Website review by Jenny Bristol, Common Sense Education | Updated August 2021
Google Drive
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Google Drive

Nifty tool to create, collaborate, and sync files across devices

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Learning rating
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Community rating
Based on 175 reviews
Privacy rating
Not yet rated Expert evaluation by Common Sense
Grades
3–12
Subjects & Skills
English Language Arts, Communication & Collaboration, Creativity
Great for
Creating Media, Productivity, Portfolios, Presentation
Price:  Free, Paid
Platforms:  Website
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Take a look inside

10 images
Google Drive is completely integrated into your Google account.
Click New to start a new file of any Google type; you can also add more apps for more file types.
View your files as tiles or in a list, and see details and a preview for each file.
Each file has many options, including preview, share, download, rename, and more.
Google Docs has a clean, intuitive word processing environment.
View a file's entire version history where you can restore or name older versions.
When you begin new documents with select file types, a number of templates are available.
Google Sheets allows you to create or edit spreadsheets.
Share your documents with others for collaboration or reference.
Connect more apps to Google Drive to expand the functionality through the Google Workspace Marketplace.

Pros: Collaboration is in real time, sharing is elegant, and it all stays safely synced on all devices.

Cons: Poses potential privacy issues for classrooms with multiple students sharing one device, and there may be a learning curve for younger students.

Bottom Line: With its wide range of free productivity tools and slick file syncing, it's a level-setting tool.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Google Drive is a versatile option for both teachers and students, and it should perform most or all of the functions you and your students need; there are also countless third-party add-ons to extend Google Drive's abilities. With Google Drive, you get word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation tools, along with a number of other Google applications such as Forms, Sites, and Maps. Add in the ability for multiple users to simultaneously edit documents, and you have a real tool for student collaboration and teacher feedback. Teachers can use Google Drive in combination with Google Classroom and Google Assignments to make assigning and grading work easier. Admin-level accounts have additional functionality and options from the administrator's console, including the ability to export all G Suite data in one step. Paid users can see file viewing data over time and can study viewership trends.

Use the colored and labeled cursor of every other user to identify students while they work on an essay, a spreadsheet, or a class presentation. There's even a window for chatting while you work, and comment threads can be added throughout the document. Projects ripe for Google Drive might include writing workshops, group projects, class discussions, and peer review. The open-ended nature of this tool allows students to use it as they want or need to and allows teachers to use it in any school subject for any number of assignments and projects. Make sure, though, that each student understands how to sign in and sign out of Google Drive -- if it's being used on shared devices -- to maintain privacy and security. Along those lines, schools should be aware of their sharing settings, as data breaches have happened. And note that if kids aren't using it with a Google Classroom account, kids under 13 will need a parent-supervised account to get started.

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Put this tool into practice:
Standards:

Google Drive is a combo online-productivity software suite and cloud-based, file-syncing service. Basically, it seems to do everything, giving you a place to store all of your files and the ability to access them from any device. Each student needs their own Google account to use Drive, which requires an email address. From there, a user simply clicks on the New button and chooses the type of file to create, with an option to load a template for many of the file types. Documents can be arranged into folders, and you have complete control over file permissions when you share a file, including whether others can edit it. Users can also add even non-Google-based files to the free 15GB cloud storage, and the files automatically sync to any device with the Google Drive application installed (iOS, Android, Chrome, desktop).

Once you've created a file and shared it, all users with access can see when other users are in the file and can witness edits or additions that they make in real time. File organization is as easy as drag and drop, and you can also add a star to any file saved on Drive to make it easier to find; you can then view all starred files on one page. Drive has Google's search capabilities, including the ability to search text within both images and PDFs. There's a Suggested area at the top of the home screen to make it easier to find documents you've worked on recently. There's a lot to Google Drive, but the ubiquitous help options are there to guide you if you get lost. Google Drive also includes many accessibility tools, including screen readers and options for Braille displays.

Users can see the version history of documents, see who made which changes, and restore previous versions. Any version can also be named, such as "first draft," "teacher corrections included," etc., and you can choose to view only named versions. Users can also see changes made since their last visit to the file. Some types of accounts can also set up notifications to receive alerts when changes are made, and users can set up offline access within Chrome. Google regularly improves and enhances Drive, adding new integrations, security measures, and accessibility support.

The office apps alone make Google Drive a fantastic free tool for your students to use when collaborating on and completing assignments. It's an easy way for them to learn how to use word processors, spreadsheets, presentation software, and more, preparing them for real-world job experiences, especially in today's distributed workforce. Most functions are pretty intuitive, but the help area provides lots of advice when needed.

Since Google Drive also includes several other types of applications, such as Google Forms, Drawings, Maps, Sites, and other Google and third-party apps, students can use whichever applications work best for their projects, and they can spend additional time exploring and learning on their own. The collaboration feature is one of the most useful and important, as it makes something that's difficult in other applications easy. The real-time syncing allows users to edit the file simultaneously, so group projects can be considerably more efficient, and there is a one-step option to quickly email fellow collaborators in Docs, Sheets, and Slides files. And for students with limited internet access at home, they can set up offline access so that they can continue to work -- albeit without real-time collaboration. The only real downsides to Google Drive include confusing group folder sharing and the necessity of signing out when multiple users share a device, but once students get the hang of how it works, it's a no-brainer application.

Overall Rating
Engagement

The well-integrated Google Drive has a clean, colorful interface that makes creating, collaborating, and organizing fast and easy. Productivity takes the lead as synced files and projects can be accessed on any device.

Pedagogy

It's an ideal platform for student assignment submissions, group projects, and teacher feedback. Collaboration in real time and easy access to materials make this a versatile productivity tool. 

Support

Google is well known for the quantity and quality of its support materials, and Drive is no exception. There's seamless integration with Google Classroom and Workspace for Education and broad accessibility.

Common Sense reviewer
Jenny Bristol Other
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Key Standards Supported

Speaking & Listening

  • SL.6.1

    Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

  • SL.6.2

    Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.

  • SL.6.5

    Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, images, music, sound) and visual displays in presentations to clarify information.

  • SL.7.1

    Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

  • SL.7.5

    Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations to clarify claims and findings and emphasize salient points.

  • SL.8.1

    Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

  • SL.8.5

    Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

  • SL.9-10.1

    Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

  • 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.11-12.1

    Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11–12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

  • 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.6.6

    Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of three pages in a single sitting.

  • W.7.6

    Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources.

  • W.8.6

    Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

  • 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.11-12.5

    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.

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Community Rating

(See all 175 reviews) (175 reviews) Write a review
Featured review by
Jeremy B. , Classroom teacher
Classroom teacher
Thomas M. Ryan Intermediate School
Richland, United States
The All In One Tool-Google Drive Does It ALL!
Our students live in the Google Drive world. Everything they create is stored, shared, and collaborated on from Drive. It plays perfectly with applications like Google Classroom and other LMS type tools. It is free to use and 100% web based so it is accessible anywhere students have web access. The only downside is the lack of internet in some homes as web access is required.
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