TechKnowlogy Conference August 2, 2011 Using GoogleDocs for Collaboration

You do not have to have a Gmail account to use Google Docs, but you will experience fewer issues if you DO. Plus, Gmail has many amazing features and is very easy to use. Features TONS of storage space Saves your chats as messages so you can view them later Groups mail as “conversations” so it’s easy to follow a thought process Excellent database for help and tips Automatically saves your contacts

Creating an Account Go to Click “more”, then “Documents” From here click Create an account. Fill in your information and create your account! This account will give you access to all of the google products, including Google + (social network) Picasa (photo editing) Web Albums (photo sharing) Calendar Google Docs

Please sign in to your Google Account.

Tips for Using G-mail At the top, you’ll see links to many Google products you now have access to. Archive! Don’t delete! You have over 7,000MB of storage space! Instead of folders, G-mail uses Labels. Once you label something, archive it to get it out of your inbox. You can get back to anything you have archived by searching or selecting a label on the left side of your screen.

Enter Google Docs Click on the Documents link at the top left of your page. This will open a new tab that contains your documents. You can upload documents or create them directly in Google Docs. Google Docs can be used for Documents Spreadsheets Presentations Drawings PDF files

Create a Document Click “Create new” Then click “Document.” Type a few lines about whatever you want into the document. Remember, this will be shared with others in the room.

Editing in Google Docs Google Docs works very much like Microsoft Word. Change the font size, color, or style of your text. Type a bulleted or numbered list using the icons. Try adding a link to a webpage using the icon. You can enter text in the top box to describe the link so that instead of seeing a long, ugly URL, your reader will see your text and when clicked, it will take them to the website indicted in the second box.

Add a Picture to Your Doc Click on the icon. You will see 4 options Upload Allows you to add an image from your computer to the doc URL Add an image from a website to your doc Google Image Search Search google for an image without having to open a new window and copy the picture! Picasa Web Albums This is a Google product where your personal images will go if you use Picasa. A great way to store images on the “cloud.” Click on the Google Image Search and type in something you’d like to find a picture of. Notice the box that says “Any Type” You can click here to select only a certain type of image. Add an image to your doc and resize if necessary.

Naming Your Doc Google Docs has been automatically saving your doc this entire time. Give your doc a name by clicking in the rectangle in the upper left.

Sharing Your Doc Click “File” Click “Share” Your doc is automatically set to “private.” Click “Change” to see the other options. Leave your doc set to Private. In the Private setting, you can still share with selected people. This is the setting you will most likely use to collaborate with other teachers. Under “Add people:” Enter the address of one of the people sitting next to you to share your doc.

You must choose if your added people will be able to edit or just view. For now, be sure you select “can edit.” “Send notifications” is automatically selected. This is a great option because the person you shared your doc with will receive a message telling them about your doc. Click Share & Save to finish and share your doc.

Accessing a Shared Doc Close out of your doc. Return to your account. Open the from your neighbor about their doc. Click the link to open their doc. Make some changes to the document. Change whatever you’d like: Add text Remove text Change colors or fonts Move the picture

Giving Advice to the Author If you want to make a suggestion to your colleague about the document without changing it directly, click “Insert” then “Comment.” These are visible to anyone with access to the doc. Leave a comment for your partner.

Viewing Changes Made To Your Doc Close your partner’s doc and open your original doc by clicking on its name in your Docs home page. You will see the most modern version of your doc, including comments.

Revision History Click on File, and then “See Revision History” This will pull up a panel that allows you to see the changes made by your partner. Notice that you can revert the document to any previous version if changes are made that you do not want by clicking on the time and date of the version you want. You can save any version to your desktop or flashdrive by clicking “File” then “Download As”

This is great for collaborating while working on documents separately at different times. However, you can also use Google Docs really effectively at the same time from different computers. Let’s try this now.

Collaborating in Real Time Together, agree to open one of your docs. Make sure that you open the same doc as your partner. You will notice a message at the top right telling you that someone else is viewing your document. Type something in the doc. Notice that you will see each other’s changes.

Collaborating in Real Time If you are working on a doc as the same time, you can use “Discussions” instead of “Comments.” This way, you can give each other suggestions about the doc and work together to agree what to change. Click on the notification in the upper right corner that tells you who is viewing to open the discussion window. Type a few lines about the doc to your partner. Continue editing the document together and explore the features of Google Docs! Insert – Equation Tools – Define Insert– Drawing

Questions? I don’t have all of the answers, but GOOGLE does! See the tutorials and advice on the support page: