a variety of paid plans and they may include upgrades such as unlimited storage and the ability to create custom apps.
But not to worry, the information in this article is applicable to someone with a free Google account and for kids (or employees) who have a G Suite Google account provided by their school system or employer
Comparing MS Office to Google Apps
You likely recall that MS Office came with a “suite” (variety) of software applications including these:
| MS Word |  |
| Ms Excel |  |
| MS PowerPoint |  |
| MS Publisher |  |
| MS Mail (original name) |  |
Google Apps is similar in that it offers an equivalent app for each of the above, except MS Publisher. I generally use Canva for desktop publishing (it is very user friendly!) and LucidPress is also recommended as a good replacement for MS Publisher.
In addition to these basic and commonly used apps, there are a pile of other Google Apps available to use depending on the task you need to accomplish.
MS Office and Google Apps Comparison Infographic
Check out the Inforgraphic below for a summary of MS Office and Google Apps.
So, based on the above, if your instinct is to tell your kids to launch MS Word when it comes time to write an essay, their instinct will be to launch Google Docs. If it’s time to prepare a class presentation, you might suggest MS PowerPoint, but they’ll look to Google Slides or another free app that they are familiar with.
How do our kids know about these and other free apps? Well, it’s because they are kids and they are usually better at this stuff than we are. Plus, there’s an app for everything!
3 Important Differences Between MS Office (desktop version) and Google Apps
1. Google Apps are Web-Based and Automatically Save Your Work
When I first started teaching Business Studies courses, and more specifically, a Business Software course, I recall giving a shout-out to my students every 10 minutes or so… don’t forget to save your work! Computers crashed pretty regularly in those days and if I had a dollar for every student who sadly lost their hard work…
Fortunately, because Google Apps are web-based, they automatically store work as you go so no more shout-outs to students and no more CTRL+S!
For example, let’s pretend you are on a boat, preparing a presentation in Google Slides, and you drop your laptop in the lake and never find it again. No problem. You can log into your gmail account from any device and the presentation you had been creating in Google Slides will be there ready and waiting for you. Not such a good outcome for the laptop though.
2. Google Apps Let You Share Files Easily and Collaborate on Documents
I recall the days of emailing files back and forth so that more than one person could contribute to them and work on them. Those days are gone. Because Google Apps are web-based (and like we learned, can be accessed from any device), the files are also stored in the “cloud” and can therefore be accessed by anyone you choose to share them with.
For example, I was helping the daughter of a family friend with her resume and she shared the document with me so that we could work on it together at the same time. Not a big deal for her because she’s young and hasn’t known other technology, but pretty great for those of us who remember the days of emailing files back and forth to share them.
For school, teachers are also able to share files with an entire class of students and also have students collaborate on work using this function. Many teachers will use Google Classroom as their App to do this and we’ll take a quick look at that in a minute.
3. You Can Access Google Apps From Anywhere
As long as you have an Internet connection and a device, you have access to Google Apps and your files. This has been a fantastic evolution to experience as a teacher because it doesn’t matter what kind of computer, laptop, software, etc. a student has a home.
Finding Google Apps
I recall when our school board started promoting Google Apps over our more traditional use of MS Office programs. The most helpful thing I quickly discovered when I first started playing around with all of the apps was the Google Apps grid.
If you have been using email but aren’t sure where to go to find the apps, this is the magic button here:
When you click on this, you can see the Apps at your fingertips. If you can’t find what you need, scroll down and click on “More from google” and you will be taken to Google’s Product page so you can see what other apps are availab
What is Google Classroom?
The Google App that my kids’ teachers use and that I use as well, is called Google Classroom. It is an app designed for teachers to let them do a variety of things such as post information, share links to resources, share worksheets (documents/files), post announcements, post projects/assignments and their due dates, track student work submission, etc.
Alternatively, it allows students to receive all of these files, information, deadlines, etc.in one place. Students are also able to hand in the work they complete through the classroom.
Although Google Classroom can do many things, it actually has a very simple Student interface.
The Google Classroom Interface
When a student first logs into Google Classroom, they will see icons for each of the Classrooms that they have joined. For example, they may have one teacher for Math and Science and another for Language and Gym, so they may have more than one Classroom.
Here is an example.
Once a student enters a Classroom by clicking on the class, there are 3 main tabs:
- Stream
- Classwork
- People
Stream is a reverse chronological listing of anything the teacher has added to the Classroom. It will include messages, announcements, links to work, notifications of new assignments being posted, etc.
Classwork is a list of all of the projects, assignments, etc. that have been assigned by the teacher, with due dates.
If you want more detail about the status of your child’s work specifically, go to View Your Work.
You will be able to see more details such as work that has been submitted and work that hasn’t been handed in yet (“Missing”). This is super helpful as a parent because it lets you know if your child is up to date in handing in work.
Whenever any action happens in a Google Classroom, students receive an email in their Gmail Inbox to notify them that something new has been posted. For example, if a teacher posts a new assignment and due date, not only will students be able to see it in the Classroom but they will also receive notification by email.
The People tab lists the teacher and students in the class, along with their email addresses.
How Does a Student Join a Class?
There are 3 main ways that students are joined to a Google Classroom.
The first is by using a Join Code that the teacher provides. Click on the + and then enter the Join Code
The second is that teachers can add students using their gmail address.
Thirdly, teachers can invite students using their assigned gmail addresses. The student will receive an email notification and can use the link to join the class.
Tips
Even if your child is not using Google Classroom at school, they can still use Google Apps to complete work, provided they have a Google account (gmail address).
If you already have an email provider such as hotmail, but you would like to use Google Apps, you can still sign up for an account and it really doesn’t matter whether you actually use the gmail address for your email or not. Once you have a login (gmail address) you are good to go to use the Apps.
Remember File Manager? A Quick Note About Google Drive
The business teacher in me still believes that good file management is really important.
Helping students find files that they thought they had saved yet couldn’t find was always an adventure! So I always spent time teaching students about proper file management and how to use File Manager.
The Google App that lets you manage your files is Google Drive. I find that although students are really great at using the Apps, they don’t necessarily know where to find all of the documents and work they are creating.
The important thing to note is that any work that is done using a Google App will be in Google Drive.
Giving each file a descriptive file name is important so that they can easily find and identify their work in Drive. Just like in File Manager, you can create folders in Drive to organize your work.
One key difference you may notice about Drive is Shared With Me.
Remember we discussed how files are able to be shared easily with others in Google? Well, any file that someone else shares with you will be in Shared With Me, instead of in My Drive. My Drive is only for the documents that you create.
Conclusion
Whew! That was a long post, so let me summarize a few things…
As a parent, trying to stay caught up on all things technology feels impossible! Just do your best and give yourself a break. 🙂
Many of us grew up using MS Office and today there are Google Apps that are web-based that perform the same functions as good old MS Word and MS Excel.
If you have a Gmail address, you have access to Google Apps.
Benefits of web-based apps like Google Apps are that work is saved automatically, files can easily be shared, multiple people can work on the same document at the same time, and you can access Google Apps from anywhere as long as you have Internet access.
Google Classroom is a platform for teachers that lets them post information, link to resources, hand out assignments, set due dates and collect work from students.
Google Drive is the file management app. Any work you complete in any Google App will be here. Just remember to create folders and use descriptive file names for good file management.
And to all of the moms, dads and kids facing this new back to school reality, be patient with yourself and never be shy to reach out for help and ask questions. Or when in doubt, ask Google!
Thanks for reading. KJ 🙂