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3 Simple Yet Effective Ways to Collaborate Using Google Docs

3 simple yet effective ways to collaborate using google docs

Recently, a teacher asked Nick and me if there is a way to post a link to a Google Doc.  In this post, we describe three scenarios and three methods for a teacher to share a Google Doc with their students.

Sometimes teachers want to share resources with students, colleagues, or parents, but they don’t want to go through the hassle of typing in 50 email addresses to do so.  This post will describe three situations where a teacher can share a doc that allows the recipient to decide what he or she wants to do with the information.

Situation 1:  A teacher would like to share this week’s agenda for her Biology 101 class.  The teacher uses a view-only link with his/her students.

Steps:  

  1. Click on the “Share” button on the doc you want to share
  2. Click on “Get a shareable link”
  3. Click on the down arrow next to the pencil icon & change to view
  4. Click advanced & change setting to “ON-anyone with a link”
  5. Copy & paste the link & send it to the students or post it on a webpage

Situation 2:  A teacher wants to share a review for each student to complete and hand in.  The teacher wants to force the students to make a copy of the document being shared.

Steps:

  1. Go to the URL bar at the top of the Google Doc (below is the address for a sample page)
    1. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-Z21nHNwiCOXIefBMCKUvYJIu1LrBESJvnZa7dexJ94/edit
  2. Delete “edit” at the end of the URL and type in “copy”
    1. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-Z21nHNwiCOXIefBMCKUvYJIu1LrBESJvnZa7dexJ94/copy
  3. Copy & paste the link & send it to the students or post it on a webpage

 

Situation 3:  A teacher wants to share a list of extracurricular activities with his/her students.  The teacher would like to allow the students to preview the doc and them allow them to make a copy if they would like.

Steps:

  1. Go to the URL bar at the top of the Google Doc (below is the address for a sample page)
    1. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-Z21nHNwiCOXIefBMCKUvYJIu1LrBESJvnZa7dexJ94/edit
  2. Delete “edit” at the end of the URL and type in “template/preview”
    1. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-Z21nHNwiCOXIefBMCKUvYJIu1LrBESJvnZa7dexJ94/template/preview
  3. Copy & paste the link & send it to the students or post it on a webpage

***This will work with Google Slides, Sheets, and Drawings!

About the author, Eric

Eric Guise is a media specialist and technology coach with more than a decade of experience as a teacher.

Eric was named the 2016 Biology Teacher of Year by the New Jersey Biology Teachers Association and is currently pursuing an EdD in Leadership in Digital Transformation in Educational Technology.

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