Review by Paul Cancellieri, Common Sense Education | Updated February 2013

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Google Drive

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Nifty tool for collaboratively editing docs and syncing files across devices or online

Common Sense Says:

3

Rating Details

Teachers Say (168 Reviews):

4

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Grades

9-12 This grade range is a recommendation by Common Sense Education and not the developer/publisher.

Great for:

Productivity

See subjects & skills

Drive's interface is similar to many other Google products.

The word processor is very similar to many desktop tools, with fewer options.

The spreadsheet tool has all of the necessary functionality of MS Excel without the bells and whistles.

Pros: You get much of the functionality of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and it seamlessly keeps files in multiple locations.

Cons: Poses privacy issues for classrooms with multiple students sharing one device.

Bottom Line: Google Drive is a smart choice for budget-conscious schools, with its free productivity tools and file syncing.

Lesson & Activity Ideas

For classroom use, power users may need more than formatting, formulas, and animations, but Google Drive should perform most of the functions you and your students need. You get a word processor as well as spreadsheet and presentation tools. Add the ability for multiple users to simultaneously edit documents, and you have a real tool for collaboration. The days of passing a draft back and forth or navigating MS Word's Track Changes feature are over. Each user can see the colored and labeled cursor of every other user while they work on an essay, a spreadsheet, or a class presentation. There’s even a window for chatting while you work. Projects ripe for Google Drive might include writing workshops, group projects, class discussions, and peer review.

Tool Overview

Originally called Google Docs, Google Drive is a combo online-productivity software suite and cloud-based, file-synchronizing service. Basically, it does everything and lets you put everything somewhere. Each student needs her own Google account to use Drive, which requires an email address. From there, a user simply clicks on the Create button and chooses the type of file to create. Documents can be arranged in folders, and you have complete control over how the file is shared (read-only, password-protected, or completely private) and with whom. The Upload button allows you to add files to the 5GB cloud storage (Google Docs don't count against this total), and they automatically sync to any device with the application installed (iOS, Android, Chrome, desktop).

Learning Value

The office apps alone make Google Drive a fantastic free tool for your students to complete and collaborate on assignments. They won't exactly learn anything besides, perhaps, how to expertly use tools they may already be familiar with, but the tool will help streamline their learning on other topics. Most functions are pretty intuitive, but the help area provides lots of advice when needed. One big drawback for classrooms with multiple users sharing a device: there's isn't a sign in/out feature. If students are using their own accounts, they'll need to add and then delete accounts each time they use and then stop using a device. Otherwise, every account that has accessed the device will be accessible by all subsequent users of the device.

Rating Details

Overall Rating

3

Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

2

This isn't the type of website that's fun, exactly -- it's meant to increase productivity -- but live collaboration should be engaging for older students.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

3

The tool itself doesn't teach much. But when it's used to electronically submit student assignments and help students work collaboratively in a classroom, it can become a highway to feedback and learning.

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

4

Google is well-known for the huge quantity and high quality of its support materials, and Drive is no exception. There's also an active community of users.

Common Sense Reviewer

Paul Cancellieri Classroom teacher

About our ratings and privacy evaluation.

Teacher Reviews

Write a review

Perfect tool to go paperless and great for collaboration
3

Jason G.

4

March 14, 2014
Slides permits seamless group presentations but teachers need to monitor student interaction
1

Nathan L.
Calvert Hall College High School
Baltimore, MD

4

October 20, 2015
Great for collaboration in the classroom!
1

Carly W.
Fairbury Junior-Senior High School
Fairbury, NE

4

September 30, 2015
Holding students accountable...minus the stress!
1

Samantha L.
William H. Farquhar Middle School
Olney, MD

4

September 16, 2015
Peer editing without complaining that the handwriting is too messy!
1

Matthew C.

4

January 25, 2015
Help your students keep organized on the go
1

Janice L A.
Grosse Pointe South High School
Grosse Pointe Farms, MI

4

August 31, 2014

See All 168 Teacher Reviews

© Common Sense Media Inc. 2017 All rights reserved. Common Sense, Common Sense Media, Common Sense Education and Common Sense Kids Action, associated names, associated trademarks, and logos are trademarks of Common Sense Media, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. (FEIN 41-2024986) Teaching strategies and digital citizenship tools for educators.

Speaking & Listening
SL.9-10: Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
SL.9-10.5	Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
SL.11-12: Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
SL.11-12.5	Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
Writing
W.9-10: Production and Distribution of Writing
W.9-10.5	Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.

W.9-10.6	Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.
W.11-12: Production and Distribution of Writing
W.11-12.5	Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.

W.11-12.6	Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.

Google Drive

Nifty tool for collaboratively editing docs and syncing files across devices or online

Subjects and Skills: Google Drive

Lesson & Activity Ideas

Tool Overview

Learning Value

Rating Details

Overall Rating

Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

Key Standards Supported

Speaking & Listening

Writing

Teacher Reviews

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