Using Google Docs
Online student who need tutoring will make use of Google Documents, a free, online service that allows users to share and comment on documents.
Getting Started • Creating a Document • Working with Your Document • Allowing Others to Comment on Your Document • Commenting on a Document
Getting Started
Google Docs can be found at http://docs.google.com. From here, a user can
- create an account,
- login to an existing account, or
- take a tour of the features.
topCreating a Document
Once you have an account and have signed in, you will see a list of your documents. You have two options for creating a document: you can use Google Docs just as you would your word processing software, or you can upload a document you created on your computer.
"New Document" takes you to a blank screen that looks much like your word processor; you can start simply start typing.
If you choose "Upload," you are taken to a screen like this one below; you can browse your computer for a file just as you would if you were attaching it to an email message. Note that right now, Google Documents does not support Office 2007 .docx documents; you'll need to save as an earlier version of Word or as Rich Text (RTF).
Working with Your Document
Once you have created or uploaded your document, you have some options:
Allowing Others to Comment on Your Document
You have your draft online in Google Docs, and you are ready to share it with the tutor assigned to your class. How do you do that? Google Docs uses the term "collaborate" for allowing others to have access to and comment on your work.
Clicking on the "Share" tab on the upper right will take you to this screen:
And clicking on "Invite these people" will allow you to send an email message to your tutor that will include a link to your document. Be sure to include relevant information in the email message (your name, the name of your instructor, and the assignment). You will also receive a copy of the email message.
Commenting on a Document
Once someone has been added as a collaborator, she or he can actually edit the document, just like the document's creator. For example, your tutor might highlight text that has an error and add a comment, like this:
You'll notice that comments have a colored background, the name of the person who added the comment, and a date and time stamp. This makes it easy to identify what others have to say about your document.
Google Docs has many other features—the ability to track revisions, to tag and sort documents, and publish them—but this overview should get you started.