Google Drive is great for students who do not have access to Office-type software at home.
Community Review for Google Drive
My Take
Google Drive is a great tool for students who do hot have access to commonly-used word processing, spreadsheet or presentation software at home. This tool is useful for budget-conscious schools, and allows collaborative efforts between students and teachers. Users will not have all the bells and whistles as the leading Office software, but Drive is definitely adequate.
How I Use It
Students submit their pieces of writing to me via Drive. I can easily read, comment on and file student work. Drive helps students revise and edit in a timely manner, as they can see comments as soon as I write them. The "turn around time" between student submission and teacher grading is greatly reduced. I have an almost paperless classroom, thanks to Google Drive.
At the beginning of the year, the teacher must spend time teaching students how to use Drive, but it is time well spent. I work in a "Google School", we use gmail and other educational tools so all middle school students are given a gmail address for school. If students do not have access to a school-based email address, apps or regular gmail accounts can be used. I do highly recommend that schools use the education products if possible, as it is easier to use Drive in that environment.